Jemaa el-Fnaa and the Bahia Palace

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We got a late start, having arrived at midnight last night.



After a great breakfast at our Riad Eden we hit the dirty streets of Morocco.



First order of business was the medina which is what you always think of with Marrakech. It was blazing hot, but we found some refuge in the shaded bazaar. Everyone is trying to get you into their shop. Calling out to you in whatever language they think you will understand. Usually they guess Robyn and me right off the bat. "Hello! Come this way!" But sometimes they call out to us in Japanese "Konnichiwa!" or "Ni Hao!" if they think she's Chinese. My favorite were people that would just say to her "China? China? Japanese?"



Robyn bought a green muslim-style one-piece dress. She talked the seller down to almost half what he originally wanted for it, which I think was still too high, but that's what bargaining is all about.



We took a break at our Riad and then went to the Bahia Palace. A deliciously decorated old palace which took dozens of people years to finish. It's beautiful courtyards were fun to walk around in and see. The moorish designs definitely remind me Sultan Ahmed (the blue mosque) in Istanbul.



Next it was Henna Tattoo time. Since she was a little girl, Robyn has wanted to get Henna tattoos, and especially in a place like Marrakech. We found the Henna Art Cafe that Robyn had researched. They use safe materials and have an amazing henna artist that really knows her craft. It took over an hour to do art on both hands, while I ate some delicious food. The results were simply stunning.



We had pre-arranged to have dinner at our Riad. They food was not as amazing as it smelled earlier in the day, but the environment was safe and romantic. Just what we needed. We thought about going for a walk at night around the medina, but were too tired, and frankly a little to scared.

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