I was informed last December that my sister couldn't come all the way to Spain and not go to another country while she was there. When we were all together at Christmas Laura really wanted to go to Germany and she thought if would be fun to make it a family trip. That sounded all fine and dandy but because everyone had limited time and Pablo and I have no money the thought of flying to expensive Germany for two days wasn't really practical. So Pablo got on the internet and checked out the destinations from Madrid on the cheap airlines and finds Morocco. So close to Spain, only a two hour flight, and cheap. Everyone said that they never thought of going to Morocco before but it sounded exotic so they were all game.
In the months before the wedding I planned the whole thing, bought airline tickets, found a hotel, made reservations and hoped it would all work out. Traveling to Morocco with 7 people would be an adventure.
Finally the day arrives and we coordinate the taxis, make sure each person only has 1 carry-on (cheap airlines!) and head to the airport for the next adventure.
Unfortunately, our flight to Marrakech was delayed. It actually became quite commical because during the 3 hours we waited for our flight to leave they changed our gate atleast 5 times. Imagine 100+ people running back and forth between gates for 2 hours. It was absolutly ridiculous but funny once we actually boarded the plane. And before our flight boarded I watched the same thing happen to the people on the flight to Casablanca. I think the security at the airport just like to watch hoards of people run back and forth, back and forth, like crazy people.
Finally boarding
We end up arriving in Marrakech around 8 pm, 3 hours late. Luckily I had arranged transport to and from the airport to our hotel and the guy was still waiting for us when we arrived. Poor thing waited 3 hours without any idea where we were. Apparently they don't say in Arrivals if the flight is delayed...weird.
Our driver was very nice, spoke english and helped us into a big van, perfect for 7 and drove us toward the hotel. Our 15 minute ride to the drop off point was a shock. The way people drive there is insane. There are a million motor bikes with 1, 2, 3+ people riding on them at a time. Small children sitting on the back as the adult weaves in and out of traffic. We rarely saw a stop light or any traffic signs, or people wearing helmets, it was crazy. We sat in the van, almost in silence, all thinking what is going on here.
We were dropped off at the drop off point because cars can't enter any farther into the old city. Our hotel manager, Najat, was there to greet us and walk us to the hotel. It was a lifesaver to have somone help us walk there because the 5 minute walk was once again, insane! We are walking, 7 huge Americans (well one spanish), with our bags, down this very narrow, shop lined street, that is filled with tons of people. On top of that there are motor bikes driving right down the middle, weaving in and out of the people, with a precision you have to appreciate. This street is probably wide enough for 5 people to walk down and there are motobikes hauling balls, wizing by the people and the people don't even flinch and rarly move. How people and bikes don't crash on an hourly-basis is beyond me. We just continued to walk single file and tried not get ran over, thinking to ourselves, where the heck are we!
Finally, we turn off the crazy road and walk into a quieter section where our hotel is located. Peace and tranquility! Our hotel is categorized as a Riad and is an old house converted into a bed and breakfast. There are 4 rooms total and we occupied 3 of them. There is a big open courtyard in the middle and the 4 rooms surround it. One room on the first floor, we had the three rooms on the second floor and the rooftop terrace was the third floor. The riad was quaint, cozy and decorated in the typical Moroccon style we really like. I think everyone was pretty excited about the choice. We each checked out our rooms, got settled in and headed up to the roof top terrace. I had pre-arranged to have dinner in our hotel the first night which turned out to be great after getting in so late. We didn't have to think or stress, we just enjoyed the evening and ate a great meal.
The courtyard
Second floor bedroom
Couch in the courtyard
We started out with a variety of Moroccan salads and little puff pastries filled with meat for appetizers. Then we shared 7 different main courses such as tagines, couscous and pasta. The food was amazing and surprisingly so. We didn't know much about Moroccan food except for couscous, so we were really excited to try such a variety. Also, the winos that are my family found out in the Madrid airport we could each carry 3 bottles of wine into Morocco (its hard to buy alcohol there) so we ended up bringing 15 bottles! We looked like a bunch of alcoholics but no one was complaining during dinner when we polished off half of our stash!
Appetizers
The cooks and Najat
Half our stash
The next day was Pablo's birthday so I arranged with Najat, the manager, a little birthday surprise after dinner and she brought us a great birthday cake to celebrate Pablo, our honeymoon and our trip first to Morocco.
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