listen to your heart.

you know when something from inside is talking to you, but you're not quite sure what it's saying? like you're uncomfortable with some aspect of your life, but you don't know what exactly. take the time to find some calm and listen...the answer is there:

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE!!!!  take care of your sweetheart's heart as well as your own today. good, good, good vibrations to you all xo


*remember to enter the dreamcatcher GIVEAWAY today if you haven't already.  i will be drawing the winner later this afternoon!

**the winner of the dreamcatcher GIVEAWAY is miss_lonny!  thank you so much to all of you who entered or commented- i appreciate all of your love and support x

i heart marrakech.

On my recent around the world trip that took me to Canada, France, Spain, Morocco and Hong Kong; Morocco was expected to be the most stand-out adventure- and it was.  Everything you've ever seen in a photo of Morocco or what these photos suggest, is exactly what you get when you are there.  It's incredible!  The colours, the smiling faces, the achingly beautiful wares-silver, textiles, ceramics, leatherworks-the food, the architecture (!!!) complete with every finishing touch you can imagine down to the last tile, to a gold hand-shaped knocker on a door or a fresh rose accent in a vase.  

The main square in Marrakech on day one was rather overwhelming for me, but it is safe and exciting and has been around for almost 1000 years!  All around you there are snake charmers, donkeys, motorbikes, horse and carriages, musicians, stand upon stand of fresh squeezed orange juice & moroccan mint tea (yum) and my favourite- a man with a school sized little desk, selling a collection of single teeth and full dentures under a big umbrella.  

When you step into your Riad it is as if you are stepping into a sanctuary from the crazy streets of the Medina.  The service for my entire stay was second to none, but not over the top; you feel right at home right away.  

We also ventured into the desert for 3 days...I could not go to Africa without riding a camel in the Sahara!  The long drive there which we were semi-dreading turned out to be the best part of the whole desert trip.  The landscape was constantly changing and like nothing I had ever seen before.  First there would be Berber villages built right into the mountains, then you'd come across kasbahs (castles) that look like actual life-sized sandcastles, then a tiny town that looks as if it were a hollywood set built specifically for a spaghetti western- and it probably was.  The changing colours of the earth from light sand, to rosy-hued, to deep red informed the colours of the town with all the homes being built mostly with mud and hay; so stunning.  Along the way you would see the women working the land, men shepherding sheep and proper nomad families on the move with their camels, donkeys and chickens.  The Sahara did not disappoint- it's just like in the cartoons!  We trekked for one hour into the dunes where there was a camp set up, rectangular style tents draped in Moroccan rugs and Handira (wedding blankets)- ridiculous!  The guide makes you a beautiful feast in the make-shift camp kitchen, plays some drums and then we got set up on cots with fresh sheets to sleep under the stars.  This was a highlight, just little you with the one you love in the big wide open and the brightest night sky above you- I saw at least ten shooting stars! *photos of saharan adventure to come.

Then back to Marrakech for a delectable hammam and feeling more comfortable cruising the streets in search of more allure and delicious food (it's easy). I'm ready to go back!

here are a few images to give you an idea of marrakech's colours, richness and vitality. my story was beautifully shared here with more photos too.

*these just happen to be the gopro version of events. more to follow :)

i heart san sebastian.

we were in basque country for the San Sebastian International Film Festival and for this the streets were all abuzz. the quaint seaside town reminded me a lot of any of the beach suburbs in Sydney- sun worshippers, lovers strolling and surfers everywhere. we had a ball in san sebastian, probably due to being a part of the festival and the awesome bunch of people we got to hang out with, but aside from this, you can eat yourself silly there. for a relatively small place, it holds the most michelin star restaurants per square metre in the entire world. the famous pintxos (basque tapas) line every bar morning, noon and night. we ate very well in this idyllic setting; amongst proud basque people who know how to party (we amusingly found ourselves at three heavy metal bars in one night- they might hold a record per square metre on those as well) lined by a gorgeous coast. i would go back here one day for sure.

i heart barcelona.

i've heard so many people rave about barcelona, that the expectations were high. we arrived there after paris the first time and then later we went back after morocco; destinations we were still reeling from, so it had a lot of work to do to wow us. it was great, it just wasn't my favourite like i expected it to be. it seems like it's a place that comes alive at night and heading out at 10:30 has never been my thing. however, during the day it was wonderful- packed full of tourists- but wonderful. it is lined with the sweet european streets you'd imagine, but more than that it is home to the most spectacular Gaudi architecture everywhere (i'm pretty sure he owns the place ;). also, i didn't know a lot about Catalonia being different to the spain i had envisioned (i was hoping for flamenco dancing and matadors, but that doesn't happen there) and we were visiting at a time when the Catalan majority's desire to separate was high (magnified by the poor economic climate in Spain). however, it is a beautiful, bustling mediterranean seaside city full of music, delicious food, mosaics galore, history, colour and sparkle. barcelona held a raw quality that i admired; an edge that caught me by surprise.