Spring Break 1

Back at work today I now muse of spring break and time well spent exploring some previously unseen Morocco.

Lets start with Marrakesh and visit number three. For my friend it was visit number one so some of the tourist sites were on the agenda. The Medersa is still as impressive as ever. The biggest problem is deciding what to look at first. Heading upstairs is a good idea, not so much to see the tiny bedrooms the children slept in, but rather to get away from the crowds of tourists (and the photographic opportunities are endless). I love the windows like the one in the photograph.

Next stop was the Bahia Palace (below), more incredible architecture and inlaid woodwork, painted ceilings and stucco work courtesy of some of Morocco's best artisan make it difficult to know where to look. One word of advice, don't go at three o'clock as after reopening then many tour groups come by for a visit. Quieter were the ruins of the Badi Palace, now called home by many storks. If only the walls could talk.

Of course the Djemma El-Fna provides a never-ending circus ring of entertainment, from the money hungry water sellers who seem to spot a pointed camera lens at 50 metres to the scantily clad tourists who must do no research what-so-ever before they visit. Then there are the snakes, the man selling false teeth and the seething mass of people that swarm in from all sides in the evening. My highlight, the lucious fresh orange juice narrowly over the brochettes and salad from stall number 1.

However for all their attractions above, my two Marrakesh highlights were two other eating experiences, Narwana - a Moroccan Thai restaurant with a fire and water sculpture in a restored riad, and Al Fassia for tagine with a difference. My mouth waters now at the thought. it was just a shame the Thai food wasn't a little hotter.