Day 10: first full day in Marrakech

Today was a no-alarm morning for us.  (except that I used an alarm anyway).  H and I were downstairs at 9 for breakfast with Adzin, who prepared a nice array of carbs - bread, crepe, cake, jams, butters, etc.  S slept in longer (she's still feeling crummy and moved to the spare room in the middle of last night).  

After breakfast, H jumped back into the jacuzzi and I caught up on some work. 

 As the morning wore on, H and I decided to go for a walk in the Souk.  She wanted to find the colored geodes that she saw in a stall the night before, so we hunted for them.  After, we kept walking, picking up coffee for S, a pineapple juice for H, and a schwarma lunch for all three of us.

Much of the Souk was closed because of the Eid holiday.

Back at the Riad, we chilled out for a while and caught up with S, who's still feeling like crap.  H relaxed in her room on her ipad.

At around 2.30, H and I took off for a cooking class at the Moroccan Culinary Arts Museum. S stayed back because, well, sick. The museum itself is lovely, with a great dining room where we sipped mint tea while we waited.  When it was time for us to start the class, our translator/guide led us upstairs to a beautiful 34-station cooking lab, where each station had a Moroccan mise-en-place, a sink, a two-burner stove, and a bunch of other equipment.  Our translator said that all 34 stations are usually booked, but because today was the end of Ramadan, there were only three spots taken (the third person was a nice German woman on a 2-month motorcycle tour of north Africa).  

Our dishes for the day was a chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives, an eggplant and tomato salad, and a roasted-pepper and tomato salad.  For dessert, we made a wonderful pastilla with slice almonds.  H had great knife skills and what she lacked in speed, she made up for in enthusiasm.

chopping tomatoes

sauteeing the eggplant and tomatoes

the pastilla gets a seal of approval

H made this rose from a tomato peel!

After the class, we went downstairs to the main dining room to enjoy our dishes.  The website promised a 'snack,' but we were presented with everything we made, in its entirety.  The class even gave us the food that the chef prepared in demonstration to take back for sick Sarah.  We also all got certificates of completion (even S, who didn't attend.  Talk about grade inflation!).

H announced that the chicken tagine was her favorite food ever. 

The food was delicious!

We said goodbye to our new German friend and walked back to the Riad.  It was around 5.30pm by this time, and none of us were particularly interested in 7pm dinner reservations.  We cancelled those, and watched the sunset from the rooftop patio.

a view down into the ruins of the riad next door.

After sunset, I went back out to wander the market.  I needed to get some cash, and I wanted to experience the festivities of the end of Ramadan. The streets were packed with Moroccans and tourists alike.  The little square of food vendors near our place was jammed with people (including one woman who was very overwhelmed with the jostling and was crying out in distress - fortunately she had friends who were with her to take care of her).  The main square, Jemaa el-Fna, was packed with food vendors, temporary picnic tables, souvenir salespeople, families, musicians, monkeys, bicycles, motorcycles, scooters, dogs, and cats.  It was truly an amazing experience.  I had to try four different ATMs before I found one that gave me cash (one would only give me a balance, one had a 'non-functioning' sign on it, one took my code and withdrawal request and just spat my card out without cash - twice!), so I spent more than a few minutes in the square, searching the perimeter for a functioning machine.

Cash firmly in pocket (as were my hands, holding onto cash, wallet, phone, and keys during the tight jostling), I returned to the Riad, stopping to grab some pastries for the evening.  When I got back, H was back in the jacuzzi, our naked water baby.  

Tomorrow is a busy day - two planned outings!