Travel Diary: Marrakech, Morocco

Hi all !
I hope September is treating you well and you're not grieving for a summer that seemed to fly by !
It's been too long since I last blogged, but I have been busy of late, with one week in August spent in Marrakech, Morocco.
It was a last minute trip, as Lorenzo and I were unsure of our summer plans. Marrakech appealed to us as somewhere new and exotic to explore and being a city, as we didn't feel like a beach holiday.
We got some great offers on flights and a hotel as it is low season, mainly because it gets so hot. I must admit, that on all the trips I have been, for this one I did the most research beforehand.
I was quite intimidated initially, considering it is a completely different culture and sometimes Muslim countries get a bad rep. There was the issue of being covered as a woman and not being able to drink alcohol in certain places. I must say I had second thoughts before departure ! However, I had nothing to be worried about.
I would say one of the first things to consider is where to stay. We hummed and hawed about whether to staying in Guliez or the Medina. Guliez is the new part of Marrakech and Medina is the central area near the mosque. Many sites advised staying in the new part and shacking up in a resort hotel, where everything is provided for you and you never have to leave ! This was not something we wanted, as we wanted to experience the city and not stay locked in a hotel all day. Otherwise you could be anywhere in the world. So we chose a Riad.
A Riad is a small little hotel, almost like a B&B. Ours for instance only had 9 rooms. They are located behind all these small little doors in the Medina walls. It doesn't seem like much can be behind these doors, but that is not the case.  Ours for instance was called Riad Kaiss, and it was the most beautiful place I have ever stayed. We went to a few other Riad/Hotel's while we were there and nothing compared to ours.
Here is a sneak peak at our room:

That's all for now,
Stay tuned for the next instalment, where I describe our Riad Kaiss.
Love Dani xx