The Many Markets of Morocco

As with previous flights, our flight arrived in Casablanca, Morocco at an ungodly hour, but we made it to our hotel in the city center without incident. It was only after 5 hours of sleep that we were off again, catching the 3 hour train to Marrakech. After meeting our contact Ingrid and a 5 minute taxi ride later, we were at the apartment where our stay was given to us as a wedding gift (thank you Lisa and Seth!)

We would spend the next 10 days using the apartment as our base exploring the splendors of Marrakech. We felt spoiled having such a nice place all to ourselves for our entire stay but we took advantage and made the most of it. There was a nice grocery store within walking distance that we ended up visiting on a daily basis and getting around to other parts of the city was pretty painless with the plethora of cheap petit taxis available.

We visited Djamaa el Fna, the central square of the medina, on several occasions. This is where the snake charmers hang out along with the endless stalls selling fresh squeezed orange juice; and there’s nothing that beats a cold glass on a scorching day.


From the main square we also explored the many tiny alleyways of the different souks (markets) that filled the medina, getting lost on more than one occasion. The souks were some of the best places we’ve seen for shopping and it was difficult not to buy more than our packs could handle. Mixed in with all the shops were the stalls selling spices, fresh meat, fruits and vegetables.


It made for a mind boggling experience that touched on all the senses.

We ended up taking a cooking class one of the days and bought all the ingredients fresh from the market, including the live chicken that would be the basis for our tasty tagine. The medina is also home to some great arab architecture including the Medersa Ben Youssef and the Saddian tombs. We were so inspired by some of the ceramic artwork that we ended up buying a few things for what little space we had.




We felt replenished a bit after our nice stay in Marrakech but before we knew, it was time to pack up again.

Next up on our itinerary was Fes, so we hopped on the train north and 8 hours later we arrived. We no longer had a nice apartment all to ourselves but we did manage to find a great little place in the medina called Dar Houdou. We really felt like we were living in an authentic Moroccan house at this 3 bedroom place. We only had one full day in Fes before our flight to Seville, Spain but we were able to explore most of the medina in the little time we had.

One of the highlights was trying to find our way to the tanneries and once we did, we were in awe of the many pits filled with the different colors used in tanning the leather hides.


Anna also did something she’s wanted to do ever since India, she got a henna tattoo. The lady that did the artwork took us into her house right in the medina which was very interesting to say the least.


We also bought some last minute items as we knew we were heading into Europe and things weren’t going to get any cheaper. Like Marrakech, Fes is a shopper’s paradise, so deciding on what to buy was the hardest part.

The next morning we were off again and caught our 45 minute flight to Seville. We stayed in Seville for 2 nights, just long enough to happily embrace the siestas and sangria. We visited the Alcazar, Plaza de Espana, Cathedral de Sevilla and saw a great flamenco performance.


We were able to walk everywhere but paid the price in the 100 degree weather. We really liked what we saw in Seville and got excited to see more of Spain but first it was time to head into Portugal and up to Lisbon where we would meet up with the Oliver family. So we hopped on the bus and made the 7 hour journey to Lisbon where we were all too happy to finally see some familiar faces!