Ever since Mary-Kate & Ashley came out with those travel movies, Miranda and I have been wanting to take a trip abroad together. Miranda is my best friend of 23 years & 6 months and younger cousin - she's basically a sister to me.
We’ve been obsessively pinning Morocco for over a year now. The architecture, the colors and the Instagrammable walls reeled us in. We couldn’t think of anyone else who would want to go to Morocco besides each other. It was her first time abroad without her family & first time traveling in her 20s. We agreed that it was cliche to go to Paris (sorry, MK &A), Italy, London, etc. together. Morocco sounded like an adventure.
JEMAA EL-FNA
The majority of day one was spent at the souks. We encountered a seemingly nice old man who showed us around. He ended up taking us deep into the markets and then led us to a spice shop, where the shopkeepers tried to get us to buy stuff. We declined and once we left, the old man tried to ask us for money. I wish I could say this is the last time time we followed a stranger through the alleyways of Marrakech, but it’s not. We then finished the rest of the hop on/hop off tour and later returned to the market to see it at night, where we saw monkeys and cobra snakes. Our favorite part was the fresh squeezed orange juice carts parked at every corner.
BEN YOUSSEF MADRASA
Day two started at Ben Youssef Madrasa- only after we again followed a stranger who said he would take us to Ben Youssef. He ended up leading us to a random rug shop to try to rip us off. All was forgotten as soon as we stepped into the old Islamic college. It was an incredible - the building was covered in gorgeous marble, engraved inscriptions & geometric patterns.
Afterwards, we went back to the souks for a bit of shopping & had lunch in a cute cafe in Jemaa el-Fna. We ended the day with a traditional Moroccan hammam scrub & massage, where we laid in a sauna-type room & were covered with black clay. Once washed off, we were intensely scrubbed down & then rinsed off with freezing cold water- we could feel our dead skin sliding off us. Afterwards, we were clothed in robes and offered tea before laying down again for a massage with Moroccan argan oils.
THE ROYAL MANSOUR HOTEL
Our last day in Marrakech was spent packing and visiting the Royal Mansour. The employees were so kind and helpful. Each room was so different than the next but equally as beautiful. Our favorite was a blue room with marble floors & velvet curtains. The Royal Mansour is a must see in Marrakech.
