Finally getting around to posting our Marrakech blog post that we promised! We were humbled and so excited to be invited on this trip with Vita Liberata! It was the trip of a lifetime, and we are so happy we said yes! We were only there for four days (only 3 days of activities), but we packed so much into a short trip it felt like much longer. We’re both ready to plan a trip back, loved it so much!
Day one: We took the red eye from NYC to Morocco. We had a layover in Casablanca, then traveled to Marrakech from there. The flight was not as bad as we expected at all! We slept from somewhere over the ocean until we got to Africa. It was about a 6 hour 30 minute flight on the way over. It was crazy to see that we were waking up in Africa on flight path screen! Neither of us have even been to Europe before, so this was a big trip! We were hyperventilating when we got on the second plane #nervousfliers because it was pretty big, but only had propellers and no jet engines lol. Luckily, that flight was easy and only about 30 minutes! Once we landed in Marrakech we went straight to lunch at Palais Namaskar – one of the most stunning properties we’ve ever seen (below). The grounds were seriously amazing! Check out the gallery here. After lunch, we headed to our villa. We stayed at Villa Adib and it was gorgeous! We took a quick nap, then hopped in the pool, and had a welcome dinner with the amazing Vita Liberata team at the villa. We were so ready to go to bed at the end of the day! We each had our own room, but ended up staying together lol!
Day Two: We went to visit Jardin Majorelle – one of the most visited sites in Morocco. Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé bought the Jardin Majorelle in 1980 and saved it from falling victim to a real estate project and becoming a hotel complex. We got to see their home and their memorial site which was pretty amazing! The YSL museum is right next door, but sadly our visit there was cancelled because a private event was being held there at the time. It looks amazing! After Jardin Majorelle, we had lunch by the pool at La Mamounia, another stunning resort! Honestly, the resorts in Marrakech are the most gorgeous we’ve ever seen. The details are beautiful Not sure we could pick a favorite! After lunch, we headed to the souk! This was such a great cultural experience, and we wished we had more time to explore the market! We had a tour guide which was so helpful, because it’s like a maze in there! We felt totally safe during our visit to the souk, but would recommend going with a group just because it can be overwhelming. We each came home with a bowl, Meggan found a rug, and Brooke found a blanket. For dinner, we visited Es Saadi (home to the insta-famous pool).
La Medina (souk)
Day Three: We were supposed to go on a sunrise hot air balloon ride but the king was in town which meant all private air transportation had to be grounded – wah! We were super bummed, but surprised with a trip to the spa at Royal Mansour instead. This spa! OMG where do we even begin – it was breathtaking! When we walked in, everyone was gasping lol! We got to experience the hammam which was so incredible, life changing! You strip down naked – a bit awkward at first ;), are taken to a room of warm marble beds/slabs (of course with beautiful Moroccan marble dividers for some privacy – hardly lol), lay down, and you are scrubbed, exfoliated, washed, etc for an hour by a woman. Honestly, can’t wait to do it again! After each scrub, they rinse you with warm water in buckets. At the end of the treatment, we were told to get in the little pool (you can see in the photos on their site), and we thought it was a hot tub. It was not. The water was freeeezing, so cold we could hardly breathe. If you didn’t dunk yourself, the women would start splashing you until you finally went under lol! It was such an experience! After the hammam, we had massages. Highly recommend the spa at the Royal Mansour – the best experience we’ve ever had at any spa! And you’ll want to go just to see how beautiful it is! For dinner, we were supposed to take helicopters into the desert, but again since the king was in town, we were not able to fly. Such a bummer because we finally hyped ourselves up enough to take the helicopter option (we were nervous), then we couldn’t do it ha! Instead we drove to the desert, and had one of the most amazing nights of our lives at Scarabeo Camp! We had the opportunity to experience traditional Moroccan culture, ride camels, watch snake charming (not our favorite eek!), and have dinner in a tent under the stars in the desert of Morocco! We had so many messages about it being a scene straight out of Sex & The City 2 and it really did feel like that! A night we will never forget!
What we packed…
M&B