Archive for August, 2011
The baking heat of the desert greeted me when I stepped off the plane in Morocco. Welcome to Marrakech, a city of pink buildings drowning in a sea of satellite dishes. Imagine narrow winding streets filled with drivers texting and honking as they fly past on mopeds. Snake charmers. French-style pâtisseries. Open air butcher shops. Tea shops, full to the brim even in the sweltering heat of the day. Donkey traffic. Veil culture ranging from no veils to fully-veiled, showing off slits of almond eyes. The never-ending song of aggressive hawkers echoing from every souk.
Scientists have discovered a diamond planet in our own Milky Way galaxy! It’s largely made of carbon, measures five times the size of Earth, and years on the planet last only two hours.
“The evolutionary history and amazing density of the planet all suggest it is comprised of carbon—i.e. a massive diamond orbiting a neutron star every two hours in an orbit so tight it would fit inside our own Sun.” —Matthew Bailes, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne.
Read more about this discovery here.
Kelly O’Neal paints fabulously stylish shoes. Glittery stilettos, leopard-print high heels, and shoes with pouffy accents, feathers, flowers, and ribbons.
Attention unicorn lovers! This chic hotel restaurant at the Faena Hotel in Buenos Aires is outfitted with white unicorn busts with ruby eyes. I love how this abundantly white room is accented with glass chandeliers and red accents, giving off a clean, modern vibe.
In search of delicious baked goods and sandwiches with a Cuban twist? Then you’ve gotta head to Porto’s Bakery and Cafe in Burbank. This busy shop is always hopping, a result of its famous pastries, savory lunch specialities, and reasonable prices (most main dishes are in the $4-7 category).
I’ve never set foot in a more beautiful hotel. Words to describe it? Timeless. Graceful. Opulent. Stylish. Unique. Palatial. Every last detail of this hotel is pure perfection. Consisting of 5 riads (traditional Moroccan residences centered around a courtyard or garden) with 28 individually themed rooms total, La Sultana is a shrine to Moroccan design and craftsmanship. From the minute you step into this hotel, filled with glimmering gold accents, you can feel the outside world of endless streets, honking mopeds, open-air butcher shops, donkey traffic, aggressive hawkers, and snake charmers melt away to nothing but a distant whisper.
Handmade cloud mobiles designed by The Butter Flying, a Montreal-based design studio.
When in Morocco, you can’t miss the traditional Moroccan hammam, or Turkish-style steam bath. There are a variety of public and private hammams ranging from uber-luxurious spa experiences, like the hammam at La Sultana in Marrakech, to simple public bathhouses. So how does it work? Step one: de-robe. This is not the time to be shy! Do as the Moroccans do and strip down to the bare essentials. Next buckets of water are poured over you, in the fancier establishments by your own attendant. Then comes the steaming. The heated stone platforms you’ll lay on are guaranteed to force your muscles to surrender.
