Travel

Stories of places I’ve been that inspire me whether or not they have anything to do with knitting.

Your Husband is a Berber!

| Verónica

We wanted to explore Africa and chose Morocco as our first venture on the continent. We were tempted by Casablanca with romantic images of dapper men in white suits and damsels in distress but decided on a more traditional route. We spent most of our time inside the medina in Marrakech and a couple of days lost in the labyrinth of Fès.

If you go to Morocco, a must buy is a woven rug. And if you are going to buy a rug in Morocco, you must be prepared to haggle.

We meandered from rug seller to rug seller, browsing, looking, until we decided to get serious. At the first sign of actual interest, the proprietor took us upstairs to a room stacked to the ceiling with carpets. One by one, a young boy took them down and displayed them on the floor at our feet while we sipped on sweet mint tea.

We saw a few we liked and started whittling them down to our favorites. Then the negotiations began. My husband took the lead while I listened and occasionally shook my head. The starting price was outrageously high. My husband patiently explained that we knew nothing about rugs or how much work went into making each one but thought they were all quite beautiful, and that we were on a budget. He made a counter-offer. Apparently it was outrageously low because our host threw his hands in the air and described the craftsmanship that went into each one in agonizing detail.

And so the conversation continued. The proprietor gave us another price. I opened my eyes wide with shock. My husband told him we would love to buy a rug from him since he had been so patient with us but it was too far off our budget. Another counter-offer. More detailed explanations. It continued like this for some time. I had another glass of mint tea. Finally, they agreed on a price. The proprietor exclaimed that he would not want to disappoint me by sending us home without a rug. We thanked him effusively.

As my husband handed him the agreed-upon price, the proprietor turns to me and exclaims, “Your husband is a Berber!” I can only deduce that meant that (a) my husband is cheap, or (b) a very good negotiator.

This is our Moroccan rug.

More Reasons Why I ❤ NY

| Verónica

Here are more pictures from our trip to New York City. Besides the huge skyscrapers and art deco buildings, sculptures and other architectural details caught my eye. Here is a random sampling of some of them.

Who can resist Times Square? With its energy and buzz, it's quintessential New York and a people-watching paradise.
On the 50th Street side of Radio City Music Hall, there are three large plaques that represent the main activities inside - "Dance, Drama and Song." This one is "Drama."
At 30 Rockefeller Plaza, directly in front of the famous ice-skating rink, is "Wisdom" (1933).
Flanking "Wisdom" are "Sound and Light" (1933). These stylized panels represent new technologies of the times - radio (sound) and television (light). This one is "Light."
"Saint Francis of Assisi with Birds" (1937) sits above a building entrance on 50th Street.
At the viewing area at the "top of the rock" you can see these large metal panels up close. I halfway expected to see the bat signal floating up in the sky over "Gotham City."
This tiled panel was appropriately located at the 50th Street subway stop near the Theater District. It is part of the "Alice: The Way Out" tile work by Liliana Porter (1994).
Subway stops are labeled by colorful tile mosaics, like this one at the 116th Street-Columbia University stop.
A stone rosette adorns either side of the entrance to Low Memorial Library, a National Historic Landmark, on the Columbia University campus.

To learn more about some of the artwork, try these links: Rockefeller Center, NYC Subway Art Guide.

I ❤ NY.

I ❤ NY

| Verónica

I bravely spent 5 days of Spring Break in New York City with two teenagers. We saw the typical touristy sights, but oh, what sights to see! These are some of the images I was able to capture.

Manhattan skyline from the top of the Rockefeller Center. I touched up the photograph a bit to better see the outlines of the buildings in the Financial District (in the background).
The top of the Empire State Building looks mysterious. Of course, it's just hidden behind the smog.
View of the Manhattan Bridge from the Brooklyn Bridge.
Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge toward Manhattan.
Spire of the Manhattan Municipal Building as seen from the Brooklyn Bridge.
One of the reflecting pools at the 9/11 Memorial.
Construction in progress at 1 World Trade Center.
One of the spires of St. Patrick's Cathedral.
The iconic bronze statue of Atlas in front of the Rockefeller Center.
View of the city lights at night. Taken from the top of the Empire State Building.

I ❤ NY.

A Visit to Medieval Maastricht

| Verónica
The Saint Servatius Basilica located in Vrijthof, Maastricht's city square. It is flanked by St. John's Church (with the red spire).
Market Square where you can find City Hall. The bronze statue is of Jan Pieter Minckeleers, a Dutch scientist who invented gas lighting. The statue has an eternal flame.
An ancient guard tower on the east bank of the Meuse River.
View across the Meuse River.
13th Century Helpoort or "Hell's Gate," remains of the city's medieval fortifications.
Look-out tower along the medieval walls.
View from within the city's fortified walls.
Maastricht's cobblestoned streets.
Bread and cheese shop.
Homes with narrow watery alleyways from the Jeker River which runs through town.
Water wheel.
Outdoor cafes along the ruins of the medieval walls.

Arabia

| Verónica

Art deco style covered dish from the Arabia porcelain factory, established in Finland in the 1870s. Throughout the last century, Arabia porcelain has been the traditional dinnerware in Finnish homes and has been passed on as family heirlooms. Delicate Arabia porcelain can be found in museums although today’s tableware is made for the modern family and is oven, microwave and dishwasher safe. This piece is one of the items still made by hand at the factory in Helsinki. The clay is hand-poured into molds from the mid-1900s that were recently discovered in storage. Each piece is hand-glazed to give it this vintage look.

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