Let's go and discover our first African city: Marrakech!

Day 1 – Wednesday (09/28/2016)

We took a RyanAir flight from Dublin at 3:55 p.m. and arrived in the Moroccan capital at around 8 p.m., meaning we flew for just under 4 hours (it's the same time zone there). As soon as we landed at the airport, we filled out a form before going through passport control (take your own pen, because there aren't any there) and after a few minutes in line and receiving poor service, we went looking for the transfer which we booked directly with our Riad (typical Moroccan hotel) for 20 euros for the 2 of us.

When we arrived at the main airport lobby, we were shocked when we didn't see the guy with the sign with our names on it. The lobby was practically empty, so we left the airport to see if the guy was outside. When we didn't see anyone, we decided to go back inside the airport, but we were stopped by some police officers at the door. We talked about the transfer and they told us to walk to a mess in the parking lot, which was where the guys from transfer They stayed. We froze right away, right?

We walked towards that confusion of people and in a short time we saw the boy with a sign with the name of the Riad Signature, ours. We got into a black van with him and we noticed that he went into the walled part of the city (Medina) and then he came out, and then he came in, and then he came out and then I realized that at no point did he ask my name or write my name on the sign. For a few seconds I was angry with myself for getting into a car without confirming this information and I prayed that it wasn’t a scam, especially because the streets we passed through were very ugly and dark. To my relief, some time later he stopped the car and said that we had arrived, with a very calm expression on his face. We got out of the car, were introduced to another guy with a handcart for our luggage and had to walk with him through some dark and narrow streets until we reached our Riad. I found this to be the most tense moment of the trip…

We entered the Riad Signature – rating 9.4 (75 euros per day with breakfast) mega relieved and we were greeted by the owner, a nice French guy called François. We left our bags in the room (we received a upgrade…ae!!!), we chatted a bit with him and then went up to dinner on the terrace. We also booked this dinner in advance – 18 euros per person – because we read that going out for dinner on the first day of a trip is a bit scary (and it really is!). We tried delicious typical dishes, drank some very nice Moroccan wine and relaxed a lot in that cozy place.

Some pictures for you:

When we went down to sleep, we noticed that the room was cool and we didn't even need to turn on the air conditioning. Oh, how nice! I loved the decor, our little balcony, the fact that we always had a huge bottle of water for us and also the little containers in the bathroom with shampoo/soap/conditioner. Oh, and because of the thickness of the wall and the door of our room, the Wi-Fi didn't work inside. This was annoying at times, because we had to go out to the central patio of the Riad to give news, but it helped us to rest more.

Day 2 – Thursday (09/29/2016)

We woke up without rushing and went to the central courtyard of the Riad, where the breakfast tables are. The same employee who served us the day before placed breakfast on our table and let us enjoy our meal and admire the decoration of the courtyard. I found the place very pleasant, but I confess that I wanted more food…lol.

After coffee, François showed us a map with the city's main attractions and insisted on walking with us to the main square, Jemaa el-Fnaa. It is very close to our Riad (550 meters, according to him) and the path is a tense maze, so I thought this first time with him was very important for us to be able to find our way around later. My “tense” up there is because the streets are very narrow and donkeys, bicycles, motorcycles and pedestrians pass in both directions. To make matters worse, the stores leave some of their merchandise on the street, so walking through all that together is really complicated. François' tip was: always walk on the right and never cross without looking both ways, because no one will stop to give you priority. It took us a while to get used to this lack of kindness, but we learned the hard way…

NOTE: Before I start talking about our itinerary, I've put the attractions we visited on the map below so you can already see them (just click on them). pins to see the names). If you want to know more details about them and the rest of our tour, just keep reading! 😉

Caption: green pin - airport / red pin – hotel / yellow pins – restaurants / blue pins – attractions.

The square Jemaa el-Fnaa It is the city's main square and its name refers to the time when the heads of criminals were displayed on spears (crosses!!!). It has a peculiar shape with shops and restaurants around it and its center is occupied by snake charmers, tattoo artists hidden in burkas, acrobats, orange juice stands, men with chained monkeys and vendors selling various things. Pedestrians, motorbikes, bicycles, horse-drawn carriages and cars circulate through the square and as there are no signs, we almost got run over a few times.

We walked around a bit, took some photos and walked to the main mosque in the city, the Koutoubia, whose 69-meter-high minaret can be seen from various parts of the city. We took photos from the outside (entry is prohibited to non-Muslims) and returned to the square after carefully crossing the city's main avenue, Mohamed V (we learned that every city in Morocco has its main avenue with the same name).

When we were in the square, we decided to observe a cobra at one of the stalls and were soon approached by a vendor who said we could look at it as much as we wanted and then pay whatever we wanted. It was on the ground in the square under an umbrella, so it was quite easy to see it in that upturned position, you know? The vendor arrived with another cobra in his hands and insisted on putting it around our necks, but I managed to show my disgust quite clearly, while Celo ended up accepting after so much nagging. I took some photos and prayed that the cobra wouldn’t do anything to him, and as we expected, that “pay what you want” story was nonsense. The guy charged 20 euros for the 2 minutes we were there and after arguing with him, we paid 5. What a tense and sad moment… I think it’s horrible to finance this type of tourism, but that’s what made me curious.

We left the tent stressed (it's not cool to argue with a grumpy man surrounded by friends) and the first thing we did was leave the square. We walked towards the first paid tourist attraction of the trip, Saadian Tombs, But of course we got a little lost, right? We paid 1 euro per person (10 dirham) to visit this place that houses 66 royal tombs since the 16th century. The place is small, but it is beautifully decorated, so here are some photos for you to enjoy:

The heat was unbearable, but since we weren't hungry yet, we stopped at some stores to look at the local products. The salespeople are annoying...they explain everything without you asking for any information, they follow you around the whole time, they always say that everything is original and cheap and that the grass is greener on the other side...lol. We bought some little things thanks to their insistence and decided to stop for lunch at the restaurant. The Tanjia, which has a terrace facing the Place des Ferblantiers. 

I loved the decor of the place, the view of the square, the cool air on the terrace, the Moroccan beers and most importantly, the food, but the service was really bad. To make matters worse, we realized that they had a scheme that looked like money laundering: all the bills arrived with extra dishes and then they crossed out the amounts and asked us to pay the lower amount (correct), returning the bills inside. I tried to take a picture of the bill (I love saving the amounts for posterity), but the guy told me not to and Celo confirmed his theory. We froze in shock…

We tried to get in Badi Palace, which is very close by, but it was under construction and closed to the public. We stopped at an incredible ceramics store before heading to the next attraction. Look how dreamy it was:

We left there and entered the Bahia Palace, built in the late 19th century for its owner and his 4 wives and 24 concubines, and we loved the decorated courtyards and rooms, especially the ceilings. All for 10 dirham (1 euro) per person.

Look at these doors, what beautiful things:

We returned to the hotel and relaxed by the rooftop pool until dinner time. It's not a resort Moroccan (there are several!), but I found it extremely pleasant to stay up there, especially since there were no guests other than us.

We got a restaurant recommendation from François and his wife and went to dinner there. Cafe Kessabine, which has a really cool terrace facing the main square. We loved the food and the service, but the best part was the price. Take a look at the menu with prices in dirhams (1 euro = approx. 10 dirhams). We had a great dinner and even had it again the next day!

Day 3 – Friday (09/30/2016)

We had breakfast and then walked to the city's main avenue (Mohamed V) to catch a taxi to the Majorelle Garden. The owner of our Riad said it was the easiest and most economical way to get there, but he warned us about the absurd prices that taxi drivers usually charge. We knew that a fair price was 30-50 dirhams, so we only agreed to take the ride when a taxi driver charged 40. Be careful! You have to negotiate the price before getting in the car. (PS. See other tips for Marrakech in this post.)

This garden is in the new part of the city and therefore the journey is a bit long. We paid 70 dirhams per person (7 euros – very expensive for Marrakech) and entered the garden that Yves Saint Laurent bought and renovated in 1980. The place has more than 300 species of plants from all over the world and has a delightful peace, especially when the selfie-loving tourists are not around. We strolled around slowly and enjoyed the cool shade of the trees…

We left there, bought some ice cream to cool down at a snack bar right in front and decided to walk around the new part of the city, thinking there would be something interesting to see. Nothing. Just wide avenues and big buildings. What a rip-off. We took a taxi for the same price as the one we paid to go back to the old city.

We walked to the Ben Youssef Medersa, which in my humble opinion is the most impressive building in the city and costs only 20 dirhams per person (2 euros). This Islamic university was founded in the 14th century and housed around 900 students during its existence. What incredible architecture…just look:

We then passed by Maison de la Photographie de Marrakech (40 dirhams – 4 euros per person) and enjoyed the exhibition with photos of the city and the country over time. To finish, we went up to the museum terrace and saw this cool view:

On the way back to the hotel, we walked around the souks, but I can only remember the name of one: Souk Semarine. You souks These are the city's markets, with streets that form huge labyrinths, with shops everywhere. There are many colors, many smells, many sounds, many people, many products and of course, a lot of negotiation.

We left there mentally exhausted and thought it best to have lunch nearby. We chose Cafe Restaurant Argana, which is in the square Jemaa el-Fnaa and it has a really nice view. The same food as the other restaurants with prices that are neither too expensive nor too cheap. A tourist restaurant, you know?

We returned to the hotel to rest and when we were hungry again, we went out for dinner at a well-reviewed restaurant near our hotel, the Arnica Montana. We were the only customers and ordered some pasta to change things up a bit from the usual Tajine/Couscous. The food was good, the background music was nice too…it was nice to go to a less touristy place. We were in our room in less than 5 minutes. 🙂

Day 4 – Saturday (10/01/2016)

We had a leisurely breakfast and went upstairs to relax by the pool. We sunbathed a lot, drank cold beers (!!!), ate snacks and caught up on our reading. When we couldn't keep our hunger at bay any longer, we went to lunch at A Breakfast in Marrakech. We sat on the terrace, ordered typical dishes, orange juices and then went out for a walk.

We set aside the afternoon to stroll leisurely through the souks, I even stopped at several stores to negotiate the absurd prices that the vendors charged foreigners. I thought it was cool to ask for a discount on everything I wanted to buy, but Celo often felt sorry for the vendors and accepted the higher prices.

At the end of the day, we entered the most touristic restaurant in the city, Cafe de France, but it was for a good reason. The view from the terrace is simply sensational during sunset. It was worth it to stay without wifi and fight for a place at the best tables…

We left there and even thought about eating something at the market that is set up in the square every night, but walking down the street of stalls is impossible, because all the waiters are asking you to stop there, try this or that, check the prices, etc. We found it boring, got stressed and ended up calling it “death street” lol. Of course we couldn’t have peace to take a picture… If you want to go there to visit, these stalls are in front of the restaurant. Argana.

We decided to have dinner again at Cafe Kessabine, but this time I ordered a very bland cheese omelette. Maybe their strength really is Moroccan food…

On the way back to the hotel, we tried a coconut biscuit sold by several street vendors in the middle of the square. I don't know the name, but I recommend it! Try to find it in the photo below.

Day 5 – Sunday (10/02/2016)

We had our last breakfast at the Riad, we made checkout, we left our bags there and went out for a walk on the last day of the trip. We walked to the museum  Give Yourself Said (10 dirhams – 1 euro per person) and look, I don’t know if it’s because we had low expectations, we were impressed too. It was built by the brother of the guy who built the Bahia Palace and although the first floor isn’t very impressive, the second floor makes up for it. I thought everything was so beautiful!

After the museum we stopped for lunch at a super cool and colorful restaurant, Bakchich Cafe. Great service and food, and to my ears, quality international music. We ended our tour with a flourish!

We returned to the Riad in time to rest a bit in the central courtyard and at 5pm, we took the taxi that François had booked for us for 7 euros (he said the price was fixed). We arrived at the airport in less than half an hour, got our Ryanair tickets stamped, went through security/immigration and then had a snack in the departure lounge while we waited for our flight to arrive.

And that!

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If you want to know more about what Morocco has to offer, take a look at the tours offered by Civitatis below: