Trip 6: Marrakesh, Morocco

Visiting another continent was not in our original plans but we're very glad we did! Our long weekend in Morocco was amazing and it definitely kept our mind off of missing Thanksgiving at home (my favorite holiday).  The first memorable moment of our trip was when the plane started descending for landing and we were close enough to the ground that we could see the border of Spain, the Strait of Gibraltar and the border of Africa (it was like looking at a map but in person . . very surreal!).
While in Marrakesh, we stayed in the Medina, the old historic district of the city, in a traditional Riad which is a Moroccan house with an internal courtyard. It was about a 5 minute walk to Koutoubia Mosque and the main square, Djemaa el Fna, where there are entertainers by day and open air restaurants at night. Right off of the main square are the Souks or markets which was a lot of fun to stroll through to look at all the goods (spices, ceramics, etc) and to barter with the locals.
We took a Dunes & Desert excursion including Quad-biking (ATV's) and camel rides and got to stop at a little village to have tea and pastries with the locals. We also took a Moroccan cooking class where we learned to make a complete moroccan meal including bread, salads, a tajine and the special moroccan sweet patties called Msemen. This was a lot of fun and the food we made was absolutely delicious! Following the cooking class we got to experience a hammam ritual and massage at a Riad spa.
What an incredible trip and the beautiful sunny 70 degree weather was not so bad either! ;)

The internal courtyard of the Riad we stayed at - our room was in the center on the second floor

Inside our suite 

Moroccan Dinner and delicious breakfasts at our Riad 

A view of our riad's central courtyard from the rooftop terraces

A view of the main square, Djemaa el Fna, from the top of a near by rooftop restaurant  (click picture to enlarge)

snake charmers in the main square

 Food stalls in the main square

The Souks

Wandering the Souks

Shopping in the souks

Koutoubia Mosque

 Dinner at another Riad around the corner

Our Quadbiking (ATV) excursion through the Dunes & Desert

Quadbiking excursion through the Dunes & Desert

 We stopped in a little village to have tea with the locals

 Inside the house where we stopped for tea

 Next adventure . . camel rides in the dessert!

 The gorgeous Moroccan sunset during our camel ride

Moroccan Cooking Class . . probably my favorite part of the trip!

 Making our bread - & later found out that the girl to my left was from Eden Prairie, MN . . crazy small world!!!

 Making our chicken Tajine with red olives and candied lemons 

 All relaxed at the spa after our hammam and massage

 open air restaurants in the main square

 The open air restaurant where we enjoyed some chicken satay and vegetable couscous

 

We ended the night with some fresh mint tea . . . yes that is a block of sugar in each drink!!!