Sunny LA to rainy New York

So I arrived safely in LA and spent the first couple of days at the beach. Where I was staying was a fabulous starting point to riding a bike along the beach to Venice Beach and then on to Santa Monica. The weather was perfect - sunny with a cool breeze. The breeze was so lovely that I didn't realise how sunny and I got the souvenir sunburn but it was a small price to pay for such a fabulous adventure. Apart from catching up with dear friends I also visited the Getty Center (beautiful!) and LACMA with other little trips around these main destinations. Apparently of the 10 million LA residents only 2 million use public transport. I am not surprised as it seems to take a minimum of two hours to get anywhere. Coming home from the Getty I weakened and caught a taxi but it was such an interesting drive because the driver was a political refugee from Russia and had so many interesting stories. All in all I really loved my time in LA (sorry - no photos because I am writing this on my phone) but there are certainly some crazy looking people here and crazy places to visit!

I am only one day into my trip to New York and it was a really wet day but at least it wasn't too cold. I visited the MET and loved it even if I did get tricked by their 'recommended' admission price and thought it was the actual price! It is an awesome place to visit but I think I need to take a break from galleries for a bit. The restaurants here are great and thanks to recommendations I went to the best Mexican place I have ever eaten at. While I am here I hope to do a variety of things and catch up with old friends and former colleagues. I will hopefully include some photos in my next post.

Back in London

I decided to hold off posting too many photos of Morocco - as much as there are so many photos I would love to show you I also don't want to go overboard!

Today is my only day in London (excluding a day trip or two before Morroco) and it was great. I caught up with Jamie M for brunch which extended into a four hour catch up. He then caught the train with me to the V&A and left me to explore the museum at my leisure. It is strange to be in London after Morocco. It is certainly nice not to be asked if I want to buy something every step of the way (the phrases "hello hello" and "best price" were a huge part of the sounds of Morocco) but the contrast makes London seem isolating.

Tomorrow morning I fly to LA which by all reports will be fabulously sunny so I am tempted to send home all my warm weather gear to make room in my case. The extra room I had in my case at the start of the trip has been taken by a berber rug. Buying a rug in Morocco is perhaps a little cliched but it was worth it!

And hello Morocco...

I am back in London after a longer than expected time in Morocco. I arrived in Casablanca two weeks ago and I have to say that my first impression was not what I thought it would be. I was expecting to be blown away from the beginning but instead it was an evolving process. I will write more later but as each day passed I liked it more and more. We travelled from Casablanca to Rabat and then on to Meknes and Fes. We spent a whole day in the Medina in Fes and it was such an experience - the colours, sights and smells were nothing that I have experienced before and I loved it.

And then we arrived in Marrakech and I loved it. Marrakech is the Morocco I was looking forward to. Imagine a city teeming with people where it is not unusual to have an expensive mercedes negotiating for road space with a donkey and cart, where the new and the very old are mixed in a colour combination and where the noise of crowds and street sellers are harmonised with the sound of snake charmers and the calls to prayer. I had left my comfort zone long ago and loved soaking up the atmosphere. I wasn't ready to leave so when some people on the tour invited me on the second last night to join them after the tour to go to Assouria (a costal town) and the Sahara I thought why not!

I am so pleased I ended the trip with the Sahara. We rode camels across the dunes and camped under the stars. To lie on warm sand gazing up at a dark sky full of stars (and shooting stars) until 4.30 am was definitely worth it.

The extra time at the end of this leg was perfect and I was ready to leave. England is thankfully warmer than when I left it and I will have a final day catching up with English and Australian friends bfore heading off to the US of A! More photos to come but below are a taste...