PARIS--November 16 & 17

The perfect city but so little time to see it all--to enjoy all the amazing flavors.  It is great to know that in 48 hours you can be on culture overload, mesmerized by Christmas lights, eat fantastic food and travel to many areas of the city which are each incredible on their own.

We had time for only two museums.  The small one was part of the Louvre and is devoted design.  The second museum we visited was the Musee d'Orsay--this museum is a work of art itself as it is set in a renovated, beautiful train station.  Once inside every impressionist painting that you can imagine is there for you to view.                               

Even the outside has statues worth admiring.

The city of lights is especially beautiful this time of year and there is an incredible Christmas Market set up along the Champs Elysees.  Here you can eat, admire the Christmas decorations and listen to music.  It is an event that can be savored for an hour or a day.

We also visited the Left Bank to enjoy an amazing Basque Restaurant with all the charcuterie that one could imagine.  Once that was completed you could savor chanterelles straight from the earth and wild game since this is hunting season.  Once lunch was over it was time to visit Montmartre and have an amazing view of the city.  I was surprised to see that even more amazing than the view was the football player who performs everyday with a ball as he climbs an antique lamp pole overlooking the city.

This still left time for shopping and getting to the Marais to see the development in this former Aristrostic and Jewish Quarter which is now flourishing with great shops, tea salons and cafes for dining.  And how do you do all this in one day -- you take the metro which operates so successfully in Paris.  It makes it easy to cross the city at speed and at a reasonable price if you are not travelling with a car and driver--an even better way to see the city and know what is here to enjoy.   

 

PURE LIFE EXPERIENCES  Tuesday November 13-Thursday November 15

For three days it was living the experience of staying in the Medina in Marrakesh by night in a beautiful Riad while by day I was able to travel the world meeting amazing suppliers of properties and experiences that change the ordinary into the extraordinary.  First let me give you a glimpse of the beauty of a Moroccan riad.

This is the small, secluded patio that was just outside my bedroom door.

Roses and flowers are everywhere and the picture to the right illustrates how beautiful every corner is decorated with flowers.

To get a sense of the Conference I want to provide some illustrations of the various booths where we met with suppliers to learn about their offerings.  From these pictures you will be able to get a sense of the world and how wonderful it is to travel and experience places we may have only read about.

Some companies can take you to the polar regions by ship--others will offer you the experience to actually camp there and fly to the South Pole!

Perhaps your dream has always been to trek gorillas--there are opportunities to do this and come close to the beautiful, gentle beasts pictured to the right. Perhaps instead of trekking gorillas your view of a trip to Africa is to stay in luxury and travel by vehicle to come close to the animals.  This too is possible and the picture below shows one of the many awesome safari camp experiences.

 

Other countries may have your attention and the PURE Conference taught me about options there as well.  Bhutan is country of beautiful scenery and people.  A glimpse of the people is provided by the picture to the left.

 

Finally there are special ships that can take you to many other destination and provide knowledgeable guides to explain what you are seeing while you travel in style.

 

Please ask me about any of these or other destinations where you are dreaming about travelling.  The PURE Conference will allow me to offer you many new ideas!  I can't wait to share.

MARRAKESH--DAY TWO

Marrakesh is an amazing city and deserves several days to really be able to experience all the sights and sounds.  As a travel agent in addition to the beauty of any city the quality of the hotels is paramount in learning about a destination to recommend to my clients.  This morning we toured hotels.  Marrakesh does not disappoint when hotel product is reviewed.  There are amazing properties that have every convenience and are a showcase of all things Moroccan.  There are also Riads which are converted beautiful homes that are located right in the Medina and offer intimate personal service.  There is definitely something for everyone!

During the afternoon we toured the Jardin Majorelle which was owned by Yves Saint Laurent and now serves as a resting place for some of his ashes.  It is a beautiful place and should not be missed by any visitor to Marrakesh.

After the gardens we returned to the Medina in order to see how the Square is transformed in the evening to a gathering place where everyone comes to eat and enjoy lively music.  It is like a Carnival!  Everyone shops and eats!

 

The Square in Marrakesh

Today we left the Riad in Fes at AM to catch a 5:15AM flight to Casablanca where we met our driver again for a 3 hour drive to Marrakesh.  It's might seem like a lot until we arrived.  What a city--it's called the red city and the garden city.  There is adobe construction everywhere and the city is filled with gardens and roses.  But this is only the beginning of what is the magic of Marrakesh.

The picture above shows the gardens and the minaret that is the symbol of Marrakesh.  From here it is was only a short walk to the Square.  In the Square there are vendors of everything; but that is not why you go.  You go to see the traditions of Morocco as they are being displayed.

First we saw and visited with the men dressed as traditional water sellers.  You can see that they were happy to share their hats with us for a photographic opportunity.





From here we walked onward to discover what everyone who has been to Morocco talks about.  During past amazing travels I have had the opportunity to watch polar bears play, track tigers and view lions.  Now I was able to see snake charmers and trained monkeys.

 

But not only could I see them, I was able to get up close and personal....

Volubulis--An Unknown Treasure of Morocco

Who knew that only an hour from Fes there were amazing Roman ruins which show the life of the invaders from Rome during the 12th Century.  The city remains with enough ruins to be able to discern how life was.  The Romans knew how to select an excellent location for their cities.  Volubulis overlooks a beautiful valley considered the breadbasket of Morocco.  Olives grow everywhere and the olive oil freshly pressed is a true delicacy.  The remains of this city show how these olives were crushed into oil.  The ruins also feature amazing frescoes where the colors are still vivid and we can learn about the community's belief of myth and how they actually lived.

After the amazing exploration we had the delight to climb to the top of city which houses the tomb of of the man who brought Islam to Morocco twelve centuries ago.  This city on a hill offers paths to the top lined with fruit and vegetable stalls.  At the top you can enjoy the cliff hanging houses while you savor a special local lunch which has been specially arranged.

After the local lunch we returned to Fes for another unique experience in the Medina.  I am a believer that we can understand a culture by it's food.  I am not the only one who believes this.  This afternoon we met with a special culinary expert who took us on a traditional tasting experience through the Medina.  Some things we looked at but didn't try.  For example on of the most prized delicacies is the steamed sheep head!  On the other hand, olives come in every flavor and honey is amazing in Morocco. We sampled honey that has never been seen in the US that I know about.  Everything from free range bees' honey to lavender honey.  Can you believe there were even bees in the honey!

 

Spices are beautiful and healthy as they don't just flavor in the food of Morocco but they also heal.

FES--MOROCCO

I knew that Morocco was a beautiful country with mystery, crafts and great food.  What I imagined was only a tease for what I have actually found.  The Medina is one of the 3 largest in the world, yet the roads are so narrow that cars cannot fit.  Garbage is collected twice daily by donkeys.  We spent the morning discovering what was hidden behind the old walls.  I was so glad to have an excellent guide or I might have become a permanent resident.

This is view of the incredibly crowded Medina behind the ancient city walls.  This city within a city was built in the 9th century.
Wandering the paths gives a glimpse into a very complex culture.  Morocco is colorful and has excellent food and crafts.

Chicken is very fresh and served with delicious olives.  This is augmented by excellent bread and vegetables. 

 

In addition to all the excellent food, the craftsmen of Fes are world famous.  The tannery shows how the workers create beauty from leather skins.  The hides are colored in huge vats and hung to dry before clothing and furniture creations are designed.  I have never seen so many beautiful colors for leather and the softness is not to be believed.  This is truly a shoppers paradise!

 

 

After exploring the Medina and some serious shopping it was time for lunch.  Friday is a day of celebration in Morocco as many stay home from work and enjoy lunch with family and friends after worshipping.  Today is Friday so we had the opportunity to eat like the locals and enjoyed the wonderful, traditional Couscous. It was a beautiful feast for both the eyes and the palate.  Also, given how many vegetables are included you can pretend that this is healthy!

 

Pure Life Experiences--Morocco and Paris

I am so excited as this week I leave for Morocco.  Not only will I have a chance to visit and explore exotic Fez and Marrakesh but I will be attending the amazing conference Pure Life Experiences

This conference is all about the best experiential travel suppliers in the world.  I will have a chance to meet them and look for new exciting experiences that I can share and offer when I come home.

Please stay tuned as I first am able to show the wonders of Morocco before I am abe to introduce some new travel adventures.  This will be great and if you have anywhere you would like to travel please send me an email about your thoughts so that I can look for the right supplier in case we don't already have just the right company to collaberate with to produce the perfect experience.
 

Beijing

The final city that we had the opportunity to visit was Beijing.  What an amaing city of modern archeticture and business contrasting with history at every turn.  The size of Tiananmen Square is amazing and as I understand over a million people can stand here--and they have!  The square is across the street for the Forbidden City which is also enormous.  It was fascinating to walk through this city and imagine what it must have been like when the Emperor reigned supreme.

I have always heard about the Night Market but I had no idea what they sold there.  I have now been but I am still in awe if anyone eats the treats offered --and I love to experiment but see below and I think you will understand why I am in doubt about anyone enjoying the weird offerings.
        

The next day we had a chance to visit the Temple of Heaven which is just beautiful.  The beauty of the building and the landscape is augmented because early in the morning everyone--young and old--come to exercise here.  They do Tai Chi, they dance and they play but they do not run!

We took a traditional ride on a rickshaw through the old part of the city and climbed to the top of the Drum Tower to see these old streets and houses.  While we were there we were treated to a performance on the huge drums housed in the tower.  It was fantastic!

The final full day in Beijing was the highlight as we travelled to the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall.  It is about 2 1/2 hours from the center of Beijing bu but worht the time as once we arrived we were virtually alone on this magnificent structure.  We were even able to enjoy a picnic on the wall.  It is a day to remember!                  A trip to remember!                  

XIAN

Xian and the Terra Cotta Warriers lived up to every expectation that I have had about these wonders of mankind.  Before I provide some thoughts about my time here, I should explain why this blog is being completed from my home office instead of while on the road.  I kept trying to access my blog site while travelling; but no luck.  I finally asked our guide and learned that in China you cannot use this blog site and cannot access Facebook.  As I am sure you know about the problems between China and these companies concerning internet access; I will not go into that here, except to say that it is why I am blogging later instead of while travelling.

Upon arrival to Xian we visited the Han Mausoleum which is a relatively new discovery and also shows the burial pits of an Emperor but these pits are filled with small clay statues instead of the awesome replics of actual warriers shown in the buriel pits of the terra cotta warriers.  It makes one wonder if the emperors became less important as the years went by.  At this point however the important thing is to share the terra cotta warriers--there are over 8000!

After visiting the warriers we had a chance to explore Xian.  I want to share a picture and ask you to guess what the picture represents before I explain it.

The picture is of a mosque designed like a buddhist temple.  In fact there is a very active Moslem community here and it was fascinating to see the contrasts with the typical China communities we had the opportunity to visit.

Shanghai

I have always heard that Shanghai was an amazing city but these are just words until you are able to see the city.  I stepped out on the deck of the Orion II to see the most incredible sky scrapers.  The convention center actually has two structures that appear as globes with the world marked.

After leaving the ship we had a quick ride through the city on our way to water town.  The buildings which do not comprise the financial district have a very European feel as they reflect the various countries who settled in Shanghai.  As we left the city, the fertile rice patties were in evidence everywhere and it was easy to visualize the rural economy that had once been Shanghai. 

Zhujiajao is a fabulous town originally built over 900 years ago along canals much like Venice.  The area has been restored but the buildings now are no more than 200 years old.  It was great fun to explore this city by boat and see the everyday lives being carried out before us.

       

In the afternoon we had a chance to visit the beautiful Jade buddha and get a taste of bargaining for treasures in the local shopping area.  The Buddha was fantastic and the shopping frenzy high!  So ended our day in Shanghai.  I would advise anyone to spend more than one day as I am hungry for more.  I understand the Museum is amazing and I think an architectural tour would be fantastic in this city.