Marrakech is a sprawling, messy, chaotic place to be. It is full of colour in the markets and tucked away behind walls in stunning riads and gardens.
The souks are a tangle of covered streets overflowing with things to buy and people wanting to sell them to you. All of the traders we met were polite and friendly. Bargaining is a necessary part of the deal.
Semarine souk is particularly good. If you are lucky you will find the entrance that is lined with olive and mint stalls. All of the souks are filled with colourful spices, shoes, clothing, woven bags and tableware and ceramics. I doubt it would be possible to walk away empty handed.
We almost had coffee at Bacha Coffee. We lined up 30 minutes before opening, as suggested. We eventually got to the desk where you pay to get in, where we were told there would be an hour wait. When we got to the entrance to the cafe we were told there was a 2 hour wait. We had somewhere else to be so we had to move on. I was allowed to take a couple of quick photos of what we missed out on.
We had an excellent lunch at Nomad. We were lucky to be first in and were taken to the top floor with a view over the city.
Riad Mena, where we stayed was wonderful. The small group of people working there were extremely helpful and friendly. It was one of the best parts of our stay. We arrived very early on our first day and this is the breakfast that greeted us.
The riad is a quiet, delightful oasis in the middle of the busy city.
We also visited a couple of stunning gardens and had a short trip outside the city which I will show you in the next post.