Let the Moroccan Adventure Begin!

Day one in Marrakech was a success!! We woke up early in the morning to enjoy a traditional Moroccan breakfast provided by our hostel. While we waited for the rest of our group to arrive, Joe and I headed out to the souks to check out the shopping. We wandered down random streets until we ran into a guy who seemed quite friendly. He told us where we could find "traditional Moroccans" working on leather. We tried to find our way there through his directions but we quickly felt lost and turned around. Of course, we run into the guy who told us he had a friend who would take us there. We agreed and let him take us deep into the souks before Joe decided to dip out. Thank god for Joe because we were clearly walking into a trap and I had no idea.. Safe to say I learned a lesson, don't trust strangers. After the fiasco and a sit down for some mint tea, we ran back to the hostel to meet our friends. We spent the afternoon wandering all around the medina. Our first stop was for a delicious lunch at some outdoor seating. Our lunch fell during the time of afternoon prayer and right next to a mosque, so we were able to see what the Moroccan prayer looks like.

After a quick lunch we headed toward the main mosque of Marrakech. It was absolutely beautiful and the gardens surrounded it were filled with orange trees and palm trees. We spent most of the afternoon walking side streets to and from different mosque and palaces. Both mosque different and each palace unique. The first one was basically old ruins with a beautiful pool in the courtyard. The second one was more modern and had about 2 or 3 different court yards. One courtyard had white walls and the rest was screaming color! The ceilings, pillars, Windows, all bright! Definitely a cool find!

A sunburnt nose later we found that we walked in a circle and landed right back at the hostel by the market square. So we took at shot at going to the souks again, but this time to haggle! Once you're in the souks, it seems impossible to find your way out. Every turn seems to be more and more stores. My first haggle of the day was for two wooded camels! I really wanted camels because I knew we are going to ride them in the desert and it's such a simple gift to have to remember morocco. I wanted two larger camels, Originally the guy wanted $60 for each but I managed to haggle down $70 for both! Pretty proud of myself but have to give Joe credit for helping me! My second haggle of the day was all credited to Joe. I told him I really wanted a plate from Morocco. A nice big plate that I could use once I graduate and have my own place. Joe managed to haggle down from $280 to $200, which wasn't bad! $100 each for a beautiful plate, I'll take it!! Our friends managed to haggle down like $100+ for pants and then we were set on shopping.

The most important part of the day: dinner. We all wanted traditional Moroccan, something you won't often get in Europe or the states.. So we went for lamb. Lamb head, brain, utter, and tongue. I have to say, they were all delicious! We each got a plate and shared them all. My plate was head, but after hearin someone refer to head as face, it became hard to eat. My favorite was the tongue, it was delicious!! The utter was good, but only while it was hot. When it cooled down, it left a gross feeling on the roof of my mouth. At one point I scrapped my mouth with a piece of bread. The brain was surprisingly delicious as well!!!! All the food was seasoned perfectly. The best part was that we were the only tourist at the table, the rest were locals, so we knew we were in the right spot.

Tomorrow we're off to the Sahara early in the morning so we came back to the hostel after dinner. Of course, we went to the roof to end the night with some hookah and made a couple of new friends.