10 Things You Have To Do In Marrakech

I understand that not everyone gets the chance to go to Morocco in their lifetime, let alone Marrakech so this could be a bit of a niche post. But I had such a great time and I've such had great feedback on my Instagram pictures (thanks guys!) that I decided to go ahead with this anyway. Hopefully I can paint a good enough picture with words and images that you feel like you're really there.. hopefully.

I went to Marrakech at the beginning of July with one of my closest friends from university called Leonie . I can't even believe it was only a couple of weeks ago because it feels like much longer. We found a great last minute deal which we booked in June so it only ended up costing £211 each which included flights, hotel and breakfast. July and August are some of the hottest months in Morocco and although everyone in the UK was experiencing a heat wave that month, it was still even hotter there, averaging 40°C each day. It was also Ramadan whilst we were there. We thought this might cause us some issues with getting served food etc. but apart from one embarrassing faux pas when we tried to order room service at 7:45pm when they were all sitting down to their first meal of the day, we had no problems at all. In fact it was really inspiring to see a nation so dedicated to their faith. We weren't aware that during Ramadan you can't drink anything at all, not even water, so there we were downing bottles right in front of them. It really shocked us; it was amazing really.

If you ever do make it to Marrakech, then here are 10 things you absolutely have to do:

Leonie checking out lanterns & tea pots

1. Visit the souks

 Every travel guide will tell you that you must go to the souks. Souk is just the Arabic for market but these are not like markets you will find anywhere in London. There are certain sections which sell certain goods such as spices, leather, carpets, materials, slippers and the list goes on. If you want to know more about the specific streets then here is a post I read before we went (I think this is the right link). There aren't really any maps for the souks because it's such a maze but people there are pretty helpful. They will always direct you back to the big square (Jemaa el Fna) so don't worry about getting lost. In fact it's the best bit, after haggling. There is ALWAYS a deal to be done in the souks. None of the shops sell unique items so if the price isn't right for you, move along. You won't lose face or anything like that because there are hundreds on shops there and they're unlikely to remember you the next day. I'd advice going for 1/3 of their starting price. Leonie was really good at haggling, her main tactic was to refuse to change her price, and it seemed to work, so it you have the nerve, give it a try.

2. Eat at a roof top restaurant

Surrounding the main square, called the Jemaa el Fna, are lots of rooftop restaurants. At night the square comes alive with loads of pop up stalls and cafés but it's actually quite nice to sit above the choas and watch. We did this on our first night and apart from the stray cats, which are everywhere anyway, it was really nice. It's such a relaxing atmosphere and it will be your first opportunity of the day to enjoy the heat without sweating unbearably.

3. Stroll around the Jardin Majorelle

This garden was owned by Yves Saint Laurent before he died. It was the most interesting city garden I've ever seen (not that I have many to compare it to). The plants are a mix of cacti, ferns, palm trees and more from hundreds of different locations around the world. It's really well looked after (you'd expect it to be as the entrance is 50dh - about £3 - which is quite a lot for Marrakech) and the contrast of blue, yellow and orange against the green foliage was really strong - especially when all buildings inside the city wall have to be painted a terracotta colour. This was one of the best parts of the holiday for me.

4. Eat in the square

Eating in the square is a must-have experience. Although be careful not to let them pick the food for you, otherwise you will end up with one expensive bill like we did. It's a chance to taste some authentic Moroccan food while soaking up the atmosphere and local culture. If you're in a group or feeling brave, the best time to go is late, around 10pm, however we weren't feeling that brave.

5. Try the fresh orange juice

Oranges are abundant in Marrakech, I assume it's to do with the climate. In the big square there are loads of orange juice stalls, probably about 30+, and each squeezes the orange juice for you there and then for the amazingly affordable price of 4dh (30p). So when you've found your way out of the souk maze with more bags than you can carry, definitely stop off at the orange juice stalls to refresh.

6. Walk around the wall

 The city centre of Marrakech is called the medina and is surrounded by ramparts (a huge wall). Wikipedia says.. "[The ramparts] were built by the Almoravids in the 12th century as protective fortifications. The walls are made of a distinct orange-red clay and chalk, giving the city its nickname as the "red city"; they stand up to 19 feet (5.8 m) high and have 20 gates and 200 towers along them" (read more here). But basically it's an interesting place to walk around and something cultural to do that's free! However, after I initially suggested walking the full circumference, I changed my mind when I realised the distance was 19km! If I had had the right clothes and shoes maybe I would have done it but considering how hot it was we decided against this. So instead we found the most picturesque gate we could, called 'Bab Agnaou' which was built by the Almoravids in the 12th century. It's in a bit of a random location but if you're going to the Palace (which we didn't go to because it was Friday which is their holy day) then it's really close by and definitely worth a visit.

Although I initially thought these holes were made for the birds I later found out they were made by the scaffolding when the walls were first built.

7. See the evening prayers

I'm not sure if these are outside everyday but on our first night they were and it was so interesting. There was an electricity in the air as muslims rushed along the streets with their prayer mats. To see such a large group of people all kneel and bow down as one will definitely stay with me for a while. Their devotion was like nothing I've ever seen before and there must have been thousands at this one mosque. So if you get a chance, you absolutely have to see this.

These are used for lipstick, apparently!

8. Have the spices explained

 Think of the scene in Aladdin (the Disney movie) where Jasmine first enters the marketing place and every street vendor is trying to sell her things (or watch it here). Well this is sort of what the souks are like, except a lot more crowded! Normally it's polite to walk on unless you intend to actually buy. But if you find yourself in the spice area of the market then it is well worth taking time to have all the spices explained to you. It's quite common for them to try to show you every single product they have to offer - we spent about 30 minutes having about 15 different spices shown to us, smelling each a number of times and having small amounts poured into our hands. Then we had Moroccan and Arab make up explained to us which I found really interesting, especially the lipstick we were shown which looked like a terracotta pot or dish of sorts.

9. Try Berber tea

All the spice vendors sell the local green/mint tea (they call it Berber tea) and you can also by it in the main square in the evenings. It's traditionally served with loads of sugar but it's quite nice and an inexpensive souvenir to take back with you.

10. Watch the sunset from a rooftop terrace

We were really fortunate with our hotel. It was really nice but very quiet. There were probably only about 15-20 groups staying there whilst we were. Most buildings in Marrakech seem to have rooftop terraces rather than gardens and we are lucky enough to get the rooftop to ourselves most days. Either it was too hot for everyone else or too quiet but it was ideal for us. On our penultimate afternoon we decided to sit out on the roof top and watch the sunset - sounds romantic but it wasn't!
I'm no bird expert, far from it in fact, but all these small sparrow-like birds seem to come out when the sun starts to set and it was like nothing I've seen before. They were all rushing around us, moving in big groups, it was really pretty and interesting to watch while we waited. If you get a chance, and you have access to a rooftop, then you should definitely do this. The orange/tan colour of all the buildings really added to the view.

Marrakech was a truly outstanding place to visit and I'd strongly recommend it to anyone! If you have any questions at all, please ask me in the comments box below or tweet me @_Sam_Blundell

Old Girls Nostalgia

Last weekend I went back to my old university (when I say old I don't mean that old, I only graduated last summer) for an Old Girls Hockey Day and a Red Leicester Reunion night out. The hockey day is a tradition that we try to keep every year, where those from the university hockey club who have graduated return to see all the current students and members of the club, and play a game of hockey.

In recent years the tradition has run a bit dry but this year we managed to have a proper game. The reason for this, other than the fact that we all deeply miss student life and wanted to see our friends, was that it fortunately coincided with the Red Leicester Reunion event. For those of you who didn't go to Leicester, I'll give you a bit of back story. Red Leicester was a student night not so subtly named after the cheese that first started in 2005. Obviously the music played was always cheesy, 90s music that all the old folks dance to at weddings such as 'The Macarena' or dance mat classics like 'Cotton Eye Joe'. Red Leicester was always on a Wednesday, after BUCS sports matches, and accompanied by an outrageous fancy dress outfit.

Well last year, after we graduated, the company that runs student nights at our university (or ex-university) decided to cancel Red Leicester! Nooo I hear you scream, but it's true, it happened. The institution that had been running for 10 years came to an end.  Apparently the first years joining couldn't relate to 90s music.. So instead they replaced it with LetsDisko (if anyone knows why they chose the 'k' speak now or forever hold your peace).

Anyway long story short (or actually long maybe) they decided to bring the night back for a one-time-only event on a Saturday so that all us working people could come and spend our hard earned cash on VKs and Food Factory.

The hockey in the daytime was fantastic! Although we only managed to convince 4 official Old Girls to kit up and come play, we had some great fourth year medics and some strong third years join our side. So we managed a 10 players v 13 players game. It was clear early on that neither side was keen to lose. Also, neither team had a goalie so this made the match a bit controversial, not to mention the umpire for the first half was on our (Old Girls) team.

After conceding a number of goals early on we paused at half time 4-2 down to the current hockey girls. However after a quick refresh we managed to up our standard significantly and some how pull off a 5-5 draw (if I'm honest I think we were very lucky there..) This was quickly followed by a afternoon pub dinner and some drinks, then off to host houses to get ready for the evening event!!

Georga and Grace's amazing retro outfits

In standard ULLHC (Uni of Leic Ladies Hockey Club) style we had a fancy dress theme - it wouldn't have been Red Leicester without one. And in remembrance of the night's beginnings a 90s gym wear theme was chosen. There were some absolutely cracking costumes on display from leopard print leotards to Barbie blue unitards.

Before attending the main event of the evening, we all went for drinks at the Loaded Dog, our traditional pre-Red Leicester pub and current sponsor. This was a nostalgic and fitting start to the evening with the usual hockey chants and games played. For me at least, it felt like we'd never left.

Another excitement was the arrival of some REAL Old Girls. I mean girls who had graduated before the oldest members I knew from the club had even joined! Some girls were talking to us who had graduated in 2007! I was still at school then! It was so nice to see that people who left that long ago still treasured hockey as some of their best moments of university life.

From here on the night played out as expected! There were some crazy events going on in hockey corner (yes we have our own designated space - the bottom left corner of the club dance floor), a lot of VK drinking (sugary, disgusting alcopops which come back to haunt you the next day), unusual dancing and we even managed to break one of the lights at some point but none of that mattered because we were all there, together, having fun.

The next day we were awoken by the harsh reality that we're not 18 any more and hangovers need to be short-lived because we have to be back to full fitness for work on Monday at 9am. The cure? A ceremonial breakfast with the girls who could make it out of bed by 11am followed by a long journey home and an early night.

It was so nice to go back to Leicester, a place where I've had so many great memories. There are rumours that they might do another Red Leicester night next year and I'm undecided whether I'd be interested or not. Being a student is really an incredible experience and probably not one I'm ready to leave behind just yet...

Escapades in Madrid

Part 2 (Read Part 1 on Amsterdam here)

Escapades makes this sound as through I had a wild and crazy time in Madrid but half of what I'm referring to here is the epic journey I went through to get there.

So my flight was booked for 6:30am take off on Saturday (the cheapest ticket of course is at a time no one sane wants to fly). But in order to get there in plenty I've time I had to catch a 4am coach from Stratford, which was a 20 minute walk from my house. This meant getting up at 3am. Well me being me, I decided to go for drinks with my friends on Friday night and didn't get home until midnight, and I still hadn't packed. Now if that doesn't sound like an adventure you should probably stop reading now.

On the plane I got turfed out of my seat by a young girl who was desperate to sit by the window and who has started to create a scene. I quickly admitted defeat and gave up my perfect sleeping position. So with the 4 hours sleep that I managed to scrape together, I turned up in Madrid ready for some chica time with one of my best friends from university, Charlotte (a.k.a Sully).

The three day trip started with brunch at a café aptly named Charlotte (apparently it's a chain in Spain) and was quickly followed by a short siesta. Feeling much revived we set out on a short walk around Madrid and ended up going to a tapas café (just a warning we did a lot of eating and drinking in these three days). Here I tried my first tinto de verano (which is basically like cold red wine with lemonade) yum!

After we'd suitably stocked ourselves up with food and drink, Charlotte gave me a walking tour of all Madrid's most important and well-known sights, like the Royal Palace, the Templo de Debod, the Plaza Mayor, Pueto del Sol and the Plaza de Cibeles (the pictures will help here).

Plaza de España 

Templo de Debod

The Royal Palace

Plaza Mayor

Kilometer 0 - the point from which everywhere in Madrid is measured from

The Statute of the Bear and the Strawberry Tree in Puerta del Sol

Plaza de Cibeles

As you can probably imagine this meant a lot of walking and by the end we had definitely earned more drinks. So we took the Metro back to the area Charlotte lives in and found a bar nearby that was showing the local derby football match Atlético v Real. During this we had what the Spanish call 'copas' which literally translates as spirits but it does actually have a mixer with it. It's served in big wine glasses/tumblers with lots of big ice cubes and is definitely one of the highlights of the trip for me.

When the game finished and we'd had more than enough copas, we went to the local supermarket and grabbed enough nachos and toppings to feed a hungry family.


The next day started with a bit of a lie in (got to be done on a Sunday). Then we headed out to El Rastro, which is the most popular open air flea market in Madrid. The weather on this day was absolutely amazing and even though it was packed by the time we got there, it was really nice just to stroll around and browse through all the random things they had. We also saw quite a few performers while we were walking around. Everything in Madrid is so so cheap that I ended up buying loads of random stuff - I got some nice floral espadrilles for €15 and this unusual necklace for €2.50. I probably didn't really need to buy anything but it was fun anyway.

The sign reads: give me a theme and I'll write you a poem

By this point we were hungry and thirsty again so we found another café. This one was in the sun and had those shiny metallic tables and chairs which definitely helped boost the sun tan. In fact I actually managed to burn my scalp along my parting - rookie British mistake of course. We weren't really dressed for sunbathing so we decided to head back to Charlotte's, shed a couple of layers, pick up the left over nachos, some sangria and head to the park (Parque del Retiro).

Snacks and new shoes at the park

When we got there the weirdest thing happened. Two guys came and sat near us with their pet rabbit! They were taking their rabbit for a walk! They didn't have a lead or anything. But they just let it loose to hop about even with dogs walking past (good thing my dog doesn't live in Madrid or that rabbit would have been dead in about 5 seconds). This entertained us for quite a long time - although I'm actually not great with animals (in case you didn't know) so I spent a lot of time thinking it was coming for me.

After this week walked around a really pretty pond at the park and this massive glass building (Palacio de Cristal). Annoyingly the sun was going down really quickly so I didn't get any good pictures of the building but I tried.

Monumento Alfonso XII

Palacio de Cristal

Palacio de Cristal

Charlotte is not impressed

Then we met up with one of Charlotte's local friends who took us to a traditional tapas bar. I definitely think I was the only tourist there! Apparently the sign of a good place to eat in Spain is that it has a dirty floor because they don't have time to clean it. Well this place had a pretty damn dirty floor. It was hard not to step on some piece of rubbish or dropped food (this seems to happen a lot because no one sits down to eat tapas). It was quite strange being completely surrounded by everyone speaking Spanish, especially as I can hardly understand any of it, but it was really nice to experience some real Spanish culture.

Tapas

Real Spanish tapas seems to be the weirdest combination of foods, chicken wings with super buttery chips, ham chunks and tomatoes, these small white fish which look like a mix between worms and spaghetti (I did not try them!). Dessert was a weird sort of baked milk thing - I can't remember what it was called - I'm not sure I would try it again. It tasted a bit like a bad crème brûlée.

The business area where Charlotte works.

The next day Charlotte had work unfortunately. I met her for lunch and we went to a place called Montaditos. Montaditos are basically mini baguettes and this chain has over 100 different flavour combinations for fillings. Normally each roll is €1 but on Monday's they're 50c. So we went all out and had 4 each and nachos to share (I starting to get a bit sick of nachos at this point but it was all they had).

Luckily in Spain they get 2 hour lunch breaks, unluckily they have to work until 7pm! So after walking back to Charlotte's work, I went off to explore Madrid with a map she'd lent me. I was trying to find the company I work for's Spanish office. This only took about 15 minutes and I felt I needed to burn off a few more calories so I kept on walking (I was also trying to build up more of a tan). This ended up turning into almost a 2 hour stroll, which I needed the toilet for the last 1.5 hours of (damn bladder).

Grey Spain's Madrid office

Funky artwork by the National Library which I found on my long walk

Sadly after this it was time to pack, shower and get ready to leave at 4am to go straight to work from the airport. Not quite sure how I managed it really but I did.

Landing back in the UK - did I bring the sun back?

Massive massive thank you to Charlotte for having me to stay! It was a great way to use up some of my holiday and chill out. It was really really nice to catch up and see some real Spanish culture. Hopefully I'll be able to visit again some time in the future, maybe even with a group.

The Pig Cup at the park!