Merseyside

Welcome to Liverpool, home to the Beatles, scouse, a Tate and a football team that apparently never walks alone.

One of this year's European Capitals of Culture (the other being Stavanger in Norway), the city seemed to be gearing up for a summer influx of tourists with scaffolding everywhere and road works being undertaken in earnest.

The city, is compact and the city center can be easily traversed by foot. We spent most of our time exploring the waterfront and the docks. They have shopping centers and several restaurants serving a variety of cuisines ranging from Indian to Mediterranean. The waterfront also houses the Tate Liverpool. We visited one exhibition - the Twentieth Century and how it looked - which was sponsored by DLA Piper. I particularly enjoyed the figurative sculptures which involved representations of lives through artefacts - a bed, kitchen implements, soap dishes etc.

Liverpool is also home to two big cathedrals - the Anglican cathedral with one of the largest organs and heaviest bells in the world, and the other the Metropolitan Cathedral. Rather appropriately, the road connecting the two churches is called Hope Street.

While the Anglican church is a beautiful building, the Met. cathedral was a touch too modern for my tastes. Altogether too much steel, glass, and fluroscent lighting.

A keen reader will notice I'm omitting all mention of the Beatles. Obviously they are one of Liverpool's prime attractions, but there are only so many tacky yellow submarine buttons I can look at, so will leave that alone. Suffice to say that for any die-hard Beatlemaniac, there is enough in Merseyside to amuse and entertain.

Check List

1. Neat shopping list with bullet points - Check
2. Misplacing said shopping list - Check
3. Emailing everyone I work with to make sure they have everything they need so they will not call me for the next fortnight (one hopes!) - Check
4. Hectic shopping a few hours before my flight, desperately trying to remember WHERE I saw that particular item I wanted for S - Check
5. Call my bank to let them know I am travelling so that they don't block my Credit Card - Check
6. Online check in to make sure I get an aisle seat - Check
7. Out of Office Auto Reply - Check

Good night London, Good morning Chennai!!

Moorish Escapades

My only knowledge of Morocco comes from the movie Casablanca, which I later learned wasn't even shot there.

Before we left, I had mental images of Oriental splendour and deep dark intrigues in narrow alleyways. I wasn't disappointed.

The Riad - A home away from home

We spent most of the five days in Marrakech, in Southern Morocco, a couple of hours away from the sea. We decided to stay in a riad which are old Moroccan homes converted into guesthouses.

They usually have 3-5 rooms each and the owners or care takers stay on the premises. You get home cooked meals, a flavor of Moroccan life, and a chance to meet other tourists as well.

Riad Ghallia - on Derb El Khemis, Place Mokhef

Our riad was in the heart of the Medina (the old city) with streets so narrow that taxis had to drop us off on the main square. Maps aren't really reliable amongst the tiny unmarked streets and its best to orient yourself well during the day so you don't get too lost.

The Square and the Souks

Djemma El F'na, the central square in the Medina at the heart of the old city is a designated UNESCO world heritage site. With snake charmers, dancers, mini boxing rings and story tellers, the square buzzes with life.

While a lot of tourists do visit, a large percentage of the patrons are locals for whom the story tellers etc are a nightly entertainment.

The square also has innumerable stalls selling freshly cooked cous cous, calamari, dry fruits, juices, pastillas, snail soup and more.

Djemma El F'na - the main square in the Medina

Just off the square is the intricate maze of the souks. We spent hours browsing here for knickknacks from intricately worked baboushes (shoes) to spice holders shaped like tajine pots. Bargaining is elevated to an art form in the souks and we learnt that a good bet is to quote 20% of the salesman's initial figure, and expect to pay about 30-40%!

The Souk

A Gastronome's Paradise

The one great thing about travelling from the UK is that things are invariably significantly cheaper ever where else. If NY seems affordable, Marrakech was like paradise. We ate at some truly exquisite restaurants including La Trattoria and Pacha Marrakech

La Trattoria is an Italian restaurant in the heart of the new city (Gueliz). They have a beautiful bar and a delightful restaurant by the poolside. With warm fires blazing in the winter and excellent seafood, it was a great evening.

Pacha Marrakech is the newer, younger sibling of Pacha in Ibiza. Apart from a world renowned club, they also have two restaurants with luxurious decor and decadent indulgence all around.

The Ruins - Palace El Badi

At the southern end of the old city is the Palace El Badi, next to the Mellah (Jewish enclave). This 16th century palace was built by the Saadian king Ahmed El Mansour based on the design of the Alhambra palace in Granada. Much of its splendour was lost when it was stripped by a subsequent king, Sultan Moulay Ismail, to decorate his palace in Meknes.

El Badi Palace

Essaouira

After a few days in Marrakech, we decided to head to the seaside, and went to Essaouira. Earlier called Mogador, Essaouira literally means "well designed". And well designed it is! A beautiful tiny seaside town on the Atlantic coast, its white walls and buildings give it a very Meditteranean feel. We lunched here (you do notice the amount of eating we did!) at Les Alizes - which served up some delightful Moroccan fare, including the inevitable tajine.

We spent most of the afternoon sitting in a cafe in the port, facing the sea, enjoying the sun and reading our books.

All in all, a wonderful way to spend Christmas!

Every day at 3.30pm

The sun shines through the corner office and hits me in the eye.

Sun worshipper that I am, I enjoy seeing its gold orange glow reflected off the modern steel and glass structure opposite the window, and I imagine briefly, that I am sunning myself on some tropical island..

And I wish I could exchange the tweed umbrella in my bag for a tiny coloured paper one in my drink.

Of the small and sundry

There is a strange pleasure in the repetition of manual tasks.

In the slicing of an apple for instance.

The knife poised expectantly above the freshly washed skin. Leaping, almost, out of my hand in an eagerness to slice through the firm red fruit.

Thick creamy slices edged in deep maroon.

Or in the crispness of a freshly ironed collar.

I lose myself in the heaviness of the iron filled with linen water. Erasing wrinkles and crumpled lines on the cotton blend fabric with every movement.

A warm cloud of steam rises from the board mingled with the smell of cotton and detergent.