I get many queries, after my books 70 FFFY and Three Months, about restaurants, hotels and resorts in Europe and North Africa. So - sad news for those intrigued by Fes (one of the Wonders of the World - the biggest city in the world in 1173 and still totally gorgeous). The beautiful old Palais Jamai hotel (see it in The Pink Marble Egg and read about it in Paul Bowles' The Spider's House - his finest novel) has closed for refurbishment (which, to be honest, it did need) and will be shut for three years. It is owned by the legendary Mamounia (Marrakech) group and is planned to return to full service in 2018. I've stayed there for 50 years. I do still urge any potential travellers to visit Fes though; there are many other good hotels there and it is a superb city.

my favourite Tangier hotel was the Tangerine owned by 2 old UK gays. Long gone but I often stayed in the room William Burroughs wrote The Naked Lunch. You could walk to the beach in 5 minutes.

I flooded it one morning when I left bath tap on & forgot the water was cut off after mid night but as the owner had taken me to many bars to get drunk I was forgiven.

I was lucky to be included in the media contingent to Malcolm Forbe's 70th birthday in Tangier which was..awesome (but we were put in a 4 start hotel)

I've had gorgeous escapades in Marakesh meeting amazing people you would not meet ordinarily like Madame De Gaule & Yves Saint Laurent (so sweet & painfully shy) but I perceive those days are over as I noticed last time, dreaded stores were opening, Fendi , Cartier etc etc, "ritzy" tennis clubs & so on as the Medetteranen from one end to the other begins to resemble either a Westfield shopping mall or 18-30 foam party and "sameness" overtakes.

So while I remain youthful gorgeous & desirable the world moves on.

Many of the Burroughs/Orton places are still there Hedda and Marrakech has indeed changed but only the centre and the new town - I heartily recommend Fes and Taroudannt is exactly like Marrakech was 50 years ago. One of the beauties of Morocco is the difference between towns and other areas. Likewise Tunisia is well worth a visit; the old Roman colosseum at El Djem is better preserved and more impressive than the one in Rome.

a UK newspaper today (which one?)runs a tale that Fez which I've never been to is the closest you will ever get to visiting ancient Rome. That would be a treat.

I do like Moroccans (in fact I always get on well with most Arabs) and with France & Spain influencing Morocco so much, I've always loved my visits there.

time to visit again I think !

(never stayed at the Mamounia but visited many times. Beautiful and so grand and unique)

I love Rabat, Casablanca (but you need someone who knows it to show you the best parts), Taroudannt, Meknes, Tangier, Essouaira, Marrakech, but if you haven't been there Fes is the place I'd recommend at the moment. See the sun set from the ramparts up on top of the hill and you will consider it the most beautiful place on earth.

JK2006 wrote:
I get many queries, after my books 70 FFFY and Three Months, about restaurants, hotels and resorts in Europe and North Africa. So - sad news for those intrigued by Fes (one of the Wonders of the World - the biggest city in the world in 1173 and still totally gorgeous).

www.ryanair.com/en/cheap-flights/london-...p;in-date=2015-05-20

Agree about Fez Mr King,and did you know that if you 'slum it' with the working masses ye can buy a return ticket for 5 days for less than £40?

Superb idea for the common man but the closest I want to get to any plane these days is a hundred miles. Air travel of any sort has become so unpleasant. An hour reaching the airport, get there two hours early, remove shoes and socks, intimate body search, flight delayed by 3 hours, at the other end lost baggage and long taxi ride into civilisation - all for the pleasure of breathing in somebody else's reconstituted farts.

JK2006 wrote:
Superb idea for the common man but the closest I want to get to any plane these days is a hundred miles. Air travel of any sort has become so unpleasant. An hour reaching the airport, get there two hours early, remove shoes and socks, intimate body search, flight delayed by 3 hours, at the other end lost baggage and long taxi ride into civilisation - all for the pleasure of breathing in somebody else's reconstituted farts.

I'm on the 9.50 pm Gulf air tonight,heading to Dubai via Bahrain...£317...a hotel at less than £30 per night in exciting Deira....wonder if the 'Torch' will still be burning?.....when you loose your sense of adventure you loose your lust for life.....pass on my regards to Andrew and ITK...he's either invading Libya or making tea at the local jumble sale....

I've not lost my sense of adventure Patt (as it happens Alex's step Dad has a job in Abu Dhabi and I'm thinking of visiting) - just lost my appetite for flying.

JK2006 wrote:
not lost my sense of adventure - just lost my appetite for flying


A major problem



To badly paraphrase Gandhi - 'live every day, as if it was your last - but read and learn, as if it was your first'


Getting away is the key. Andalusia next week, because fitness/ability is important; do it when you can...

Pattaya wrote:
JK2006 wrote:
I get many queries, after my books 70 FFFY and Three Months, about restaurants, hotels and resorts in Europe and North Africa. So - sad news for those intrigued by Fes (one of the Wonders of the World - the biggest city in the world in 1173 and still totally gorgeous).

www.ryanair.com/en/cheap-flights/london-...p;in-date=2015-05-20

Agree about Fez Mr King,and did you know that if you 'slum it' with the working masses ye can buy a return ticket for 5 days for less than £40?

Wonder how much it will cost to drive there?

A combination of train and wheels is the best way, I reckon. The odd flight is OK but avoid UK and USA airports.

I agree with JK- now really hate the whole airport / flight business...but from Australia !! God Help Me..there is no way out but via a jumbo jet.

I've been looking at cabins on a container vessel but they are so unbelievably expensive and one turned down my offer to be a cabin boy. ..or a stoker

As I will be traveling with a pal on my next UK Gala Tour we are looking at how many flights we can avoid..the main part is inevitable but we have decided a plane to Paris (aided by Valium) and then trains everywhere. including to London.


anything to avoid Heathrow

That makes great sense Hedda. Paris airports are slightly better than UK ones (Orly is awful). You'll love Eurostar and arriving in the centre of London, minutes away from civilisation. Trains, cars… buy a nice second hand motor (for less than a single air ticket to Sydney) and use wheels and the road. Petrol these days is almost free (and Baby Car only uses a thimble full per month). Zip through the Tunnel. Autoroutes are great; listen to the radio or audio books. Carry endless bags. Visit Europe, Scandinavia, North Africa (the ferry from Spain to Morocco takes 20 minutes).