January 12 - 15: Marrakech, Morroco
Happy Birthday to Duncan!!!!!
Well this year I couldn't decide what to get Duncan for his Birthday so I thought that maybe I wouldn't get him anything as such but take him away for a suprise weekend. The beauty of London means it doesnt have to be driving distance so we took a Friday and Monday off and I booked a trip to Marrakech.
Until we got to the aiport (very early on the Friday morning) Dunc had no idea where we were going, and it wasn't until we lined up in the check in queue with the destination outlined on the little computer that he finally knew.
We were staying in a little Riad (http://www.riadalmamoune.com/) in the middle of the Medina. A Riad is a Moroccan guesthouse... and the Medina is the old town of the Morroco. Fortunatnely the owners of the Riad came and picked us up at the airport, yes we were one of the ones with our names on the little clipboard and some waiting to pick us. I know you might think that this was a little unnecessary and normally i would agree with you, however the a lot of the medina comprises of souqs (markets) - a maze of alleys and if you manage to find your way out of the souqs you are greeted with an even more extensive maze of tall red walls which to the untrained eye all look very similar.
Once we got into our Riad, we dumped our stuff and headed back out through the main souq alley to the Djemaa el-Fna the huge main square in the middle of the medina. Cautious at first not to stray too far into the alleys that branched off we explored some of the market shops restaurants that branched off the square. We decided to have a late lunch, at a little restaurant on the corner of the square where we can watch the population go by. We had tangines, which is a moroccan stew that is cooked in (what looks like a spinning top) ceramic pot, with moroccan bread it was enormously filling. Truth be told we snuck back to the riad in the late afternoon for a little bit of cat nap (well duncan is fast becoming an old man and needs his nanna naps after such early starts). That evening we went back to the square for dinner and were amazed at the transformation. It had gone from a huge open square with the odd snake charmer and orange juice man, to a crazy packed square with food stalls, henna ladies (don't let them see a free hand ladies), story tellers, musicians and the odd toursit. One of the things I loved about Morroco, was the robes the men wear over the clothes, the winter variations have little pointy hoods on them so that they look like they wizards :)
You had to be careful not to stop for too long, for the Moroccans are quite the opportunists and if you stop and look like you might be listening to a story (even though they are told in Arabic) or a lady grabs your hand and starts to apply some henna they will invariably expect a little 'compensation'.
On the Saturday morning (13th Jan) we had an unbeleivable breakfast on the roof top terrace of our Riad, the sun was out we were in short sleeves having morrocan pancakes, honey and freshly squeezed orange juice. Even the bits tasted better it must have been the freshness.
That morning we checked out the Museum, although most people had recommended not to pay to get in the museum they recommended checking out the arhitecture of the building. From there we went to the Medersa a religious school... the architechure again was beautiful as was the mosaic work and the stone and wood work within the building. As with most of the buildings it had a central section open to the sky which had a pool in it.
That afternoon we spent in the souqs writing a wish list of all the wonderful things we would like to buy. We headed out to one of the palaces but it was shut so we decided we would do it in the morning. We went to dinner at La Trattoria.... a fabulous italian restaurant, yes i know! i can hear you say - Italian?!?!? but it was an amazing restaraunt and came highly recommended. We entered the 1900s mansion and were sat at a table in the reception and were brought our pre dinner drinks, after a cocktail we were escorted to the back of the mansion where we sat next to the candlelit swimming pool and had some amazing food, complemented by absolutely amazing service. As I ate I didn't think that I would ever come across better service.......
La Trattoria was in the new part of town, it was a little bit of a walk but we did see the smallest roundabout ever, which looked like someone had stuck a tyre into the groudn and cemented it in.......
The next morning we headed down to the ruins of Palais El Badi, before once again getting ourselves lost (figuratively not literally) in the souqs. We did a little shopping before returning to the Riad and getting ready for Dunc's birthday dinner
On recommendation we went to Stylia..... the experience was amazing. A man dressed in his hooded robe met us at the door and led us through a series of curtains and hallways each dressed with local carpets and scattered with rose petals. Finally the curtains were drawn in front of us revealing an enormous room decorated with carpets and mosaics with a ceiling of intricate wood and stone work. Once again rose petals were scattered on the floor and tables. I was given a rose as I was seated at the table. We sat facing a small pool in the middle of the room besides which sat two Moroccan musicians, who entertained us throughout the evening. The meal was set menu and we were waited on by people dressed as I would imagine ali baba and the 40 thieves would dress. The food was moroccan - we started with pigeon pastilla which is pastry with pigeon cinnamon and almonds in it which tasted very much like apple pie with pigeon in it - a little disconcerting to say the least especially when you cut into the pastry and found bones...... i must say we were both a little worried about the remaining meals.... The next course was tangine (lemon and cummin, and tomato, onion and cinnamon) which were absolutely gorgeous. We thought that this dish was enough to make up for the first, and then out came the cous cous with vegetables and chicken - amazing!!!! Finally a pastilla without chicken for desert and a special type of custard - a much better way to serve it. The food was exceptional and the service outstanding!!! It was a great way to end the weekend.
So with our bags packed to accommodate the shopping we had done we went to the airport the next morning ready to return back to London.... luckily we were early because it actually took forever to get checked in through security.... in fact by the time we checked in and got through passport control they were calling us to board. So we left the blue skies of Morroco, and I don't think we have seen the sun again since ;)
Well this year I couldn't decide what to get Duncan for his Birthday so I thought that maybe I wouldn't get him anything as such but take him away for a suprise weekend. The beauty of London means it doesnt have to be driving distance so we took a Friday and Monday off and I booked a trip to Marrakech.
Until we got to the aiport (very early on the Friday morning) Dunc had no idea where we were going, and it wasn't until we lined up in the check in queue with the destination outlined on the little computer that he finally knew.
We were staying in a little Riad (http://www.riadalmamoune.com/) in the middle of the Medina. A Riad is a Moroccan guesthouse... and the Medina is the old town of the Morroco. Fortunatnely the owners of the Riad came and picked us up at the airport, yes we were one of the ones with our names on the little clipboard and some waiting to pick us. I know you might think that this was a little unnecessary and normally i would agree with you, however the a lot of the medina comprises of souqs (markets) - a maze of alleys and if you manage to find your way out of the souqs you are greeted with an even more extensive maze of tall red walls which to the untrained eye all look very similar.
Once we got into our Riad, we dumped our stuff and headed back out through the main souq alley to the Djemaa el-Fna the huge main square in the middle of the medina. Cautious at first not to stray too far into the alleys that branched off we explored some of the market shops restaurants that branched off the square. We decided to have a late lunch, at a little restaurant on the corner of the square where we can watch the population go by. We had tangines, which is a moroccan stew that is cooked in (what looks like a spinning top) ceramic pot, with moroccan bread it was enormously filling. Truth be told we snuck back to the riad in the late afternoon for a little bit of cat nap (well duncan is fast becoming an old man and needs his nanna naps after such early starts). That evening we went back to the square for dinner and were amazed at the transformation. It had gone from a huge open square with the odd snake charmer and orange juice man, to a crazy packed square with food stalls, henna ladies (don't let them see a free hand ladies), story tellers, musicians and the odd toursit. One of the things I loved about Morroco, was the robes the men wear over the clothes, the winter variations have little pointy hoods on them so that they look like they wizards :)
You had to be careful not to stop for too long, for the Moroccans are quite the opportunists and if you stop and look like you might be listening to a story (even though they are told in Arabic) or a lady grabs your hand and starts to apply some henna they will invariably expect a little 'compensation'.
On the Saturday morning (13th Jan) we had an unbeleivable breakfast on the roof top terrace of our Riad, the sun was out we were in short sleeves having morrocan pancakes, honey and freshly squeezed orange juice. Even the bits tasted better it must have been the freshness.
That morning we checked out the Museum, although most people had recommended not to pay to get in the museum they recommended checking out the arhitecture of the building. From there we went to the Medersa a religious school... the architechure again was beautiful as was the mosaic work and the stone and wood work within the building. As with most of the buildings it had a central section open to the sky which had a pool in it.
That afternoon we spent in the souqs writing a wish list of all the wonderful things we would like to buy. We headed out to one of the palaces but it was shut so we decided we would do it in the morning. We went to dinner at La Trattoria.... a fabulous italian restaurant, yes i know! i can hear you say - Italian?!?!? but it was an amazing restaraunt and came highly recommended. We entered the 1900s mansion and were sat at a table in the reception and were brought our pre dinner drinks, after a cocktail we were escorted to the back of the mansion where we sat next to the candlelit swimming pool and had some amazing food, complemented by absolutely amazing service. As I ate I didn't think that I would ever come across better service.......
La Trattoria was in the new part of town, it was a little bit of a walk but we did see the smallest roundabout ever, which looked like someone had stuck a tyre into the groudn and cemented it in.......
The next morning we headed down to the ruins of Palais El Badi, before once again getting ourselves lost (figuratively not literally) in the souqs. We did a little shopping before returning to the Riad and getting ready for Dunc's birthday dinner
On recommendation we went to Stylia..... the experience was amazing. A man dressed in his hooded robe met us at the door and led us through a series of curtains and hallways each dressed with local carpets and scattered with rose petals. Finally the curtains were drawn in front of us revealing an enormous room decorated with carpets and mosaics with a ceiling of intricate wood and stone work. Once again rose petals were scattered on the floor and tables. I was given a rose as I was seated at the table. We sat facing a small pool in the middle of the room besides which sat two Moroccan musicians, who entertained us throughout the evening. The meal was set menu and we were waited on by people dressed as I would imagine ali baba and the 40 thieves would dress. The food was moroccan - we started with pigeon pastilla which is pastry with pigeon cinnamon and almonds in it which tasted very much like apple pie with pigeon in it - a little disconcerting to say the least especially when you cut into the pastry and found bones...... i must say we were both a little worried about the remaining meals.... The next course was tangine (lemon and cummin, and tomato, onion and cinnamon) which were absolutely gorgeous. We thought that this dish was enough to make up for the first, and then out came the cous cous with vegetables and chicken - amazing!!!! Finally a pastilla without chicken for desert and a special type of custard - a much better way to serve it. The food was exceptional and the service outstanding!!! It was a great way to end the weekend.
So with our bags packed to accommodate the shopping we had done we went to the airport the next morning ready to return back to London.... luckily we were early because it actually took forever to get checked in through security.... in fact by the time we checked in and got through passport control they were calling us to board. So we left the blue skies of Morroco, and I don't think we have seen the sun again since ;)
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