LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005

San Trovaso - Dinner in a Garden - I felt exactly like Otello after walking around and looking at art for four day, dinners, parties and not enough sleep - therefore - dinner with a few friends in one of the most beautiful gardens of Venice was perfect. Naif artist Liselotte Hohs Manera gives the most elegant though casual and understated dinners in her garden: where centuries ago it was the first stops for plants for climatization, from far away continents, before being moved to other parts of Italy. We also celebrated art critic, Barbara's birthday with La Biennale's Renato - beautiful Mimmi - artist, Yoki - photographer, Manfredi - 2007 Biennale curator, Rob and, not forgetting Ombra and Othello!

THE END

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Photograph courtesy of T-B A21 Collection

LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005
Isola di San Lazzaro - Always a Little Further - On one of the remotest Islands of Venice within the grounds of Armenian monastery is Olafur Eliasson's light installation ***** Your Black Horizon 2005 - A thin horizontal line directed through a narrow gap at eye level serves as the primary light source in this beautifully design windowless pavilion. The light is constantly changing colors and is calibrated to the specific light conditions of Venice. This is the first realization of T-B A21 new presentation concept, the Thyssen-Bornemisza Limited edition Art Pavilions. These pavilions will be placed in selected venues around the world, that have one very important common denominator: " A stunningly beautiful location with an astonishing View" Francesca von Habsburg. This is such a wonderful experience and if you take the 3.10 pm boat from San Marco, you can include a guided tour of the Armenian monastery as well!

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LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005

Fondazione Querini Stampalia - Homespun Tales - In this beautiful Palazzo, still viewable as a private home of two hundred years ago German born sculptor Kiki Smith presents *****Homespun Tales a tale of domestic occupation that mirrors the collection Querini Stampalia while weaving a fractured tale of household yearning. Referencing some characteristic elements of the noble Venetian family home - including their paintings (Pietro Longhi, Antonio Canova, Giovanni Bellini etc.), furniture and mirrors - she creates a new narrative highlighting the resourcefulness of home makers. She does this so cleverly that in some case - like the biscuit objects on the table setting are nearly indistinguishable from her own work. It's a charming fairy tale exhibition that blends in so cleverly with the Venetian dwelling.

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photograph courtesy Manfredi Bellati
LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005

Museo Correr - *****Lucian Freud - This is the best show in Venice - it was so refreshing to see real paint on canvas AT LAST, if I remember rightly there isn't even one painting, in the traditional sense in the Arsenale show! Curated by William Feaver, this retrospective exhibition shows eighty-five pieces, some specifically created for the occasion. Since Lucian Freud won the Purchase Prize in 1951 he has built up a formidable reputation as one of the most powerful contemporary figurative painters. Portraits and nudes are his specialties, often observed in arresting close-up as well as dogs and you all know how much I love dogs! Not to be missed.

www.britishcouncil.org/italy-arts-lucianfreud.htm

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LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005

Isola di San Giorgio - Missoni Dinner # 2 -What did they like best at the Biennale? For Michael Chow - of the Mr Chow restaurants, art collector, painter, designer or renaissance man as he like to describe himself it was the Ed Ruscha exhibition in the United States Pavilion..... Tai Missoni, founding father of the fashion house, would rather watch sports and for Angela Missoni the ladies clothes designer it was the Candice Breitz video's Mother and Father. Good Choices!

www.missoni.it

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LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005

Isola di San Giorgio - Missoni dinner - aboard their house boat Timoteo was the place to be - forget Peter Allen's 413 foot yacht party - the Missonis do it better, it's understated chic where all the food is brought from home and picked in the garden and cooked by the crew themselves on board. Even the eggs came from Missoni hens, but I hate to disappoint you, they are regular not rainbow striped!!!! Quiz: whose shoes are whose? Try and pair them together - hosts, Angela, Tai and Rosita Missoni - artist, Anish Kapoor - restaurateur and collector, Michael and Eva Chow - journalist, Princess Marina Pignatelli - China Pavilion curator, Cai Guo-Qiang - Art Basel curator, Samuel Keller - NYT's editor, Stefano Tonchi - N.Y. gallery owner, Nanette Kettner - Daily Telegraph arts editor, Sarah Crompton - photographer, Manfredi Bellati - Venetian architect, Matteo Corvino...........

www.missoni.it

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photograph courtesy Manfredi Bellati
LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005
Arsenale and Vergini Garden - China Pavilion - The inaugural China Pavilion, curated by Cai Guo-Qiang entitled Virgin Garden: Emersion conists of two spaces - inside and outside. The interior a former naval oil storage facility features a video installation - Shout 2005 by Xu Zhen - video footage of forty sites in Shangai that depict a sudden scream by an unknown party halting strangers on the street as they turn towards a hidden camera - it explores the instintive and universal human response to the unexpected - hey it's Candid Camera! All Kidding aside this is such a strong and beautiful pavilion, it merits a visit.

www.venicechinapavilion.org

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LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005
Arsenale - Always a Little Further - In the same room as the Vasconcelos hang the povocative posters by the New York based Guerrilla Girls, a bunch of anonymous females who take the names of dead women artists as pseudonyms and appear in public wearing gorilla masks! They use humor to convey information, provoke discussion, and show that feminists can be funny. The mystery surrounding their identities has attracted attention - they could be anyone and be anywhere!
http://www.guerillagirls.com

My favorite installation was Louise Bourgeois's sound installation - ***** The Murmuring of the Singing Water 2001 - her feeble nonagenarian voice recites nursery rhymes and other children songs like " Sur le Pont d'Avignon" with such simplicity and joie de vivre - it's so charming and mesmerizing, I couldn't come get away!



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LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005
Arsenale - Always a little Further - the title of this exhibition of 49 international artists - curated by Rosa Martinez - is taken from one of the Corto Maltese books, a fictional character created by the Venetian writer and comic-designer, Hugo Pratt. Corto personifies the myth of the romantic traveler: always independent, always open to chance and risk, and always crossing all kinds of frontiers in pursuit of his own destiny. Taking a fictional character as inspiration is a way of affirming that art is an imaginary construct and that fantasy helps us towards a better understanding of reality. The exhibition Always a Little Further is not only an essay presenting artists and aesthetic trends relevant at the beginning of the third millennium but, also an ode to feminism. This is apparent when you walk in and are confronted by a big neo-classical chandelier made out of tampons by Joana Vasconcelos called A Noiva 2003! Pin It

LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005

Peggy Guggenheim Collection - dinner on the roof terrace: at the European inauguration of the Louise T Blouin Foundation - the new philanthropic agency working internationally in the field of cultural development, the dinner was also in honor of the first ever China Pavilion at the Venice Biennale - a milestone which marks a turning point in political, economic and cultural growth within Chinese contemporary art. The LTB Foundation international advisory council boast such names as: Francesco Clemente, Renee Fleming, Antony Gormley, Michael Govan, Alexis Gregory, Damien Hirst, Jeremy Irons, Bianca Jagger, Jeff Koons, Peter Marino, Richard Meier, Thomas Sachs, David Salle, Mario Testino, Robert Wilson and many more......

www.ltbholding.com

www.venicechinapavilion.org

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LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005
Giardini - United States Pavilion - I wasn't very excited by this exhibition at first, but it grew on me especially after seeing all the other pavilions - and - I had time to stop and think.

Ed Ruscha's - *****Course of the Empire 2005 is a combination of ten paintings based on his 1992 Blue Collar group. On the Left hand side there are the five original black and white canvases depicting urban landscapes. In the right hand galleries there are the five new colour pictures depicting in Ruscha's words " an accelerated, aged version of the same urban lanscapes, possibly to the point of deterioration." Well before the Biennale dealer, Larry Gagosian had already sold all the new works to museums. His party for Mr. Ruscha on the Grand Canal was so coveted that the blue entrance bracelets that read "Ed Ruscha Venice 2005" sold on the black market for $200 each!

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LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005
Giardini - British Pavilion - No we are not in London at Madame Tussauds but still in Venice. Photographed during the photo call after the press conference Gilbert and George - *****Ginkgo Pictures 2005 are exactly what I expected and more, they do not delude the visitor - these are pure works of great art. On returning to their hotel in NYC after a successful big show Gilbert explains "We picked up these strange leaves off the pavement." They were gingko leaves and in the far East the tree is an object of veneration, associated with longevity and reputed to have miraculous powers and these properties act as a metaphor for the vital life-force that runs throughout the twenty-five pictures. The double imagery of the Ginko leaf and the symmetry of the pictorial compositions are in turn mirrored in the works. By featuring themselves in their own work they have ".... enshrined in a degree of sheer celebrity which renders them simultaneously iconic and institutional. Like both Warhol and Beuys before them, Gilbert and George make art which appeals to the vast audiences more usually claimed by rock stars." rightly writes Michael Bracewell. In fact during their whole stay in the giardini they were followed by fans, TV cameras and journalists - it was a scene!!!

http://www.britishcouncil.org/arts-art-venice-biennale.htm

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LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005

Giardini - lunch break - with between 7,000 and 10,000 visitors for the three press days it was pretty difficult to get a chair and eat a dry sandwich sitting down - thank God for Illy coffee - one of the sponsors - who had the great idea to provide 1,500 Illychairs, folding chairs complete with shoulder straps which anyone could pick up and cart around. (Inside gossip: 70 chair were stolen on the second day and taken away by boat......)!!! Famous architect Matteo Thun said that these chairs "....were his favorite work of art"!

Photographed above, the Rai Sat TV crew stop for lunch: Missoni's VIP P.R. Gerlinde Guelfenbein was styling host Michela Moro's outfit while her co-host Daniel Berger looks on as do the camera crew and make-up, as well as art P.R. freelancer Cristina Pariset. The whole crew is in Venice for one week to prepare a two hour special on the Biennale, scheduled for June 19th. With a work load of conducting about fifteen interviews a day Michela Moro told me that the Biennale this year "Is different from all the previous ones because it has all the emotional intelligence of women".

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Photograph courtesy La Biennale Press Office
LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005

Giardini - Italian Pavilion: The Experience of Art - Video # 2 -At the Biennale this year there were a lot of videos and installations and very little art intended as paint on canvas. As, I don't have much attention span to stand in the dark and watch videos... A video really has to grab me, for me to remain focused. In fact, I want to go back with the right mentality and time to just focus on all the videos. Candice Breitz's two glamorous and sophisticated videos *****Mother and ***** Father 2005 are exceptional. The South African - who lives in Berlin - has very cleverly clipped short dialogue of famous film stars from cult movies and pieced them together in a sort of very fast slide show to make a new story of her own - it's the father and the mother separately giving advice to their children - for me the text reminded me of a deja-vu situation.

Before I leave this pavilion - may I just mention how much I loved Jenny Holzer's Purple Cross 2004 installation - I am a fan of hers!

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photograph courtesy La Biennale Press Office - image has been censored
LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005
Giardini - Italian Pavilion: The Experience of Art: Video #1 - sorry but I don't have the guts to publish the the entire photo - I therefore cropped it - please forgive me Francesco Vezzoli I really enjoyed your slick four minute "Hollywood production" video an imaginary - *****Trailer for a remake of Hore Vidal's Caligula, 2005 - a tribute to Gore Vidals 1979 pornographicc film Caligula - full of stars like Courtney Love, Benicio del Toro, Milla Jovovich, Helen Mirren and it was narrated by Vidal himself. Pin It

LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005
Giardini - Italian Pavilion: The Experience of Art - though the Francis Bacon - triptych 1983 -room didn't represent his best work, I liked the colors of the paintings with the colors of the dresses of artists Eva and Adele who have been coming to the Venice Biennale since 1990 - "wherever we are is museum" - they told me also that they are "coming out of the future"..........

www.evaadele.com Pin It

LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005
Giardini - Italian Pavilion: The Experience of Art - Power - Money - and phrases like "You make history when you do business" are tattooed on the entrance to the Italian Pavilion. Golden Lion prize for Lifetime Achievement Barbara Kruger's -*****untitled (facade) 2005 - is a protest against western power. She is the only recipient of the 5 Golden Lion prizes I liked and agree with. Since the 1970's her slogans, which are easily regonizable like " I shop therefore I am" questions the viewer about feminism, classicism, consumerism, and individual autonomy and desire.

www.barbarakruger.com

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photograph by Manfredi Bellati
LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005
Giardini - Japanese Pavilion - with all the distractions outside - at last I'm inside the Biennale which this year has been dubbed "La Biennale delle Donne" because for the first time in the history of its 110 years of activity the direction has been entrusted to two women directors, Mari­a de Corral and Rosa Marti­nez - art historians, critics and independent curators from Spain. The two exhibition projects - The Experience of Art (in the Italian Pavilion) and Always a Little Further (at the Arsenale) are curated and conceived respectively by Mari­a de Corral and by Rosa Martinez.

Let's start in the Japanese Pavilion with a great lady photographer - Ishiuchi Miyako "Mother's 2000-2005 - traces of the future" this exhibition of photos and other images creates a portrait of various items left behind by the artist's mother, through these she is able to reflect quietly on the discordant relationship the two women had, while contemplating what she describes as "Sadness beyond imagination". The exhibition can also be seen as work that attempts to recapture the "mother" as a "woman".

www.jpf.go.jp/venezia-biennale/

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LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005

In the Basin of San Marco - Harush shlomo - floating installation 2005 - a specially built catamaran that created the illusion that the “boat" constructed in open weave aluminum would be expected to sink rather than float. The installation was made especially for Venice, it reflected and was conceptually inseparable from the surrounding movement and traffic of people and other boats in the canals and lagoon. Would this "boat" stay inflated for the three day exhibiton period?

www.harushshlomo.com

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LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005
Outside the Giardini - young kids were distributing these flyer cards - the actual banner hangs on the Accademia Bridge - June July August 2005 - Curiously, I had already photographed and I am attracted to Patrick Mimran's New York "Billboard Project". Started in 2001 in Chelsea - home of the art galleries - the idea is simple - they are designed to get people talking about art in different ways. Very clever!

www.mimran.com

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LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005
Outside the Giardini - Fabrizio Plessi's - Mare Verticale - a 44 meter high video installation - a totem pole of steel and aluminum that illuminates Venice with technology - greets the visitor on the Laguna basin in front of the Giardini. Shockingly, with Plessi, there are only five artists representing Italy in the two main exhibition areas of the 51st Biennale di Venezia - in the Italian Pavilion, the exhibition - The Experience of Art - curated by Maria de Corral shows works by 42 well-known and up and coming International artists - only one is Italian!

www.plessi.it

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LA BIENNALE DI VENEZIA 2005
Drinks on the Grand Canal - Murano glass designer - Marie Brandolini - seen here with - royal photographer - Mario Testino - drinks party on the Brandolini Palazzo terrace overlooking the Grand Canal was the first stop of our five day visit to Venice for the Biennale. A great social mix of out of towners and bright young Venetian aristocrats, as well as, designers, gallery owners, and artists drank caipirinias out of her beautiful colorful Goti. While downstairs long lines formed to order not only Brandolini's hand blown glasses of all shapes, sizes and styles, but also her new necklaces and paper weights in the Laguna B collection.

www.lagunab.com

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MARRAKECH
GOODBYE - to the sound of this happy Gnaouan musician I say goodbye to my friends and to Marrakech - thank you John for having me and Susan - again - many happy returns - Hoping to be invited back next year - for another great week in the sun in the company of - amici simpatici - in the red city of Morocco.

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MARRAKECH

And to walk all this food off - a visit to the JARDIN MAJORELLE which was created in 1924 -by the French - decorator-architect-painter - Louis Majorelle. This small Islamic tropical garden was recently restored and replanted by the designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Berge who have a house near by. The vivid cobalt blue known as - "Blue Majorelle" - is used in more elements in the garden like - the fountains - and - the pots. The square pool is full of waterlillies and lotus plants. There is a dense vegetation of exotic plants like palmtrees -jaracandas - dragon trees - cypresses - of bamboo.

A Guide book - Marrakech by Justin McGuiness - advises - beware - do not try out the Majorelle Garden blue back home in your decorating schemes - it never works - the results depends on bright sunlight filtered by lush vegetation!

Le Jardin Majorelle - off Avenue Yacoub al Mansour - is open every day of the year.

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MARRAKECH

DINNER AT DAR YACOUT - My husband - after twenty years - still remembers the breathtaking atmosphere of this restaurant as one of the most beautiful and magic places he has seen.

This palatial restaurant is set in a house redesigned as - A Thousand and One Nights - by Bill Willis - haut decorateur - of Marrakech. Though we were exhausted and already full from lunch at Le Fondouk we didn't want to skip dinner as it took us a week to get the reservation. I also wanted to keep the promise I made to Manfredi to go and, at the very least have a look. After being served aperitifs on the rooftop terrace with its magnificent view over the city. We were served dinner in an intimate private room with a fireplace - one of the many different settings for dinner. Like most Moroccan restaurants, there is no - a la carte - this is a 'classic' 6 course 'Moroccan dinner'. Drinks are also included and happy - live - Gnaouans play music in the background. And, as the Marrakech segment of the Contessanally Blog is mostly gastronomic -this is what you can expect for dinner: STARTERS: Variety of Moroccan Salads - TWO MAIN COURSES: selected from the following: Pastilla with pigeon or chicken - Chicken with lemon - oven baked fish - Shoulder of lamb steamed and browned in the oven - Lamb Tagine with seasonal vegetables - Tagine Mekfoul (with tomatoes and onions) - Couscous with vegetables - ONE DESSERT: Pastilla with milk - Orange Salad - Honey Pancakes. This is far more than any human being can possibly eat - I must confess we just nibbled and tasted the food. Though the food isn't what it used to be, this restaurant is certainly worth a visit, even if it's just for a pre dinner drink.

Dar Yacout - 79 Sidi Ahmed Soussi - tel 44 38 29 29 - www.yacout-marrakech.com

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MARRAKECH
In Morocco Tea is served - before and after meals -at any hour of the day or night - and - it is impolite to leave a Moroccan home before drinking at least three glasses.
HOW TO MAKE MOROCCAN MINT TEA - Mark watches while the tea is poured - always from above - so it foams on the top - from a silver plated tea pot - of the so called - Manchester Shape - into decorated small glasses. Hold the glass between - thumb on the bottom, and forefinger on the rim - so as not to burn your hand.
Everybody make's tea his own way - RASHID'S Method: add a heaped tablespoon of gunpowder green tea to the pot - add a bit of boiling water and swirl the pot in order to rinse the leaves (and decaffeinate the tea) - pour off the rinse water- add about 1/3 cup of sugar and fill the pot with boiling water - add a good bunch of fresh mint (and some fresh lemon verbena, if available)- replace the teapot on the burner and heat again for another 3 mins. Let steep for about 5 mins. We didn't add the sugar - far too sweet for our taste.
We all went hunting for old teapots from the souk - rather than new ones - as well as glasses before we left Morocco - now we can also enjoy mint tea at home.

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MARRAKECH

SHOPPING: we kept going back to the - Herboristerie Palais El Badia - one of our favorite shops - for gifts and creams - the creams are so good that Susan has reordered - the anti wrinkle: Creme d'Argane - the hydrating: Creme a la Rose - and - the foot and elbow: Creme au Citron - We also bought gifts of grooved terra cotta discs, the Moroccan pumice as well as the very '60-ish looking ones - crocheted in bright colors - very good for cellulite! And, tooth scrubbers made of palm bark. Don't forget the - Essence de Fleur d'Oranger - or - Essense de Rose - both good for cooking. And - stock up on spices - the most important being - the house blend - as it is difficult to recreate abroad - Ras Al Hanout - a mixture of - sometimes up to - 10-19-26-35 spices! - ideal for meat and vegetable dishes. The store's policy is - buy two get one free!!!

Herboristerie Palais El Badia - 22 bis Arset Lamaach Tourag Jdad - tel 212 44 389074 - tsak@hotmail.com

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MARRAKECH

BIRTHDAY PARTY AT AL FASSIA - the women from Fez - is owned and run by sixteen women - the only male employee parks the cars -in Morocco the best food is eaten at home and cooked by the lady of the house - cooking is a woman's world - this beautiful and renowned restaurant is where the very local people come to taste delicate Fesian cuisine. We were lucky enough to be seated on - a cozy sofa around a low round table - in the private pagoda in the garden - made of celadon and dark red trelliss - which the birthday girl dreams of recreating on her terrace in the East Village! As Susan always keep a culinary diary when she travel - below is the an excerpt from her diary:

Menu at Al Fassia: Starters - assorted briouates - crispy pastries with various fillings, meat, rice, etc. - bisteeya -the famous Moroccan dish - pigeon pie, which is sweet and savory and these day, usually made with chicken - Agneau au fourre - baked forever lamb - until almost "buttery' and falling off the bone. It was fragrant with spices and slightly piquant. Garnished with salted almonds. Couscous with vegetables - Mark had a very good chicken tagine - as he doesn't eat red meat -Dessert - birthday cake! - was sweet bisteeya -crispy phyllo with sweet milk poured over it and topped with almonds - of course - mint tea -some of us drank Casablanca beer - A meal to remember...... The best was still to come and unexpected - all the staff came out and ululated a sort of - HAPPY BIRTHDAY - zrarit - a firey ceremonial "chant" with ''music " made by the sound by moving their tongues at the back of their throats. Amazing and quite moving - an evening to remember!

Al Fassia - 232 Avenue Mohammed V - tel 212 444 34 060

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MARRAKECH

DINNER AT HOME - Our lady in Marrakech - design consultant - Corrine Bensimon treated us to a delicious - REAL MOROCCAN MEAL - cooked by her cook Naima. Above a Tajine with chicken and lamb kefta (ground meat) sits on a bed of cou cous - I'm not going to give you the recipe - but refer you to - Paula Wolfert - Cous Cous and Other Good Food from Morocco* - which Susan Simon says - and - she should know - "It's the best Moroccan cookbook around." It was the first night that all the house party were together - we arrived in dribs and drabs: First - the birthday girl from New York City - then I arrived from Venice through Madrid, a few days later, our host, John Derian arrived with Boston area based gift shop owner, Joanne Rossman and lastly from New York City through Paris, retail consultant, Mark Haldeman and media fashion commentator, James Aguiar. We are all set to party the night away and have fun together for the rest of the week !

* available from www.amazon.com

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MARRAKECH

Taking djej (chicken) to the souk to be sold - they are butchered while you wait! Yes -the food is very fresh! Pin It

MARRAKECH - ORANGES # 3
Oranges are so delicious and abundant in Marrakech because there are groves right outside the city walls - the fruit is picked only when it's ripe therefore making it very sweet - it doesn't have to travel like oranges in USA do from California or Florida.

Susan Simon's Moroccan inspired Orange Dessert: Finely julienne the zest from the oranges - cook it in sugar syrup until the zest is soft, but not mushy, about 15 minutes - remove from syrup - let drain - peel the oranges - make sure all the white pith is removed - slice the oranges - arrange on a platter - sprinkle with cinnamon and freshly grated coconut. Pour a bit of the sugar syrup over the top. Top with the julienned zest.

superbly refreshing!

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MARRAKECH - ORANGES # 2

PLACE JEMAA EL FNA - At the very top of this sprawling 'square' - just before all the souks ramify out like branches of a tree - there are at least a dozen or two stalls selling freshly squeezed orange or grapefruit juice - but - beware of the ice! La Place - the famous town square of Marrakech - is very different by day with the large number of spectacles going on all around: snake charmers, singers, story tellers, healers and by night the food stalls take over the Jemaa as soon as the orange juice sellers have packed up and gone home. The food is prepared on the spot from fresh ingredients - and - you can choose between fish, meat or vegetable dishes - the food is exquisite, tasteful and much appreciated by Moroccans and brave tourists - never forget the good rule of eating in Morocco: eat where the Moroccans eat — they know where to get good food!

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MARRAKECH - ORANGES # 1
Dessert on the roof terrace of Le Fondouk - this trendy new Moroccan cuisine restaurant - was a former merchant's hostel (fondouk) - for a change from the inevitable tajines we had

bijou briouates (little samosas) - pasta and fish brochettes - and - this simple - delicious fresh ORANGE DESSERT: cut up oranges and place in a mold - flavor with a bit of orange blossom water - unmold the "terrine" - place a scoop of orange sorbet and a slice of oven dried orange on top - et voila!
And - entre nous - the designer loos are also worth a trip.

Le Fondouk - 55 Rue souk Hal Fassi, Kaât Bennhadid - T 044- 378190. Pin It

MARRAKECH

BREAKFAST - every morning - John's houseboy - Rashid - jokingly nicknamed - boytoy - because he is so cute and sweet - would prepare breakfast in the patio: Mint tea and very freshly squeezed orange juice - coarse grain whole wheat bread - refined white bread (in North Africa bread is scared, and is treated with respect) - luscious warm pancakes - honey, orange marmalade and fig jam. Fortified by breakfast we slowly get ready to begin our day.

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MARRAKECH
GOOD MORNING BIRTHDAY GIRL - we were the guests of John Derian - New York based designer - par excellence - whose Riad is right in the center of the Casbah - beautifully decorated with style - atmosphere and simplicity. The bedrooms are arranged around the palm tree patio - which - instead of a traditional fountain - has a dunking pool. On the roof is the terrace - formerly reserved to the women for housework - washing etc. - it is now used for sunbathing - relaxing and a section has been partitioned off as a tented dining room - everything is draped in Lisa Corti's brightly colored cotton prints which are as hot as the daytime temperature up there.
www.johnderian.com Pin It

MARRAKECH

At last in Marrakech - We are here to celebrate - cook book author and caterer - Susan Simon's 60th Birthday. Marrakech or RAK (airport code) as we refer to it - was much admired by Edith Wharton - Winston Churchill - and more recently by one of it's most famous residents: Yves Saint laurent. This enchanting Imperial City - the red city - offers something for everybody - We - however - are going to concentrate mostly on one of our favorite subjects - food naturally!

http://www.susansimonsays.com/index.htm

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WINTER WHEAT - Morocco

These fields of winter wheat - are harvested in slices - as needed - the fields are round as the bread that is made from it's crop - the custom at Moroccan dinners is that only one person distributes the wedges cut from round loaves - otherwise it brings - bad luck - and there could be a quarrel at the table.

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MADRID AIRPORT

I don't wish this hub on anyone - it just can't deal with the traffic - you can't get a snack - despite it's numerous restaurants and cafes - too many people - too many lines - and every 100 meters there is a smoking point - where I found this Camel advertisement sign amusing and appropriate as I was there in transit for Marrakech. AND - my case got stuck there for 24 hours on my return - again - because they can't cope with the flux! Believe me try to avoid Madrid Airport if you can!

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URBAN CYCLIST # 2
Milan based knitwear consultant and Max Mara knitwear designer - Uberta Zambeletti - for once is adhering to traffic rules and stopping at a red light as she makes a phone call - usually she is breaking every rule in the Highway Code! She is also soberly dressed for the task - a first - has she abandoned her big and heavy folk skirts and her high platform shoes? However - the ever present - touch of lurex or sparkle in her day time wardrobe - is - look closely - in the bicycle basket. Watch out for her - as - she is going places.
www.uberta.com

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VOGALONGA - long stroke - Venezia

Last Saturday - throughout Venice - you could see rowers from all over the world practicing for Sunday's Vogalonga - a non-competitive boat race open too all types of rowing boats - each rower who completed the course - of approximate 30 kilometers - from the Basin of Saint Mark's - the islands and back up the Grand Canal to the point of the Salute - received a certificate of participation and a commemorative medal - a souvenir of the day.

In the past, we recall with a certain fondness the group of German Grand-fathers in a canoe with ten oars, the Chinese and their characteristic Dragon Boat, the English rowing crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge with their typical "straw boater" hats, the university students from California who learned to row alla veneta in just a few days, and the Venetian contestant who, in the last two editions of the race, has swum the entire length of the race course.

This picturesque race has been held for the past 31 years on Ascension Sunday the 5165 participants and 1462 boats - this year - after the singing of hymns to Saint Mark and to Venice - the "start" is given by a fatidic cannon-shot that indicates the competition begins, everyone is proud to shout the serenissima's ancient words: "Viva San Marco"!

www.vogalonga.com

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JUDITH'S GARDEN - Venezia

After a very disappointing lunch in - Osteria Anice Stellato - the day was 'saved' by having desserts - chocolate eclars-chocolate biscuits-zabaglione filled crispy cones and lots of Lapsang Souchong in this 'wild' and luscious garden - one of the very few and rare gardens in Venice -which is as charming as the apartment itself. It was real treat to sit and chat in the sun with Judith - Grazie Mille e spero a presto!

The apartment is also available for rentals go to: http://www.apartments-venice.com

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CYCLING?

While I stopped at my favorite bar in Conegliano - La Casa del Caffe Carraro - on my way to get the train to Venice - for one of my many daily 'fixes' of caffeine - the tail of my eye caught this small group of 'wannabe' cylists - I loved their sponsored shirts - the color was so fresh and cool - however it was strange that instead of peddling away up and down the hillsides of Veneto they were sitting around relaxing and reading La Gazzetta Dello Sport - the pink sports tabloid! They were probably discussing the latest news of the - Giro D'Italia - which is over the half way mark right now? My thoughts spring forward to July and the Tour De France - the last Tour for - consecutive six times winner and 8 year cancer survivor - Lance Armstrong before his retirement. I wish him good luck for a seventh victory - but - Armstrong's story will not end at the 'finish line' as the American has already chalked out his future with the Lance Armstrong Foundation, a charity to aid the fight against cancer.

www.laf.org

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APRIL 2005 - MILAN FURNITURE FAIR
Atelier Muji

Pitti Living - Fuori Salone - Nicoletta Morozzi's - do it jibun de (jibun de=yourself) - embroidery project for Muji is a challenge - since for years they have been trying to eliminate everything that is decorative and unnecessary. In an era of brands and frills Muji can begin a new process which renders the object one's own - not material property - but reflecting one's own personality - Above - set side by side - are small embroidered - religious icons - a wish for PEACE and LOVE in 2005 ! This message appropriately marks the end of the Milan Furniture Fair social blog.

www.muji.co.uk www.pittiliving.com

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APRIL 2005 - - MILAN FURNITURE FAIR
Gaia&Gino # 2
Fuori Salone - FASHION # 3 -Is New York based - Karim Rashid - one of design's brightest stars - so fond of strawberry pink because he likes strawberries? - Or is his love for strawberries the reason he often wears strawberry pink? - Suggesting the silhouette of Istanbul his - Morphescape - for Gaia&Gino - modular table service has many possible configurations of its fifteen squared items in white porcelain.
www.karimrahid.com Pin It

APRIL 2005 - MILAN FURNITURE FAIR
Gaia&Gino
Fuori Salone -When fashion meets design - Max Mara's simpatico style director Giorgio Guidotti and glamorous founder of Gaia&Gino's Gaye Cevikel pose in the Via della Spiga store during the opening of the Turkishscape exhibition - The name Gaia&Gino comes from Gaye's nickname and Gino, her precious golden retriever. Gaye's concept is to provide a unique cultural design experience which produces sophisticated contemporary objects and redefines what tabletop, glassware and decorative stands for today.
www.gaiaandgino.com Pin It

APRIL 2005 - MILAN FURNITURE FAIR
Private lunch!

It was so nice - to get away from it all -and have a nice private lunch in the beautiful home of designer Matteo Thun who was entertaining Cindy Allen editor in chief of Interior Design magazine that voted him on the designer Hall of Fame in 2004. Susanne Thun - the perfect hostess - had arranged for a very appropriate Mediterranean menu to be served - which included - Pasta ai Pomodorini Cotti in Forno and Insalata Caprese that takes it's name from the island of Capri - an island that is very close to susanne's heart.

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APRIL 2005 - MILAN FURNITURE FAIR
Da Driade
Fuori Salone - gigantic white leather pouf - Ishi - designed by Naoto Fukasawa for Driadealeph - is the exact copy of a stone found on a river bed - baby not included!
www.driade.com Pin It

APRIL 2005 - MILAN FURNITURE FAIR

Lucesco Lighting

Fuori Salone - David Gresham co-founder of Lucesco Lighting - introduces their first lamp -Halley - designed by Richard Sapper. The company's goal is to combine the advances in LED technology with design and engineering to produce lighting that is - beautiful - useful - efficient. The Milan showroom was brilliantly conceived and designed by Studio Collage's Chiara dal Canto and Paola Carpinetti.

www.lucesco.com

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APRIL 2005 - MILAN FURNITURE FAIR
Elle Deco International Design Awards
Castello Sforzesco - Now in it's third year - the twenty one International Elle Decoration magazines choose the magnificent twelve worldwide designers .....and the amongst the winners are:
Furniture - Carlo Colombo with his furniture unit for Zanotta.
www.Zanotta.it
Designer of the Year and Tableware - Jasper Morrison " My goal in designing everyday objects for everybody is to render them light and to reduce them to their essential shape and generate in who uses them a special energy."
www.jaspermorrison.com
Seating - Marcel Wanders and Bertjan Pot - Carbon Chair for Moooi - "Design is an unexpected welcome!"
www.marcelwanders.com Pin It

APRIL 2005 - MILAN FURNITURE FAIR
Ettore Sottsass e Abet Laminati 40 Anni Insieme

Fuori Salone - one of the theme color charts at La Triennale di Milano - in the exhibition which represents the work carried out during the 40 years of ongoing collaboration between Ettore Sottsass and Abet Laminati - various pieces embody Italian and international design history, among which some unpublished ones. The pieces follow a precise chronological pattern which show in detail the enormous developments of decorative technique in the laminate sector.

www.abet-laminati.it www.triennale.it

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