10/21/2026
Blog 4
Marrakesh Morocco
When I stay some place longer than 3 days I try to change accommodations just so we can experience another area of the city. Today we moved to a new Riad on the opposite side of the Medina to explore another neighborhood. Our new Riad is again absolutely beautiful. It was refurbished in 1999 but the structure is around 400 years old. It is absolutely stunning. This Riad is run by all Moroccan women and they welcomed us like family. Immediately started taking care of us with mint tea, Moroccan cookies and a tour of the building. The vibe here is completely different than our last place. The host told us it is decorated in the style of modern North Africa. Our suite is absolutely beautiful. Probably at least 1000 square feet and decorated like an art gallery. Again every thing you could possibly want is in our room. Fluffy robes, coffee and tea, a small fridge. It’s very lush.
The complimentary breakfast is incredible. So much food there is no way we could possibly eat everything. It mainly consists of 3 or 4 types of bread, like pastry, crepe’s, Moroccan pancakes, and yeast bread. Fruits, nuts, olives cheese, yogurt , eggs and all kinds of toppings for the different breads. No meat. Of course there is absolutely no ham or bacon products in this country unless perhaps it’s imported but we have yet to see any on menus or in street food. The breakfast is served in the beautiful open air courtyard. It’s unique to these Moroccan homes that they built the home around an inside outdoor space . In America we build our outdoor space around the outside of our homes. Other than that there is very little outdoor space for people here.
There are beautiful big public parks but no grass or green spaces out side of the courtyard. It would be very hard to have a dog in the old city. There are so many cats though. Kitties everywhere. They all look happy and well fed so I assume they are pets. Marrakech does have lots of wonderful hotels and of course big resorts and American style hotels like Marriott and Hilton but when we travel to an exotic place like Marrakesh we prefer to stay in the most authentic places. I can stay at a Marriott or 4 seasons resort anytime and in almost any big city in the world but these privately own Riads are unique to Morocco and We wouldn’t trade this incredible experience for anything. It’s just been such a pleasure to be hosted by these beautiful and kind people and treated as family.
After checking in today our host treated us to a guided tour of the new area. We went to the 800 year old spice market in an open air square, the straw market and of course back into the souks which is the market where there are 1000’s of vendors selling everything you can imagine. I have to say it’s just so much fun to stroll through these stalls after stalls of offerings. I want to buy everything but y’all know Brad is the voice of reason and keeps reminding me that getting stuff home will be a big challenge. He’s actually been a good sport about most of it.
Today for lunch we experienced a one of a kind meal. We went to the infamous Chez Lamine Hadj Mustapna. This place is blown up on Tik Toc and a place that’s been run by the same family since 1965. It’s located here in the Medina and was made famous to the world with visits from Anthony Bourdain, Chef Gordon Ramsey, and of course on a feed Phil episode. The lines are long everyday. They sever about 3 things but are famous for their lamb. Roasted in the ground beneath the restaurant is a huge terracotta oven that is probably 20 feet below. They roast 40 whole lambs everyday. It is only open for lunch or until they sell out.
We were lucky to get in quickly because I told them Gordon Ramsey was my friend, gave them a 10 dollar tip which earned Brad and I a perfect seat by a window and a private tour of the amazing oven.
Lamb is served in a big slab bones and all, with cumin salt and bread. Also the crispy roasted skin. Nothing else. We did order a tomato salad. This lamb was absolutely without a doubt the most tender succulent fall off the bone delicious piece of lamb we’ve ever had. If visiting Morocco 🇲🇦 this place is definitely worth all the hype. And because they believed I was a friend of Gordon Ramsey I do think we got some VIP treatment. We were definitely the only Americans in this place. Everyone else looked like locals. Great experience!
The rest of the day was spent walking and shopping the souks, enjoying the famous plaza Jemaa el Fnaa . Watching the snake charmers ( so disgusting) dodging tuk tuks, moterbikes, scooters, and hustlers of all types. It’s like a huge fair and is packed with people. It becomes quite overwhelming after awhile and I actually get a little over stimulated. After a few hours we retreated to a peaceful roof top restaurant to watch the incredibley beautiful sunset of Marrakesh. I need to pinch myself am I really in this far away land watching the sunset over the palm trees.