Derek's Travel Blog

Arrived in Marracech after what seemed like a very long drive. Of course we are staying in the MIDDLE of the old part of the town near the famous square. Our driver parked outside the walls and we turned
our luggage over to some little porter with a cart who took off with everything we owned, at 90 miles an hour, into the maze of alleys.

Trust is a wonderful thing in this country. He was waiting at our
guesthouse when we eventually got there.

The walk includes a memory game of where to turn right and left, all  punctuated with landmarks like "the blue doors", "the broken sewer",  "the half-dead cat" and "the zig-zag hole in the walls".

On arrival, we were seated for the required "Moroccan Whisky" (mint  tea) and a cookie, that, while almond flavoured, managed to have the EXACT consistency of sand. Delicious. Sort of.

Anyway, the city is amazing. The recent "Sex and the City" movie has rebuilt part of the Zouk to film here. But the square is full off  snake charmers and fortune tellers and fun people pulling (literally)
you into their food stalls that are full of exotic spices and yummy foods.

Alan has been indulging in the snail stands. Snails come in a cup size of"small" and "grande" but surprisingly not in a "venti". Next to the snails they sell the cinnamon tea which has ONE HECK of a kick to it. Tons of Cinnamon and Ginger. Even sipping it slowly feels like Christmas has exploded in your mouth.

And yes, besides the food, the shopping is amazing. I'm still holding back (we have a week more to go) but Dr. Clyde has moved from one suitecase to two. Shoes and tassels are everywhere and I'm not sure
how my mother survived this trip.

But, you do have to haggle and Dr Clyde is getting better at this. We got dragged into a store selling wooden boxes. The guy took pity on the doc and made him "haggle" as he told him that 400 dirham (about
$50) was too much to pay. "No, no, you give me a price now", "no, no, now you go up a little". He had to teach the doc how to bargain. That alone, was worth the diversion into the store. The doc now has a
resonable box of dice, and some basic haggling skills.

Next up... The Yves St. Laurent gardens and the horse show...