Atlas Medina Spa

... have enjoyed thus far on the tour, but today is simply beyond belief! We head south of the city of Marrakech into the High Atlas Mountains. In just a few miles we reach the village of Tahanaoute, which is having its weekly market day today. It is our ...

... It is fair to suggest that Marrakech can be roughly divided into two areas, the (walled) area of the old city, comprising the medina, main square, number one structure (Koutoubia), and then the new town, also known as Gueliz, where you'll find a cluster ...

... huge bottles of water, we find our way to the restaurant by asking people for directions as we proceed through the labyrinthine medina. The meal is a set menu and very expensive, but fantastic flavors. The 14 tasting starter dishes were worth the whole ...

... of looked like a sea otter. The other highlight of our stay in Essaouira was the Restaurant d'Orient in the medina. I was determined to find somewhere that served excellent Moroccan cuisine as everywhere else in both Essaouira and Maarakech had been ...

... important trading center in Morocco in the late 11th century. Like other cities, Marrakesh has an old fortified city center (medina) and a modern city surrounding it (gueliz).  Two memorable places here were (1) Koutoubia mosque and (2) Jemaa el Fna ...

... that Sarah Jessica and I have had the same tour guide, we are basically very close friends... kind of. We stayed inside the Medina (medieval market place) in a riad. It was definitely one of the nicest places we stayed. It’s a guesthouse that used ...

... about it. Ah well, when in Rome... Went to the gladiator set and mucked around. Got extremely dirty. Ya, it was fun. Medina Marrakech. Awesome. Sensory assault. Food, bags, belts, jewellery, rugs, scarves, nuts, juice, henna, monkeys, snakes... you name ...

... home considering I haven't had an opportunity to shower since yesterday morning (before ziplining, camels, train station floors, and la Medina...yuck), and now I literally feel like a new person. It's definitely interesting that I was shocked by having to ...

... be a real treat.  Not wanting to deal with the hustle and bustle, scams and touts that come with wandering through the medina, we decided to spend the afternoon relaxing in the courtyard of our hotel.  Come evening we did go out again but only ...

... outdoor luncheon, grateful for the break from traditional Moroccan cuisine. Then comes the day's highlight-the walking tour through the old Medina, ending in the famous Djemma el Fna square. Along the way our guide took us to visit the herbal shop for ...

I rise at 4:30am to send off the group of four leaving the hotel at 5 this morning. I get a couple more hours of sleep before arising to eat breakfast and send off the remainder of the group, departing the hotel at 10am. As we leave the hotel, we barge ...

A heavenly day today from beginning to end. First of all I get seven hours of sleep, which is almost unheard of during the progress of a tour. We have a free morning to enjoy charming Essaouira, but the beach is a little chilly for swimming. The wind is ...

It is hot in Marrakech, and the group agrees to forego lunch in order to have more free time this afternoon to enjoy the pool at the hotel or do independent activities. We power through about five hours of nonstop visits, stopping occasionally for ...