Marrakesh Day 2

On our second day in Marrakesh we took a tour to the Ourika Valley about 2 hours from Marrakesh. It started out very foggy but turned into a beautiful day.

The town was a Berber village. We had to walk to the botanical gardens because our bus couldn’t get through the narrow streets.

Pesky vendors always trying to sell you something. I learned very quickly not to make eye contact and not to speak at all. No thank you is the worst thing you can say.

We entered into the botanical garden through a steel door. We had a tour by a young girl who explained all the medicinal and culinary uses of all the different herbs grown there. After the tour we had a foot bath and a beautiful luncheon in the garden.

They fought over my vegetable tagine because it was perfectly seasoned with fresh herbs.

When we returned to Marrakesh, Khalid had planned a very special evening for the four of us. He arranged for a horse drawn carriage to pick us up at the hotel for a tour of the city and drop us off for dinner at an Italian restaurant called LaTrattoria. Our driver waited for us and dropped us off at the square so we could see what it was like at night. He returned us to our hotel safe and sound.

The only strange thing about the evening is we ordered an appetizer of eggplant parmigiana with tomato foam to share. After it was served all the wait staff disappeared for about 30 minutes. They were praying and breaking fast because it was Ramadan. Prior to this there were few patrons in the restaurant except for foreigners. After sunset the restaurant was filled to capacity with Muslims who were very happy to eat.

This is where we discovered our favorite wine.

Before leaving Marrakesh to drone to Essaouira, we participated in a cooking class in the Medina at the Lotus Chef. We learned the process of preparing mint tea. Unfortunately it is much more complicated than just pouring tea over mint leaves. I am going to try it that way at home once I find some pint plants. By the way, mint tea is always prepared by the man. After watching the process it seems impossible that any man would have the patience.

You pour the tea from high so you get the proper foam in the glass.

After discussing typical Moroccan herbs we went to our cooking stations. There were closed circuit tv screens so you could watch the chef or walk down the aisle to see her first hand. We were given recipe cards for everything we made. The vegetarians were all together because our main meal was different because they made a chicken tagine.