One of my favourite things to do when visiting a new place is to hunt down the perfect souvenir to take home and treasure in my everyday life. I despise typical tourist souvenirs, preferring something that I can genuinely use and love. Though I now wish i’d bought more in Marrakech, I did come home with a gorgeous golden Moroccan teapot (that looks lovely and battered) and matching green and gold tea glasses in which to have mint tea, some beautiful coloured Berber bowls, kilos of spices, tea and dried fruit, and some of beautiful soaps and potions that will remind me of Marrakech with their smell of jasmine and fleur d’oranger.
In addition to bringing home the perfect set of treasures, one of the things that makes a trip truly luxurious is finding the perfect accommodation which typifies a place (in fact I obsess and spend weeks researching the best places before I go anywhere – something which frustrates the Clever Boyfriend no end). If you do manage to visit Marrakech – and I strongly recommend you do at least once in your lifetime – then I cannot rate the Riad Meriem any higher on the luscious accommodation stakes. Set in one of the oldest parts of the Medina which dates back to the 12th Century, the area around the riad is a marvellously chaotic warren of tiny, high-walled back alleyways where children play beside donkeys carting entire stalls on their backs. But entering the riad is like stepping into an Aladdin’s cave. Styled by renowned NY designer and photographer Thomas Hays, it is a beautifully artistic Moroccan oasis lit by hundreds of candles and lanterns, dripping in bouganvilleas, and attended by the friendliest staff I have ever come across. I was so enamoured by our suite’s jasmine scent and afternoon tea on our private terrace that the host sent us home with a litre of jasmine body wash and a kilo of arabian pastries (which i’ve been trying to savour, rather than scoff, with copious glasses of strong mint tea to maintain the holiday vibe).
What is your favourite thing to bring home from your travels?
Love, Miss B xx
