Marrakech – 3rd January

Breakfast was included at our riad and was served on the rooftop terrace each morning between 8 and 10am. Our first breakfast on Saturday 3rd January consisted of several bread based items, yoghurt with a sauce in, a piece of cake, juice and a choice of coffee or mint tea. I tried to take a photo of the spread and the photo was there, but later disappeared from my phone. This was to be the start of my phone deciding it was going to delete photos just minutes after taking them, with no warning! Captain Caveman had his coffee which he said was alright but didn’t eat the cake or the yoghurt. I tried a bit of everything but it was very sweet for a breakfast. We both liked the dosa type bread which we later learned was called Msemmen. I ordered the mint tea and it became my drink of choice throughout the week. At first I thought it was simply a healthy mint tea but it’s actually made with gunpowder green tea and plenty of fresh mint and sugar!!! The Moroccans pour the tea from the pot at a height to aerate it and it looks a bit like dirty water or whisky.
Captain Caveman had only exchanged £50 at the airport, ironically so that we had cash for the taxi! We decided to walk around the Medina and get our bearings a bit. Captain Caveman had marked a route and the way to an ATM on his offline maps. Neither of us used WiFi or a SIM once out of our accommodation as it can be expensive, plus we didn’t really need it.

We called for some lunch on the rooftop dining area of Chinguitti restaurant in the square where the spices are. The sun was shining and I actually had to take my hat and hoody off. They didn’t sell alcohol so I ordered a mint tea, Captain Caveman a coffee and both of us chose tagines for our meal – a minced meat and egg for Captain Caveman and a chicken for me. The waiter was friendly and spoke french, we can get by in french too (although I’m a little rusty, food is my forte). The menu was in French and English so it was easy to order. A selection of olives with a basket of warm bread was given for free and we ordered a bottle of water as it was getting quite hot on the upstairs terrace.
The food was excellent and I really enjoyed my mint tea, this time with no sugar! Our tagines were around £8 each and were filling. The most expensive drinks on the nenu were about £2.50 for a juice. Our next stop was at the ATM, which you can choose English as the language before you start your transaction. This time we got 12 Dirhams to the pound so was a better rate than the airport, of course. The queue was long and the likelihood of people trying to push in happened but we stood our ground. A french lady told us that this ATM didn’t give the best rate and that we should walk to the post office to get money, we were fine to use this ATM as I was there now. Captain Caveman had transferred £500 to me, which we had allotted for a 7 night holiday and then, because I had Wise, we would use it all from my account.

We had more of a wander round the Medina and then I needed the loo! Everywhere I go where I eat out, I often end up with a dodgy tum but it didn’t last long and I was ok after a cafe visit. I ran off to the top floor of Argana in the famous Jemaa el-Fnaa square, shouting back to Captain Caveman to just order me anything to drink.
When I came back down, Captain Caveman was drinking an Espresso and had ordered me a freshly squeezed orange juice – probably not the best choice in my predicament and I didn’t have any imodium on me. The drinks were reasonable and the cafe nice (good toilets that were free for customers) – we paid £2 for coffee and £2.33 for the juice, which Captain Caveman had to finish off.
Our next stop was to meet Captain Caveman’s sister-in-law and nephew at a rooftop cafe. Le Grand Balcon Du Café Glacier was the perfect spot to watch the goings on in the square below and meant we could avoid watching any potential animal cruelty. A small amount of snake charming and monkeys for photos is still going on but my theory is to not give it any attention, so that it will eventually die out as an attraction. It was my first time in 14 years of knowing Captain Caveman that I had met Suzanne and Hugo, so it was great to spend some time with them. We sipped soft drinks or mint tea (they don’t have alcoholic drinks) on the roof terrace and caught up. The excursions they had booked already had cancelled due to the adverse weather conditions Morocco was experiencing this week and were staying in Marrakech for one more night before taking the train to Casablanca. Le Grand Balcon Du Café Glacier had an interesting toilet arrangement that I thought worthy of note. There is a toilet attendant who pretends he doesn’t have change so you can end up paying more than you should – like I did, twice! Captain Caveman went in for a free one and said I’d already paid for him just to even the score up a bit.
We walked past a snack place called Adam but we didn’t choose there to eat. Instead we went to a place near to it, that I forget the name of. Suzanna wasn’t hungry so just had soda water – which is excellent in Marrakech and cheap for a large bottle. Hugo had a local sausage dish and an Orangina, Captain Caveman ordered lamb, roasted veg and couscous tagine and I chose chicken shish and chips to be kind to my stomach. The food was good and cheap, it started raining as we were leaving and the restaurant we were at filled up quickly. We walked back to our respective riads with arrangements to meet up tomorrow to watch Morocco play football. We got back to our room before the rain got heavy and had a spiced rum for a night cap! Our first day in Marrakech had been surprisingly lovely and very relaxed.

Gratitude List
1. Riad Lalla Khadija was very comfy and in a good location
2. Having some really nice food and drinks
3. Meeting up with family in Marrakech.