My Birthday Surprise - Marrakech

My boyfriend had it all planned. A trip to Barcelona to see my friends and family for five days. He told me to not tell anyone as it would be a lovely surprise for my friends to have me back. I thought to myself something fishy was going on but I didn't want to look too much into it as everytime my dear tries to surprise me someone always ruins it for him.
We packed our gear in our tiny suitcases as we were flying with Ryanair and although I wasn't too keen on the idea I knew that to avoid any extra costs I had to pack light and small.
We drove to Rome and stayed with our friend for the night and had a very very early wake up. We woke up at 4 am! Lovely....

We then arrived to Ciampino airport and I saw the smile on my sweethearts face. That cheeky smile I know very well, then he pulled out something pink, my Kaftan from Morocco that my bestfriend bought me a few years back...
"Are we going to Morocco?" I asked in half surprise and half anticipation.
"We are.....Happy Birthday"

MOROCCO? Finally after so many years I am going to Morocco, another continent, another country and I have the opportunity to discover another culture. Morocco has always felt close to home for me, I felt something, maybe because I have had many friends from there and they would always talk to me about this country and I really wanted to see it for myself. Now was my chance thanks to my dear. Maybe it's because I am half spanish and there were a lot of Moroccons in Spain for years and they say we are the same, maybe because my nan is from the south of Spain and there are a lot of Moroccon influences? I don't know but my dream has been fufilled.

We took our flight to Marrakech and thankfully there were no problems with Ryanair.
Like I mentioned before Ryanair is not the best airline in the World like they claim in their own magazine, which I find hard to believe and embarrassing that they actually claimed this but if you know what's the score with them the travelling isn't too complicated.
Just make sure you carry one item of hand luggage, that it doesn't surpass 10kg and doesn't pass their measurements. If you comply with these rules you will be fine and won't get robbed by their rude "customer service" staff. I think their staff are changing, but in the UK the staff are terribly rude and it seems they are looking to get comission for every bag that weighs a few grams over 10kg. So don't risk it, the staff are like hawks looking to hunt you down and make you pay. Anyway this isn't a blog about an airline, this is about my travels.



As we flew to Morocco I was given top 10 things to do when you are in Marrakech and I knew it could be done.

We arrived to Marrackech Menara airport and had to fill out a Visa to enter the country. Goal 1 completed - get my first stamp on my brand new passport.

We got out of customs and saw lots of stands giving out free sim cards. Great idea. So I grabbed one incase I needed it for anything.
We got on the bus from the airport to our hotel, we thought to ourselves, why get a taxi when we can do the real deal? Plus it's very easy to get to the hotel from the airport as there is only one bus on the left as you exit the airport. The bus is the number 19 and you just tell the driver where your hotel is and whe will drop you outside your hotel (if it's on route and most of these hotels are).
Plus the people of Marrakech speak more than one language and sometimes speak up to 5 so it isn't difficult to communicate with them.

Once we arrived to our hotel I was left with another surprise. A 5* Hotel with Spa and swimming pool. AHHHH Luxury! Thank you sweetie, you will get your return gift later on I thought as I hugged and kissed Andy.
We dropped off our bags and headed straight to the centre of Marrakech, which is known as the Medina and the main square in the Medina is Djemaa El-Fna. It is surrounded by endless labyrinths of souks (bazaars) and alley ways covering all of the Medina.We went at the time of prayer so we just caught how the people were entering the Koutoubia Mosque. It was a very nice moment as there was chanting coming out of the speakers and people entered the mosque and there was a sudden silence on the streets, they weren't empty either but the people were silent (a very different feeling to when you are in Naples or Rome).

Before arriving you pass many parks and find these strange cactus plants.

The Kouboutia Mosque

We continued to wonder the streets and discovered these little roads that lead to more typical shops and bars. Fortunately we didn't feel harrassed as it was prayer time for the muslim community and this meant we were at peace.





After walking and getting to know the local area we went to Cafe Arabe. We came across it by luck but it was somewhere I wanted to visit considering it was one of the top places to visit as a tourist. It is a quiet three floored bar/ restaurant with a nice refreshing terrace so you can enjoy the views of the city. They have a Moroccan and an Italian cook, so there are two menus to choose from. It is one of the few places where they also serve alcohol so it was a bit of a treat for us to go there after travelling around. Plus it was a lovely place to lounge on their sofas whilst sipping on our wine and beer.

(184 mouassine (medina near dar el bacha), ☎ +212 2442 9728)

One of the things I loved about walking around Marrakech was that it was almost 40 degrees but it wasn't humid and it was actually nice to walk around the city, unlike the city of Naples where it is even hard to breathe there with all that humidity.











Inside Cafe Arabe, A bar and restaurant I recommend you visit if you go to Marrakech.






Once we ate, it was back to the hotel for a little dip in the pool and a rest. Then back out again to witness what Medina is like at night. And it is another city. So lively and vivid.....