Marrakech {Girls Trip 2016}

Earlier this year there was a ridiculous sale on flights so some friends and I bought tickets to Marrakech, Morroco! (you guys...traveling here is SO CHEAP! flights within Europe are ridiculously cheap and then the airlines have sales fairly regularly so it's even better!!!! Seriousssslllly...this trip, one way was FIVE euro, and the return was 30!!!) My two friends, Nancy and Valentina, had been wanting to go here and invited me along...I was like....a weekend away with no kids??? Yes please! We stayed at a beautiful Riad in the middle of Marrakech and had such a great weekend!!!! It is such a beautiful, unique place! And the food....AMAZING!

We spent our first day with a tour guide going around the main part of Marrakech, which we were glad we did because we would have been lost without him! It's such a maze in the Medina (that's what they call the old, middle part of the city). We saw the Jeamaa el-Fnaa, which is one of the best known squares in Africa and is the center of trade and activities. Next we saw the Koutobia Mosque, which is the largest mosque in the city.

After that we wandered around the maze of streets some more until we got to the Ben Youssef Madrasa, which was an Islamic College, and is absolutely gorgeous! It's full of carved wood, stone, plaster....such beautiful, detailed carvings all throughout it. I loved it! Oh, and of course....some tilework :) SO pretty!!!

Next we went through the maze of souks surrounding the main square. There are SO many streets and alleys full of little shops and separate areas for different craftsman...an area of metal workers, wood workers, leather workers, etc. It was pretty cool to see! Unfortunately most of the souks closest to the square are full of touristy shops with crazy prices...they do let you haggle, but it's pretty overwhelming and exhausting after a while. It's still fun to walk around though....so much color and activity!

The next day we took another guided tour, but this time we went into the Atlas mountains. We drove through a few valleys, making a few stops along the way...one at a local town market...which was cool to walk through. One stop was at an Arogan oil cooperative...local women, either widowed, divorced, etc., work there to product Arogan oil. We got to see how they make it and had some samples of some of their products.

Another stop was for a camel ride! It was a short little ride around the hillside outside of a town but it was still kinda fun! Definitely new experience for my list ;)

our last stop of the day was at a little home in a tiny town on a mountainside...it was absolutely AMAZING!!! So beautiful and sooo peaceful! We ate lunch there and it was just perfect. THe food was SO SO delicious!!!! Everything we ate on this trip was honestly delicious....everything! The soups there were especially delicious!! But anyway...the lunch on the hill was the best and my most favorite part of the trip for sure!!!

It was a fairly quick trip but such a good one! Nancy is one of my favorite people here, and while I don't know Valentina quite as well, it was a great time to get to know her better! I've been so blessed to meet such amazing friends here and especially blessed to get to go on these amazing trips with them! These truly are memories and friendships that will last a lifetime!