Our first visit to Marrakech, Morocco

It happened finally in 2022 by chance. I had been trying to get to Morocco for years, since 2015 to be exact. The closest I got (in Northern Africa) was Egypt for a layover just long enough to visit the pyramids, see the sunrise on horseback in the Sahara and eat the best fallafel we have ever had - all in about 28 hours.

Last year, our great friends were looking for someone to travel with them on the first leg of their summer trip and we probably jumped at the opportunity before they even finished their sentence.

The energy of Morocco is undeniable. The second you hop out of your taxi in town, it is a feast for your senses. The streets are full of people milling, scooters zooming quickly past and of course the tourist standing in awe of all there is to take in. From souks full of colorful pottery to stores packed floor to ceiling with every spice you can imagine and more, color takes over completely.

Each riad has a vibe all it’s own. You can stay in places with luxurious and modern simplicity like Sakkan or the textural and colorful Be Marrakech. There is truly a home for every design sensibility out there. When I say home, that is not an understatement. The hospitality we experienced in Marrakech during our first visit was easily the best in recent memory.

Our first walk through the souk had me hooked. As someone who really does not enjoy shopping while at home, I was overwhelmed with not only the variety of handmade goods but also the amount of objects that really spoke to me. Things that I could imagine in my own home that would bring us right back to the moment of experiencing Marrakech for the first time. The intentional nature of a lot of the things you see in the souks is really unique in our experience. There are of course things that are less authentic feeling but as a whole, we were pulled in.

Over the next 3 days, we enjoyed endless great food, generous hospitality and design overload in the best imaginable way.

Boarding our flight out of Marrakech, we were already planning our next trip and brainstorming how we could bring a bit of this magic to others…