Saturday, July 24, 2010

Magical Marrakech - Part 2

Well, Bronx Girl and I have been having quite the busy time here.  Yesterday we started off at the Saadian tombs, which were only revealed to the outside world in the 1920's - it's not a big place, but it's very beautiful and well worth seeing:

Then we moseyed along to the Centre Artisanal, which sells Moroccan handicrafts but is run by the government, so the prices are fixed, therefore no haggling.  Wellll, in theory.  I was looking at a ring which cost 1300 dh, but through passive haggling (ie - I couldn't decide if I wanted it or not so I truly was just dithering about it), he gradually took down the price to 700 dh.  And I still didn't buy it - but that's okay, as Bronx Girl made some purchases there anyway.  I will also never complain again about my job after seeing the amount of work this lady was putting into hand-knotting this carpet:
After that, it was off to an apothecary shop as I wanted to get some argan cream.  Apparently argan oil is the greatest thing on earth - it slices! it dices! it vacuums the floors! (or, you know, it's just really good for your skin).  Anyway, a fascinating shop full of fascinating things:

After that, we attempted to get some lunch but it was so freakin' hot, the only thing we could face was ice cream.  Yes, ice cream for lunch - my inner five-year-old was delighted.  And, like a five-year-old, after that it was naptime.  We skulked back to the riad and the comfort of our air-conditioned room to snooze the afternoon away.

But it was a smart move -  after that we were refreshed enough to enjoy a horse-drawn caleche ride around the city at sunset, followed by dinner at Le Marrakchi, which I would highly recommend.  It's not the cheapest, but the food is delicious and the decor is lovely (and it's air-conditioned, which is no small thing in this climate):

And that was it for yesterday - I suppose I could go on and tell you about today's activities, but yet again, the day's not over, so I'd better wait and do that later (or tomorrow).

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