Destination: Marrakech

My roommate Elyse had always wanted to go to Morocco after hearing how much our friend Isabel enjoyed visiting that previous summer. She was constantly on the lookout for cheap EasyJet flights and, one day, found a roundtrip from Lyon to Casablanca, convincing me and our other friend Callie to jump on board. Though traveling doesn’t fully summarize what made up our journey in Marrakech, it surely is a subject worth mentioning since it ended up being a large part of our adventure, much to our surprise.

We visited this cultural town of Morocco the first weekend of December, and witnessed and underwent some of the most drastically new and unusual experiences of our lives. Hands down, when mentioning this trip to friends, is one I would say “made” my semester abroad. Therefore if you’re in Europe, especially in some of the southern countries like France or Spain for example, I absolutely URGE you to book a trip to Morocco. We chose Marrakech because of its proximity to our city of arrival (Casablanca), but I have also heard that Fez is another popular tourist destination full of culture and vitality.

To do BEFORE you arrive
-Watch the movie Casablanca if you haven’t already seen it!
-Book your accommodations at a Ryad/Riad— these are former guesthouses and essentially modern day bed-and-breakfasts. I’ve heard hostels are something you want to steer clear of in Morocco, and our representative at the Ryad, Youssef, essentially served us as an amazing chaffeur and guide to the city we couldn’t have survived without
-It is a good experience to stay near the big Market in the old part of the City.
-If you do decide to travel do so with your friends, not alone. The people are friendly and many speak English but it is such a poor country that everyone is trying to sell you something and some can be aggressive.

-Transportation:
-Make sure you’re on track with your way of getting from point A to point B—FYI trains in Morocco tend to run late and 2nd class tickets DON’T guarantee a seat, just a spot on the train. Actually claiming a seat in 2nd class is determined by the number of people taking the train that day, whereas paying a little higher will get you a reserved place in the first class cabins
-Whenever you get in a cab or carriage, settle the price BEFORE you get in

Once there:
-Eat in Djemma el Fna, the center of town. Some places feature terrace views where you can eat on the top, outdoor patio of the restaurant and overlook the expansive area below
-We ate in this area every night, it’s always packed and while the stands all serve about the same type of food (bread and salsa type dish to start, then meat or vegetable taboullah), they sure do try to convince you to dine with them
-Nightime is also full of tons of entertainment like snake charmers
-With this, though, be aware—they’ll make you pay for anything they can (i.e taking a picture, holding them even if they offer you)

-Explore the Souks: outer markets and stalls surrounding Djemma el Fna
-There is a lot of shopping and site seeing but it is all through tiny, narrow streets
-Definitely bargain! They’ll expect you to – don’t pay more than 50% of what they ask – they’ll act indignant and offended, but just walk away if they do – there are 50 other vendors selling the same thing.
-When purchasing, I’ll always remember how Youssef stressed the importance of quality
-Things to buy: there are many straw bags and purses, shoes, scarves, and leather goods of several designs and colors. Also be on the lookout for spices, jewelry, precious metals, wooden boxes, and other ornaments

-Invest in the three building pass at the Mederssa Ben Youssef – go explore then visit the “herbologist” store near the entrance! The cutest man runs it and I had the best time in there, we even came out with free “magic” lipstick

-Visit the Jardin Majorelles: they are owned by Yves Saint-Laurent and Pierre Bergé, and are a beautiful garden collection featuring vegetation from 5 different continents

-Ride a camel: we went in the Palmeraie, but make sure to bargain wherever you go!

-Take a donkey carriage ride instead of a taxi

-Have their specialty green tea at the end of dinner

-Never went but heard a day trip to the Atlas Mountains was another recommendation


From Isabel:
-Eat at Grand Café de la Poste – it is the inspiration for Rick’s café
-I didn’t get to do it when I was there, but everyone told me to go to a hammam and get a Moroccan massage, as long as you don’t mind basically being felt up
-Take a LOT of cash!!! You’ll want to buy things and practically NO ONE takes credit cards there

-Casablanca: a pretty industrial city, which is why we chose Marrakech as our principal destination. The only tourist attraction Elyse, Callie and I visited on our way back from Marrakech to the Casablanca airport was the Hassan II Mosque, but it was quite a site to see!

A few other notes:
-There are plenty of tourists around
-It is a good idea to bring a scarf to wear over your shoulders, jeans and comfortable shoes are fine. Another idea for protection for girls was to wear a ring on their wedding finger
-Only drink bottled water as well