Marrakech

Early morning journeys to the airport are always difficult. They become even more difficult as you grow up, a tired yawning me driving to Gatwick airport was not a pleasant me I must admit. Having speeded along the motorway to get to our destination in the cold darkness we had finally arrived. aT 6:25am, all checked in and ready for our journey our stomachs began to growl. Leading us to EAT! Our stomachs were ready!

 Jessica ordered a BLT sandwich, typical sandwich lover. We shared a tub of fruit and I ordered a high protein salad. This salad was delicious, maybe it was my grumbling stomach falling in love too easily, but the ham and peas in this salad was just a great combination. 

Arriving at the destination we were hit by humidity, but not great enough to suffocate us. (Can anything compare to the humidity that smacks you in the face in HK or Greece?) Arriving at the airport we were not instantly greeted by our taxi driver, this made us panic like two fishes lost at sea. After a while our driver arrived, what was surprising was their use of french through out Marrakech. Almost everybody spoke French, which was a major disadvantage to us, but an enriching experience. 

Being transported into the countryside expressed views like the one above. The little hills across Marrakech were so beautiful, the vast deserted land just made everything so peaceful. Even more amazing was riding across these plains and going up the hills, like the one in the picture below. Seriously incredible and so peaceful. 

Our tour guides for this trip were incredible, extremely friendly (as we found everybody there was) Just so enjoyable to be around and so helpful. 

Now on to the food part! This mixed grill I can't say was the best I've ever tasted. Can be compared to the Wetherspoons mixed grill, which is probably saying something in itself. (However, who am I to judge? I love a good ol' Wetherspoons with my Uni friends). The layout makes it look so much more delicious and incredibly fresh though. 

 This little countryside retreat run by a lovely woman named Francoise made staying here just wonderful. (Despite the sunburn and gnat bites which just seemed to accumulate over the period of 3 days). The constant gardening of this lovely retreat really brings results. 

 On the left of this panoramic image you can see the little tables, in the evening this was a wonderful place to watch the sunset, have dinner. (Which came out as quite costly, although a three course meal was better value at 180MD, compared to one course at 130MD.) Every evening they set out candle lights and rose petals over these tables for couples and families to enjoy. This is a beautiful location to sit if you don't mind being eaten alive by gnats, being disturbed by peacocks during your evening meal, and most importantly if you don't suffer from hay fever.) 

Our first evening romantic meal, well if you don't have a boyfriend why not substitute with your sister, it is definitely the best alternative! Spaghetti bolognese on our first night probably was not the most adventurous, but hey this massive, I mean MASSIVE bowl definitely filled us up till the morning!

Heading into Marrakech the next morning was wonderful. Dropped out outside a famous square, (which I wish I knew the name of) and all the endless souks (markets) surrounding. The souks sell a lot of things, from jewellery to bags, to food, to traditional moroccan clothing. An incredible place, however people do not enjoy having their photo taken. (We made sure to buy something from this man before we took any pictures, seeing his disappointing glare at other tourists taking his photo wasn't part of our to-do-list)

Not the cheapest snack you could buy in Morocco, however the only traditional one we stumbled across and a lovely lay out. This must have taken him a while. 

Tricked into getting henna tattoo's after buying a leather bag in the souks. This was definitely the most expensive "product" we bought in Morocco. Supposedly lasting 2 weeks for 300MD for the both of us. Although very pretty it definitely isn't worth it's price, and one week on it is almost entirely gone. Just little specks on brown left on my fingers (which just look like dirty hands). 

Can I mention how amazing moroccan chips are? They are much much better than the fries and fat chips they sell in McDonalds and Fish and Chips shops here! A little grilled chicken on the side was the perfect accompaniment, and it seems if you love bread Marrakech is the perfect place to be! Literally with every meal they serve bread, no matter what you order! 

Moving on to the evening meal, this was the best thing that entered my mouth in Morocco, this portion isn't even a mammoth portion! (The next day at our trip on quad bikes and having lunch in a little village they offered the same dish but an EVEN BIGGER PORTION. The delight in my face was obvious to the guides who saw my love for cous cous, well actually I almost shouted it as I screamed COUS COUS.) Made with carrots, courgettes, squash, cous cous and beans this was the perfect ending to the day!

After quad biking all day through the mountains and plains, we came back to the hotel to indulge in this! After a 6 hour day on quad bikes this was definitely needed, especially due to my sister being a massive klutz and falling into a ditch in the hills. Leading into a whole other story of pain and Moroccan hospitals.