Yves Saint Laurent memorial, Marrakesh

While in Marrakesh I took my friend to see the spectacular Majorelle Gardens. This second visit was not enough, after she left I went back for a third visit. Actually this one was a research visit for a potential travel article. It was also the coolest outdoor place in Marrakesh on one of the forty degree days. In the cafe they had mist sprinklers around the edges, which must have dropped the temperature by more than 10 degrees. Made the relatively expensive prices for food and drinks worthwhile. Oops, forgot to photograph the cafe! But here is a reminder of the gardens anyway.

What has been added to the gardens since I was there last is a memorial to Yves Saint Laurent after his death on June 1st 2008, who bought and restored these gardens in the 60s. He had a villa next door in which he spent a large amount of his time. In the dappled shade of the banana trees is what loks like a Roman column on top of a terracotta base. This quiet oasis in the Marrakesh mayhem is an ideal place to sit and remember one of th best known French designers.
After this I decided to try and take some artistic photographs of the cacti, not that I am a very artistic person! Here's one.