Today is our 29th wedding anniversary…Ten years ago today…

We dined at Le Jardin, a lovely restaurant with good reviews yesterday. The food and ambiance were excellent in this “riad,” a building with an open-air, center courtyard, as is the design of our current home. Tonight, for our anniversary dinner, Madame Zahra will prepare and serve yet another fabulous meal, which we’ll savor by candlelight. Here’s the link for the post. See the link for more photos.

We’ve posted about our anniversaries over the years, both our wedding anniversary, March 7, 1995, and the anniversary of our meeting date, June 28, 2011. Both have special meanings for us, as is the case for many couples. We don’t make a lot of commotion for either occasion, and the most we ever do is go out for lunch or dinner.

Over the years of world travel, we’ve rarely eaten lunch, instead preferring breakfast and dinner; after the first few years, we went out at night. This year, we discussed going out to dinner tonight, but this morning, after Tom said I could choose what I’d like to do, I awoke feeling like I’d prefer to stay in this evening. We may not dine out this weekend either when I plan to make low-carb pizza tomorrow, which should be enough to get us through the weekend.

When there are no giraffes, kudus, or warthogs to watch, birds can be fun to watch.

We can dine out any night around here and will do so sometime next week. As it turns out, only a few restaurants are within a reasonable walking distance, which is suitable for me. I can now walk two to three miles daily but can’t do it all at once.

I decided to share photos from our wedding anniversary ten years ago for today’s post when we went to lunch in Marrakesh Morocco. That restaurant wasn’t open in the evenings, like some restaurants in The Big Square. More often, while we were there, instead of dining out at night, we chose to go out during the day when, at night, there were tourists walking down the narrow alleys in the dark.

No more than two minutes after we were seated, we noticed this turtle on the floor, on a mission. In search of crumbs, he moved rapidly.

Pickpocketing was rampant, along with other crimes, and it was always safer to go out during the day. We went out several evenings but only to restaurants that overlooked the Big Square with easy access from the Medina in a well-lighted area. Fortunately, we never ran into any problems.

It was an interesting time for us. We lived in the riad for 2½ months. I loved the culture and the scenery, although Tom wasn’t as enthused as I was. He didn’t care about the restaurant’s food choices, although he liked Madame Zahra’s meals for the nights we dined in. Tom loves pork, but none was available, and there was a shortage of beef options. I could always figure out food suitable for my way of eating.

Later, during our meal, these two turtles were hanging out together.

When it rained, it rained into the open center courtyard in the riad. All the rooms in the house were overlooking the courtyard. Each time it rained, we had to run around and move the decorative items in the center courtyard. In the mornings, both of us loved the sound of birds’ wings flapping in the courtyard.

Often, we went up to the third-floor terrace to see and listen to the “call to prayer” several times a day. The smells emanating from the open food market in the evenings were enticing, but we were warned to be careful eating any local foods cooked at night in the Big Square.

Fresh produce from the farm, used in the menu items, were freely on display in the restaurant.

I got sick from dining in a restaurant the first few days we were there and ended up, three weeks later, having to rely upon my supply of Cipro, a potent and dangerous antibiotic. Within hours, I began to feel better, and within days, I was back to feeling well again.

Since we had no room in our luggage, we didn’t purchase items in the souks. There were many “knock-offs,” and most wares were centered around cooking and various bags: handbags, luggage, wallets, briefcases, etc. We had no use for any of those items. Instead, we frequently walked through the souks to see the many wares offered. However, the vendors seldom allowed us to take photos of their offerings.

This was Tom’s lunch, Moroccan seasoned penne and meat sauce. He liked this dish and asked for half as many spices as usual. There was no comment from me on him eating pasta.

We took a taxi to a market a few times to buy some nuts and cheese for those evenings when we had dined out for lunch and needed a little something in the evening. We were amazed by the beautiful displays in the grocery store and took a few photos. Moments later, a man in a black suit approached me, demanding I delete the pictures from my camera. While I deleted the photos, I showed him they were gone and never attempted to take pictures in a market again.

Enjoy today’s photos from our anniversary on March 7, 2014, while in Marrakesh. The memories are as fresh in our minds as if it were yesterday.

Happy anniversary, my love! I am grateful for every year we’ve spent together!

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, March 7, 2014:

While out to lunch on our anniversary ten years ago, we sat next to a birdcage with two parakeets; Tom got a kick out of their playful antics. For more, please click here.

Travel day…Today is our 25 year wedding anniversary…Heading to the beach!…

In an old vehicle located at the Best Exotic Marigold  Hotel, Us is referred to as a Willy/Jeep. For that post, please click here.

Today, as we celebrate 25 years of marriage (together almost 29 years), we’re posting a few photos of us taken during this past 12 months, all since the dreadful surgery in February, as we continued our travels three months later in May 2019. 

Unfortunately, until we started traveling, we took very few photos of us or any of our family members for that matter. We just weren’t the photo-taking family. Not so much the case now.

On February 5th in Bikaner, India (posted February 6th), a camel pulled a cart up the steep hill to the dunes where we all gathered for sundowners. Click here for the post.

Today, with time at a premium, as we were getting ready to leave Chennai, we were struggling to find more photos of us from the past year when so much of it was spent during my recovery when I wasn’t up to it having photos taken.

We’ve made it to our following location, one we’ve been incredibly excited to visit, the village of Mahabalipuram (try to pronounce this!), where we’ll stay at the Ideal Beach Resort located directly on the ocean, the Bay of Bengal.Tonight’s dinner will be a better fit for both of us.

I checked out the hotel’s online menu, and there are several options suitable for our tastes and dietary restrictions. This will only add to the enjoyment of our anniversary dinner.

We’ve only spent two nights in the peculiar hotel, the Ibis in Chennai. Although we had incredible touring experiences yesterday, which we’ll post tomorrow, we’re content to be on our way.

Out to dinner in Minnesota in November 2019, with our dear friends Karen and Rich. Click here for that post.

This has been a tough year for us, but our love and devotion to one another have seen us through the challenges. Although I’m still not 100%, Tom provides the support and care I need when out on long, steep walks and visiting sites with lots of steps and uneven pavement. 

As we’ve often mentioned, the anniversary of our world travels has been the anniversary we celebrate the most. It was on that date, on October 31, 2012, that our dream began, and we’re so grateful we can continue every day.

On our way in December to the Vegas Golden Knights game with son Richard. Thanks, Richard, it was an enjoyable night! Here‘s the post from that night.

We take nothing for granted: not about being together; not about our lives of world travel; not about the places we’re blessed to visit; not about good health and certainly not about the people we love.

And now, at 3:30 pm Saturday, we’ve arrived in Mahabalipuram at our beautiful hotel with ocean views, excellent WiFi and air-con, and a big bathroom, not like the recent Ibis hotel in Chennai with a bathroom smaller than a cruise ship. 

We were hot and sweaty while on a Celebrity cruise from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale after dancing at the silent disco in November 2019. Click here for that link.

For the next three days, we’ll do a little sightseeing and then spend a few days of relaxation at this beautiful beach resort. We couldn’t be more content to spend anniversary #25 this way… in India… on the ocean and in love.
Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, March 7, 2019:

Check out the mature horns on this Big Daddy kudu! For more photos, please click here.