This is a fun and easy read with an oddball character who reminded me a bit of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Here is my book review The Maid by Nita Prose.
Molly Gray struggles in social situations, and always has. She never knows the right thing to say or do and she realizes people find her strange. Until a few months ago, Molly’s gran was the center of her tiny universe, always helping her understand situations and simplifying the world. But now gran is gone.
And so is most of the money, and Molly Gray is working hard as a maid at the prestigious Regency Grand Hotel trying to make ends meet. Molly’s obsessive compulsive tendencies actually make her an very good maid…she loves perfection. But when Molly discovers one of the hotel’s wealthy guests dead in his room, all hell will break loose.
Not only does Molly’s orderly world start to crumble, but she finds herself the main suspect in the murder. Her strange personality is misread as suspect and before she knows it she has lost her beloved job and is in jail.
But out of the shadows comes friends Molly never even knew she had, and slowly things start to become clear. Who is the real murderer? What other sinister things will be found out? And will sweet Molly find happiness and stability?
Well they are making a movie so, yeah, you can guess some of that. But read the book before you see the movie. Always do that! Thanks for reading my book review The Maid by Nita Prose.
It was our second visit to the amazing country of Morocco, and I looked forward to sharing this trip with our two adult sons. There is so much to love about Morocco, and I suspect this won’t be my last time there. Marrakesh is my favorite city in Morocco, and we hit the ground running on arrival, with an Authentic Moroccan Food Tour Marrakesh.
Marrakesh Markets
Arriving Late in Marrakesh
Our flight out of Dulles/Washington DC left more than five hours late due to bad weather. So of course we landed in Casablanca more than five hours late. We were very grateful to find our hired driver waiting for us, despite the delay. Jet lagged and exhausted we immediately started the two hour drive to Marrakesh.
It was our plan to have two full days in Marrakesh, but our travel delays took away most of the first day. We were extremely grateful that our Authentic Moroccan Food Tour we had booked with One Life Trips through Viator allowed us to move the tour to our second night. Otherwise we would have missed the tour and been out nearly $200 ($48 per person).
My family enjoying the food at Jemaa el Fna
So instead of the food tour on our first night, we walked to the amazing and famous Marrakesh market square called Jemaa el Fna and wandered around the vast and various food stalls there. Be prepared to have everyone trying to get you to eat at their stall…it’s part of the fun. We ended up enjoying a colorful meal with kebabs, lots of veg and of course Moroccan tea.
Tea all day long
Tip: The food in the market square , though authentic, is more expensive than places outside the market square. It is also all about the tourists. Although it’s very fun and should be experienced, hopefully you can also visit some restaurants outside of the square.
One Life Trips
Through Viator we found One Life Trips and our amazing guide Yahya. Again we were so grateful this company and our guide was willing to move our tour by one day due to our travel issues. On our second day in Marrakesh we walked all over the Medina and by dinner time we were very excited to embark on our Authentic Moroccan Food Tour Marrakesh.
Touring beautiful Marrakesh
Yahya introduced himself and told us a little bit about Moroccan food and Marrakesh. And then he said he hoped we were hungry, and we told him we definitely were. So off we went. For the next three hours we enjoyed one of the best food tours I have ever been on. And that is saying a lot. Here is what we ate on our Authentic Moroccan Food Tour Marrakesh;
My family with our wonderful guide Yahya
Nuts & Dried Fruits
My previous travels in Africa and the Middle East have turned me into a date lover, and Morocco has some amazing dates. Dried fruits and nuts are a popular snack as well as used in many of the authentic foods of the country. Yahya told us that when he was a child eating a bag of fruits and nuts like the one shown here was something he did often. Delicious, nutritious and local. The market area has many vendors selling dried fruits and nuts prepackaged or by the bag.
Nuts and Dried Fruits
Small Pastries and Cookies
Moroccans love their sweets and their is a decidedly French influence in many of the small bite sized sweets. Many small sweets are filled with dried fruits and nuts, and honey is frequently used too. Some of the bite size confections are made from a flaky phyllo-type dough, while others are hand formed dough wrapped around a filling much like a pirogi. Yahya took us to a stall where a man has been making and selling these sweets for fifty years.
Small Pastries and Cookies
Olives
Like so many North Africa and Middle East countries, olives are present at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Both as a snack, and also featured heavily in tajines, we enjoyed olives throughout Morocco. Yahya took us to an area in the market with many olive dealers. Their stalls displaying the colorful variety of olives as well as preserved lemons and other Moroccan delights. We sampled spicy, garlic, lemon, dill and many more flavors of olives.
Olives breakfast lunch and dinner
Macaroons
One of the best reasons to go on a tour with a local is because you will have a very authentic experience. This sweet old lady selling homemade Moroccan Macaroons is not someone I would have stopped at on my own. But Yahya knew what an amazing, delicate and delicious cookie she had. It was light and sweet with a hint of cinnamon. Just perfect.
Macaroons
Msemmen
Morocco has several different kinds of pancakes as well as flat breads. Msemmen is one of the most popular. On our Authentic Moroccan Food Tour Marrakesh we visited two different vendors hand making Msemmen right in front of us. The first one was a savory version with some cheese and herbs. Our second stop was a sweet version with butter and honey. The flat pancake is folded over several times and eaten by hand. Amazing. I’m gonna try this one at home.
Savory Msemmen
Sweet Msemmen
Pastilla
One of my favorite foods of Morocco, the pastilla is actually from the city of Fes, but it is found many places around the country. We enjoyed it multiple times. It is a round pastry filled traditionally with pigeon but today usually chicken as well as dried fruits and nuts. We had pastilla that were nearly bite size up to 8 inches across. Sometimes it’s a very large pastry, cut pizza-style. I really loved pastilla.
Pastilla
Moroccan Hamburger
I’m sure this local favorite has a local name, but Yahya called it a Moroccan Hamburger. We knew we were in for a treat at this tiny take away stall when we saw the long line of locals vying for this local fav. The bread was incredible, and the beef was served a bit like a sloppy joe…minced and cooked with a delicious variety of spices and sauce. Wow. I loved it. Snack Bachar is a hidden gem in Marrakesh.
Moroccan Hamburger
Snails
Back in the market square of Jemma el Fna, Yahya took us to one of several vendors selling nothing but snails by the bowl full in a rich broth. I’ve had snails in France of course, and also in Asia, but the Moroccan version was sweet and earthy at the same time. Very good.
Snails
Lentils
Lentils are served in many Moroccan dishes, including in soups or just on their own. I love lentils and make dhal or lentil soup often at home. The tiny bowl of lentils we enjoyed clearly had been slow cooked and made with loving hands. Delicious.
Lentils
Tanjia
Definitely my favorite thing we had on this incredible food journey was the Marrakesh favorite known as tanjia. This was the first time I had enjoyed this slow cooked beef dish flavored with preserved lemons and olives. The meat literally falling off the bone with a tender yet citrusy flavor. Served with rice and a small salad, I was so full but I couldn’t stop eating. I need to learn to make this one at home.
Tanjia
Yogurt
Despite all the sweets around, yogurt is a favorite after dinner treat. I am a big fan of homemade yogurt. We make yogurt at home nearly every day and the version we had on our Authentic Moroccan Food Tour Marrakesh was outstanding.
Yogurt
Authentic Moroccan Food Tour Marrakesh
Come to Morocco. Come to Marrakesh. And come hungry. The people are friendly and happy to have visitors back in their beautiful, historic and interesting country. The culture is unique and most definitely delicious. I highly recommend One Life Trips and our guide Yahya.
Dates
I hope you will embark on your own journey soon. Watch for another Morocco blog next week about our Three Day Tour from Marrakesh to Fez.
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Well I’m a big fan of Kate Quinn. She has a wonderful way of taking real life heroines and creating fictional stories. I’ve listened to four of her books now over the last several years, and I also really love the voice of her books on audible whose name is Saaskia Maarleveld. Here is my book review the Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn.
Like Quinn’s other books; The Rose Code (2021), The Huntress (2019), and The Alice Network (2017), The Diamond Eye is based on a real life World War II female heroine named Lyudmila Pavlichenko (Mila). When war breaks out Mila is a young mother, studying at university and trying to make a better life for her and her son in Kyiv.
But war changes everything, including Mila’s life as she finds herself thrust into service in the war against Hitler. But unlike most women who end up in nursing or administrative positions, Mila becomes a sniper, an unlikely national heroine known as Lady Death.
Although Mila is a real person, most of this story is fictional, as Quinn merges fact and fiction and a beautiful writing style that pulls the reader into Mila’s life, her loves and her fierce and determination to survive.
Mila will find herself thrust into the spotlight, meeting President’s and First Ladies, all while grieving her own losses and unwittingly changing the course of history.
I hope you enjoyed my book review The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
We had a wonderful ten day stay at the beautiful Royal West Indies Resort Turks and Caicos a few weeks ago. It’s incredibly rare for us to stay in a resort, or even in a hotel. We usually are in an Airbnb or VRBO, with our hotel stays limited to one night here and there usually at an airport. But we gave this a try and we were not disappointed. Here is my review of the Royal West Indies Resort Turks and Caicos.
Royal West Indies Resort
Turks and Caicos
Turks and Caicos is a small Caribbean country in the Atlantic only 736 miles off the coast of Florida. The country has a population of 39,000 within its collection of 40 small islands, of which only eight are inhabited. They use US dollars, drive on the left and are a British territory. Queen Elizabeth names a Governor for the country.
Turks and Caicos
Most of the population are descendants of slaves, who were forcibly brought here to work the salt flats and cotton fields. More recently many people have immigrated from The Bahamas. Today the economy is based on tourism and off-shore financing.
Grace Bay, Providenciales
We spent our time on the island of Providenciales, home ot the international airport (by the way, the airport is the worst thing about the island, sadly in need of an upgrade). Our lodgings were in a small town known as Grace Bay. Grace Bay has an astonishingly beautiful long white sand beach where the lovely resorts sit, including the Royal West Indies Resort Turks and Caicos.
Grace Bay
The town of Grace Bay seems to be fairly recently developed, with resorts, shops and restaurants spread out over a few miles and all easy walking distance from our resort. A really nice grocery store was less than a mile, dozens of restaurant and shops about a mile or less. Everything seems practically brand new. Sidewalks are good, and roads too. I felt very safe doing a five mile run each morning.
Grace Bay
Royal West Indies Resort Turks and Caicos
This resort was far better than I expected, which of course was a great surprise. We booked the least expensive room, a “studio” for $260 a night via Expedia. With all the taxes and fees, the actual cost was closer to $300. The “studio” is basically a large hotel room that included a table and chairs for two, small sitting area, small kitchen with fridge and microwave (see last week’s blog about hotel microwave cooking), a bathroom and a washer and dryer. Having a washer dryer was a big bonus we weren’t expecting. Our room also had a very large deck with table, chairs and lounge chair over looking one of the two pools.
Our Studio Room
The Royal West Indies Resort Turks and Caicos also has one bedroom suites. In addition you can combine a one bedroom suite and a studio like ours to create a two bedroom space.
Small Kitchen
Made up of 8 buildings with 15 units in each, the buildings are spread out around beautifully landscaped grounds. All units either overlook one of the pools or the beach.
There is no elevator, but a very nice and strong bellhop carried our bags up to the third floor on our arrival. Staff also secured the taxi for our return trip to the airport. Taxi’s are different here…usually shared vans.
View from our room
First Rate Amenities
We were pleasantly surprised to find such beautiful pools as well as access to a beautiful beach area on Grace Bay that included lounge chairs and umbrellas just for the guests of our hotel. Beach and pool towels also available from the friendly staff.
Enjoying the pool
In addition the hotel offers guests the free use of Hobie Cat sailboats, kayaks and bikes.
Enjoying the free bikes
Dining
Pelican Bay Restaurant and Bar sits poolside at the Royal West Indies Resort Turks and Caicos. It is highly rated and offers breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition they had one of the most generous daily happy hours I’ve ever encountered offering half off all drinks from 5-7pm. Special weekly Fish Fry and BBQ are also popular. On Sunday nights they have live music and it was so good.
Pelican Bay Restaurant and Bar
We cooked in our room five of the nights we stayed and ate out four nights. In addition to enjoying the Pelican Bay Restaurant and Bar for breakfast we walked to four more dinner restaurants and one lunch that we really enjoyed.
More We Enjoyed
Coco Bistro and Coco Van – When we couldn’t get a reservation at the highly rated and very popular Coco Bistro we ended up having a really good meal at their food truck called Coco Van. We had Chicken Fried Burger, Duck Tacos, Egg Roll, two side salads and four beers. $80.
Coco Van
Coco Van
Another highly rated restaurant we tried was called Caicos Cafe. I was expecting it to be Caribbean food but it actually was Italian with lots of pastas and other things too. I had a spinach salad and grilled octopus. Arne had the local specialty Conch Chowder and BBQ Ribs. With one beer and water $120
Caicos Cafe
Conch Chowder at Caicos Cafe
A short walk down the beach we discovered The Flamingo Cafe, a tiny beach shake with great water view. Not much to look at but the food was great and inexpensive. Conch Salad and two Grouper entries $60.
Flamingo Cafe
Conch Salad at the Flamingo
We ate lunch out one day at the local food truck called Roosters just a block from our resort. Fish Tacos and burgers on the menu but we also tried a local Caribbean pork dish called Griot. $18
Roosters Food Truck
Griot
We splurged a little on our final night on the island and went to Coyaba, one of the highest rated restaurants in the area. Fantastic service. Cute space. Excellent food. Two fish entries, one salad, beer and water total was $160.
Coyaba
Coyaba
Visiting Turks and Caicos
We chose not to rent a car and not to wander beyond Grace Bay during our visit. But for those interested there are great beaches around the island (some remote), a national park, snorkel and dive tours, sailing tours, sunset tours, kayaking, parasailing, golf and more. Although groceries and dining out were quite expensive, overall we had a really positive experience and would definitely recommend it, as well as a stay at the Royal West Indies Resort Turks and Caicos.
Sue Monk Kidd is one of my favorite authors. I’ve read several of her books, and last year her work The Book of Longings made my top ten list. Today’s book is about one of her older works, published in 2005. Here is my book review The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd.
Jessie has avoided the island where she grew up and her eccentric mother for years, always finding an excuse to stay away. But when her mother’s odd behavior takes an even odder turn, Jessie is forced to leave her comfortable home and husband Hugh and venture back to Egret Island.
Kidd’s story will unfold for both Jessie and her mother, as they learn things about each other’s past. Playing an important role through out the tale is the Mermaid Chair, an ornate and sacred relic in the Benedictine monastery on the island.
Jessie will struggle with her own unhappiness, being drawn to an unlikely and handsome monk. Her relationship with Brother Thomas will make her question everything about her own life, her marriage her childhood and the tragedy that took the life of her father. All this while her mother’s mental health will eventually unlock long hidden family secrets that revolve around The Mermaid Chair.
****Four stars for The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
I hope you enjoyed reading my book review The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd.
We blew our budget through the atmosphere during our 12 days in New York City. Most of that was because we ate out every night in an expensive city. Then we were under budget on the island of Antigua because we used our kitchen and ate in 8 of the 10 nights. Next we arrived to our beautiful resort in Turks and Caicos. A generous room, with a fridge, sink, washer/dryer and microwave. So I got busy figuring out how to stay on budget with hotel microwave cooking.
Hotel Microwave Cooking
I have a microwave at home, but it is not a source for cooking for me. I use it only occasionally to reheat food, or cook frozen vegetables. I’ve never made an entire meal in a microwave. So I went to my favorite recipe source – Pinterest of course, for hotel microwave cooking ideas.
Eggs boiled in the microwave
Here in Turks and Caicos everything is expensive. And we really try to stay within our budget, which is how we sustain long term travel. Groceries are expensive, but eating out is even more expensive. So our nine nights at the Royal West Indies Resort meant hotel microwave cooking more than half of those.
Breakfast
We always eat a bowl of fruit, spinach, quinoa, yogurt, and nuts for breakfast. But I had never cooked quinoa in the microwave before. But, yes you can. And the nice thing about quinoa is you can also make other great meals with it using pre-cooked chicken from the grocery store, beans and veg. It’s a wonderful staple that is part of my daily diet.
I never knew you could make hard boiled eggs in the microwave….what planet have I been on? This is revelation for me, because we each eat a hard boiled egg every morning with our breakfast bowl. Here’s how;
Tip – I didn’t have cooking spray but olive oil or butter works fine. I used a bowl not a mug and this is essentially scrambled eggs not an omelet. I added cheddar, spinach and green onion. I had heavy cream from the pasta the night before (see below) and used that instead of milk. I cooked the eggs a total of 4 min stirring every 30 sec. Microwave cooking time will vary.
Omelet
Dinner
I made four dinners, two of them using the microwave.
Tip – the pasta took 15 min. A smaller pasta probably wouldn’t take as long. After 15 min our microwave overheated and we had to let it cool down before we could continue. I cooked onions and garlic in butter then added canned tomatoes and heavy cream to make it creamy as well as parmesan.
Creamy tomato Rigatoni
Without using the microwave we also had a very yummy Swiss cheese and turkey on Toast with a cucumber tomato salad as well as a salad with store bought cooked chicken and lots of other store bought yummy ingredients. You can also cook bacon in the microwave and make BLT’s.
Sandwich and Salad
Delicious Salad
Stay On Budget With Creative Cooking
We don’t travel like we are on vacation. We travel like we are living a regular day…it just so happens to be in an exotic location. And this is how we stay on budget, experience the local culture and feel a little tiny bit like a local. It’s what we set out to do more than six years ago when we started the Grand Adventure, and we have made it work. This is how we sustain long term travel – by cooking in our Airbnb and occasionally in our hotel. Thanks for reading my blog post Hotel Microwave Cooking. Watch for next Friday’s post all about the Royal West Indies Resort in Turks and Caicos.
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Yes it’s his real name. Randy Rainbow is a comedian and satirist and Playing with Myself is his first book. I listened to this book on audible and and it has so many funny moments, but also a serious side. Here is my book review Playing with Myself by Randy Rainbow.
Rainbow, who grew up in New York and South Florida, tells how he went from being a hostess at Hooters (yes really) to a full-fledged comedian hobnobbing with the likes of Carol Burnett, Patti LaPone and Steven Sondheim. His story is truthful and not always funny, particularly the part about his narcissist father, childhood bullies and lack of self-confidence as a young gay man.
Rainbow today looks back on the difficult times that brought him to his success, gives credit to all those people who helped him along the way, including those who did what they could to see him fail. He does it with a fun and inventive writing style and a whole lot a flare. And let’s not forget his signature pink glasses.
Rainbow is a unique talent, and now he’s an author too. I loved this book, and I am a fan of his humor and the way he uses music as satire and all the characters he has developed as part of his act. A breath of fresh air. Thanks for reading my book review Playing with Myself by Randy Rainbow.
*****Five Stars for Playing with Myself by Randy Rainbow
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