Loose Threads: "If it's Tuesday, it must be Tangier."

By Rachelle Hruska MacPherson. Thursday, July 3rd, 2025

"If it’s Tuesday, this must be Tangier."

Rome → Cadiz → Tangier → Granada → Córdoba → Seville → Barcelona → Menorca (!)

Today’s newsletter is a bit of a travel blog because, well, that’s what I’m doing right now! Greetings from sunny, peaceful Menorca, Spain. After a whirlwind tour through Andalusia (with pit stops in both Tangier and Barcelona), we’ve finally settled into our true holiday.

Sean referenced that old line, “If it’s Tuesday, this must be Belgium,” from the 1969 film of the same name. I hadn’t heard of it, but it perfectly sums up our past week: a new hotel every night, and a mad dash to stay ahead of a 109-degree heat wave while sneaking in a little Gaudí on the way.

My single best piece of travel advice? Expect the worst. That way, when things go wrong, you're not crushed, and when they go right, it feels like magic.

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Question of the Day You have five days to power through one part of the world. Where are you going? I’d like to visit more of Africa soon.

You? Please comment in the comment section below!

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Since I last wrote from Rome, we made a quick stop in Cadiz to pick up Maxwell (13), who had just finished two weeks of total immersion Spanish, zero screens allowed. Parents got a single daily check-in email with only one or two photos (hello! do they not know most of us are used to camp-style checkins with HUNDREDS of daily photos?!). It was much harder on us than on him. On the last day, we got an email prepping us for kids’ re-entry into a world of devices. It really hit me, once again, how much tech is rewiring our kids' brains. I truly believe every 13-year-old should get at least two weeks fully unplugged. Maxwell said it was incredible. Not as hard as he was expecting. And his stories? They’re more vivid than ever. Here’s my two excited thumbs up for total immersion (of both a language and a world with no gadgets).

Cadiz, by the way, is where Columbus set off to "discover" America. From there, we began our own exploration, heading towards Gibraltar (a tiny peninsula that is owned by the English and is famous for it’s rock with views of Africa and its thousands of Barbary macaque monkeys - the last remaining wild population of monkeys in Europe) for Tangier by way of the chicest ferry I’ve been on (they sold designer bags and featured a customs office on board!) In less than an hour, we were in Africa!

Tangier I’ve wanted to visit Tangier since I first heard about Yves Saint Laurent’s home there while in Marrakech touring his other house (yes, that blue one) over a decade ago. His Villa Mabrouka is now a hotel owned by Jasper Conran (Terence Conran’s son), and sort of worth the trip alone.

We ran into friends at the restaurant: Chiara Clemente and her crew, in town working on a new doc, and the luminous Helen Marden, whose "Grief Paintings" at Gagosian followed the death of her husband, Brice and are worth getting into.

“Maybe it freed her in a certain way as an artist. I think they’re the best paintings she’s made.” - Larry Gagosian

A deep dive into Helen’s colorful life led me through her beyond beyond Moroccan Riad, her Greek island home in Hydra, and their boutique hotel properties in Nevis and Tivoli. I left wanting more more more of Helen!

Also spotted: the ever-glamorous Carlos Mota, a man who always seems to be in the right place at the right time, which makes it extra fun to bump into him! Just two days prior, he’d been at the Chelsea Hotel’s new restaurant, Teruko. He arrived at Villa Mabrouka for Jaime Creel’s birthday dinner in full Tangier mode: a custom cape over a perfectly draped tunic. Iconic.

If you want a taste of Tangier chic, not to mention fun, start with Carlos’ Instagram. “Learn, people!” LOL.

Also worth a visit: Hercules’ Cave, the point where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic, and the Medina- especially great for older kids.

Tangier was the perfect beginning to our tour of Andalusia, where the Moorish influence can be felt in great detail. It was a great reference point reminding us of its layered past. The Moors controlled parts of southern Spain for over 700 years, and Andalusia once held one of the world’s largest Jewish communities. Every town we visited had a beautiful preserved Jewish quarter. We started in:

Granada. I’ve wanted to visit Granda since college. It was the place everyone wanted to study abroad, and apparently where Bill Clinton studied for three years (and perfected his Spanish- who knew!). The Alhambra is a must visit (eighth wonder of the world!), and the Alhambra Palace Hotel - situated within the fortress walls - is where to stay. Have dinner at Mirador San Nicolas for the classic views, and don’t miss the Sacromonte district cave dwellings - where families host nightly flamenco shows. (Michelle Obama famously visited them too!). Don’t leave without eating your fair share of Piononos.

From Granada we drove the 1.5 hrs to:

Córdoba In Cordoba, we toured the site that would become my personal favorite of the trip. The Mezquita Cordoba (the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba) is perhaps one of the most beautiful places of worship in the world. It’s certainly one of the most unique. A Visigoth church turned mosque (785) turned cathedral (1236) that somehow holds all those histories in one awe-inspiring space. It might be the most breathtaking house of worship I’ve ever stepped into. We stayed at Hospes Palacio del Bailío— the remains of an ancient villa, highly recommend—and had the best Iberian ham of the trip in the Jewish Quarter at Casa Pepe De La Juderia.

The next day, another 1.5 hrs to….

Seville Seville, it has to be said, was HOT HOT HOT. Brutally so. We found respite at The Hotel Alfonso Xiii, a showstopper of a structure - originally built by the king for visiting dignitaries in 1929, and still a national landmark turned hotel. We hit the famous Cathedral (the boys made me climb the bell tower in 105º heat, something I do NOT recommend doing) and the Real Alcázar Palace (Sean’s favorite). We even rented Lime bikes to cruise the city’s incredible gardens. Dinner at Casa Robles was a treat (try the amazing paella), then we packed up and fled the heat for:

Barcelona I hadn’t been to Barcelona since college, when the famous Sagrada Familia Cathedral was still closed. Seeing inside Gaudí’s cathedral now? Mind-blowing. As our tour guide said, the man was either a madman or a genius - probably both. I can’t recommend a tour guide enough - it’s one of those places where every little detail was thoughtfully planned out. The artist was deeply religious and deeply moved by nature, which compelled him to create the entire inside design to look like giant structural trees. He believed that nature, with its millions of years of evolution, held the answers to creating structures that were both beautiful and functional. I could go on and on about this place (my son Dash’s favorite from the trip). When in Barcelona, you gotta go full Gaudi, and, that we did..

We toured the Park Güell and apartment buildings like Casa Batlló (which my son Maxwell had done a school report on!) and La Pedrera. Gosh Gaudi was Genius!

While in Barcelona we also beat the heat at the Picasso museum - the largest Picasso museum in the world. It’s pretty incredible to walk through the transformation of the artist. I’ve always been drawn to his dove paintings and pottery series. We ate on the waterfront while watching kids and adults alike swim well past 10pm (when most dinners here start), and tried to make sense of the week that was. We stayed at the Palace Hotel which opened its doors in 1919 as the former Ritz of Barcelona, and was an OASIS in a vibrant city.

Traveling this fast isn’t for the faint of heart, but for us, it was the perfect tapas-style tasting of this incredible region. Our boys are old enough now to handle the pace—and even take care of me sometimes.

Now, we’re fully tranquillo in Menorca. The only questions we’re asking are: when are we eating, and is it paella?

Quick Hits

First, gotta plug this 4th of July sale at Lingua Franca. 25% off site wide including custom and sale. Doesn’t happen a lot. Ends Monday, Don’t miss out!

I haven’t had much chance to read on this trip, but just finished a really fun book The Doorman and am about to start my friend Hannah’s recommended Shadow of the Wind followed by Audition.

Debating this list of the 100 Best movies of the 21st century while trying to convince our kids to watch one of mine that didn’t make the list: Being There.

Of course it was a woman who invented the world’s most beloved board game.

Do yourself a favor and do NOT spend your precious time listening to Peter Thiel talk to NYT’s Ross Douthat. WE did on the road, I’m terrified forevermore.

One thing I’m learning, in the heat, everyone’s too exhausted to fight. So, it really did seem we had less squabbles than usual. However, I’m not opposed to this for our next vacation and told my family so!

In defense of Millenials. THANK YOU!

I will say one thing and one thing only about the “wedding” and that is this. Money doesn’t buy you style, which is blindingly evident here. Good lord someone help her out.

Speaking of really bad design. Are these two ladies from “decorating cents” filling up your feeds like they are mine? The 90s really were a special time for interiors.

That’s it for now. Just a reminder that there are still kind, talented, interesting people out there doing cool things. Go find them, and dig it the most.

xo Rachelle

p.s. Was this too much? Want more/less? Lmk in the comment section pls!