Henna Party حفلة الحناء

I've been wanting to get my hands done with henna before I leave.  When Chris O. and I were in Marrakech in 2008, we got our hands and feet done by a lady in the Jmaa el Fnaa, but I haven't seen anything like that in Fes.  Usually, people have henna done at home before a wedding or a holiday.  Finally, it occurred to me to ask Leyla (the woman who works in the villa.  She's a wonderful friend.)  So, I asked if she knew anyone who would come to the villa if we had a few women who wanted it done.  She said that her cousin does henna and she would ask her.  The cousin said she would do it on Friday for 25 dirham ( a little over $3) per hand.  So, Saida came and we all went up on the roof for our henna party.  Saida had a tray with all her utensils:  a bowl of henna that looks like mud, a couple syringes, a cup of tea with sugar and black pepper.  They dab the tea on the henna drawings as they dry to help it to darken.

This is a lot of work and it took Saida at least 30 minutes for each hand.  She draws the different designs on the hand (or foot) and then you have to sit and wait for your hands to dry.  This is very frustrating.

We stayed on the roof through Liv's hands and feet, my hands and Pierce's hands and one foot.  Then it was getting cold and we went down to the salon for Saida to do Andi's feet, Nicole's hands and Brittany's hands.  She didn't finish until about 8:00.  We paid her quite a bit more than she had asked for since that was a ridiculous price for all that work.

Here's a video of Saida working on Nicole's hand.

I give up.  I've tried several times to upload the video.  I think the internet is too slow here or it keeps cutting out.  I disabled pop-up blockers for FB and Blogger, but still no success.  I'll try again to upload video when I get home.  In the meantime, there are lots of henna pics on my FB page.  Unfortunately, Facebook also posted the video as photos

The henna doesn't stay as dark as it is in the pictures.  After it dries, you brush it off.  I washed my hands in the morning.  It's a light brown, but you can still definitely see it.  You can see my hands in person when I get home!
Also, for our last dinner in the villa (Jeremie was also leaving.), Leyla cooked tajine chicken with prunes - really delicious.  Every time Leyla cooks something, I never want to eat it other places again because hers is so good, nothing can compare.

And my hands two days later (every time I wash them, I think - Oh no.  Henna is coming off: