Tag: morocco

Trading the Heat of Africa for the Cool of Europe

Nov. 30, 2024

Hello everyone,

Hopefully, you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

While you were digging into a turkey, we were wrapping up the Morocco leg of our trip. Yesterday, we made the move back to Paris.

Or, to put it another way – we traded this view:

For this one:

As intense as Marrakech was, Essaouira was wonderfully laid back. 

For example, take people passing you on the street. In Marrakech – you had to keep an ear out for motorcycles tearing through the narrow passageways, because they wouldn’t stop as they came within an inch or two of you. Whereas in Essaouira – we rarely saw motorcycles, but if a bicyclist had to pass you around a corner, they’d apologize.

Another example were the street vendors. In Marrakech, walking through the souk or the square at night felt like a gauntlet. Storekeepers and food vendors would block your path in an effort to drive you into their stall. However, in Essaouira, maybe one in five vendors would look up from their phone to acknowledge you. There would be an occasional hard sell, but then I’d ask for a ridiculous transaction (e.g., to sell me a $12 scarf for $4) and then we’d be on our merry way.

We noticed that Essaouira had a European vibe to its streets, which makes sense. (The Medina was designed by European engineers.)

However, there is a distinctly Moroccan flare, even to the street art:

And, the city’s blue fishing boats… These small, but mighty ships feed everyone from locals to tourists, and seagulls to cats:

Now that we’re back in Paris:

We had to say goodbye to Brad and Sarah last night:

While it’s been a busy weekend, we’re excited to explore Paris for a few days.

All our love,

Tara (and Steve)

The Rich Tapestry of Marrakesh

Nov. 26, 2024

Today is our last full day in Marrakesh, so we spent the day simmering in the city’s rich history by visiting everything from the Majorelle Gardens to the Saadian Tombs and the Bahia Palace. 

Starting with the gardens. The Majorelle Gardens were originally built by French painter Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s.  Designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Berge, bought it in 1980. 

The gardens includes everything from cacti and bamboo, to banana trees, water lilies and giant agaves: 

As you can imagine, the property is littered with waterways, wandering paths, gazebos and terracotta pots (i.e., tripping hazards for someone like me). Luckily, these adorable lights greet visitors at almost every turn:

To really pull the look together – buildings, fountains and pots throughout the gardens have been painted an intense cobalt blue. The color is Trademarked “Majorelle Blue” if you’re in the market:

After drinking in the tranquil beauty of the Majorelle Gardens, we headed across town to the Saadian Tombs. 

The tombs were originally designed in the late 16th century by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (the third ruler of the Saadian dynasty) to serve as the grand mausoleum for his ancestors (and to show off his wealth and power). However, the entrance to the tombs was sealed in the early 18th central by Sultan Moulay Ismail in the hopes of erasing the Saadian dynasty legacy.

Apparently, it worked. 

The tombs were rediscovered in 1917 during the French Protectorate in pretty good condition, and the French authorities took steps to preserve, restore the tombs, and open them to the public:

From the tombs, we headed over to the Bahia Palace, which was originally built in the 1860s by Si Moussa, the grand vizier of the Sultan (think head minister), as a personal residence. Moussa‘s son, Ba Ahmed (also a grand vizier), expanded and “beautified” the property in the late 1890s. After Ahmed’s death, Bahia Palace became a royal residence.

The palace is decked out with everything from marquetry and zellij (tile work) to impressively intricate ceilings:

From there we headed back to our raid for a siesta. If you’d like to experience a little of what the city’s like, Steve made a video of the last five minutes of our walk:

https://gopro.com/v/8GwZVJ86NlZBL

All our love,

Tara (Steve, Sarah and Brad)

Essaouira – The Relaxed Pace we Didn’t Realize we Wanted or Needed

Nov. 27, 2024

In Marrakesh, we heard about how you can’t judge a riad (or anywhere else) by its door. (And, good luck trying to judge it another way, because there generally aren’t exterior windows either.) Basically, people don’t want their house to be flashy on the outside, because they don’t want to be disrespectful to people who have less resources or may be homeless. 

It’s an interesting point to consider, but it really hit home today when we made the move to Essaouira.

Essaouira is a beach town about 2.5 hours drive west of Marrakesh, which is a late 18th century fortified (walled) town that was designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site in 2001.

We expected Essaouira to be more laidback than Marrakesh, which it is:

We assumed that Essaouria would have the same Moroccan charm as Marrakech, which it has in spades:

We had seen the Airbnb photos, so we hand an idea of what to expect behind the door to our riad:

But, we were still pleasantly surprised:

And, when we saw the view, we decided to extend our stay:

We’re not sure how we’ll fill the next two days, but we’re looking forward to exploring Essaouira and discovering another surprise or two along the way.

All our love,

Tara (Steve, Sarah and Brad)

Marrakesh is Full of Snake Charmers, Cats and Tajines

Nov. 25, 2024

The good news is that we made it to Marrakesh, and are having a wonderful time thus far. The bad news is that we haven’t avoided any of the scams locals run on the tourists.

It started as soon as we walked out of the airport to the taxi stand. Someone grabbed our bags to “help” walk us to a taxi (for a tip). It happened again when we got out of the taxi. A porter grabbed our bags to walk us to where we were staying (for a tip). Then there was a very insistent bicyclist on our way to dinner, who said he was from the hotel (he wasn’t) and decided to walk us to the restaurant because “it was on his way home” (it wasn’t). We said “No, thank you” repeatedly, but he still got upset when he didn’t get a tip. 

Today things got a little exciting when Brad decided to follow the music to a snake charmer. Well, we found the snakes:

And, before we knew it – the snake charmers had plopped snakes on Brad and Steve (for a cash donation):

There’s a video of Steve’s experience, but here’s a taste of his discomfort:

And, next thing I know – I’m getting suckered in, too:

It was an entertaining couple of minutes. Complete with a snake blessing for good wishes and good luck for mothers, children, etc. But, it happened fast…

Speaking of the locals, one thing I can say is that I haven’t given into my desire to pet all the city’s cats:

And, some of these little guys are making it really hard not to pet them:

Luckily, there’s plenty going on to distract me from my would be fur friends. For example, today we had a tour of a local souk (market):

And, a cooking class:

We made several things, including a tajine (with eggs and meatballs), spiced chicken, and a dessert (made from grated cucumber, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a little cinnamon and sugar):

Yesterday, we had a delicious dinner at Dar Yacout (the oldest house in Marrakesh that is now an amazing restaurant). Shout out to Steve for these photos:

There will probably be more tomorrow. Until then…

All our love,

Tara (Steve, Sarah and Brad)