Marrakech 2015

Apologies for the delay in getting round to writing this post, life & a knackered pc got in the way!!  Anyway, Marrakech was absolutely fantastic - utterly mental - but fantastic!  We left a grey, rainy, freezing cold Glasgow & landed in bright sunshine & 26 degrees heat, fabulous.  The riad had sent a driver to pick us up at the airport so in we jumped & experienced the madness that is driving in Marrakech!  I think know we all had our eyes shut for much of the journey!

The drive only took about 15 minutes & we were dropped off at a taxi rank where a couple of staff from the riad were waiting for us to take our luggage.  From here it was only a 2 minute walk to the beautiful, calm haven of Riad Houma.  As we checked in, we were brought mint tea & Moroccan pastries & then talked through a map & shown the easiest way to walk to the main square, the Place Jemaa el Fna.

However, as the sun was still shining brightly and well, you know, we live in Scotland, we all dumped the bags & headed for the roof terrace to catch a couple of hours rays before heading out for our first exploration of the medina.

Wow, we knew it was going to be busy but Oh. My. God!!  We were prepared for the hustle & bustle of many people & stall holders trying to entice you into their shops in the tiny narrow alleyways but we were not expecting to dodge mopeds bombing down there too, it was mental! We were all walking about with huge grins on our faces at just the whole experience, the sights, the sounds, the smells (which alternated between the sweet smell of orange blossom, the earthy scent of spices, the delicious waft of bbq & the sudden onset of erm, sewerage!)

We headed off into the souks & got totally lost for the next couple of hours so by the time we ended back at the riad, it was gone 8pm & we were all starving.  We'd arranged to eat there on the first night & sat down to a delicious 3 course meal, discussed what to do the next day & then headed off for an early night.

The next morning we ate breakfast on the terrace in the already very warm sunshine & then again headed off towards the main square where we hopped on the open top bus to take us on a tour.  This was a really great way to see everything & note down where we wanted to do.  It headed through Guéliz, a newer part where you found shopping & familiar sights (Maccy D's , Pizza Hut or Starbucks anyone?!) then on to Palmeraie where there are huge golfing resorts & I spotted a Nikki Beach.  From there it stopped at Le Jardin Majorelle, which is where we jumped off.  After a quick bite to eat, we enjoyed a peaceful hour wandering round the gardens before jumping back on the bus & heading back for some sunbathing.

That night we ate at Kosybar, which Nikki at Midlife Chic had recommended. It was fabulous & we had a great table that overlooked the Koutoubia Mosque & the storks nesting on the walls of the  Palace.  We finished the night with wine on the terrace of riad & thanks to wifi & Spotify, a hilarious 80s pop quiz!

The next day was spent generally mooching around exploring & then more sunbathing in the afternoon.  We ate that night at Le Salama where we all shared a huge tasting menu with many, many dishes - Morrocan tapas if you like!  Just as we were leaving, the gorgeous belly dancers arrived, much to the pleasure of all the remaining diners.  Again, we finished the night with drinks & pop quizzes on the roof terrace but man, it was cold that night!

Our last morning we went exploring again round the Kasbah, which was a fabulous area that I wish we'd found sooner.  After a visit to the Saadian Tombs to see where all the past royalty are buried, we found a fabulous café (where we realised that we'd been paying way over the odds for food & drinks in the main square!) & then did some last minute shopping of argan oil & orange blossom goodies.  Shockingly though, this was the only shopping I did - I KNOW!!  I had planned to do a last minute whizz round the medina to buy bags & babouches (leather slippers) but the sodding cash machine was broken & the next one was too far away to go as we were running out of time :(

So there we have Marrakech in 3 days - not nearly enough time so we'd like to go back next year but stay for a week.  We wouldn't hesitate to return to Riad Houma, the staff were amazing, so polite & attentive (if a little too relaxed at times!!), it was beautiful inside & in comparison to a lot of riads, was really easy to find.  I'll now stop blethering on & start preparing for our trip to New York in 3 weeks, eeeek!!
 

Marrakech packing ~ makeup & skincare

I've had the morning to myself today as Hubble has taken Alfie out to a rugby tournament so I thought I'd get a head start on my pre-holiday beauty prep!  So far I've tinted my eyelashes (not the easiest thing to do yourself!), waxed my 'tache(ahem!), applied lashings of gradual tan lotion, coloured my roots & given myself a pedicure.  My hair is getting cut & blow dried on Tuesday morning so I can get up & go on Wednesday - one less thing for me to do!  I'm doing my friends' nails for them on Tuesday so I won't do my own nails until Tuesday night after I've packed the last couple of bits & bobs so I don't ruin them.

I've also sorted out & packed my makeup & skincare to take with me as I won't need these before we go - another tick off my packing list!  Seeing as we booked cases on in the end, I'm taking more than is probably necessary but a couple of bits I'll finish off whilst I'm there so they won't be coming home with me.  So here's what I'm taking -

My makeup bag from Muji is fantastic.  It's double sided with plenty of pockets & spaces to keep things neat & tidy!  They don't have this exact model anymore but they have this one which is very similar.  There's tons of room left in it so I might just put all my skincare in there too, one bag less to take!

Makeup wise, I'm going to decant into the teeny tiny posts my Boujois Bronzing BB & Revlon Photoready BB & that's my face sorted - nothing heavy & definitely no powder.  I will, however, take this dinky tube of Bourjois Healthy Mix concealer to cover up my persistant scars on my face.  To add a healthy flush in the evenings I'm taking my Bourjois Cream Blush & a tiny pot of mineral powder bronzer by Bare Minerals that I picked up in TK Maxx.   

For my eyes, I just have 2 eyeshadow pencils in charcoal & bronze by Barry M & a mini Lancôme Hypnôse Star mascara that was part of a special offer gift set (reviewed here.)

And the last of the makeup are 3 of my favourite lip colours, Bourjois Peach Club  (review here), Revlon Lip Butter in Candy Apple (review here) & No 7 BB Lips in Blush Pink.

Now moving on to the skincare.  I bought this Rosehip trial size gift set by Trilogy a couple of weeks ago so this is the base of my skincare.  It contains a cream cleanser, hydrating mist toner, facial oil & day cream.  Next, I've got a miniature of Bi-facil eye makeup remover by Lancôme, a mini micellar water by B Pure, mini Hydraluron that came in a gift set & my Botanics All Bright eye roll-on to help tired eyes.

So although there looks like quite a lot, because they're all minis they take up no room at all!

I need to take a quick trip to town in the morning to get the last couple of bits that I need & then I'll get my case packed.  3 days to go....!!!

Travelling light in Marrakech

Travelling light in Marrakech by fortytherapy 


So, as I've previously mentioned, myself & two friends are going to Marrakech in September & to say I'm already ridiculously excited is a HUGE understatement!!

We had said that we'll just travel with hand luggage, which is completely doable but after talking to one of my friends the other day about it, if we do that, we're going to be seriously short of shopping space, ahem ahem!!  So we might just book one large suitcase on too & share it but just for the sake of this post, let's just pretend I'm still only taking hand luggage!!

I'll be packing clothes that can be mixed & matched with each other, which is why the above colour palette is a bit 'meh' but bear with me!  I am acutely aware of dressing appropriately whilst in Morocco, hence the long trousers, skirts & dresses.  I've put in a lightweight cardigan from H&M & a scarf from Next, both of which are light-weight enough to be folded up & kept in a bag but can be worn to cover the shoulders when needs be.

I've bought a pair of these linen trousers from Next every year for the last 5 or 6 years, they're just so easy to wear & really cool, so they're in, as is my trusty denim jacket which I can wear for travelling in & at night if it gets too cool.  

Converse are my go-to choice for flat, comfortable, sneaker-style shoes but I bought a pair of the M&S silver sandals last year & they were like slippers to wear!  Can I just point out that they look soooo much better on than the photo depicts!  I may or may not take a pair of mid-height espadrille wedges for evening wear but I'll probably just end up wearing the M&S flats, I haven't quite made my final decision yet!

A hat & cross-body bag are essentials too as are just a few pieces of jewellery, to perk up the otherwise blandness of the black outfits!  I picked up the turquoise ring & bracelet sets yesterday & they are gorgeous.  You can't go far wrong with silver & turquoise jewellery in my humble opinion.....

Lastly, I'll pick up one of these super light-weight cabin bags in Matalan this week to match the super light-weight matching case I bought a fortnight ago!  And I am going to make it my mission to purchase this camera before we go away too!  I saw it the other day & absolutely fell in love with it (I know, I know, it's just a camera!!) but I may just have to sell my soul to be able to afford the damn thing!!

I will of course also be packing a stomach-covering tankini & sarong for when we just feel like lazing around the pool & going for a dip because it WILL be hot & it WILL be sunny!  As an after-thought, can I just point out that I know the zebra maxi dress is technically a maternity dress, but if it comes in regular sizes, I'll be straight on it!  If not, I'll probably get the maternity version anyway, I'm not fussy......!!

Next up will be a post on how to pack light, cosmetics & toiletries so watch this space!

Amazing Marrakech ~ part 2!

I've spoken before on a blog post about my need  for visiting Marrakech (that'll be like my need for new shoes more often than is necessary, ahem ahem!!) & it looks like it may be finally happening, arrrgghhh!!

You may know from my previous blog posts that myself & 2 friends have spent months designing a new library for my son's primary school & we mentioned that we should treat ourselves now it's all finished - you know, a well-deserved pat on the back sort of thing!  It started out as having a lunch out, then a posh night out & then after getting an email from Travelzoo the other day with some amazing deals on it, we all thought sod it, we should have a girlie weekend away instead!

So that's what we're doing.  Come September, the 3 of us & another friend are going to escape the constant laundry, cooking, housework & cries of "muuuuuuuum" etc & just enjoy a weekend of sun, shopping & souks!  And maybe a camel ride thrown in for good measure!  Watch this space - I feel there will be Marrakech planning posts aplenty coming up.......

Amazing Marrakech

 

 

Photos from Google Images

 

Morocco, Marrakech in particular, is a place I've desperately wanted to visit for quite some time now, it's now moved up to next on my travel wish list!

 

For a person who doesn't really relish being in busy places, it seems bizarre to want to visit somewhere like Marrakech where the utter madness of the medina & souks never quietens down..... but I'm strangely drawn to it!

 

Whenever I look at photos of the place, all the jewel-like colours of the food & spices just seem so exciting to me & I know I'd love wandering round the medina & souks all day long.  My case would definitely be filled with spices on the return journey!

 

The idea of staying in a traditional riad, a gorgeous private house usually hidden away behind a doorway in a souk backstreet, as opposed to in a large hotel, really appeals to me.  A lot of these riads have little plunge pools either in the centre of the courtyard or on the rooftop, somewhere blissful to lie in the sun!  I can almost imagine lying there with a great book & a chilled glass of rosé....a wee spa wouldn't be a bad thing either.....

 

I almost start to salivate when I think of the traditional tagines made with spices, chicken & preserved lemons, nom nom!!  Hmmm, beam me up Scotty!

 

I think I've persuaded Mr F that we need to visit here next year (or even later on this year if I can push it, heh heh!) & have already started pricing up flights & riads etc.  It can work out to be quite a reasonable trip if you're a bit savvy & use flight comparison sites & contact the riads directly etc.

 

Anyway, I'll just keep on dreaming (& planning) for now.....!