cooking class under the banana trees

An enthusiastic and colorful crew on the way to the local vegetable market, to buy fresh ingredients for the cooking workshop, armed with baskets and Arabic shopping lists.

Upon return to the riad everyone gets a cooking apron for the cooking class under the banana trees on the patio, led by chef Nadia and interpreter Fatiha.

Cutting, grinding, peeling, rolling, stirring, cooking, baking, tasting, zesting and meanwhile taking notes in the green little cooking notebook. Well, preparing a Moroccan lunch is a serious matter.
At the same time it starts to smell delicious on the patio of Chambres d'Amis.

While the other dishes are slowly cooking, the sweet desserts are being prepared and the table on the roof terrace is set.

Applause for the whole team and bon appetit! Time to enjoy a delightful, healthy home cooked meal. A feast for all senses!

travel throwback

A moroccan memory picture from exactly 3 years ago popped up on my iPhone this morning.

Upon seeing those images, it sometimes feels surreal that it once felt so 'natural' to travel.

Yet I booked my flight to Marrakech for october a few weeks ago.

If all goes well, we will start the Marvelous Marrakech retreat in October, with the group of 13 women that was supposed to come and join us in October last year.

We are positive and keep our fingers crossed, by then everyone will have been vaccinated and traveling will be possible again.

October 2019 I was in Marrakech for the last time and I miss the Red City, the atmosphere, the food and lovely people.

Tomorrow I'm going to stay a few nights at my friend Ank (owner of hotel Chambres d'Amis) in Amsterdam and we will put together a new Marvelous Marrakech program. I am SO looking forward to new adventures!

marvelous marrakech 2021 - travel workshops in may & october

Marvelous Marrakech! Seven days in Marrakech with a distinctive workshops program.

Explore Marrakech every day in a different way. We have combined new places and topics with the best of our programs from previous years.

What's Marvelous Marrakech about? An immersive travel, creative & culinary experience to sate your wanderlust.

We will stay at Hotel Chambres d’Amis, an oasis in the Medina, located just a stone’s throw away from the beating heart of old Marrakesh, the Djma el Fna Square and the Souks! Despite this, it’s as quiet here as if you’re in the countryside, greenery and birds all over the place. We want you to feel at home in this green oasis, right in the middle, but far away from it all. Chambres d'Amis is exclusively reserved for participants during this retreat. This intimate, week-long retreat will be open to only 12 guests. You will stay there with an international group of women, from all over the world.

We have composed a week-long retreat with a different theme every day, the perfect way to explore Marrakech in an authentic, special and unique way.

Let’s get away together for an entire week to recharge, with relish and delight for a slow living, creative escape!

The longer stay is designed to provide you with ample time to explore your creative goals, soak up the red city, get to know your fellow travelers and find down time to recharge or explore on your own. This promises to be a transformative, once-in-a-lifetime journey. The Marvelous Marrakech retreat is a unique opportunity to be both restored and inspired.

Off the beaten tracks with workshops and exciting adventures while discovering Marrakech and surroundings. Where everyone else goes to the right we go to the left. By showing you the real Marrakech, your visit to the Red City will be a much more precious experience!

Price € 795,00 per person (excl. tourist tax € 2,50 pppn)

The price is based on a shared twin bedroom and excluding flight tickets.

INCLUDED:
- transfer from airport Marrakech to Riad Chambres d'Amis (v.v.)
- shared twin bedroom (6 nights) including breakfast in Chambres d'amis.
- 2 dinners & 5 lunches (drinks are not included)
- 4 workshops and a daytrip to the desert

CRAFT-WORKSHOP
Buying wool, cotton and yarns in the souk. Moroccan craft class in the open on the colourful Place des Epices, where Aisha will teach you different characteristic Moroccan craft techniques (materials are included). After lunch we will continue the Moroccan craft class with Aisha and practice different crochet and embroidery techniques in The Secret Garden. (Needless to say, I will give a crochet class aswell.) At the end of the afternoon we will visit the Carpet auction in the souk, an unforgettable and colorful experience.

GARDENS WORKSHOP
During the workshop we will visit and explore all kinds of gardens in and around Marrakech; an Arabic garden, a botanical garden, secret city gardens, hidden courtyards, an art garden, museum gardens and vegetable- and herb gardens.

INSTAGRAM-PHOTO WORKSHOP
Street photography in the medina. Learn how to anticipate the moment, to identify locations with suitable subjects and develop confidence in photographing on the street. Learn to select and frame a moving subject and explore color to create impact. A visit and lunch at Maison de la Photographie.

VEGGIE COOKING WORKSHOP & BERBER CARPETS
Vegetable shopping on the locals markets in the Medina and souk. Cooking class by Moroccan women under the banana trees at Chambres d'Amis. Home cooked lunch on the rooftop terrace.

A DAYTRIP TO THE DESERT
A daytrip to a the desert with a fabulous Moroccan lunch in the shade of a berber tent. Imagine a charming bivouac with a couple of berber tents and a view to completely unwind. You don’t often find yourself at such magical surroundings that it makes you wonder… Is this a movie set? The light, changing skies and views are astonishing! A day in the Agafay desert is a great way to experience the Moroccan desert without having to travel too far!

DAY OFF
Halfway the week we have planned a day off! We can suggest a visit to the luxurious Beldi Club, a visit to Jardin Majorelle and Yves Saint Laurent Museum or you can use the day for shopping in the souk (optionally with personal shopper). This week is a real treat for travellers, who would like to discover the real and authentic Marrakech. An adventurous journey, you can make on your own, while you will be 'pampered' and only have to enjoy and relax.

7 DAYS IN MARRAKECH MAY 2021
Arrival : Wednesday 19th of May 2021
Leaving : Tuesday 25th of May 2021


7 DAYS IN MARRAKECH OCTOBER 2021
Arrival : Wednesday 6th of October 2021
Leaving : Tuesday 12th of October 2021
The workshop will start with a welcome dinner on the rooftop of Chambres d'Amis at 7PM on Wednesday. For early arrivals Chambres d'Amis can offer you a small program on the first day.

Each morning will start with a traditional Moroccan breakfast on the roof terrace at our base camp Chambres d'Amis.

If you would like to join one of the workshops, please send an e-mail info@woodwoolstool.com
I will send you an application form and more information about the travel workshop.

The Marrakech travel workshop 2020 is a collaboration with Ank van der Pluijm, my friend and owner of hotel CHAMBRES D'AMIS, oasis in the Medina of Marrakech and our wonderful green 'basecamp' during the workshops week. You will, of course, be overloaded with impressions in Marrakesh, and Hotel Chambres d’Amis will be your quiet home to return to. Our street Derb Moulay Abdelkader is located in a very quiet and safe residential area, and very easy to find.

It is possible to book extra nights, before or after the workshop (info@chambresdamis.com)

postponed

Otherwise I would now have been busy packing my suitcase to leave for Marrakech next Monday.

I'm gonna miss the Red City, medina life, the Atlas Mountains, the Agafay desert, the gardens, the adventures with the group, the cosy dinners on the roof terrace at Chambres d'Amis, the blissful breakfasts on the roof terrace at Chambres d'Amis, the lovely and caring staff, the sound of the prayers, the hustle and bustle of the city, the harira soup on the Jemaa el Fna and Cafe des Epices, being in a completely different world for some weeks. Well actually, i'm gonna miss everything that makes this trip so special and unforgettable...

Already in August we decided to cancel the planned Marvelous Marrakech workshop from the 7th - 13th of October.

For a long time it still seemed possible to travel to Morocco, October sounded far away and we remained optimistic.

Unfortunately we have to accept that traveling to Morocco is really not an option for the time being. And it remains difficult for everyone because there is no perspective.

Therefore we have decided to cancel the Marvelous Marrakech retreat in October 2020, but to postpone it to 2021.

Of course it's very unpleasant and a disappointment for the 14 participants, Chambres d'Amis, Ank and me, but for the people in Morocco is much worse. The inhabitants in the medina generally have no income and the majority depend on tourism.

The artisans we work with during the workshops, such as Aisha who normally sells her handmade items on the Place des Epices, now have no income at all. This year we cannot sponsor Aisha in the way we normally do.

I still have some of her handmade beanies from last year and they are now for sale in my Etsy shop and I will make sure all proceeds go directly to Aisha.

So no reunion with all dear folks in October, but we have to stay positive and hope for a vaccine soon.

I will miss Marrakech, everything and everyone enormously and keep my fingers crossed we will be able to travel to Marrakech in a safe and responsible way next year...

magic of the red city

Marrakech, the Red City. A city open to modern life and the future, however also managed to keep with its history, its culture and its colors.

The red color is a dominating color as most buildings have the same terracota color. The color of the city doesn’t come from a profound philosophy, but rather from red earth, the simplest of materials in architecture.

Marrakech is not only red, but moreover also very green. The green is everywhere as the old gardends are protected and new gardens are planted everywhere.

Marrakech is the ideal destination to escape from the everyday.
Perfect for adventure seekers to get lost into the red, pink and rosy hues in the Medina.
A city of wonders. The Magic of Marrakech is always here.