Our Moroccan Adventure

We lost our way in the city’s souks and found ourselves again. Marrakech is “the land of God.”

The first stop on our European trip we took a direct flight from Tampa to Amsterdam and immediately hopped on another to Morocco. Unsure what to expect we entered the city with eyes open.

The architecture and colors in Marrakech are like no other. Full of warm tones and buildings dating back to 1062, Marrakech has character. The city is frequently referred to as the Red City, because of the shade of the walls surrounding its old town district.

All throughout the medina, you’ll find precious riads. I would definitely suggest taking a day just to explore these.

What is a “Riad?” – Everything you need to know about exploring them and the Medina.

A “Riad” is a type of traditional Moroccan house or palace with an interior garden or courtyard.

The first thing you need to know is to do your research before you hit the medina, it’s difficult to maneuver and you’ll want to pick out 1-3 riads to visit ahead of time. Many of the riads are private and require a lunch reservation (or that you’re a hotel guest) to visit. Thee growing popularity of these spaces (a response to social media) has really created an economical boom for the small city.

We decided to have a lunch at BE Marrakech, a riad we discovered on Instagram. The charming venue has 5 different to explore as well as a terrace. We spent most of our time in The Oasis (blue) and The Essence (yellow).

One of the most exciting things about our visit is we ran into Travel Bloggers Laura and Nicolas creators of @passportinonehand – who sparked our creativity and helped us shoot this photo.

BE Marrakech is all about being in the moment. We only had a few hours here, we wish we had allowed for more.

The Food

Moroccan food has always been my favorite! Growing up my friend’s mom who grew up in Morocco used to whip up the most amazing spreads for us, this being said, I was very excited to dig in!

Here’s some of the place we tried that I would recommend:

Comptoir Darna – Dinner with a Traditional Show
Le Jardin – No alcohol is served here, definitely have a glass or 2 of wine before.
Cafe Árabe – rooftop for drinks
El Fenn – amazing hotel, be sure to stop by the rooftop here for drinks/snack as well!
BE Marrakech – Riad

Above is a photo of me eating a spread of traditional Moroccan dishes during our lunch at BE Marrakech.

WHAT WE ORDERED:

BE Chicken Tacos
Toast + Fresh Fruit
Hummus + Kefta
Moroccan Vegetable Bowls (eggplant, lentils, pastries)
Cappuccinos + Moroccan Mint Tea!

Camels – DO IT! 🐪

Our beautiful friend Adam scheduled a Sunset Camel ride for our entire group, it is simply a must-do while here. I mean, how many places can you ride a Camel (Palm Springs does not count). Some things to take note of:

You will not be riding in a dessert, those are 45 minutes-8 hours away, you can make reservations for all-inclusive Camp experiences.
They will offer you traditional gowns but you don’t have to wear them, so rock your threads loud!
Our tour included traditional Morrocan Mint Tea with the family of the ranch, look for this when you’re booking your reservation. It was really previous and a nice break in the ride.
The tour guides are photo experts, ours snapped this one (below) of Daniel and I. Typically in Morocco you don’t tip much (10% or less), but for something like this you can!

I am an animal lover x 100000, so spending time with these little creatures was everything to me.

Marrakech: Other Must-Dos

my YSL is the Monogram Envelope Bag Envelope Medium Bag In Mix Matelassé Grain De Poudre

Visit the YSL Museum (note: it is not the same entrance as the garden, keep walking down to avoid any lines. or buy your tickets beforehand in the states)