Exploring Marrakech

Feb 22

Feb 22 Exploring Marrakech

First priority, asking the front desk where we can get our gross camel/car ride clothes washed since we basically only brought a few warm items. We each take a small amount of clothes to a dry cleaner/laundromat down the block and drop it off to be picked up at 5pm.

We start the day at Atay Cafe for breakfast, a place Nicole found on the map nearby. The weather was nice, we sat on the terrace and since it was about 10:30, we missed any crowds and basically had beautiful views to ourselves. My favorite part of vacation, relaxing over coffee and, in this case, crepes. We got Nutella and honey but both were very very sweet. The Terrace was a nice spot for lots of picture taking.

After a leisurely breakfast, we walked around the streets and though we said that we would shop tomorrow, we were also big tourist suckers buying everything we saw. Wooden boxes, teapots, vases, spices, makeup...you name it, we bought it! The most easily impressed tourists on the block!

Stepping into a spice shop we were sold on these amazingly strong eucalyptus crystals that dissolve in water and clear your sinuses, real saffron, and solid perfume bars. I think we haggled pretty well, naming our price and not backing down. When I looked skeptical, the saleman even let me search prices for saffron on the internet so I would know I was getting a good deal. He was funny and definitely gave us good entertainment along with the purchases.

Our strolling through the streets brought us to our lunch destination, a restaurant named Nomad which I had read about. They are known for pretty views however they were also packed so we ended up sitting inside. We had some mint iced tea which was nice and refreshing and shared two appetizers since we had just sort of eaten breakfast. The cauliflower you see there was roasted and topped with turmeric butter and it was done over a bed of couscous which must have had a lot of butter but also basil and spinach and cilantro. It was very fresh and buttery and herby. The Tunisian brik is the other dish pictured. This was a pastry with spices pulled beef and an over easy egg on the inside. We were in love with this appetizer but just the food in general was so modern and yummy. The portions were perfect for a light lunch break before more exploring.

We continued our walk through the city and ended up at the Bahia Palace which was built in 1900 for a king to live. I believe parliament still takes place in parts of the palace. Morocco has a King btw, and there are pictures of him everywhere. I think it’s a thing. Almost every store we were in had a picture of the king.

This is me trying to eliminate my forehead wrinkle.

The palace was pretty, the architecture and tile work is always amazing to see. If you happen to be in palaces anywhere, it is always important to look up. The most impressive work always seems to be on the ceilings. After much wandering and picture taking, we took the long way back to our hostel mainly to pick up our clothes!

Happy day! These clothes were beautiful! Perfectly clean and folded and wonderful so we decided to bring them everything else that touched a camel including our sneakers. You should have seen a previous photo of what those white keds looked like (hint:they were no longer white). We dropped everything off to be picked up the next day! Yay!