Marrakech

This will be the last day of our tour with Gadventures and we will be ending it in Marrakech! Over the past 24 hours, I was starting to feel a little unwell. So while a few of my tourmates decided to head out early to take a look at Ait Benhaddou in the morning, I opted to get a few extra hours of sleep to recover. Even so, I did end up getting a good view of it from our hotel rooftop terrace before we hit the road.

High Atlas Mountains

I’m thankful that for the first few hours of the day we will be driving. It allows me a little more rest and recover. However, it also affords us some amazing views as we drive through the High Atlas Mountains. We make a few stops along the way, but ultimately some of these views from elevation are spectacular.

Marrakech

After a little more driving we arrive around noon in Marrakech and get ourselves checked into the hotel for the evening. We have an hour or two to settle in but since Gimpy and I have other plans for our accommodations tonight (see below). We simply take the time to freshen up and rest before rejoining our group to head into the medina.

Marrakech Medina

We head into the Medina of Marakech and tour around in the afternoon making a few stops along the way. This medina is a bit larger than the one we visited in Fes, however, if I’m being honest it didn’t feel like it was that much more unique. Add in the larger influx of tourists (us included) and I think I prefer the Fes one more. Nonetheless, it is nice to see the similarities and differences between both Fes and Marrakech in Morocco.

Mederssa Ben Youssef

Within the medina is Mederssa Ben Youssef. This is an old Islamic school and is similar (again) to the one in Fes as well. It is noteworthy that the layout of both schools is pretty similar. With the main courtyard in the middle and different rooms surrounding the school. The courtyard itself is beautifully designed and the attention to detail is impressive. We spend a little time exploring the the school before moving on.

Le Jardin Secret

Our next stop is Le Jardin Secret. In the dusty hustle and bustle of the Marrakech Medina is this tranquil green space. It’s almost like an oasis in the city and serves as a start contrast to it. We spend time walking around the garden and taking it all in. It’s actually a welcome respite in the mid day heat, but even so, Gimpy and I can’t resist a cool freshly squeezed orange juice while sitting on a cafe patio overlooking this beautiful part of the medina.

Bistro La Saveur

After touring a little more, we head back to our hotel to freshen up. Because this is our last day with the tour, Said arranges for us to have a nice dinner together before we go our separate ways. From our hotel we make a small trek over to Bistro La Saveur where we have a lovely table outside. While I like to say I went with a local flavour, I didn’t. Instead, being a sucker for pasta and seeing it on the menu, I couldn’t resist.  In addition Gimpy and I split a seafood puff pastry which was really good!

We spend the evening reminiscing over our past few days on tour and sharing and laughing over different stories. However as the evening comes to an end, we all head back to our hotel where we exchange good byes. Especially for Gimpy and I, we actually do not intent to stay the night and have a transfer arranged to take us to our next spot.

Riad Hotel L’Etoile d’Orient

One of the things that Gimpy and I wanted to do whilst in Marrakech is to stay at a Riad. A Riad is kind of a traditional city home in Morocco. However, there are many that have been converted into places that people can stay at. And since we didn’t do this on our tour, we wanted to spend two nights at one. Due to the earthquake a week before, our original Riad had to cancel due to some repairs. However, we did find this alternative, which I think is actually is an upgrade of sorts! So we make our way over after dinner and check in. To say that the Riad is beautifully decorated is probably an understatement. It’s beautiful (especially at night) and I’m really happy we ended up in this one!

Rooftop Dining

On top of the interior of the Riad being beautiful, there is also a spot on the roof where we would have our meals. Breakfast is included and both days the waking up to a variety of breakfast items was an amazing way to start our days. We also asked to have a traditional Moroccan meal on our last night at the Riad which was super tasty! I think the quality of food coupled with either the morning vibes or the sunset vibes made for some very memorable meals both Gimpy and I will remember for a while!

During our one full day on our own, Gimpy and I did venture out into the medina again. There’s a coffee shop on our list we wanted to visit. However due to earthquake repairs they were closed. So we had to return to our riad and end up relaxing most of the day. Especially with the pace of the tour and me getting over an illness, relaxing is just what the doctor ordered. We did arrange for a traditional hammam which is a traditional bathing. But sadly, no pictures to show.

Travel back to Casablanca

On our final day we need to make our way back to Casablanca in order to catch some flights. So we head to Marrakech’s train station where we will board a train to Casablanca.

However before departing, there’s one last thing we didn’t get to do while in Fes. There’s a McDonald’s in the station and so Gimpy and I order a “chicken box” which isn’t something we’ve seen at home. So much for eating healthy on the entire trip!

Soon after lunch its time to board our afternoon train. We end up getting into Casablanca in the evening and check into the hotel fairly late. This will be Gimpy and I’s last night together, and while we did plan to have dinner together, we were both full from lunch still so we decided to call it. Tomorrow I would be leaving early for the airport for my flight to Bahrain, while Gimpy would stay in Morocco one more day before flying home. So after some packing I turn in since I have an early train ride booked tomorrow morning.