Taking you on one last Marrakech journey through some iphone photos (:  

So I know I did a whole post about Shopping in Marrakech.  But I posted prematurely.  We made friends with some locals and  they gave me additional tips… after that, I was a bit of a shrew!  Here’s some additional things I learned:

1.  They’re watching for your eyes to pop.  Try to not show too much interest.  Because then they’ll know you really love it/can’t live without it.  They may give you a really high price because of this.
2. I made them give me a price!  The first couple of days, I’d just say ummmm I don’t know 300 dirhams?  And then they’d say more, of course.  But by the final day I really learned to  just keep asking how much?  Until they gave me a price.
3. Once they give you a price, cut it in about half… and then go from there.
4. Say ___ is my best price.  They say no… walk away.
5. If they don’t come after you, then they wouldn’t have made any money on it.
6. This was the hard part for me, because sometimes I just realllllly wanted something, or it was perfect for a friend/family member.
7. 90% of the time, they will come after you.
8. Everything is negotiable.  Even your taxi rides.
9. No one was offended by bartering back and forth.  I think as an american, and as someone who doesn’t want to take advantage of anyone, this was hard for me!  But I eventually got the hang of it.
10. When shopping for rugs, they will offer you tea.  We learned to ask if we accept is there an obligation to buy.  That way you don’t feel overly pressured, and too invested in them.
11. Rug buying is a process.  I suggest going first thing in the morning!  It takes a ton of time.  They expect that!

this was probably my favorite dinner!  the final night was magical – eating dinner and all of a sudden the rough retracted to see the stars.  

So JB booked this food tour by bike, and I was all – great, sure, I’ll do it!  But then I got a taste of the shopping, and asked my friends husband if he’d go in my place, so we could go shopping instead.  They ate so many strange things, biked through the souks (crazy!), and had a great time.  When they returned to the hotel, they asked the bellhop, Taofik, if there was a hammam they could go to.  Well turns out Taofik was just getting off and about to go to his hammam, and he invited them.  First they had to stop by his house, and they met his whole family.  Then they went to the local Hammam ($1)!  They both had the best time, and the stories these two tell crack us all up.

the view from Cafe Atay this was the tile in a random shop in the souks.  it was like this everywhere- incredible craftsmanship in some of the most unlikely places.  When in Marrakech, definitely don’t forget to look down (; and up.  and everywhere!!  

as you now know I pretty much could not get over my time at the Royal Mansour!

sorry for the overload of selfies!  But this is what I wore for the last week of february, first week of march in Marrakech.  I wish I had packed more cold weather things.  Some days were hot!  nights were always cold.  But we had some chilly days too.  The day we left was gorgeous and crystal clear, and it was supposed to be hot every day.  So if you go, definitely check the weather!  I’d also say that, as far as covering up, you may be more comfortable if you are covered up.  Not a head scarf but I just felt better when I didn’t have a ton of skin showing.  

lots of people have asked me how the food was.  I think, for me, that was one of my favorite parts.  I absolutely loved it.  I didn’t get a tummy ache once, and we even had a street tangine for $1 (which was just as good as the ones in nice restaurants!).  Every meal at a nice restaurant came in courses.  The first course was my favorite – “moroccan salads” – which is nothing like our actual salads.  These are marinated eggplants, cooked beets in spices, a soup, tomatoes and avocado, pickled veggies… they really were creative every time. You can dip these in their traditional bread or eat them plain.  I always got a vegetable tangine – these little clay pots cook all day in their spices, they called them the moroccan crock pot, lol.  This usually had couscous, loads of veggies, and a lot of spices.  Not spicy hot really, just spicy.  It was so good.  I didn’t have anything I didn’t like.  They have a lot of lamb, which JB loves, and he usually ordered that in a tangine.  Pricing for a three course lunch in a beautiful riad was $18/pp … or you can eat on the street for $1 (;  Dinners were generally more, but we always had wine with dinner.  Their wine was surprisingly good.

my new bff mule – they didn’t have a name for him so we named him “emulio”

Hope you enjoyed Marrakech, through my iphone pics (: