Marrakech

Style icon Paloma Picasso has been creating jewelry for Tiffany & Co. since 1980, famously reinterpreting Xs and O's in bold silver and gold and celebrating the raw beauty of colorful stones in her modern-looking Sugar Stacks rings. Her newest collection for the jeweler, Olive Leaf, is more naturalistic than what has come before, with prices ranging from $150 for a thin silver ring band to $975 for a silver cuff to $100,000 for a diamond and white-gold bib. Picasso, 64, is married to French osteopathic doctor Eric Thevenet and splits her time between Lausanne, Switzerland, and Marrakech, Morocco.

Style icon Paloma Picasso has been creating jewelry for Tiffany & Co. since 1980, famously reinterpreting Xs and O's in bold silver and gold and celebrating the raw beauty of colorful stones in her modern-looking Sugar Stacks rings. Her newest collection for the jeweler, Olive Leaf, is more naturalistic than what has come before, with prices ranging from $150 for a thin silver ring band to $975 for a silver cuff to $100,000 for a diamond and white-gold bib. Picasso, 64, is married to French osteopathic doctor Eric Thevenet and splits her time between Lausanne, Switzerland, and Marrakech, Morocco.

NEW YORK -- And now for the clothes all of America wears. J. Crew's fall-winter 2013 presentation Tuesday morning at New York Fashion Week was a crush of camera phones, as people angled for shots of pieces that have no doubt already made it onto shopping lists. The look: Marrakech prep. Lots of color. Tailored separates in menswear tweeds and houndstooth. Hand-embroidered and beaded boho sweaters and popover tops. Multicolored jacquard tops and a little J. Crew sparkle thrown in for extra oomph.

NEW YORK -- And now for the clothes all of America wears. J. Crew's fall-winter 2013 presentation Tuesday morning at New York Fashion Week was a crush of camera phones, as people angled for shots of pieces that have no doubt already made it onto shopping lists. The look: Marrakech prep. Lots of color. Tailored separates in menswear tweeds and houndstooth. Hand-embroidered and beaded boho sweaters and popover tops. Multicolored jacquard tops and a little J. Crew sparkle thrown in for extra oomph.

Abdellilah Meddich's childhood memories of the famous palm grove of Marrakech are of a "magical" place, a lush desert oasis of flowers, animals and farmers who tended tree-shaded plots. No longer. Today, the unique and vast World Heritage site is "nothing like it used to be when I was a child," says Meddich, 37, a forestry engineer overseeing a plan to plant more palms. An ancient city on the rim of the Sahara desert, Marrakech has been a magnet for tourism since the 1960s, when hippies dubbed it "the city of four colors" -- for its blue skies, its backdrop of white snowcapped peaks, the red walls of its medieval fortifications, and the sprawling green palm grove on its outskirts.

If you've ever agonized over an insect or rodent problem, this photo should make you feel better. Imagine your garden being overrun with tree-climbing goats. By my count, there are nine in this flimsy tree, not counting the goat nibbling on leaves from the ground. Times reader Jack Brunning captured this scene while vacationing in Morocco . Tree-climbing goats aren't as unusual as you might think. In western Morocco, Tamri goats are known to scale argan trees to feed on their leaves and nuts.

Within the medina (old city) of Marrakech, Morocco, is an oasis of calm called Café Arabe. It used to be a riad , which is the Moroccan equivalent of a B&B. There are three levels to this café, but the must-see is the rooftop bar. Go there at sunset and experience something you will never forget. I stumbled upon Café Arabe by accident, and it was my favorite part of Marrakech. Café Arabe, 184 Rue Mouassine, Marrakech; http://www.cafearabe.com Lauren Linett Los Angeles

For surfers, Moroccan beaches about 100 miles southwest of Marrakech provide long, smooth breaks -- and few crowds. Access Trips , based in Oakland, mines these lesser known locations along the Atlantic Ocean with a surf vacation to locals-only spots near Agadir. Participants spend three days in morning and afternoon surf lessons during this eight-day trip. There's a cultural side to this tour as well. Sightseeing and exploring the history of Marrakech and hiking in the Atlas Mountains also are on the itinerary to create a fuller picture of life in the North African nation.

A building under construction in downtown Marrakech collapsed Wednesday, killing 20 people and injuring eight others, the Moroccan news agency MAP reported. It said 17 people were believed trapped in the rubble.

Regarding "On the Road Through Morocco, Family Style" (Oct. 4): I am a native of Morocco, an ethnologist and a television producer who has recently completed a series of 11 programs on my native country. I found your account just as unreal as other travel accounts of the last half a century, concentrating on the mecca of tourism, Marrakech, with the well-known Djemaa el-Fna (Place of the Dead) and its snake charmers, camels and guides dressed as Blue Men of the desert. In general, it was a stereotypical review of what charms Morocco holds.

For surfers, Moroccan beaches about 100 miles southwest of Marrakech provide long, smooth breaks -- and few crowds. Access Trips , based in Oakland, mines these lesser known locations along the Atlantic Ocean with a surf vacation to locals-only spots near Agadir. Participants spend three days in morning and afternoon surf lessons during this eight-day trip. There's a cultural side to this tour as well. Sightseeing and exploring the history of Marrakech and hiking in the Atlas Mountains also are on the itinerary to create a fuller picture of life in the North African nation.

Within the medina (old city) of Marrakech, Morocco, is an oasis of calm called Café Arabe. It used to be a riad , which is the Moroccan equivalent of a B&B. There are three levels to this café, but the must-see is the rooftop bar. Go there at sunset and experience something you will never forget. I stumbled upon Café Arabe by accident, and it was my favorite part of Marrakech. Café Arabe, 184 Rue Mouassine, Marrakech; http://www.cafearabe.com Lauren Linett Los Angeles

If you've ever agonized over an insect or rodent problem, this photo should make you feel better. Imagine your garden being overrun with tree-climbing goats. By my count, there are nine in this flimsy tree, not counting the goat nibbling on leaves from the ground. Times reader Jack Brunning captured this scene while vacationing in Morocco . Tree-climbing goats aren't as unusual as you might think. In western Morocco, Tamri goats are known to scale argan trees to feed on their leaves and nuts.

You have to wonder whether it's a setup when you're in a Muslim country and someone asks, point-blank, "Are you lot drinkers?" Despite the hooded djellaba he was wearing, John Horne, who was doing the asking, looked as though he had guzzled a few in his time, so I took a calculated risk and confirmed that yes, we lot were drinkers. John is a Brit, a bespectacled, erudite, eccentric and highly amusing Yorkshireman who has spent the last 40 years circumnavigating the globe. He lived in Marrakech, working for a tour company, and he was about to join my two friends and me on a six-day hike in Morocco's High Atlas Mountains.

Abdellilah Meddich's childhood memories of the famous palm grove of Marrakech are of a "magical" place, a lush desert oasis of flowers, animals and farmers who tended tree-shaded plots. No longer. Today, the unique and vast World Heritage site is "nothing like it used to be when I was a child," says Meddich, 37, a forestry engineer overseeing a plan to plant more palms. An ancient city on the rim of the Sahara desert, Marrakech has been a magnet for tourism since the 1960s, when hippies dubbed it "the city of four colors" -- for its blue skies, its backdrop of white snowcapped peaks, the red walls of its medieval fortifications, and the sprawling green palm grove on its outskirts.

For every high-profile restaurant that opens in downtown L.A. these days, three small, on-your-block cafes spring into life, nothing to make a big deal about in other parts of town. But downtowners -- craving variety and choice -- are all over those new doorsteps immediately. Maybe this one will have great pizza or a hot takeout dinner that's homey and comforting. There are still lots of gaps in the scene.

I won't read Susan Spano any more, no matter what the subject. Her stories are gossipy and superficial. As a final straw, she doesn't realize that when we, regular readers/travelers, go on vacation, our bosses do not refund our expenses. She just recommended hotels in Marrakech, Morocco, for $300 to $500 per night and restaurants with the cheapest dinner for $40 per person ["Marrakech's New Euro Chic," Nov. 20]. You can stay in a decent hotel and eat a great dinner spending a third as much money.

I thoroughly enjoyed the June 15 feature by Judith Morgan on "Walls Worth Climbing." I believe that there is no better way to view a city or an area than by walking along the walls. I am glad she suggested Marrakech and I will try that this summer. I would suggest that she add the wall around Jerusalem. It is well worth at least half of a day. NANCY KEATING Placentia

THE 1935 shingled and shuttered Cape Cod house overlooking the ocean from Playa del Rey is a slice of old-fashioned Americana. Ring the doorbell and you almost expect Donna Reed to answer, apple pie in hand. Instead, Michelle Kelchak ushers you into a worldly living room that would put any chic boutique hotel to shame, then heads for the kitchen to fetch Slovakian pastries or a Moroccan tagine. This is, after all, a showplace for her aesthetic -- a style she calls "international modern."

I won't read Susan Spano any more, no matter what the subject. Her stories are gossipy and superficial. As a final straw, she doesn't realize that when we, regular readers/travelers, go on vacation, our bosses do not refund our expenses. She just recommended hotels in Marrakech, Morocco, for $300 to $500 per night and restaurants with the cheapest dinner for $40 per person ["Marrakech's New Euro Chic," Nov. 20]. You can stay in a decent hotel and eat a great dinner spending a third as much money.