Patterns at the Palace/Morocco

Such colors and designs!

all photos taken at the Bahia Palace in Marrakesh, Morocco. Feb 2011

 Every available surface is patterned and decorated.

In the first courtyard

  

and the second.....

 Even the doors of the cupboards.....

And beneath the old, magic mirror....

Such floors!

This last picture is of Sindibad, the handsomest cat in Marrakesh who 

isn't in the palace but wanted to be in the blog!

Colors to Delight

Friday spent wandering around......

 Flowers in the garden of La Mamounia the wonderfully posh hotel where Winston Churchill stayed long, long ago.....and where we did not stay....

 Cushions on the roof of riad Rimal where our friend Ismail now works

Even the street signs have a certain  shabby-chic charm.

The villa in the grounds of the Jardin Majorelle is painted.......bleu majorelle ---how could one guess!

The tea shop in the same place.....

The rood of riad Rimal......hindi or cactus fruit of a lovely plum color.

In the evening, when it turned chilly, we sat by the wood fire.

For many more pictures of Morocco go here

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Moroccan SnapShots

Before we lived in New York, we lived in Marrakesh for two years.

See here

We are now back there for a short while...

enjoying mysterious doors....

... pastilla....which is flaky pastry with nuts and chicken and powdered sugar.......

 ...not to mention the fruit juice......

 ...the pot pourri

 and the lanterns.

last of all, a cat in the fruit market who is about to produce lots of little cats any minute...

this photo is for Joan Rundo who makes super cat calendars every year!

Glimpses of Maroc

Total jet lag

Airport in Casablanca

 Marrakesh

The same

Waiting.....

A Hint of Pink: or the Dawnserly Light

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In the late afternoon, the sun paints otherwise dull buildings nice pastel colors.

Very early this morning the sky was beautifully pink --- looking both to the West...

...and to the East.

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Planting Fields Arboretum, Oyster Bay

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The flower pots stand with arms akimbo just outside the offices and the entrance to the greenhouses.

The trees stand tall and cold outside...

...so it's lovely to step inside to the warmth of the glasshouses

and feast one's eyes on the orchids.

wow!

and the curious desert prickly thing

and the leaves of many colors.

The camellia house looks a little like the lair of Sleeping Beauty from outside.....

the briars and the misted up windows.

But the effort of following the snow covered path is worth it.

Inside one can sit in the whitewashed room

and feast upon this.

Such a stately beech tree --the very mark of a gentleman's park.

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New York People and a Short Journey

 haha

A different incarnation of the tax-flyer man, cheerful on a very cold day.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Subway at Penn Station.

A glimpse of yellow and very high heels on 8th Avenue.

The dog was so astonished at this trio....

... that we had to skip town and look back at the mysterious skyline from Jersey...

 ...and visit a very young gentleman upstate
and try out silly camera lenses....

...through the bus window.

This last photo, taken near Macy's on 34th Street is so trashy and brash,
I couldn't help but include it.

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On the Hudson

Contrary to what the flag suggests, this is not Greece (ha!) but Chelsea Piers.

It is extremely, bluely, cold.

The golf range looks abandoned, and I dread to think what temperature the water is.

I come upon rather a jolly crew, and ask if I can take their picture.

Hint: Pretend to be a tourist. Tourists take pictures of anything -- no questions asked.

I wonder what these guy are doing. They say: fishing.

"You should wait 'til the diver comes up! ...or what we call bait!"

Much laughter ensues.

Glug, glug, glug. Ice, debris and who knows what else........

But, lo and behold !.....

The diver emerges in his deep-sea diving suit....

And waves quite merrily at me.

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