We are just back from a short break in Essaouira, where we were deliciously chilled to the bone, windswept and almost blown from our terrace into the sea and it was wonderful! We had originally intended to stay at the delightful and colourful Tea House, run by Alison MacDonald. Sadly it was booked out, but Alison suggested the Riad de la Mer in the gorgeous and medieval-feeling Kasbah of the city, so off we went!

The thing about spending more than a couple of weeks in Marrakech is that you very quickly start to value things that are not *too* Morroccan (calling to mind Bowles' short story "A Man Must Not Be Very Muslim"). Unlikely as it sounds, there comes a time when the constant oranges and reds and tadellakts and zellijs become a little wearing and that is just when a couple of nights in the white studio suite of Riad de la Mer becomes a blissful escape! If you like pared-down Anthropologie interiors and unbleached soft wool blankets and drinking your breakfast cafe au lait on the terrace with an enviable view over the sea and the old harbour of Mogador, then you will enjoy your stay there every bit as much as we did.

To add to our bliss, we also found two tagine-free restaurants (tagines being the most wearing aspect of Moroccan "cuisine") - La Cantina, a tiny Mexican cafe run by three English people serving marvellously tasty chilli and carrot cake, and San Silvestro, an Italian place with a sadly bleak atmosphere but wonderful food, including home made spinach and ricotta ravioli!