On our last day in Morocco, Hayley and I took on the
souks and markets. The souks are a crazy maze of little shops selling
everything from spices and traditional medicines to bowls and rugs. And guess
what? There's haggling involved.
We started the day off with breakfast on the rooftop terrace. I'm going to miss waking up to freshly made Moroccan pancakes! After eating, we checked out of our riad and headed to the souks!
The souks are best tackled without a map and without
a clear goal; just wandering around you see so many amazing things. We ended up
in a “Berber pharmacy”, where a man was selling everything from cures for a
stuffy nose to beautiful spices (see above), and we may have frequented a few
too many shops… getting all of our goodies home was a challenge. Whoopsie.
For lunch we wandered back to Jemaa El Fna
and ate at one of the rooftop restaurants with a view of the square.
I ordered a veggie omelet and, because it was so hot, I decided to splurge with
a vanilla milkshake. Apparently that just means cold, refreshing milk... not that
I minded feeling like a little kid again! We also snacked on some strawberries that we bought at a little stall in the souks. Yumm.
After eating we headed to Palais Bahia, a beautiful private
palace full of gardens, worn tile floors, and beautifully painted ceilings.In other words, closeup heaven.
We ended our time in Morocco back at the main square
(where we began our journey; how poetic!), where Hayley and both I grabbed a last
glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and wandered the stalls in an effort to spend
our last few dirhams before catching the bus to the airport.
I really enjoyed Morocco a lot! If you visit, dress respectfully, be aware that you will be heckled to death, and have fun! (also, don't forget your antibacterial. you'll thank me later.)
