And it begins...

Room packed up and goodbyes said, the trip has finally begun. Although 44 hours in transit isn't my ideal way to start a holiday, it had to start somewhere, and after getting to know Gold Coast, Kuala Lumpur and London's Luton airports a lot better, that somewhere was Marrakech.
Although I've been there before, my perception of Marrakech was quite different this time. Maybe it was the group I was with... or maybe it was that I didn't eat the sausages from Plaza Jamar el Fna which had me bed ridden for a day of my last visit.
Either way, my parents, sister, her fiancé and I spent a week in Marrakech with day trips to Essaouirra and The Atlas Mountains.

Most of our time in Marrakech itself was spent wandering around the Medina (the old city) and the Souks (the marketplace), and after 5 days of that I’m amazed to say we were still coming across shops and alleyways that we hadn’t seen before. It’s such an amazing and interesting place, and so very easy to get lost in!
We ate ourselves stupid on olives, tagines and couscous (and ice cream) and drank an abundance of Berber whisky (sweet mint tea) and fresh orange juice. It was amazing! Morocco is highly recommended, just make sure you put on your bargaining pants if you want to buy something and be ready to barter hard! Oh and don’t follow the lovely gentlemen who want to show you the tannery, or the mosque, the way to the square or where they make the fabric… IT’S A TRAP I TELL YOU. They are all in cahoots and want you to spend your money on overpriced goods. Be aware!