From Fes, we went to visit Volubilis and Meknes with our wonderful driver, Monsieur Mohamed, and our friend and Meknes-based guide, the MIGHTY Mediha! We met her last year when we first visited Meknes, and immediately, we fell in love with her beautiful personality and warm hospitality. If you are planning to visit Meknes, Volubilis, Fes… you should totally ask her to be your fabulous guide! She is THE BEST 💯🫶!
In Volubilis, another Mohamed, AKA “The last Roman🏺”, led us to look around the crazy number of Roman ruins on the site. Here, you can see the ancient Roman houses, mosaics and interior designs, infrastructure of the city, water fountains, Pantheon-looking architectures and sorts🏛, and their “shopping mall.” It was huge and well-preserved! Why did Romans choose such a place to live? Olives🫒. Yup, good production of olive oil was a big attraction for them.
Every time I get to visit ancient ruins, I always feel the same thing: “Humans in any culture, at anytime in history, wanted the same things: NICE THINGS. Nice food, Nice house, Nice life. And each civilization (that we could see as ruins) somehow succeeded in achieving those at certain level. But then, how come we haven’t learn to bring more “NICEness” to other human beings? Can we be nicer to each other? Are we still challenged in that department?“ – I guess civilization is hard.
In Meknes, we started with Couscous lunch by the golf course because it was Friday! Then we walked through the medina, learned about Damascene metalworks by local artisans, and also visited the Mausoleum of Moulay Isma’il, who ruled Morocco from 1672 to 1727 (until his death). He apparently wanted Luis XIV’s daughter, Marie Anne de Bourbon, to be (one of) his wife but that didn’t happen. Instead, Mulay Isma’il received 4 grandfather’s clocks 🕰 from Louis XIV. Good deal? My husband thinks so as “four clocks would probably be quieter than another wife in his life…” – he has a point, but I am not sure if it was a joke – maybe Hamda 🍋 (sour) joke…?
I like Meknes – it’s not as big as other Imperial cities, but it has its own charm. Beautiful Bab (gate) Mansur, sweet people (like Mediha!) and look at this, even Le Petit Paris🇫🇷!
We were lucky enough to host more guests at our Dar Hellman🏠. This time, from our home city, Seattle🇺🇸!! Pastor Pam and Master Gary have been our friends for more than 20 years, they are just amazing, generous, and fun-loving couple. Pam was the pastor of our home church, Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Shoreline for many years – she baptized our child, we sang together in the choir, we went through many congregation meetings (Amen!), and we would spend Christmas & Thanksgiving together with lots of yummy food (Pam’s pies are DELICIOUS!🥧). Our friendship is definitely a god given gift (more Amen!)🙏, with lots of laughters and many glasses of beer🍻; we areLutherans, we get to drink beer – proudly.
They spent one week in Paris🇫🇷, then on their way back to SEA, decided to visit us in Rabat! Hooray!🙌 Since they got to spend a good amount of time in Morocco🇲🇦, we also planned an excursion trip to visit other cities, all four of us.
To welcome them properly, I made Chicken Tajine, and, of course, Atay Bnaanaa, Mint Tea. We were not able to stop chatting… so much to catch up! They brought us beautiful calendar & delicious caramels from Paris – Merci beaucoup!🥰
We started our days by introducing them to how wonderful Rabat is. We visited Old Medina, Hassan Tower, Mausoleum of Mohammed V, etc. By the way, there is a mosaic pattern which my husband REALLY likes outside of the Mausoleum. He pays so much attention to its detail and loves to explain Fibonacci Sequences hiding in the mosaic. Okkkaay… I think I see it. To me, honestly, it is a “beautiful mosaic” ; but for a scientist from MIT, it is a “powerful sign of rich and profound mathematical knowledge, and it is indeed something to be admired. Therefore, this mosaic itself is a good enough reason to live in Morocco.” Hamdulillah. 🙏
And, of course, Rabat sightseeing cannot be complete without going Chellah. Being able to observe the amazing life of Cigones – Storks. Visiting Roman ruins and important Islamic architecture with the sound of storks singing… Priceless.
They joined the “Rick Steves Tour” in Paris (I respect Mr. Rick Steves soooo much! – He is an iconic travel writer, and he is also Lutheran!) for a week before arriving in Morocco. So, it was our wish for Pam and Gary to relax and enjoy Moroccan days at their own speed, without any “organized group” activities. We really enjoyed having meals at home on our lanai, especially a nice & long, petit-déjeuner 🙂 Moroccan, American, maybe some Japanese… and lots of fresh juices! 🍉🍊🍎🍌🥭🍒 For dessert? “Flan Japan“, of course!
If you are in Morocco, you can’t miss the Hassan II Mosque, yes? Yup! モロッコに来たらやはりハッサン２モスクは外せない！という事で、カサブランカへも1日。リックス・カフェも通り、ジュースで「君の瞳に乾杯🥂」です。
In just three days, Pam and Gary were able to say “Choukran (thank you)” and “Inshallah (God willing)” like pros🤩. Which meant, they were ready to discover more cities in Morocco. <A 4-night trip to visit Fes, Meknes, Volibilus, and Chefchaouen> is next. Cheers🥂!
We did some sightseeing, too! First, the Alcazaba. This area was originally developed by the Romans (that’s why there is also a mini-coliseum, just like the one you would see in Rome), then later taken over by the Moors and turned into a fortress and a luxurious residential facility in the 11th century. So, once I stepped in, it was like “Oh, have I returned to Morocco🇲🇦?”
Beautiful gardens and breathtaking geometric ceilings… All the way to the top, we were rewarded with this gorgeous view of Malaga – it was worth climbing up in the heat🥵! 美しい庭園や幾何学模様の天井、暑い中、頑張ってテクテクと登れば、素敵な景色のご褒美です。
This is the Malaga Cathedral, AKA, La Manquita. As often happens in the area, this was a mosque turned into a cathedral in the 16th century. The interior is quite interesting; a mix of Islamic, Gothic, Renaissance. What caught my eye the most was this great painting by Mr. Enrique Simonet, “The Martyrdom of St. Paul.” The shining light there is all stunning (almost shocking!) and the composition is so captivating… I couldn’t move away from this painting for a while.
Since Mr. Simonet’s painting was so amazing, that we decided to check out the Malaga Museum (Museo de Malaga) to see more pieces of his creation. The great thing about Malaga is everywhere is pretty much walking distance🚶🏻♀️! They organize their collections by the artists, not by the eras or the genres – so you can really compare each artist’s techniques and subtle differences, while making you feel like you are traveling back in time with the painters. The whole exhibition area was designed to experience “biography of each artist through looking at paintings”, I thought.
Here it is, another masterpiece by Mr. Simonet: “Judgment of Paris” そして、シモネ氏のこれまた圧巻な『パリスの審判』。
Annnnd, we took one hour train ride to experience the Mezquita, a World Heritage Site in Cordoba!そして！どーしても行きたかったコルドバにある世界遺産、メスキータへ列車で1時間の旅！
This place was once the palace of an Islamic king with a huge mosque (even before, there was a Roman temple) , but now it’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. The former minaret had become a beautiful bell tower, and the whole interior was… oh so mesmerizing. The beauty of the two cultures, two religions, and the complicated yet harmonious mixture of completely different design patterns, left me speechless.
Now, do you like his bag? My husband is not a “carrying a bag” person, but this bag was so unique and so funny, that he even had to get one at SuperSkunk at Malaga train station – well, I also urged him to do so! Isn’t that something??? (note: the store has NOTHING TO DO with marijana and we don’t smoke either. It’s like Spanish version of Frying Tiger.)
Bonus#1: I think it is because of that Viking DNA. Or, as my husband says, “there are only three days of summer in Sweden.” It seems that Swedes REALLY have the attitude of “if there is an ocean, I must go into it.” Here at the beach in Malaga, someone HAD TO jump in the water. For 5 minutes. Yes, by all means, Enjoy!
Bonus#2: I met one of Telettubies at Cordoba station! He was drinking beer at noon. Way to go, Dipsy! 番外編#2: コルドバの駅でテレタビーがいた！お昼からビール飲んでた！さすがだわ、スペインのディプシー。
Tomo
The cat of the day :: Le chat du jour :: 今日の猫しゃん
Please stop by at my salon again 💞🫖🍵 3afak & Chukran
We had pretty hot days in Malaga – sometimes over 35 degrees🥵. So, we would always look for “shades” to walk, but, with some nice breeze and occasional cold beverages (or ice cream🍦), everything was grand! Speaking of “cold” items… This soup in Andalusia, called “Salmorejo”, was ridiculously delicious on a hot day! It is a very dense soup, as you would put tomato, garlic, olive oil, AND bread🥖 in a blender to make this yumminess. As for topping, some put chopped salami, tuna, or famous Jamón ibérico… Oh, it’s mouthwatering.
Also, fried anchovies! Just simple salt and lemon for flavor. Fried Mushrooms? Si! Si! The Andalusian way to eat eggplants is to add honey sauce. Hmmmm. See, all of them are wonderful tapas dishes – perfect Costa Del Sol food under the umbrellas with your drinks.
We really enjoyed this place, “Los Maranagos.” Seems like there are 10+ locations in Malaga, and the owner’s families migrated originally from Lefkaga, Greece🇬🇷 in the 1930s. My husband was especially happy to hear this coincidence because he was in Leftaga also 🙂 Very authentic Malaga food, with reasonable prices and friendly service (Gracias, Fernando-san!).
One more thing about Malaga gastronomy which was a happy coincidence: そうそう、もうひとつ、旦那さんの「不思議な出会い」がマラガでありました。
This is Malaga’s famous local beer🍺, Victoria. No, the coincidence is NOT that my husband looks like this man in the logo. My Olof is much more handsome, and he is not German🇩🇪, and he doesn’t sweat💦 that much (note: apparently, this guy in the poster is a German tourist in the heat, therefore enjoying cold Vitoria Beer in Malaga in the 1960s). The beer was named its name officially on the feast day of Santa Maria de la Victoria – September 8th, 1928. Therefore, my husband and the beer share the same birthday!🎂 But not the same year! 🎉Hooray! 🥳
You are not a beer person? Well, for the tasting, we found an interesting “self-service” style wine bar🍷. I felt this system was very progressive and very European, and I guess the wine shop trusts the customers a lot, in a very mature way. How it works is… you choose the wine and how much you want to taste. Then, you pay with your credit card. Voilà! The machine will let you pour that much of what you paid for. Do you want to try it? Please visit VinumPlay by the beach!
By the way, let me introduce a very important member of our family (in our fridge): this is Andalusia Sauce. You can buy this sauce anywhere here in Rabat – and it is a mixture of tomato paste , mayonnaise, garlic, paprika…? Anyway, we accompany this with pretty much any fried food, and it tastes so good. Why called Andalusia? I have no idea.
We are still in the process of Carte de Séjour (Residence Permit Card), which means we need to get out of the Kingdom of Morocco every 90 days upon entry date. Until we receive the official card, this is something we need to do, and quite honestly, I think it is a very wise way for the Moroccan government to check on foreign residents through one of the most reliable identifications (passport) and through the homeland security system. It’s good to control us this way, and I respect that. In fact, every time I go through customs/immigration into Morocco, my love for Morocco seems to grow – I feel more and more “ I am so happy to be back and to be able to call this place home.” WALAKIN (but) , it would be so nice that, one day, soon, we get Carte de Séjour! InshAllah.🙏
I call this outing “Petit Exodus” and, this time, we went to Malaga, Spain! この＜９０日おきの国外脱出＞をミニ·エキソドス（旧約聖書の中にある”出エジプト記”）、今回はスペイン·マラガへ～🇪🇸。
Pourquoi? Because we can take a direct flight from Rabat-Sale airport. With, one and only, RyanAir. I know, you all have mixed feelings about this Airline. Sometime ago, I made peace with “Ryan” (whoever that is) this way: “This is an airline that would like to teach me an important lesson:[There are times in life when I need to go beyond what I like or dislike, and accept what is available.]” Alhamdulillah.🙏
Upon arrival… look at this beautiful city!到着してすぐ、まずは街の可愛さに目がハート😍
Sorry for the “half way eaten” picture… we were too busy enjoying the food. 写真映えしない食べ途中のスナップで失礼いたします。ガッツリと食べておりました。
Our first meal in Malaga, I have to say, was not very Andalusian. We enjoyed Chinese food with pork. 🐷We were not proud of ourselves, but we couldn’t hide our instincts. And there was a little Chinatown🥡 and there were delicious pork dishes (and beer🍻). It was their fault.
After the fulfilling lunch, we visited Picasso’s birth home, now a museum, Museo Casa Natal Picasso. Maestro Picasso was born on October 25, 1881, in Malaga with his official name of (are you ready?) – Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso – and lived there until he was 9 years old. He grew up in a wealthy family, and his father was a teacher at an art school, so he seems to have been familiar with art from an early age.
Maestro drew “doves” in his paintings often. Apparently, doves were his father’s favorite birds. Picasso built a dovecote at home, and even named his beloved daughter “Paloma.” Btw, she and her husband live in Marrakesh – how cool is that 🥰! Another motif you see frequently in his art is bullfighting. Little Picasso and his father would often go out to enjoy watching bullfighting; it was a fond father-son activity. I saw this cape by Sesena, a long-established brand in Madrid. Picasso looks dashing like a bullfighter in this picture, non? He left Spain in his later years for various reasons, but I can tell the Spanish blood flowed through his mind & body. And, his love for his father. Master Picasso is said to have been laid to rest in his coffin wearing this cape.
In this small but rich-in-history building, you can enjoy rare art pieces of Picasso donated by his family, as well as masterpieces by his father (Jose Ruiz y Blasco) , Picasso’s baptismal gown, shoes, toys, books, etc.. At the park in front of the museum… Oh, hi! Are you sitting on the bench? It is said that if you stroke the head of Mr. Picasso, you will have good luck!
And it worked! It happened at the Museo Picasso Malaga where we visited next. はい、幸運が起きました！この後に訪問した「ピカソ·ミュージアム」で、最高の出会いが。。。
I was able to encounter the painting I wanted to see! I have loved this one for a loooooooong time. Probably my favorite Picasso piece of all. “Seated Jacqueline” makes me feel a lot of things. At the same time, it makes me think that, nothing really matters.Jacqueline Roque, Picasso’s last muse, while posing, quietly but strongly sends messages to his lover, and he answers with his inks and blushes. The colors are almost painfully bright and there are so many geometric patterns, yet, somehow, there is a warmth and calmness. I think it is because this painting is two lovers’ conversation, a secret little Love Letter💌, blessed by sunlight.
…while I was getting very emotional and impressed by this painting, my husband couldn’t stop laughing at one of Picasso’s masterpieces. Yes, he is a kind of guy who laughs to tears 😂 at Picasso’s work (and that’s why I love him 🤣) と、感動している横で、美術館で涙ながして笑いながら写真を撮る人が。。
I started laughing, too (and I also apologized to people around for our non-stopping laughs). “Insecto” bottle🪲. It’s from one of Picassos’ many phases: probably from “I think I am going to create ceramic with animal bodies and stuff, and let me put many arms” phase. And, why not?? I love it. 確かに笑える、この「Insecto：虫さん」ボトル。<～の時代> とさまざまなフェーズを生きたピカソさん、この『生き物系セラミックの時代』、カッコ良すぎます。子供みたいなアイデア💡で最高です！こんなに笑わせてくれるアーティストさんて、そんなにいない。やはり天才ですね、ピカソ巨匠。🙌
Will cover more Malaga Days!マラガ日記、まだまだ続きま～す。
Tomo
The cat of the day :: Le chat du jour :: 今日の猫しゃん
Please stop by at my salon again 💞🫖🍵 3afak & Chukran
Our Moster Siv (“Moster” means “Aunty” in Swedish🇸🇪. When I first heard my husband’s family calling her that way, I thought it was “Monster Siv” 😈 – I felt that it was very disrespectful. At the same time, it made me very nervous to meet Siv in person) used to be a flight attendant for Pan Am. Apparently, sometime soon, she will be considered a Human Museum Piece as an ex-Pan Am cabin crew – whatever that means. Peace be upon her 👑.
So, she had been in Rabat during her flight attendant days. She would then stay at the Hilton hotel – now called Sofitel. She would walk around shops in old Medina. For this visit, it was especially interesting for her to see how Rabat has changed after 50+ years!
We had so so so much fun hosting Siv and Jill for a week in Rabat. Here are some highlights of what we did: お二人は既にゴールデンなお歳ですのでゆっくりめな過ごし方でしたが、こんな感じのラバトデイズでしたぁ:
* 3-4 hours of breakfast time at our lanai every day! With lots of mint tea and coffee, and a variety of Moroccan bread and, of course, with Västerbottensost – aka King of Cheese 🤴🏼- which they brought from Sweden. Shukran Bzaaf. 毎朝、3-4時間我が家のラナイでのんびり朝食。モロッコのミントティやパン、そしてスウェーデンから持って来たもらった「チーズの王様🧀」とも呼ばれる＜ベスタボッテンオスト＞と一緒に！
All the Svenska goodies including Siv
* Visiting Chellah and looking at Storks for hours. Fika ☕️(Swedish coffee time) at the rather expensive Ciconia café, admiring the view of Roman ruins and Islamic architecture. シェラーへ行きコウノトリを眺めつつ、お高めなカフェ🫖でフィーカ・タイム。
* Wandering through Old Medina and shopping for Babouches, Tea cups, Djellaba… tried some street food!🐟 ラバトのメディーナでモロカン·スリッパやドレス、ティーカップなどお買い物。ストリートフードにもチャレンジ！
* Pay respect to our king Mohammed VI of Morocco by visiting Royal Palace, and saw royal cats. モロッコのロイヤル・パレスを表敬訪問、ロイヤルな猫と出会う。
* Jill splashed into the Atlantic Ocean! We were also cheering for her daughter’s Equestrian 🐎 competition happening in Norway 🇳🇴 (and she was acing! Hooray!). ジルさんはビーチタイムも！そしてお嬢さんがノルウェイで行われている馬術競技大会に参加中という事で、みんなで応援！
* Having Rose Hip Soup and Lingonberry drinks🍹 (also brought from Sweden) in Morocco – with a twist.🌪 スウェーデンから持って来てくれたローズヒップ·スープやリンゴンベリー·ジュースを＜大人流にアレンジ＞して楽しむ３人😎。
* Introducing our favorite local restaurants such as, “Hatch” and “O’Goethe 2.0”. 地元のおすすめレストランにも足を運んでもらいました。
Couscous Friday! After Pea Soup & Pancake Thursday!
* Experiencing “Couscous Friday”! 金曜日といえば、クスクスの日！
* Saying hello to “Mr. Egg Man🥚” even though, normally, we would only hear his voice from our Lanai (you can listen his beautiful voice in this short video). 卵売りのおじさん (いつもはラナイから声だけ聞くんです。よろしければ、動画を)と実際に会えました。
BUT, above all, the best thing was to be able to spend lots of time with Moster Siv-san and Jill-san. They really brighten up our days like lovely Moroccan sunshine🌞, and we were so blessed to have them here. Everywhere they went, local people would welcome them with warm hearts, and there were always lots of laughters.
Tack så mycket för att du kom till Marocko! Thank you for coming to Morocco – 来てくれてありがとうございました。And, please come back again soon (remember, Bank of Olof has the best exchange rate, and is always OPEN) ! また遊びにきてくださいね（”オオラフ銀行” いつでも最高のレートで営業中です💸🤑）。
She is NEVER a monster to me!
The cat of the day :: Le chat du jour :: 今日の猫しゃん
Please stop by at my salon again 💞🫖🍵 3afak & Chukran
We had a fabulous week of hosting even more fabulous guests from Sweden 🇸🇪 – our favorite Auntie Siv and her friend Jill. It was really our “dreams come true” time. See, we have been feeling that there are no words to explain how amazing Morocco is, and you really have to visit the country and experience it in person. So, we would love you to visit us! Experience all sorts of wonderful culture, food, nature, etc, which Morocco can offer, and meet the most hospitable & the most friendly people on earth. And we would be so happy to host your stay. 💗
Anyway, before Siv and Jill came – there was ONE THING, a very critical, a very necessary thing we had to do. In order to host our guests properly, we needed to do this. さてさて、シブおばさん達をお迎えする前に、ひとつ、とても重要な事をしなければなりませんでした！それは、、、
A hair cut. Pour mon mari. 旦那さんのヘアカット。💇🏼♂️And, I knew exactly where he had to do. むふふ、どこでするかは決めておりました。💈
G. Clooney Barber Shop. ここです。
I would often pass by this barber (which is very close to Snack Disney, by the way – another curious place to try just because of its name), and thinking, “What’s up with George Clooney?” Ha! Inside the salon, there were 6 George Clooney(s), along with a picture of Mr. King of Morocco. Peace be upon him. Somebody really likes him, obviously…
Then, I asked the salon master “are you going to make my husband look like George Clooney?” he answered “inshallah (god’s willing) ” with a smile. That’s the very best way to use the word, I guess.
By the way, there is an esthetics department for women in the back, which seems to offer various services (I was given a tour by this nice lady while waiting). I noticed various sizes of <cups> attached to a vacuum-cleaner-look-like-machine. “These are breast and buttock augmentation cups, they are very popular among Moroccan women!” Well, what needs to be done has to be done somewhere, I suppose. And Mr. George Clooney has a wide range of skills. I was pretty impressed.
30 minutes later, my husband’s haircut was finished. Mr. hairdresser asked me, “How do you like it?” I replied, “OMG, I thought he was George Clooney!” Humdulillah. 🙏
When asked why they chose this name for their barber; “Because George Clooney is cool and he has class.” O see! Now, I must admit that my husband looks cool enough to welcome our important guests from Sweden, thanks to G. Clooney Barber Shop 😎🆒!!
Another day ofJidar Street Art Tour! This time, we explore the area of Yacoub El Mansour. My husband and I have been doing self-guided tours almost every day in the last week, using their handy-dandy phone app📱, but joining the tour with an experienced guide and getting an expert knowledge is such a gift.
So much to see, so much to learn! And, we also get to meet another incredible artist from Japan🇯🇵, Shimo-san! He gets inspiration from “rocks”🪨 – and this time, Shimo-san brought one rock from Japan, then picked some from Morocco and combined them together, representing “unity”. He was kind enough to show us his rock collection, and guess what? he had a unique <deal>; “if you bring a rock to him, he will give you a special sticker! “
Well, I got a sticker!!! So cool, yeah?ジャジャーン！いただきましたぁ。ピカピカ✨なシール！家宝にします🙏
If you are a great mural artist, I guess, you also have to be a great crane operator. Here is the video of Shimo-san’s A++ crane action! 素晴らしい壁画を描かれるアーティストさんは同時に、素晴らしいクレーン操縦士でなくちゃいけないんですね。そんなシモさんの華麗なる操縦ぶりをどうぞ。
5 mins from our home, there is a space designated for “Mur Collectif” where the next generation of artists from Morocco get together and paint one long wall. One of the artists, Annas Doujdid-san from Meknes was so friendly that he invited us to be part of his mural! “Come! Put something on the wall!” OMG are you serious…? I love his art – it’s so inviting and warm, and organic. Yet, sharp and insightful. Just like an artist himself. For some reason, I thought of Hermann Hesse’s novel, Steppenwolf. We also got to meet the “heart and soul” ❤️🔥of the whole event, fabulous Hind-san & Sanaa-san ! I SOOOOO appreciate everything they do to make this amazing event going for 10 years!🙌
Through our walks and through each of the murals, we met so many wonderful people, and we made many new friends 🙂 My husband and I are still newcomers to Morocco, and we are learning new culture and new languages every day. Often, we feel lost or we feel lonely.
But, walking through the beautifully painted walls or “work-in-progress” murals gives me a positive feeling – kind of like, I am in a huge, city-sized incubator💓. “Something is cooking“or “Something good is going to happen!” feeling. The whole area of Rabat is creating a BIG picture book📕, and I get to be in the story – that’s how I feel. If that is the case, I would like to be a good character in a story… (not a villain🦹🏻♀️ – I should behave…😆). Shukran Bzaaf & Merci Beaucoup, the Jidar Street Art Festival! See you next year!!
Being a Seattleite (person who has/had lived in Seattle) for 20 years, I can be picky when it comes to choosing my favorite café☕️. Now, in Morocco, there are TONS of cafés, and everyone is sipping their Atay bnaanaa (mint tea) or Kahwa nousnous (half coffee & half milk), facing one direction – towards the street. Smoking or discussing politics or last night’s football game. Or gossiping…? Whatever it is, they all know how they spend their café time. I love it.
As much as I love that Moroccan-style café time, I also need to spend some café time in a way I used to – “Third Place Concept” style – bringing a laptop to do my work, checking emails and catching up on what’s going on in other parts of the world. Or reading Kindle books or writing my new blog (aha!). All the things I COULD do at home, BUT, I often need a different atmosphere where I can feel a change of pace, a change of smell, or a change of inspiration. With a cup of coffee or snacks.
I think I found the perfect place! in my neighborhood! そして、出会ったのがこのカフェだったのでした！
“Hatch” 🐣is a new café in Agdal, just a few blocks from our apartment. They opened very recently, and it is my understanding they named their café “hatch” because it is like an egg hatching – the beginning of new life!
As I said, I COULD be very picky about choosing my favorite café – so why I like Hatch? Hitesh (because) foremost, their drinks and foods are absolutely delicious and reasonably priced. I can tell that they take pride in making all these dishes and also having fun making them (I can hear the laughter from the kitchen).
The staff, Nada-san, Yasu-san, Jeff-san, are all so friendly and welcoming – look at them! They are really sweet. It just makes me want to come back again and again. Also, technical stuff, such as… their Wi-Fi is strong, outlets are everywhere, chairs are comfy, the music they pick to air is perfect (uplifting but not noisy), toilet is clean – I don’t underestimate the power of a clean bathroom!
When I hear the word “Hatch”, I think of Salvador Dalí. Spanish surrealist artist, slightly crazy, but very talented in many ways. Eggs appear a lot in his paintings. In fact, he used eggs to symbolize life, love, and hope. His museum in Figuares, Spain – you see a lot of eggs on top of the buildings, too. In order for an egg to hatch, it needs tender & loving care. Mama bird needs to give a good amount of attention & warmth.
I just like to be at the Hatch because I can feel that the staff there would love to give their attention and heart-warming hospitality to their customers. Then, in return, when I “hatch” into the world, stepping outside the café, I can try to be kind to others, by giving attention and warmth to those in need. Maybe, that’s why I can call Hatch my favorite café 🙂 Anyone can “Hatch” if you are given a chance, don’t you think?
Tajine. A fabulous tajine. When you think of Morocco🇲🇦, you probably think of that authentic looking pot with a pointed lid. To me, it kind of looks like a Christmas Tomte (Swedish gnome-ish character). Luckily, our landlord left us a large tajine pot – “Tab3n! (of course!)👏 I should totally use it!” so I have been trying to learn to include tajine dishes as much as I can.
Now, after three months of living here, our tajine family has grown, like the Bears from the Goldilocks story🐻. I have to say, it’s really convenient to own different sizes of tajine for different purposes. For example, when it’s just the elderly couple wanting to have eggs🍳 for breakfast, I can use a small one. Then, for a quick meatball tagine for two? The medium size is perfect. But when I want to simmer some beef shanks 🐄 with prunes (we are big fans of leftovers!) or when we are having guests over, I need the large size tajine.
So, this world of tagine. The more I use it, the more interesting it gets. It kind of feels like it is a cooking gadget with personality, and the user (me) and the equipment (the tagine) need to communicate throughout the process. The inside of the pointy space is an unknown world, and often, I just need to be patient – let Mr. or Ms. tajine be in charge. I want to open it, but if I open it, the process of slow-cooking with steam inside that has been perfectly sealed up for a good & delicious reason, will be wasted! Ugh, it’s difficult. I have no choice but to trust the tagine.
But, when the steam needs to be out a bit – this is how you do. Wooden spatula! I learned this when I took the cooking class through Moroccan Food Tour. It was such a fun time, I remember, as we got to experience from getting ingredients at the market, then cook at a beautiful Moroccan house. I strongly recommend their tours & experiences👍🏼👍🏼
It’s like a combination of a pressure cooker and a slow cooker, but when you put a lot of vegetables in a pot (it fits a lot in the triangle space!) it warms up the whole house and your heart as well, and veggies always turn out so so yummy. In the land that is/was originally a desert region, this pot that is easy to cook in with a small amount of water must have been a good idea💧.
The “tajine restaurant” that you can find at the stalls in the souk sells “tajine of the day” like in this picture – the man opens the lid of each one to show the customers what to choose from. Then, serve it with bread such as khbuz. Bon appétit! Oh, by the way, Ras el Hanut is a spice that is indispensable when I make tajine. I feel like it is a Moroccan version of Garam Masala🇮🇳. Apparently, there are 20 to 30 different spices mixed in Ras el Hanut, such as pepper, cumin, turmeric, ginger, coriander powder, etc. It’s quite amazing how just shaking this gives it a rich, “Moroccan” taste.
My husband’s favorite tagine is the “Meatball Tagine.” It feels like an “exotic version of Swedish meatballs” (completely different from the IKEA one) with a lot of cumin flavor. Oh, I see, he’s of Swedish descent, so maybe that’s why he likes it? Or, because of Tomte? I guess you can’t really beat where he comes from… By the way, my beloved Moster (auntie) Siv is coming here from Sweden 🇸🇪 soon! I’m really, really looking forward to it!!!✈️
