28 November 2013

Marrakesh

Hello love bugs!

What've I missed?

Fancy hearing all about my Moroccan adventure and looking at some photos of interesting doors? Well, your prayers have been answered!



I'm not quite sure exactly what I'd expected Marrakech to be like, beyond colourful pyramids of spices and plenty of tagines, but it turned out to be generally so much more than I'd anticipated. More colourful, more exotic, more intense, and definitely louder. 






We learnt very quickly that the most important thing to carry round with you (besides loo roll and sanitising hand gel!) is a sense of humour; because most conversations seemed to be a lighthearted sales pitch for one thing or another. Once we'd found our feet, we wandered for hours on end through the maze of never-ending souks in the Medina, feasted in delicious restaurants staffed by French Hipsters in the Ville Nouvelle, and tried to take in everything we could see until our minds were saturated with colour.





We made the most of the French influences that create the weft of the tapestry that is Morocco by breakfasting on pain au chocolat and custard tarts, and embraced the wonders of African heritage which forms the warp, from dusty streets to bustling markets to lush gardens filled with the sound of tinkling fountains.


One of many mint teas

We basked in golden sunshine within the walls of ruined palaces, attempted (and failed) to avoid the snake-charming touts in the Jemaa el Fna, and scrambled up almost sheer cliff faces in the Atlas Mountains to see a waterfall. 





Some of us got sweatier from the climb than others. Haha. 

We got the hang of haggling, to the point where the sellers declared I must be "half-Berber" (which I was weirdly proud of, even though I'm sure they say that to everyone) and spent a dirham or two on artisan goods from the sense-awakening souks.


We've decided to declare our holiday a definite success :)

If you want to see any more of my photos, you can find them on flickr

Katie xxx

12 comments:

  1. Well those photos are rather sensational!!!! Sooo vibrant!!!!!! Looks like you had an awesome time! Did you get hassled at all? X

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    1. Thanks Kezzie :) It was SO colourful there! We did get hassled a bit; we learnt to either laugh or ignore it completely, depending on the context. Tom got so much more hassle than me, poor thing, due to everyone yelling "Moustache!" at him. I think he was about ready to reach for the razor when we left* xx
      * To shave off his moustache. Not to end it all!

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  2. This looks amazing! I've always wanted to go to morocco but I think we should wait for le bebe to be a little older. I fell in love with the idea of visiting after reading the book 'Hideous Kinky', have you read it?
    Off to browse your flickr now :)

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  3. I reckon if we had doors like those in Britain, people would feel a lot happier during the dreary winters. Beautiful photographs; what kind of camera do you use?
    Laura

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    1. I completely agree; characterful doors are definitely one of my favourite things to photograph! I use a Canon 350D (one of Tom's; I'm such a camera noob!) xx

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  4. It looks amazing there! Love the door shots. I'm glad the trip was such a success. Have a great weekend! xxx

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    1. Thank you :) Hope your weekend is going wonderfully! xxx

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  5. I love Marrakesh so much, your photos are lovely. How did you get on with your veggie diet?

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  6. Thanks Sooz :) Your tips were so amazingly helpful, thank you! I was fine in the end food-wise, thanks. I gambled with a few vegetarian tagines with unknown choice of stock (I figured what I don't know won't kill me!) and had plenty of veggie options in the Italian restaurants too, plus juice and French pastries :) A very tasty holiday menu indeed! xxx

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  7. What a wonderful trip!! The photos are beautiful - so glad you had a lovely time :) xx

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  8. Gorgeous photos! It looks so amazing. And camels!!

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