Among Bedouins

Back in mid November I received an email from my dear friend, New York's design icon Tucker Robbins. Tucker is a renowned furniture designer whose passion lies in the cooperation among global cultures. His vision is to be a bridge between disparate cultures and to give back to the environment and the people who live in it.

I started to read the following email:

"On behalf of the Crown prince of Abu Dhabi and Mohamed Khalf Al Mazroeui, I extend a warm welcome to join us at the Al Dhafra Camel festival. Accommodations will be provided at the VIP tent encampment in the Liwa desert. Preference will be given to guests looking for an immersion in the Bedouin culture."

Within minutes my fingers pressed the reply button: "This is the most impulsive decision I ever made, but count me in!"

I woke up my husband who was still sound asleep at 5AM, and asked if he would mind spending Christmas without me. Christmas is a very important tradition in our family, as every year we host our traditional Christmas lunch to a gathering of 20 plus close friends. Typically our tree is nearly occluded by the gifts that surround it; presents for friends and family, the lunch is always a very fancy and culinary affair with the most special wine and fare. I then woke up my sons and read them Tucker's email….immediately, they said… Mom you must go! this is an amazing opportunity to experience this part of the world…you have gone through a lot lately and you need to do something positive… By mid morning I had booked my flight ticket , destination: Abu Dhabi.

I had absolutely no idea of what to expect or who would be present. After two rather long flights, arriving at the airport with no one in sight bearing a sign with my name, I started to wander…how do I get to the desert, what am I doing in this crowded airport?… I took a deep breath, annoyed every local agent who could speak english, dialed every number I had for Tucker and his team in New York… to no avail. So I made a rational decision to stay put and wait. A few hours later, I had never been so happy to recognize a familiar face…. Clodagh had just walk though the exit gate, I ran to her and gave her the biggest hug. Clodagh is by far the most talented International Designer: from spas, to hotels, to interiors and designs, she brings her incredible talent to enhance life and spirit through timeless, responsive design. Then walked in another western woman who looked as she was searching for a sign. Her name is Helene and we have been inseparable ever since. We all arrived at 3 AM, had a drink at a lavish hotel in the desert and were thrilled to stay in such a magnificent place in the desert (so we thought...). Well…. that was only the first (of many stops as the hotel was our only link to wifi, cocktails and pool…) and we quickly went back into the car that took us to the camp.

The rest of this story is a tale of incredibly generous and kind hosts, the immersion in the ancient foreign culture of the Bedouins (locally, "Bedu"), surrounded by magnificent desert landscapes and golden dunes.

The daily ritual is waking up to a lavish breakfast spread, our hosts, their friends and our small group would wander in the tent and the conversations would start. Lunch is a huge fare of Tagines, fish, rice, vegetables, platters after platters of food. Dinner is over the top with trays laden with lamb chops, sheep meats, chicken, goat meat and … camel meat. I don't eat sheep or goat and couldn't bring myself to eat the camel, because I so love the ungainly creatures. Luckily, I befriended our French speaking Moroccan chef who happily prepared me special and amazingly delicious vegetarian Tagines.

We would then retire in our beautiful tent and start evening presentations and conversations. Our hosts would drop in and share stories.

My day would start at sunrise, climbing the dunes, sitting on top of the tallest dune and taking in the astounding beauty, the vastness and harshness of the largest desert in the world, known locally as the empty quarter of the vast Arabian Desert. Its deep orange-red color comes from oxidized iron, and the white shade from limestone dating back to prehistoric lake beds. I enjoyed  beautiful private moments reflecting on the magnificence of our planet and its more magnificent and generous creator. 

The days were filled with exotic exciting events taking place during the yearly Al Dhafra Camel Festival.

Under blazing sun, we would watch the races from the VIP tent and partake in the camels beauty pageant  Camels from all over the region gather at Madinat  every year for trading and beauty contest. This is an intense serious business, thousands of camels and their owners compete, prizes include cars, large sums of cash, and camels can be  traded for over $3 million dollars for a particularly special camel. It is said that Bedouins greatest love is their camels. As official guests of the Prince, we rode camels, were allowed in the camel corrals and partook in all the festivities. Our amazing hosts provided us with cars and drivers to go from event to event. At the end of each day, the winners would parade on the "million dollars road" crazily happy, riding on top of their new cars, an insane traffic jam of camels, cars, men singing, shouting, dancing. Each nation would fly their flag and would set up lavish camps, from UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Muscat, Al Gharbia, Qatar, Barhain and Kowait.

Falconry was another of my favorite activities to watch. Originally practiced by Bedouins to hunt hares for food, it has since developed into a traditional sport with very specific rules. This is a very popular and glamorous sport among the Emiratis. From falcons to Sanuki dog racing, arabian horse racing, walking the craft fairs … the days were filled with excitement, beauty and new lessons in cultural understanding. We also ventured into the Liwa oasis on the Arabian peninsula, acres of date plantations surrounded by ancient forts and majestic desert.

Like most of Tucker's friends, I have been very lucky and blessed to see the world through quite extensive travel. But these last ten days have been unlike any experience I have had before. When asked by our host what we can take back with us, my answer was humility… This experience has been an incredible lesson in humility, acceptance and respect. Respect of tradition, acceptance of difference in religions and customs, acceptance of the humbling gifts of generosity.

For privacy reasons, I will not specifically name the great leading Bedouin family who so openly and kindly accepted us and cared for us, but I will never forget them. When we arrived, The Emirates were in a time of deep sorrow and mourning having just lost their visionary leader, HE Mohamed al Mazroeui who died tragically in early December, but the family kept their word and welcomed us into heart of their tribe.

As dear Tucker says.." the desert has the job of putting all in its place. The sand fills all voids, all is put right, as said, ashes to ashes and dust to dust.

                          Thank you Tucker, thank you my Bedouin friends.

Tucker and Hussein

Three of us shared a tent 

classy bathroom!

Breakfast spread

conversations by the campfire

my morning walks

The guys are crazy drivers…was fearing for my life!

Camel beauty contest

Beautiful falcons

The winner…will go home with a brand new car and cash…

The VIP lounge

The winning tea

The various camps

Ancient forts in the Liwa Oasis

In Abu Dhabi: the recently built Mosque

I was thrilled to visit my favorite building

Camera ready…action...

If you are planning to travel to the UAE:

amazing spa resort: Qasr Al Sarab  anantara.com

Desert Island resort and spa:www.anantara.com (one of the world's most unique and luxurious retreat)

Our hang out in the desert: Tilal Liwa Hotel www.danathotels.com

In Abu Dhabi: Saint Regis Corniche 

A Bientôt,

Francine

A PERFECT DAY in a life….

Our dear friend Marsha Harris of Splenderosa is asking us to pick one of the 
best days of our life, for this month's "By Invitation Only" post.

The timing of this post is so perfect as I am living in a personal turmoil, having made some big (but very positive) changes in my professional life that will impact my work and my family.

For a moment, I will leave all worries and demands aside, take time out and relieve some synopsis of my life…flashbacks…moments of pure joy…moments of pure freedom…A vision of my children on the day of their birth flash immediately in front of my eyes, however I must pick one day, one day so perfect that it  ecapsulates the very best life can bring us.

Instantly a vision comes to me,  the sounds,  the colors, the scents, the humidity, the calm and heaviness of the air, a moment in time as far away from civilization and culture as I have ever experienced.

That glorious day started with my two children, husband Luke and myself waking up in the early hours of the morning to the sounds of chattering Proboscis monkeys, aboard a boat on a Kalimantan black water river, in the heart of the rainforest of Borneo's Tanjung Puting National Park. Writing these sentences,  transports me back ten years and I even now feel the pure moment of joy and elation as if I was experiencing the moment now, surrounded by so much life, serenity, beauty with the man and two boys I so intensely love.

We were alone (save our boat's captain and our guide of course) in a world about to vanish, and the awareness of that moment in time, the fragility of all the beauty surrounding us made this moment even more powerful. I had wanted for my children to understand how precarious all the world's beauty really is. My son Hadrian completed his sciences project, communicating with Seeswee, a beautiful orangutan whose life is in jeopardy due to the loss of habitat.

Living on the deck of our little boat

The amazingly beautiful, fast disappearing rain forest

 After  days and endless patience, Hadrian became close to Seswee, he made her a necklace which she proceeded to place around her neck, after watching him do so.

A bientôt,

Francine

Maine Spa Treatment

Christmas Cove, South Bristol,Maine

I needed to recharge as we say… the batteries… Could not think of a more beautiful place than my husband's family magnificent spot on the coast of Maine. This is no near as far as Roque Island, our beloved Island way up North in Maine.

Recipe for my "get in shape" in 5 days program:

Be present in the moment, absorb you surroundings, breath in the fresh scented air, feel the ocean,
leave behind newspapers, computers, TV. Listen to the music of the birds.

Up early, I eat a  healthy breakfast of home made bread and jam, scrambled farm eggs with freshly harvested Chantarelle mushrooms and chopped bacon strips all topped off with a glass of fresh juice.

Then onto the bike for a challenging ride. Starting at 10 miles on the first day to 20 miles by the fifth day. The ride is rigorous with steep hills, fast descents, curved lanes which makes it  an interesting and fun work out while  burning calories and  great leg and thigh workout.

Back to the house for a light snack and ready to hike the beautiful wooded trails along the coast. Along the walk, I love to explore in search for beautiful moss and some more Chanterelles which will be perfect for a light lunch. The paths are covered in the most stunning varieties of  moss. The air is richly scented from the pines, the sea, the humus. Breath in….breath out… clean the lungs.

A kitchen with a view

Back at the house, time to collect blueberries that will be transformed into delicious pies.
A lunch of fresh crab salad on home made bread, local peaches for desert, and a strong espresso.

Time to lounge by the pool or on the grass, looking at the bay, a nap, a great book…moment of bliss.

Part two of the "perfect healthy day":

Off to our dock to get the kayaks in the water. I love kayaking, it is a contemplative exercise, silence only broken by the cries of the birds, the sound of the wind. We have had some intense kayaking as well, being caught in some rapid currents. The Maine waterways and ocean is treacherous and one has to be very aware of the change in tides, winds and storms surging. I try to kayak for at least one and a half hours... it is a great exercise for the shoulders, arms and upper back.

Then comes my final ritual, not for the faint of heart: swimming in rather cold water. I always swim in the late afternoon to early evening high tides, when the water had a chance to warm up to a roaring 60 degrees. (Roque island water is in the low to mid 50's…) I have a strict method of counting each stroke. 1000 strokes is close to 1 mile and that is my daily goal, it takes about 1 hour. If the water is too cold, I unfortunately cut it to half a mile to avoid hypothermia. I feel euphoric from the swim, it is truly an amazing feeling. The water is just so cold, so pure, the scent in the air is incredibly fragrant, the nature surrounding me is magnificent and I forget the world….

Last part of the day is running on the dock to get as fast as possible to my well deserved hot water shower. It does take a little while to bring back the body temperature.I dress comfortably and warmly, light a big fire, serve myself a glass of rose and get lost into the sunset.

Dinner is usually clams, lobsters, oysters, fish…all food from the sea and local vegetables.

The day is gone...walking back from the main house to our smaller cottage, we stop to stare at the stars,  They are brilliant in the unpolluted sky.

I thank God, kiss my husband goodnight and enter the world of dreams.

A Bientôt,

Francine

Summer days...

Last year, in Mozambique

I live for summer…the perfect dry day, listening to the sounds of the cicadas, forgetting the world and just taking in the sun, the scents of lavender and rosemary. As a child, I spent my summers in Eze Village, a small village overlooking the Mediterranean above Nice. I was  a free, wild child - this was a time when children were safe to run and explore - I would hike down to the beach with my cousins, stop by the local farmer for the taste of a peach. These memories are so vivid that I can still taste the ripe peach, smell the intoxicating thyme, and feel the excitement of running to the beach. I would read  Marcel Pagnol's novels, laying on my blanket and pillows by the shade of the fragrant pine trees. 

Growing up as a teenager, I counted the days to summer, the excitement of going boating on the Atlantic coast of Cap Ferret and Pyla Sur Mer, getting oysters from the local farmers and naps by the sand dunes, listening to  the enchanting sound of the ocean and the exquisite smell  of the pine trees.

During  college summer breaks, I worked in Saint Tropez, a dream job…. showing potential buyers houses to buy or rent. I found out that one actually needs a few hours of sleep … and would dance all night into morning. My vacation from this "stressful" job was to escape to Ibiza with my then boyfriend …now husband of thirty years. In those days, Ibiza was a cool, laid-back island, beautiful white washed houses, hot sandy beaches, clear water and wild nightlife…

These memories of summer are part of who I am and I try to escape to far away places to feel these moments of pure bliss.I, unfortunately, do not live by the beach but summer coming, I work on re- creating the scents, taste, colors and sounds of my childhood. The pool is surrounded by stone walls, white roses, lavender beds, thyme and rosemary. My tented canopy bed is my refuge where I dream, read, nap, think and create interiors for my clients' summer homes. The houses that I design for my clients always have a part of me, as I go back to my perfect childhood days, and  re-create these sensory experiences, the houses of my life's summers. The pictures are in my head and in my heart.

My dream summer houses….

All images from my Pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/interieurs/

Happy Summer,

Francine