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September 2024, Agafay Desert, Morocco
On a camel with a bottle of Champagne and a knife
Those of you who have been following me on Instagram know that I have a passion for opening Champagne and sparkling wine bottles with a saber (and sometimes with a glass, a spoon or a phone); and that my gimmick is to do it blindfolded. So far, I have only done it on solid and steady grounds, except for one occasion underwater. There are moments I leave my saber in my car, so I have it with me at all times. I never know when I am going to run into a bottle. If I am out of my boundaries, I go in the kitchen and grab a knife.
Scroll down for the video on this page.
La Bohème, an oasis for Mad Max
On a recent trip to Morocco, it seems that my signature move preceded me — in French, we say “le téléphone arabe” (bush telegraph). But, in fact, the informant was Michèle La Porta, the proprietor of Villa Dar Dobra, a magnificent and majestic “villa d’hôtes” (guest house), on the other side of Marrakesh where I was staying. As Michèle wanted me to experience the desert, we drove to Agafay Desert, destination La Bohème.
La Bohème is a restaurant, a hotel, and a place to have fun around the pool and the bar. It offers activities like quad and buggy rides, electrical mountain bikes, and camel rides at sunset, which I ended up doing. Then, a Moroccan dinner came under the rhythm of live Gnawa music.
> For more information, visit La Bohème Marrakesh official website.
It is actually a dromedary, known as “Arabian camel”
But, the owner of the lieu, Axel Hammouche, had not said his last word. At the end of the evening, he called a camel driver with his camel inside the restaurant. There was my dessert on four legs, not the animal but sabering a bottle of Champagne on top of the camel.
The complication was to get on wearing a dress and high heels. (I had traded my jeans and tennis shoes from the afternoon ride.) You will see in the video below that it is not a smooth take-off and landing. The second challenge was faced by Michèle, as she needed to film the scene with the right framing, far enough away to see the entire camel, but close enough so we could see me on camera. She knew the process goes fast. She could not miss the shot, otherwise she would have been “fired.”
Did I do it? (Video)
Only way to find out: watch the video below…
Video © GAYOT.com
No animals were harmed during the filming of the video.
Have you ever toasted with a camel?
