top of page
Writer's pictureJen On The Jetway

Marrakech: 1

We had always been fascinated with the Morocco ever since “visiting” at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT. The architecture, the people, the food, the smells, the overall atmosphere. Sure, Disney does a lot of things spot on but what about this? So we did our research. We watched airfare for a few years and one day it all just aligned. This would be our trip.


I don’t know how many more family vacations we’ll have with a 21 year old. So I’ll savor every one while I can.


Delta’s premium lounge in Minneapolis
Alexi relaxes in the Delta premium lounge

Getting there we took Delta business class which was nice, yes, but writing this after I returned I can tell you that Air France in economy was perfectly fine. The flight path from STL is a 1.5 hour flight, 7.5 hour flight, then a 3.5 hour flight. It makes for a long day.


We made it!


Immigration and customs lines are insane but thankfully with our business class ticket we were somehow able to skip the lines.  It was still about 30 minutes.  It was funny, they asked me what I did for a living and I guess that’s their entry requirements for US citizens since we don’t need a Visa.


As we tried to figure out where to meet our driver, a little cat walked past us. We soon learned Morocco has quite the stray cat problem but they all are for them by setting out fresh water and the shop owners feed them at night. It’s very sweet.


At first glimpse of stepping outside the airport it was like I imagined. A desert landscape, geometrical carved buildings of pale terra cotta color and some smattered greenery worked in to the landscape.

Airport view Morocco
Just a quick view from the airport

Traffic was interesting. Way tamer than Delhi but similar to Bangalore with less honking.  Fast motorbikes down windy roads, free for all roundabouts, getting through city gates as 2 cars when it’s sooooo narrow. But we made it to our riad. Its not a hotel but it’s not an air b&b, I guess it’s a bed and breakfast. It was a little gem hidden down this alley that you’d literally have to stumble upon.

Busy traffic in Marrakech
Traffic to get to the medina in Marrakech
Main floor of our riad
Main floor in our riad
Main level of riad room
That staircase leading to the bathrooms!

The room was lovely except the bedrooms were on the main floor and both bathrooms were on the second level, up a very narrow staircase!

Moroccan tea service
Moroccan tea service

You would have to ensure no fumbling and stumbling to the bathroom in the middle of the night.


We dined at our Riad for the evening on the rooftop. We had chicken and lemon tagine with vegetables and everyone ate-including my picky eaters! 

Chicken with lemon and olives tagine
Chicken with lemon and olives tagine
Vegetables tagine
Vegetables tagine

We (the girls and I) crashed around 9pm. Ed went back out to explore the city.

High pour Moroccan mint tea
Learning to pour the high pour of the Moroccan mint tea

Comments

Rated 0 out of 5 stars.
No ratings yet

Add a rating
bottom of page