The Sahara!

We were up for the sun came up, packed our bags and headed downstairs in our lovely Riad Boussa. The night before Brigitte informed us that we could leave our big bags behind while we took a small backpack for our 3 day Saharan adventure and that our bags would be neatly placed in our room again when we returned in a couple of nights. Upon hearing about our early departure, Brigitte gasped and said she would be ‘tending to her beauty sleep’ but ofcourse Bruno would be up at 5AM preparing a breakfast just for us—and so he did! We walked downstairs and there he was! Bruno was standing smugly right next to a red-tiled table full of fresh orange juice, Moroccan pancakes with cinnamon and sugar, yogurt, fruit, mint tea, coffee and a steamy plate of scrambled eggs—and there was a single candle illuminating the table (the sun was barely peaking it’s head up). This Bruno guy knows how to impress! No wonder sexy older Brigitte loves this swooner!

Once again navigating through the alleyways and across the Jemma el Fna as the sun rose, we got all giddy as we found the place we booked our very affordable tour with—Moroccan Views. Soon we met all the other 20-somethings joining us on the tour: a couple of Brits, a few Kiwis and Aussies, an American traveling solo and our tour guide Mohammed. Piling in the van, we hit the road pretty fast, making it up and through the Atlas Mountains in no time.

Christian and I didn’t do much searching as to where we were headed on the tour besides the Sahara so we were amazed once we pulled into Ait Benhaddou for lunch. Ait Benhaddou is an ancient Kasbah and old desert city that served as the backdrop for movies like Gladiator and Lawrence of Arabia. With its medieval brown and square houses, it’s like stepping back in time and we’re sure that no renovations were needed before filming. We never knew such a beautiful place could exist randomly in the Moroccan countryside! After exploring the Kasbah, hiking to the top and enjoying mint tea in a Bedouin cave, we had to hit the road—our eyes were dead set on the Sahara still another several hours away!

Over the next 24 hours, we stopped at plenty of desert villages—Ouarzazate, Erfoud and, finally, Merzouga—the last stop before the Sahara. Driving up to it felt like ages but we could see the orangey-red dunes in the distance getting closer and closer—we made it! Plopping our stuff at the Kasbah at the foot of the dunes meant we grabbed whatever we needed for one night in the desert, picked out our faithful camels for the journey and then we were on our way. This was basically a photo and laugh-fest of everyone saying ‘OMG we’re IN the Sahara!’

While camels aren’t as comfortable as one may think, I was so in awe of the scenery. The ripples of the dunes looked like silky untouched sheets and random camels would appear in the distance. It was then that I saw our camp a few hundred yards ahead. The fun didn’t stop there though, each of us had our go at sandboarding (after I jumped off my camel and he sneezed out a gigantic worm!) and rolling down the dunes and once we were finished a campfire was blazing. Freshly made Moroccan tagines and salads lined the tables in the middle of the circular camp. It got dark fast but this only meant that the stars were more visible than ever.

While our sleeping quarters were housed inside the tents, nearly all of us dragged out or mattresses by the campfire and opted to sleep under the stars instead. The night went by way too quickly and I struggled to keep my eyes open as I stared at the stars above—then was awoken by the sound of camel grunts in the morning :). We had a camel ride back to the Kasbah and a good 10 hour drive back to Marrakech so we had to hit the road but when we got back to Marrakech we were beaming with delight and were greeted affectionately by Brigitte at Riad Boussa. As promised our bags sat in our room and a fresh pot of mint tea was on the way.

Sitting on the roof terrace eating breakfast the next morning, we raved about how much we absolutely loved Morocco and how it was most definitely one of the best, if not THE BEST, holidays we’ve ever had.

{Ait Benhaddou}

{Touring old movie sets in Morocco! The Mummy, Gladiator, Gomorrah, etc}

{Merzouga at the foot of the Sahara...}

Marrakech Pt 2: Exploring the Souks and Old City

I basically jumped out of bed as soon as the sun came up--we were in MARRAKECH and it was time to get lost. We had no plan, no map and no limits. First on our list was to check out the souks and do some shopping. Some slippers, two Moroccan lamps and several small trinkets later we wondered how we would carry this stuff back home! Dropping off our newly acquired souvenirs back at the riad, we wanted to see Jemma el Fna by day since we had seen it bustling at night on the previous night. Moroccan snake charmers sat in the square casting a spell on not one, not two, not three but sometimes four snakes at a time. We didn't get toooo close but I did let one of them drape a little snake on me :).

We found a chic Westerner type bar called Kozi Bar (thanks to Brigitte!) and enjoyed a couple of cocktails overlooking Marrakech talking about how perfect our trip was so far and that getting lost in the streets of Marrakech seemed too good to be true. But ofcourse we talked about what was next on our Moroccan adventure--THE SAHARA!

Our day in Marrakech slowly started caving in on us as we finished a 2nd round of drinks at Kozi bar and we knew the market in Jemma el Fna would soon be in full swing again soon. The square at night was teaming with energy the night before so we decided to hit the square again, but instead to watch the sunset over the square and grab a pizza (really Moroccan huh?! We were off to the Sahara for 2 days so Christian wanted a 'western' meal, but it was pretty delicious!) at a place Brigitte recommended. But almost immediately it was off to bed--by sunrise we'd be on our way to the desert :). And ofcourse we enjoyed yet another pot of mint tea at bedtime...Brigitte insisted...

Marrakech Pt 1: Jemma el Fna and those sexy Moroccan riads!

When I first let the word ‘Marrakech’ roll off my tongue, I envisioned shades of red, Moroccan lanterns, and candlelit markets. Marrakech was absolutely on our list of places to see. Our 30 hours in Fez was a true glimpse of a city withstanding time in the 21st century. On the other hand, Marrakech, known as the red city, combines a taste of old with a modern kick. We arrived just before sunset and were chauffeured to our riad right in the medina and a stone’s throw away from the famous Jemma el Fna square. We were wowed by our riad in Fez but our experiences with riads in Marrakech were off the charts! Riads are typical Moroccan homes with an open-air garden in the middle and the house surrounding it--and they are gorgeous. Our taxi driver led us through a labyrinth of streets to a plain door with a single candle by its base. And once the door was opened we were greeted with a smile from a fashionable French gentlemen who had picked up and left his life in Paris to remodel his very own riad. And not one single detail was spared--Riad Dar Thania was an absolute dream.

Our generous hosts brought us a piping hot pot of mint tea and offered a little taste of Morocco as he offered to prepare a water pipe for us. We tucked away in a corner filled with pillows and candles and giggled (ok maybe I did the giggling) and puffed on the water pipe enjoying every second! We felt so lucky to have found this place because we arrived in Marrakech a day early and the next riad we stayed in had no availability that night but offered us a night ‘down the street at a small place they knew about’…yep that was Riad Dar Thania! We were dying to check out the night market in Jemma el Fna, so we did a quick wander around the square admiring the food stalls, monkeys, artisans, and storytellers gathering by candelight. But after waking up at the crack of dawn to catch our long train ride from Fez to Marrakech, we were exhausted. As if Riad Dar Thania couldn’t get any better—the bed was like a giant fluffy cloud and the best we’d ever slept in. Ummm…what gets better? Seriously?

The next night we already had reservations at Riad Boussa for the rest of our time in Marrakech. Our gracious Parisian host prepared breakfast for us and served it on the roof terrace and offered to take us to Riad Boussa because ‘it’s always lovely to go to Bridgitte’s’. Ya who’s Bridgitte? Our thoughts exactly. Navigating again through the twists and turns of the alleyways, we came to a door and were welcomed inside by the one-and-only Bridgitte—an older French woman with short brown hair who didn’t look a day over 35…oh let’s not forget that she had the sexiest French accent ever. Her French partner Bruno and jack-of-all-trades with his salt-and-pepper hair and George Clooney swagger descended from upstairs to give us a hello, clearly he had been doing something crafty because he had a bandana over his head. His all white linen outfit didn’t have an ounce of dirt on it even though his hands had clearly been hard at work—aaaah the French. That evening, Christian asked me what the possibility is for me to turn 50, develop a sexy French accent and look damn good like Bridgitte. I retaliated and said ‘if I’m Bridgitte, you’ve got to be the Bruno!’ We both agreed that there’s no way he could restore a riad in an all white outfit and look as badass as Bruno. And let’s face it, I’m not developing a French accent either.

{Riad Dar Thania}

{Exploring Marrakech's night market in Jemma el Fna}

{Riad Boussa! Our fave!}

{Christian's buddy :)}

{...aaaaand he's still following Christian around}

{Amazing Moroccan breakfast}