Friday, January 14, 2011

Majorelle Gardens, Marrakesh



I saw a lot of pictures Majorelle Gardens before getting to Morocco. 

Always this amazing blue, now eponymous: bleu Majorelle.




This is, incidentally, exactly the color of my heroine's hair in Daughter of Smoke and Bone.




Jacques Majorelle was a French painter who moved to Marrakesh in 1919, and built this house and garden in a palm grove just outside the medina. In 1980 it was purchased by Yves Saint-Laurent, whose ashes were scattered here in 2008.

We arrived here hot and disgruntled after a long and unintentional walk, after being duped rather spectacularly by a pudgy middle-aged man named Omar (more later). Later, I felt like if I could rewind our trip to the morning of this day (our second) and start over, I might come away from Marrakesh with a better feeling.

At the garden, we collapsed, grousing, and fed Clementine some clementines (wicked little cannibal), and right off the bat, who should stroll past us but John Malkovich! Hands clasped behind his back and doing that no-eye-contact-with-anyone thing that celebrities must always have to do in public. He was in town for the International Film Festival. Neato. We got all goofy and elbow-nudgy with each other. 




I'd like to extend my thanks to this cat for positioning himself here. Do you think cats get lessons in photo composition at Sekrit Kat Skool, the better to lend their perfect form just so? Or is it just a sense they're born with?











Another toddler danger zone: cacti galore!




There was an exhibit on Yves Saint-Laurent's Moroccan inspiration in the gallery, but the jerkweeds wouldn't let us in with Clementine! Even in the Ergo! Jerky mean beans. We did see a nice little room of Saint-Laurent's "love cards" though. Apparently he did one every year to send to his friends. Nice tradition.





Ta ta!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thought you might like this in the wake of your trip.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8790493-the-storyteller-of-marrakesh

Mame said...

"Later, I felt like if I could rewind our trip to the morning of this day and start over, I might come away from Marrakesh with a better feeling."

This...I definitely want to hear more on the subject. Your photos have been just amazing! (I also appreciate the Sekrit Katzen)

tone almhjell said...

That is the lovliest shade of blue! I think I adore your heroine already. And I do want to hear more about the ominous Omar.

My cats strike poses like that all the time. Balthasar on the premise that we'll give him treats afterwards.

Q said...

I gasped when I saw the blue of the first picture. I would have kept gasping at the subsequent ones, but my lungs have a finite capacity for gasping!

Hello Hoobubby / Alexandra said...

More amazing photos Fatty! loving them- see you tomorrow bright and early!

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