Moroccan Adventures

Imagine this:

You and your friend are about to hop into a taxi to go to the airport and get on a flight to Marrakech, Morocco. Your friend is on the phone with her mom, who is threatening to send her back to America for doing something so crazy as to go to a third world country with only one other girl. Your cab is waiting outside and you're stuck wondering if you're a terrible influence for even planning the trip and consider canceling...

...and that was how this trip started.

But don't worry, it gets even better!! To preface, Marrakech is an amazing place to visit and I would highly recommend visiting! It is so different from any other experience that I have ever had: it has the hustle and bustle of a city like New York, but it's full of dirt roads, tiny (seemingly endless) alleyways, and people trying to barter with you. On our way to the hotel from the airport, we saw a full family ridding on a single motorbike...it was impressive, to say the least. With that being said, let's get onto the story of this crazy journey!!

The Airport

Naturally, our flight was delayed. If you've ever flown on any airline in the European Union, you know that flights are delayed 98% of the time. What was unusual about this flight was that they oversold the flight by 57 people. That's right. FIFTY-SEVEN. I don't even know how that happens, but it did. I watched as quite a few words were exchanged and worlds collided. (For example, French don't give a damn about a queue whereas the British won't budge until it's the appropriate time for them to move.) Once we finally get on the plane and take off, I start to drift off only to be awoken by someone yelling yet again. Apparently, a man had lit a cigarette and started smoking on the plane. I feel like the MULTIPLE verbal warnings and signs would be enough to deter someone from lighting up, but I was most definitely wrong. The stewardess was threatening to turn the flight back to Barcelona and fine the man, (flashbacks of mom yelling about turning the car around and going home as a kid) but eventually we landed in Marrakech. Once we landed we got to stand in a three-hour line to get through customs at 1 in the morning, so exciting, I know. However, we didn't realize that we were getting into Morocco on the last day of Ramadan. We just so happened to be exiting the airport as a group of men were returning from their pilgrimage to Mecca! If you could have seen our faces when we walked into a sea of people in traditional clothing, you would have cried laughing. We were TERRIFIED. I seriously contemplated turning right back around and getting on the next plane to Barcelona, but thankfully we found our driver and made it to the hotel!

The Hotel

Grace (my roommate) and I stayed at La Mamounia, just inside the wall of the Medina (the old town of Marrakech). To be completely honest, we chose the hotel based on photos of the pool that we had seen on social media, but we were in for a pleasant surprise. The entire hotel was opulent and lush. It felt like we were two princesses entering our castle for the weekend. The hotel was situated on well-manicured grounds and had three restaurants, two bars, a casino, a spa, two pools, and multiple boutiques (including a Dior shop!) Instead of going to the desk to check in, the staff brings you to fluffy couches and brings snacks while they check you in. Even if it is almost two in the morning. Our room overlooked the town and was ornately decorated; we even got our own mosaic tile floor! We didn't get to spend much time walking around that night, but we couldn't wait to explore in the morning! 

The Day

Unfortunately we only got to spend one day in Marrakech, but wow was it a busy day! We had planned to go to the Yves Saint Laurent museum and Jardin Majorelle early in the morning to beat the lines, but when we asked the concierge about getting tickets, he told us to go ahead and eat breakfast while someone from the hotel stood in line for us and picked up tickets. We were shocked that this was something that the hotel could do and were so excited to have a bit of extra time to hang out on the grounds. We ate an amazing breakfast at the buffet (There was a whole wall dedicated just to fruit!! How crazy is that??) and eventually made our way to the museum. This place was breathtaking! It was so fun to see the life and works of Yves Saint Laurent. The garden was absolutely stunning and had men working there that would take pictures of you! They knew all the right angles and poses, so needless to say Grace and I were in heaven. 

Later that day, we had a personal tour guide to lead us around the Medina. Our guide, Abdul, was quite the character. He spoke at least five languages and was always keeping us on our toes. The afternoon started with a tour of the Saadian Tombs and Bahia Palace. These places exceeded all of my expectations of what their architecture was like. There were intricate mosaics, stark white walls, ornate doorways, even gold-plated ceilings! After seeing these places, we finally went into the souks, which is the marketplace within the medina. Thank God we had a guide because without Abdul, Grace and I would have been lost within a matter of seconds. Of course, Abdul was also very quick to encourage us to purchase things... like a carpet that had to be shipped home (sorry Dad!) Either way, he was an amazing guide and definitely pushed us outside of our comfort zone. He bought us local snacks, took us to see the snake charmers, and even convinced me to hold a snake around my neck and carry not one but TWO monkeys!! Our walk around the city ended with dinner at Nomad, a three-story restaurant near the heart of the Medina. We were able to sit on the roof and listen to the people call out their evening prayer, which is an experience I will never forget. 

Overall, this trip is one that will stick with me for the rest of my life. The city never failed to keep me on my toes! As exciting as this trip was though, I was definitely ready to be back home in Barcelona.

  

Until next time!

 

Kelsey

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