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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Snake Charmers and Movie Stars








Hotel Sherazade, Marrakech

Marrakech is a city of contrasts where everything comes together. Even within Djemaa El Fna, the main square in the Medina, snake charmers and acrobats share space with VIPs here for the International Film Festival. Apparently Catherine Deneuve and Francis Ford Coppola are among some of the celebs in attendance.

We saw Susan Sarandon tonight at an outdoor screening of one of her films. The film was competing with drumming groups and the high pitched flutes of the snake charmers. In all the chaos Susan still flashed me a winner smile when I called out to her with shameless abandon,  that we loved her. We were only about ten feet away. I think we'll be great friends.

As we wind through the noisy and congested streets packed with shops and restaurants, doors become frontiers into other worlds. From the street you would never guess what magic lies within the grubby walls. We are staying in a Riad, one of these new worlds, where all the outside chaos is left behind. Instead we have court yards and terraces filled with plants and cozy corners in which to enjoy a cup of mint tea.

Mint tea is the common element of both worlds. We have enjoyed it within our Riad and also out of dingy cups on crowded sidewalks. No doubt mint tea is also being sipped by the movie stars at the Mamounia Hotel.

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