Kitchen cracks on

At the moment we have both the apartment and the salon kitchen under construction and very fine they look too. The open plan American style one in the apartment salon with the low level dining counter is exactly as I pictured it while upstairs the kitchen is more compactly built a lot like a galley in a yacht. Can,t wait to get the appliances in and start having fun with all this stunning produce we have here.

Just had a great 3 days with a friend Ingo a property developer and girlfriend Rosa, as they stayed at Riad Norma on my recommendation and loved it. We ate there on two nights and it was very memorable especially the smooth pea and fresh ginger soup,works on the tastebuds real well and then a lamb and roasted pear tagine was incredible all washed down with a few bottles of Meknes red wine. As i dont drink really whilst living here it all went straight to my head; the next day a gentle thumping was going round my brain.

Took Ingo and Rosa around the house he was into every detail including the laying and cutting of the terrace tiles and the cement and plaster type being used in the house. The interior of the house is a real building site right now but I can see it all coming together in my head even if visitors cannot. Ingo visited a few houses with Fes Properties and grasped very quickly the type style and location of what he was looking for, i was impressed. Hassan has finished the outline of my Berber style fireplace and the builders have started to strip the main salon ceiling but while doing this they chipped a piece of the fancy plasterwork off and we saw a classic Baccali hissy fit. Of course he knows this will have to be replaced so he was furious.

I drove Ingo and Rosa to my favourite spots Hotel Merenides for the view of the medina, Hotel Palais Jamais for sunset cocktails and in the countryside to look down on Fes at dusk. Now i must get back to my budget ha ha.

I guess we are over the halfway stage now with deconstruction and reconstruction, plumbing and electricity, terrace finishing off and drainage being dug in the basement to the street. Sometimes the work in progress is overwhelming, exciting, daunting, serious, fun, expensive and whole other bunch of objectives but would recommend it to anyone who hasnt got a weak heart or empty pockets and likes a challenge. Sounds like you Michael, who will be starting his own renovation in a few weeks just up the road when he flies in from good old Norwich, England.