Moroccan madness
We had been planning to go during Christmas hols but it didn't work out; so the hubby surprised me and booked it for the Easter/spring break.
I immediately began researching; places to go, things to see- so I could make the most of the two weeks.
I wanted to experience real life Morocco, so opted to stay in a Riad- ( traditional Moroccan house). A huge amount of my time waswasted, spent reading trip advisor. For those of you familiar with trip advisor, you'll know that the tiniest negative comment can easily scratch off a perfectly good hotel off your short list in seconds. Trip advisor is an experience in itself.
After speaking to a few people I decided two full weeks in Marrakesh may be a tad bit boring, so decided to have a full exploration of Morocco;( well as much as you can see of the place whilst still relaxing at the same time.) I had a list of my top 10 places I wanted to see. From them, we did get to see most of them, but some were too far and time-consuming to fit into our schedule.
I wanted to experience real life Morocco, so opted to stay in a Riad- ( traditional Moroccan house). A huge amount of my time was
After speaking to a few people I decided two full weeks in Marrakesh may be a tad bit boring, so decided to have a full exploration of Morocco;( well as much as you can see of the place whilst still relaxing at the same time.) I had a list of my top 10 places I wanted to see. From them, we did get to see most of them, but some were too far and time-consuming to fit into our schedule.
Many hours of surfing the web, we had a rough itinerary planned
Day 1-4 Marrakesh
Day 4 Casablanca
Day 5 -7 Fez
Day 8-11 Essaouira
Day 12-14 Marrakesh
We had a night stay in Germany which I was expecting to be quite a bore but was pleasantly surprised, the hotel was amazing and I had a great opportunity to relax and freshen up for Marrakech.
The flights were relatively short- the only incident that did occur was very minor. On our second leg of our journey from Germany to Marrakech - we didn't have seats next to each other-- strange as they were booked together at the same time. I told the hubster when we got on to let everyone gets settled, once everyone has boarded if either of us has an empty seat we can shuffle around or something- it wasn't the end of the world. I took my seat next to a husband and wife of some Arab origin- may have been Moroccans- I have no idea. They were- with no exaggeration, hostile, to say the least. I sat down and waved to the hubby that this is my seat, and I'll join you in a bit if place etc- you get the idea. I just about sat down, and the man started questioning me, as to why I didn't want to sit with my husband and why I wanted to sit with them, in return I showed them my ticket explained this is my seat, later if there's place I'll move-( not that I was obliged to anyway)- in return they continued to say-WHY? WHY? He is your Husband!GO TO HIM! At this point, I was getting slightly miffed and was very close to saying you know what? he's NOT my husband -(he could have been my brother, cousin, stalker- a random Muslim man lol )or we could have had a domestic, who knows? Just back off dude!
Alhamdulillah, before I went faatima 2.0 on the guy, the kindly German man sitting next to my husband said that there were quite a few empty seats and we could have the three seats to ourselves; so I got up and moved (without causing GBH)
Anyway, after that great start, the only way was up from there. (No pun intended)
Marrakech aka one crazy place!The narrow alleys in the old madina that led us to our riad were filled with motorbikes- (ridden by the young, the old, the goat and sometimes all of them together).There were sleepy tired looking donkeys, horses and carts herding the tons of tourists-there were local shopkeepers selling from snail soup to false teeth and labourers going about their everyday work. Old men sipping coffee and people watching from the side of the road- Just a snippet of the things you can see condensed in a small area.
Never have I seen so many rusty satellite dishes. No matter how small the house -you could always spot a rusty dish.
In the midst of this our riad was a haven of quiet and calm.- it was lovely, quiet and a great base to come and relax after the madness of the souks. Hot mint tea and refreshments were ready to get us in a Moroccan mood. The owner of the riad was a retired French lady who was extremely welcoming, slightly bonkers and very chic. What was there not to love?!
Day 1-4 Marrakesh
Day 4 Casablanca
Day 5 -7 Fez
Day 8-11 Essaouira
Day 12-14 Marrakesh
We had a night stay in Germany which I was expecting to be quite a bore but was pleasantly surprised, the hotel was amazing and I had a great opportunity to relax and freshen up for Marrakech.
The flights were relatively short- the only incident that did occur was very minor. On our second leg of our journey from Germany to Marrakech - we didn't have seats next to each other-- strange as they were booked together at the same time. I told the hubster when we got on to let everyone gets settled, once everyone has boarded if either of us has an empty seat we can shuffle around or something- it wasn't the end of the world. I took my seat next to a husband and wife of some Arab origin- may have been Moroccans- I have no idea. They were- with no exaggeration, hostile, to say the least. I sat down and waved to the hubby that this is my seat, and I'll join you in a bit if place etc- you get the idea. I just about sat down, and the man started questioning me, as to why I didn't want to sit with my husband and why I wanted to sit with them, in return I showed them my ticket explained this is my seat, later if there's place I'll move-( not that I was obliged to anyway)- in return they continued to say-WHY? WHY? He is your Husband!GO TO HIM! At this point, I was getting slightly miffed and was very close to saying you know what? he's NOT my husband -(he could have been my brother, cousin, stalker- a random Muslim man lol )or we could have had a domestic, who knows? Just back off dude!
Alhamdulillah, before I went faatima 2.0 on the guy, the kindly German man sitting next to my husband said that there were quite a few empty seats and we could have the three seats to ourselves; so I got up and moved (without causing GBH)
Anyway, after that great start, the only way was up from there. (No pun intended)
Marrakech aka one crazy place!The narrow alleys in the old madina that led us to our riad were filled with motorbikes- (ridden by the young, the old, the goat and sometimes all of them together).There were sleepy tired looking donkeys, horses and carts herding the tons of tourists-there were local shopkeepers selling from snail soup to false teeth and labourers going about their everyday work. Old men sipping coffee and people watching from the side of the road- Just a snippet of the things you can see condensed in a small area.
Marrakech Airport.
Walking past sleepy donkeys
 |
| # bring the outdoors in |
The first day we spent exploring the area, tried not get lost, got a bite to eat, and eventually made it back to the square.
By day you will find monkeys, snake charmers orange juice sellers, people selling fake teeth -so called good luck charms- baby turtles, ladies who attack you with mehndi cones...all within close proximity of each other. It's a one stop shop!
The night time, however, is when this place truly comes alive. It's noisy, busy and filled with people. The shopkeepers compete with one another and can be very persuasive with majority claiming they sell the best food on the square. It's all fun and games unless your hangry and can't make a choice of what type of food to choose.lol
 |
| brekkie in the sun |
 |
| #so pretty |
 |
| one stop shop?! |
Comments
Post a Comment