Menopause: Symptoms, Solutions, and Support

As a woman you can’t really talk about midlife without touching on the big “M’!
When does it start? When does it finish? Is this normal? Questions, questions, questions!
Until recently there weren’t really any readily available answers. It was like a taboo subject. Something that women just got on with and no one talked about. 

Thank goodness for Davinia McCall is all I can say.
She brought it to the forefront, made people sit up and take notice. Brought some feeling of normality to this period of life that all women have to pass through.
I loved her first programme “Sex,Myths and the Menopause” and also the subsequent follow up programme “Sex, Mind and the Menopause” -available on All4, Channel 4’s streaming service. If you are looking at this from overseas check out Apple TV, Youtube etc and you may find it.
My husband and I sat and watched both programmes together. 
I’m beginning to realise that I’m very fortunate as my husband is a “modern man”. There are no pink and blue jobs in this house, well not unless you include his love for taking out the bins! We are an equal partnership and he never shies away from any topic. He was happy to sit there and watch with me and together we learnt a great deal. 

At What Age Does It Begin?
It starts with Perimenopause – This is the transition period leading up to menopause, when hormone levels begin to change. It can start as early as your late 20s up to your late 40s.
Menopause itself typically begins between the ages of 45 and 55, with the average being 51. The exact age can vary, and menopause is defined as having no periods for 12 consecutive months. Every woman’s menopause is different, so my journey isn’t going to be the same as yours.

Firstly I have no idea when my menopause started. I had a mirena coil fitted when I was 43 which on its 5th anniversary was then replaced with a second one. Then when I was 53, a year after I’d met my hubby, it was taken out and I was unceremoniously told by my doctor “I was too old to have another one!”
So I left the surgery thinking “what happens next?” “Will I have a period?’ “Will I need to use some other contraception?’
I soon discovered that the answer to the latter two questions was no and in terms of what happens next, again it can be different for each person.

In my case each symptom seemed to occur separately.
First there were the hot sweats during the day, not great when, as I was a funeral celebrant at the time, I was dealing with grieving families.
They passed quite quickly, thank goodness and I thought I was out of the woods. 
Then the night sweats started and a good night’s sleep became a distant memory and I found myself, sometimes, collapsed in bed mid afternoon totally exhausted as if someone had literally pulled my energy plug!

This led to brain fog during the day. Again not great when you are standing at the front of a funeral congregation and can’t remember the Lord’s Prayer!
As a funeral celebrant, services are suppose to be non religious, but families often chose to include the Lord’s Prayer at the end, just in case!
It’s a bit like edging your bets:- “I don’t really believe in God but what happens if he does exist and I’ve not included any religious element? Where does my Mum, Dad, Sister, friend go then?”
On this particular occasion we had reached the end of the service, just before we commit the coffin for cremation, and I invited the congregation to join in saying aloud The Lord’s Prayer. It was, at this moment, that my mind just went completely blank.
In my head I’m thinking “for goodness sake you’ve been reciting this since High School what’s wrong with you?’. In the end I had to pretend I had something caught in my throat and coughed unceremoniously before asking the congregation to continue without me, whilst I sipped on my ever present glass of water!

I was still having the night sweats nearly seven years later despite having invested in a duvet that was half warm, about 10 togs for hubby and half cool about 5 togs for me!
Yes even through the Beast from the East back in 2018 and subsequent cold winter spells I was quite happy with my 5 togs! It’s a good way to remain in the same bed and room as your partner too!

I finally reached a point where I was getting the odd night where I would wake up in the morning astonished I’d not been woken up during the night and tossed the duvet off !

I’ve been fortunate and so has hubby, as I gently remind him sometimes, in that I didn’t have to deal with mood swings. 
However recurring UTI infections were my personal cross to bear. I’d had this problem in my twenties when sexual relations were far more active and adventurous. Little did I know the menopause would bring back that age old problem.

Having watched Davina’s first programme I ventured off to see a female doctor at my surgery, discussed the big “M” and came away with HRT patches. No matter what I tried they just didn’t stay in place and I had a couple of headache spells which included flashing lights in front of my eyes so gave up the ghost.
Six months or so later, I went to see another female GP regarding my recurring UTI’s and she suggested I tried a different type of HRT which is inserted vaginally. The HRT definitely improved my menopause symptoms but I did eventually have to be referred to a Urologist for the UTI’s.
I’d had so many infections and subsequent antibiotics that my whole body had become inflamed which resulted in a new medication for three months to bring down the internal inflammation! I still have to be ultra careful with my female hygiene and always have antibiotics with me if we are travelling abroad.

HRT is obviously a personal choice but I’m quite happy with it and if nothing else I don’t think women should suffer in silence, please go to talk to a female GP and at least get advice. 
I was fortunate on the whole that when the tiredness and sleepless nights set in I was working for myself and had a little more freedom. I could at least take a mid afternoon nap if I needed it, but goodness knows how I would have coped if I’d still been working in my career.

Hopefully workplace education is now helping in this area to support women through this “change of life” and all credit to all the midlife women in the media eye who have influenced this.

Why not comment about your experiences of the menopause or how it feels to be living with someone going through this? Sharing advice can hopefully help others too

Navigating Midlife: Personal Opinions and Social Prejudice

From the point I started writing this blog I have expressed my views and opinions.
They are never going to be 100% the same as maybe your ideas or beliefs and I’m sure you have good rationale behind how you think. But given this blog is about my midlife adventure, in all its diversities, I have always felt the need to be honest.


Opinion is personal and we are fortunate enough to live in a democratic country where personal expression is currently allowed and not illegal.

I like to centre my opinion on personal life experience and I sometimes, as is the case here, include photographs from my personal collection that don’t perhaps seem to have relevance to my text. With the narrative alive in my head I like to choose photos that speak to me when I’m perusing my collection.


During my midlife I’ve begun to look more consciously at the world around me and to realise that people’s opinions are often formulated upon what they read, have been taught or been brought up with and not what they have actually experienced.

In this current climate often what they read is in the media, in all it’s now wonderful formats. I find it quite frightening that tabloid newspapers both in paper format and on line can influence people’s opinions so dramatically.
It’s incredibly sad that some of our younger generation are reading and believing what they see on line. I’m not saying that everything that is written in the tabloids or on social media is untrue but I would suggest that a lot of it is not factually based but merely the journalist’s opinion.
Journalism used to be an admired and time honoured profession, young students competed for university places. These days it is an excuse to write an article based upon “opinion”, the “opinion of the journalist”. There is no longer, it seems, a need to ensure what is written is based upon fact, as long as it grabs attention and “clicks”!
There is a consistent need to speculate and dramatise events to grab peoples’ attention whilst they are scrolling through the internet on their phones and also to sell papers and magazines to those generations who still rely on this paper version of the news.

As part of my midlife I am making a concerted effort to formulate views based upon true life experience. I appreciate not everyone has lived on this planet as long as me or had the experiences I’ve had. I’ve been fortunate to work alongside people of every nationality, from every walk of life, rich and poor and to see the real effect that life, in all its shapes and forms, can have on people.
I have also experienced prejudice in my life. How can a white, middle aged British woman have been subject to prejudice? I hear you ask.

Prejudice Comes in all Shapes and Sizes:
As I explain in more detail in an older post entitled “How did I get here?”
I was brought up in Gloucestershire on a council estate or in social housing as it is referred to now. Council houses then were very much the homes of the “working class”.
Despite my start in life I was encouraged by my Mum to make the most of my education. I loved attending the local village Junior School and won a yearly prize in the form of a book for my continual achievements.
At the age of 11 I passed my 11+ exam and joined the Girls Grammar School in the local town and that was when my world began to change.
I was no longer the admired student winning accolades for my attendance, dedication and work, I was suddenly “the girl from the council estate”. It’s possibly hard to imagine this now but back in the 1970’s the class system in the UK was very much alive and kicking.

The UK Class System
Where you sat in the social class ranking back then remained a highly significant factor determining life outcomes, opportunities, and social interactions. 
Don’t get me wrong I wasn’t the only person in my year group in this social class but we were definitely in the minority. Living in a council house held a stigma, our parents weren’t doctors, dentists or bankers. As such I wasn’t seen as a prospective friend for the other middle class raised daughters in my year at school and I certainly wasn’t invited to their birthday parties. 

I did make friends with girls from other social classes who accepted me for who I was but even then when their parents dropped me off from visiting their house, I always got them to drop me by the private housing estate and then when they had driven off I’d sneak across the road and take the cut through back home. 
The mother of my second boyfriend when I was 17 blatantly told her son I was not good enough for him because of my poor background. Can you imagine that happening today?

Single Parenting:
Later in life I discovered a new manifestation of social prejudice, that of being a single parent.
By moving back to Gloucestershire in 2005 I suddenly found myself in a world where I was once again different to all the other Mums at the school gates. They were all stay at home Mums, either because they were lucky enough to have husbands who earned enough money to allow them a standard of living whereby they could stay at home and bring up the family or they were living on benefits and had little or no choice but to stay at home. 

So here I was again presenting myself as different- a working single mother with a career and a live in au pair. It became apparent only too quickly that the school had never had to deal with this situation before. They didn’t understand the need, for example, until I pointed it out to them, that notifying me 7-10 days beforehand that an important event such as parents evening was taking place was insufficient notice for me to sometimes get cover at work to attend.
I still remember one parent governor coming up to me on sports day and saying “I’ve heard so much about you, its admirable that you have a career whilst also being a Mum but don’t you think its unfair on your children not to have a parent at home, to pick them up every day and care for them?” I remember being astounded by her comment, that without doubt came from a complete lack of understanding of my position. Who did she think was going to pay my bills if I didn’t work?


Being A Working Single Mum:
This wasn’t best received in my working life either. There was no allowance made for it.
I joined the company in the mid 80’s and by the late 80’s was a Manager working in a male dominated industry and if I wanted to pursue my career then I had to operate alongside all the guys.
They had wives who happily stayed at home keeping the house running, washing and ironing their shirts, looking after their children and not blinking an eyelid when a meeting was changed at less than a day’s notice to another area of the country.
Staying away for the night was nigh on compulsory in these circumstances and they saw it as a great opportunity for a good jolly away from their wives. I lost count how many times I stood in hotel bars listening to male colleagues talking about football, cricket and other male dominated leisure activities with no regard to my presence or inclusion.
Nights that sometimes included them chatting up (and pursuing) other women in the bar with no regards to the wedding ring which may or may not be still on their finger!

There were no females employed above me. It was tough finding my way and constantly competing. I basically wore two hats that were interchangeable in my car, morning and night -Manager and Mum.

It is these experiences though, alongside others, that have helped shape who I am and on which I can now base my opinions. My views come from a life well lived. I’ve tried to stay true to myself, following my own values and goals, rather than being influenced by others.
And as I now navigate midlife I spend some of my time writing about this stage of my life and sharing adventures that I take with my hubby and sometimes letting those opinions out in the open.

I really like writing a blog and I hope that you have enjoyed this post. If you have maybe you can tick the “like” box or even share a comment. I’m interested in hearing other peoples views of social prejudice if you have time to share.

Embracing Freedom at Midlife

So why is this blog entitled “A Midlife Adventure” ? Well part from the fact that I am in my “midlife” age-wise and utilise a lot of my free time to go on adventures, I also wanted to explore the term “midlife” and how it fits into society today.

When is Midlife?
Wikipedia says”midlife is the time from 45 to 64″. 
It’s a time when people are often evaluating their own life and a time when people can get overloaded with day to day stresses thus the term “midlife crisis”.

Then again on a recent TV show I watched midlife was described as being between the ages of 38 and 60!! One of the guests, currently aged 42, was astonished by this, as am I! What comes after midlife then if 60 is where it ends? Old age?
What you are now a senior citizen at 60, looking back on life rather than forward?
That surely can’t be right! 

Researching Midlife:
I like to do a bit of research now and again, it gives me a chance to read something a little more educational rather than the books I avidly devour every night before bed. 
I came across an article entitled “The Existential Necessity of Midlife Change” written by Carlo Strenger and Arie Ruttenberg in the Harvard Business Review (Feb 2008). This is the link should you wish to read it in it’s entirety:
In the article the authors were looking at the application of midlife specifically to the working environment.

Apparently two opposing myths underlie many people’s fears about midlife, inhibiting successful midlife change.

The first is the Myth of Midlife as the onset of Decline:
This is rooted in historically outdated conceptions where people end their productive lives and retire at age 65.
Sixty five is not a magical number, it was introduced as the retirement age in Germany in 1916.
Twenty seven years earlier Chancellor Otto Von Bismarck had established that 70 was the age to begin receiving a pension. When asked how the state could afford such largesse Bismarck replied that almost nobody would reach this age anyway. He was right! According to one source life expectancy in Germany at the time (1889) was 49 years old!
Fortunately life expectancy today, in Western society, is around 80+ and continues to rise.

Personally retiring at 65 had never held much of an attraction to me.
When I was 45 and still in my single Mum faze my intention was to retire at 55, sell my house, buy a flat (as a home base) and a camper van and set off around the UK before trying out Europe.
My peers and even some of my friends were bewildered by my idea but, being fully aware that life is not forever, I couldn’t see the point in devoting another 10 years to making money for someone else to benefit from. More to the point I didn’t want to lose out on my best years to do as I pleased.
I did retire at 55, partly thanks to my hubby who I met at the age of 52, opting to continue to work for another 5 years which meant I didn’t have to touch my private pension for living costs. Unfortunately the camper van idea evaporated and was replaced by creating travelling adventures instead.

The second myth, mentioned in my research, is the notion of midlife as a magical transformation. The myth tries to sell the illusion that if people have enough vision and will power they can be anything or anybody they want to be. 
Myth or not, this is something I can buy into. I certainly feel midlife is a time to live life without any constraints. 
I am in fact shocked by the amount of women, around my age or slightly older, that I come across locally where I live who still conform to the idea of specific role models within their marriage. A life where women have the “pink jobs” such as cleaning, cooking, shopping and generally “keeping house” and men have the “blue jobs” like DIY, driving and maintaining the car, taking out the rubbish etc. Have we learnt nothing as women in the last sixty years?
Needless to say that doesn’t happen in this household. We share the cleaning and since retiring hubby has opted to take on all the food shopping and cooking. Having cooked for the best part of 50 years its wonderful. I’m finally free of the kitchen sink!

The idea that “midlife marks the onset of decline and the acceptance of growing limitations being the only mature way to deal with ageing” is still generally accepted, according to Strenger and Ruttenberg’s article, as good common sense. Common sense, however, may be overrated and outdated!

I remember reading an article a couple of years back where Dame Emma Thompson was talking about her film role in the 2022 drama “Good Luck to You Leo Grande“.
Emma plays a repressed widow who hires a young escort in a bid for “sexual awakening’.  “It was very challenging” she said “to be nude in her 60’s. Especially in a world where nothing has changed in the dreadful demands made of women to look a certain way”.

Why do we have to conform to this ideology? Why, if we are women in our midlife do we have to act in a particular way or dress in a certain manner? 
I remember my stepmum changing the way she dressed, around the age of 50, which I guess back in the 1990’s was still considered to be the last phase of life. It was as if society expected her now to adopt the twinset and pearls style and accept that she was now entering the second half of her life and certain expectations needed to be fulfilled.
This is definitely no longer the case. I see midlife women all around me dressing however they wish and all power to them. 

“Fortunately the life force does not just extinguish itself at age 65″ says Strenger and Ruttenberg when concluding their narrative. They continue with “Indeed there is no period better suited to inner growth and development than midlife when many people learn to listen to their inner selves -the necessary first step on the journey of self realisation.”

Midlife is exciting, it should bring freedom. Freedom not to have to consider the children, assuming they are grown up and off hand. 
Freedom to realise some of those dreams that we still hold dear. To try a new hobby, to travel, to volunteer and help others, to learn a new skill, the sky should be the limit.

I don’t want to have to worry about declining into old age and I can do whatever I want if I put my mind to it . There may be obstacles to overcome and many issues will no doubt arise. But hey I’ve worked all those years, often ridiculous hours in the name of company commitment and career advancement and surely now deserve to shake off the shackles and live a little.

My dearest ambition is to throw away the clock. Imagine waking up when it’s light, eating only when you are hungry, doing whatever you want when you want and then sleeping when you are tired -that would be freedom to me!

What is or would be your ambition in midlife? Are you a midlifer enjoying life?
I’m keen to hear how life is treating you? I look forward to reading your comments.
If a comment is too much then please just hit the “like button” and give this midlifer some encouragement to keep exploring her new hobby of writing!

Quotes to Inspire Your Midlife Adventure Journey

I’ve done a lot of blog posts this year based upon our adventures and where we have been so I’m taking a short break from that and instead featuring some posts based upon my opinions, midlife and adventure as a whole rather than specifics.

The definition of someone adventurous is amongst other things “someone who is willing to take chances”.
When I set up this blog I definitely felt it was time to take a chance on life. To experience different ideologies, new places, ways of life and alternative cultures.

Adventure is stepping out of your comfort zone by doing something that you normally wouldn’t do. It could be helping out a random stranger to working up the courage to make friends with a complete stranger. When was the last time you did either of those?

Someone who is adventurous is willing to take risks and to try new methods.

I quite like quotes and sometimes if you do a bit of research you find something that really speaks to you or motivates you. Here are a few I quite like and why they speak to me……

“Adventure may hurt you, but monotony will kill you” Marcus Purvis
The idea of being retired and living each day as if you are in God’s waiting room is a total anathema to me!

“To travel is to live” Hans Christian Anderson
“Jobs fill your pockets but adventures fill your soul” Jaime Lynn
I have been fortunate to do some travelling and it definitely ignites my soul and makes me feel alive. I particularly enjoy understanding the social history of countries, looking how their way of life has evolved over time, seeing how the average person lives and understanding their priorities.
I’ve been creating my own holidays and travels since 1999, visiting a travel agent is not for me and the idea of cruising is just not on my radar. Being stuck on a ship with thousands of other passengers would be my idea of hell! I’m aware there are a lot of midlife people who thoroughly enjoy this style of travel but not me. I can barely cope with an organised excursion alongside 10-15 others in a minibus.

“A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step” Lao Tzu
My midlife adventure blog had to start somewhere and releasing the thoughts pent up in my brain was my starting point and there is still no end in sight! I never began this journey striving for hundreds of likes, viewers or subscribers. I really wanted it to grow organically which it has and knowing I have international readers definitely gives me a thrill that I didn’t anticipate at the onset. I would love, if anything, more feedback, more comments, purely so I can grow myself and make my posts more interesting.

“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul” John Muir
As part of a previous adventure in America we had visited the great coastal redwoods of Muir Woods overlooking San Francisco Bay and I had purchased a book of John Muir poems. Seeing this quote pop up on my research for this post reminds me of that adventure and how being out among such great arboreal monoliths inspired me to find more time to be in nature.

“The journey matters more than the destination” Tony Fahkry
Midlife adventures isn’t all about travelling and exploring the world it’s about the journey you find yourself upon in delivering that adventure. What you learn about yourself and also your dynamic as a couple. The roles you find yourself taking on, the compromises you make and the honest evaluations you make en route to your destination.

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming “wow, what a ride!””Hunter S Thompson
I chose this quote, at the onset, for my home page because it really says it all for me.

Growing up and then returning home in my early forties to a fairly traditional conservative area of the UK I often find myself in the company of people who believe their key focus in life is to scrimp and save in order to ensure their children inherit a tidy sum of money.
In other words they give up on enjoying life to its full extent to ensure the comfort of their offspring.

I find myself questioning their logic in so much as if most people have their children when they are in their 20-30’s then by the time they die at at 80, based upon life expectancy in the Western world, their children will be 50-60 years old. What’s the use of inheriting an amount of money at that age except to continue this prophecy and give it to the grandchildren?
Being the richest person in the graveyard seems to me to be an incredible waste thus I like this quote and intend to live life as I see fit regardless of whether I am spending my kids’ inheritance.


Adventures come in all sorts of formats, some conventional and some less so but every entry in my blog is a part of my midlife adventure and all the photos are taken from our personal collection.
If you would like to add some other quotes that provoke thoughts about adventures please feel free to comment


Stop the World, Let Me Get Off!

Have you ever had that feeling where everything just seems to be overwhelming you and you want to just shout ” Stop The World, Let Me Get Off?”
I remember being in the local play park as a child and sitting on the roundabout, while one of the bigger kids constantly grabbed one of the metal handlebars and ran for all they were worth in a circle so the roundabout just get spinning faster and faster and you did everything you could to just hang on and not become dizzy.
Whenever life gets overwhelming I often think of that roundabout and the feeling that you are just going around and around, faster and faster but not actually reaching any end point.

There have been times in my life when I have been juggling so many balls and realistically I know that I’m going to drop one of those balls and having to decide which one, if dropped, will have the least effect or detriment to my overall life.
As a single Mum working more than a full time job to progress a career there were many times when I just felt like running away from all those responsibilities.
My two week Summer holiday was my escape from all of that when my children would happily play in the pool and I could just chill out in the sun, reading copious amounts of books.

When I took early retirement I thought those days of the world spinning at such a velocity were well and truly over. I had earned a rest, hadn’t I? But somehow here I am seven years into that early retirement I worked so hard for and already there are times when I want to press the ‘stop button”. The urge to do that, however, isn’t the same as it was in my working life. It comes from a very different place.
In those high powered career days, as previously mentioned, it was all about escaping the daily stress of life, trying to keep the balance between working and parenting and not caving under all the pressure.
Now in my retirement I cannot believe that I now have days where I question “when did I have time to go to work?” my days are so full. I don’t need to escape the pressure, I just need time to breathe, to relax and to some degree escape being with someone 24 seven.

There is also still one common denominator -guilt! When I was working I often felt guilty if I thought my work/life balance was getting out of synch and I was spending too much time at work and not enough time with my children. Now I feel guilty if I take time to relax and read a book, there’s a feeling of not being productive as if I am still answerable to someone. Who? I don’t know!

Last year I rather selfishly, depending upon how you look at it, took three days away on my own. I had dropped my daughter up in Lincolnshire and instead of heading straight home decided to take a three day solitary break. It was all completely planned, hubby was aware.
Prior to my arrival I remember being full of exciting anticipation, revelling in all the things I was going to get done, how ahead of myself I would be when I returned home.
The joy of not feeling answerable to anyone, doing what I wanted when I wanted and above all else not having the ever encompassing feeling I get at home when I look around and realise the washing needs doing, the housework is mounting up, the beds need changing, life admin is constantly being shelved etc etc.
Then I remember arriving at my wooden lodge, that slept two, and immediately questioning whether I had done the right thing. Was I wasting our communal funds selfishly on myself? Was this actually going to benefit me?

I worried I might not be able to sleep with only one other lodge on site, maybe I would feel insecure but then I remember waking up with the sun rising to my left with the sound of the wood pigeons. Dewy grass outside revealed a rather large rabbit munching away that scampered into the woods when I tried to get a photo.
I was free to set my own pace, there was peace n quiet, a sense of tranquillity and no one to answer to. I saw it as a chance to take a breath and reset. There was no doubt that I missed my hubby but there was also a sense of freedom. My life was solely my own and I could go back home and move forward, safe in the knowledge that I was ahead of myself in terms of all my hobbies and interests.
On my return, however, those aspirations lasted all of a couple of weeks and then I was more or less back to where I’d started. Trying to juggle my time between keeping fit and healthy at the gym, maintaining a healthy body weight at Slimming World, reading both in terms of enjoyment and to learn more, writing my blog posts and ensuring my social media reflected what I had written, keeping on top of life admin, trying to spend time with hubby, creating travel itineraries, staying on top of housework and washing, seeing friends and family etc etc……………

My mini break had definitely created “a time out” but how often could I truly expect to do that? And realistically had I really achieved anything in the long run?

This year we decided to take some time out together. Wow! that was a revelation.
We packed ourselves off to a friend’s cottage in Cornwall. We thought if we chose somewhere we had been before we would be less tempted to go out exploring and would actually spend time relaxing, enjoying our individual hobbies and in my case trying yet again to get ahead of the game.

The rain poured down, the wind howled a gale outside, the truck broke down en route and again whilst we were there and the cosy cottage soon became somewhat claustrophobic. We had definitely got it wrong!
The only moments of enjoyment were the day we spent at Trebah Gardens, one of my favourite places to go in the world! See my previous post:
https://amidlifeadventure.org/2024/05/17/the-amazing-place-that-is-trebah-gardens/ and another afternoon where we went out walking along the coastal path, chatting to a couple of locals we met en route and just enjoying the magnificent views and tranquillity.

Not only couldn’t I escape hubby, who had originally planned to go out and do some photography while I wrote blog posts, finished travel plans and read etc but I felt like I was wading through treacle. There just wasn’t enough hours in the day.
I’d recently become a Parish Councillor and had training to complete (which still isn’t finished even now a couple of weeks later). I’d hoped to get ahead on my blog posts so that, like now when unfortunately I’ve spent nearly ten days feeling ill with Covid, I would have posts lined up to publish.

So where do I go wrong?
Is it that I’m so used to being “busy” that I overfill my time? Is guilt never going to free me from its grip? Is relaxation just not a part of my DNA? Or is everything just a learnt behaviour?
Are women just prone to guilt when men don’t even procrastinate about taking time for themselves? As a Mum are we just so used to juggling the balls that a life without any balls is just empty so we naturally fill it?
If we are retired from work are we just on one long holiday and, therefore, not having enough time is just my own fault? And taking time away just to be ourselves without any worries and stress, is that just being ridiculous?

Is it just me who still feels the need to press that great big button, stop the world and get off? Please let me know your views because I really need to try and get it right!

Discover Marrakech: Local Food and Cooking Experiences

When we are visiting a new country we love to savour the local food. It’s also important, however, to ensure we do not overspend on our budget as by travelling the world rather than holidaying we have less to spend each day. For this reason researching where the locals eat beforehand and reading reviews really helps.

Learning to Cook Moroccan Style:
In Marrakech there seemed to be quite an abundance of places to attend cookery classes where afterwards you eat what you have made.
The Culinary Museum which we visited in one of my previous articles, not surprisingly, offered cookery classes which you could book on line in advance.
I had also discovered that the Riad Shaden, where we were staying, also offered this facility and I liked the idea of supporting the establishment in this way.
I booked, in advance, for Day 2 of our trip knowing that Day 1 was going to be quite full on with various tourist sites to visit and, therefore, thinking it would be quite nice to have a restful second day.

On our arrival at the Riad, the Manager- Said reconfirmed with us that we still wished to go ahead with the class and enquired whether we wanted to cook in the morning to eat at lunchtime/evening or whether we preferred to cook in the afternoon for the evening. We opted for the former and to eat at 1p.m.
At breakfast on Day 1 we were given some menu options so they could prepare the dry ingredients beforehand. From the menu we picked an aubergine starter, two mains – chicken with olives and beef with prunes and then two desserts -fruit salad and bananas in pastry.

As Day 2 dawned we finished breakfast and then met up with Mohammed, who spoke superb English and managed the Riad whenever Said was away. Our first task was to accompany Mohammed out onto the streets of the Medina so we could purchase the raw ingredients we would need for our cooking. I cannot lie I was somewhat nervous, in advance, about hygiene standards with all the shops opening outwards onto the often crowded streets. The retailers obviously all knew Mohammed but it was really interesting to watch everything being prepared once he had ordered.

At the meat counter, for example, the owner cleaned the surface of his counter down in between every sale so as to avoid cross contamination. When we went to purchase our chicken there were live chickens in a cage at the rear of the shop but Mohammed explained that when they are going to fry and then boil chicken for a dish they only ever buy frozen chicken, apparently it has a better flavour.
When purchasing herbs, vegetables, spices, couscous, rice etc everything is sold as per your request. For example if you only want 2 dirhams of couscous then that is what the shopkeeper will weigh out. There is no set minimum or maximum quantity.

It reminded me very much of my teenage years when there were no supermarkets in the countryside where I lived and everyone walked into the village to purchase their shopping using a pull along trolley and visited a variety of shops e.g. the butcher, the baker, the grocery store, the chemist etc.
Shopping in Marrakech was a lively and interesting experience. The smells, the colours, the vibrancy were just exciting.

Returning to the Riad, Mohammed introduced us to Said’s wife who apparently does all the cooking every day at the Riad making, for example, all the traditional breads and pancakes for breakfast every morning and the small biscuits and cakes we were offered on our arrival. As she wasn’t adept at English, Mohammed acted as our interpreter for the whole session.
We were issued with white aprons although I had come prepared with my own. All the dry ingredients and spices were already weighed out for us but we prepared everything else as per her instruction. It was a really lovely experience and as hubby and I cook a lot at home we weren’t too daunted by what we were asked to do.

This was a great opportunity to also be able to glean additional information about classic Moroccan cuisine. We learnt, for example, that couscous is not an accompaniment to a meal but a main meal which is dressed up with spices, vegetables and/or meat. Tagines are served also as a main meal with no rice or couscous accompaniment but sometimes with bread on the side.
We were able to write down the ingredients before starting each dish and then we added the cooking instructions as we went along. This enabled us to bring the recipes home and we have a family meal planned to show off our skills shortly.
Everything we cooked was served to us at our table at the designated time and we couldn’t believe some of the flavours we were able to experience. The banana dessert was so simple but the addition of cinnamon inside the filo pastry before frying really added that something extra.

Eating and Drinking:
During our trip to Marrakech we were never daunted by the menus we came across on our daily excursions and as everyday life is so much cheaper here we chose to eat out every day.
We always found that the staff were really helpful and friendly, with one exception which I will come to later, and most menus were presented mainly in French and English. We were keen to sample local cuisine so avoided anything “international” and never even entertained the idea of buying “takeaway” food such as pizzas and burgers. Unfortunately as Said explained to us, access to the internet has brought Western food into the lives of the Moroccan people particularly children and teenagers which I personally feel is incredibly sad and so they are keen to experience such food and hence it is on offer in the Medina!
We also avoided the myriad of street food sellers purely because unlike hubby I do not have a “cast iron stomach” preferring to eat in cafes, restaurants and patisseries.

Breakfast:
We ate breakfast every day at our Riad where we were presented with a selection of tiny serving bowls with honey, two types of local jam and butter. Yoghurt and fruit were a staple alongside a different daily bread or pancake.
On our first morning we got to experience a spongy, honey-comb like pancake which we later discovered was called “Baghrir”.
On our second morning we sampled “Batbout” – a small, fluffy bread, similar to a pitta and on Day 3 we ate “Msemmen -a flaky, square-shaped Moroccan pancake.


Morning/Afternoon Tea:
It wasn’t difficult to find somewhere to drink or eat mid morning or mid afternoon when we needed to take a break from sightseeing.
One morning we had some lovely cold juices and an array of traditional Morrocan cakes at the Museum of Culinary Arts:

And on another day we stopped mid afternoon for tea and amazing cakes at the Patisserie des Princes. These wonderful French pastries are a hangover from when the French governed the lands.

Lunch:
We ate lunch or an evening meal everyday.
This was the menu in La Jardin Secret which we visited for lunch on our first day out exploring:

It was lovely to be offered the opportunity to have a “Virgin Cocktail” as even in the UK this isn’t always the case so we tried a “Medina” and a “Menara”. We ordered an “Exotique” salad and a “Cesar” salad and shared an Assortment of Briouates.
Briouates are small, triangular or cylindrical parcels made from warqa, a delicate, paper-thin dough similar to filo pastry. These were really tasty and not dissimilar to an Indian samosa.

Evening Meal:
Exploring the main Jemaa el-Fna square in the early evening before it became too busy I had read really good reviews on the Zeitoun Cafe but when we arrived hubby wasn’t sure and instead wandered off to the Cafe de France and having examined the menu decided we should try it. The food on presentation looked ok with hubby choosing this couscous dish:

Whilst I chose a beef and apricot tagine

What a huge mistake! Both of the meals may have looked ok at first but were inedible. My beef was so tough you seriously couldn’t cut it with a knife and hubby’s couscous had vegetables that tasted like they were weeks old. Bland and tasteless.
In any other restaurant I would have returned the food and refused to pay. But the waiters in this particular establishment didn’t appear to speak very good English, appeared from the onset as not particularly friendly towards tourists and were uninterested in the clientele so we left our food and departed.
Please do not be put off by this one experience all the other food we had in Marrakech was authentic, tasty, well presented and flavourful.

Marrakech was a new experience for us but one we truly enjoyed and I am now researching a road trip to explore more of this wonderful country…….
I hope you have enjoyed my six part series about this adventure and feel free to comment or ask any questions about it

Discovering the Beauty of Essaouira’s Medina and Harbour

As we dipped our toes into Morocco in order to decide whether this was a country that we would want to explore further it was important for us to venture outside of Marrakech itself. We decided to take a road trip with Said, the Manager of our Riad, to the picturesque seaside port and town of Essoiura. The city is a UNESCO World Heritage site, famous for its 18th century medina, fortified ramparts and bustling fishing harbour.

The Journey:
We set off in Said’s car early on our last day, which was a Saturday, and as he navigated his way out of the city of Marrakech we soon realised that he was open to chatting and was a great ambassador for his home country. I knew, therefore, that this was going to be an ideal opportunity to gather more of a perspective of Morocco itself, where to visit if we came back and maybe where also to avoid.

Essaouira graces Morocco’s Atlantic coast, roughly 120 miles west of Marrakech, about 2.5-3 hrs drive by car. Though the two cities may look close on a map, the road (N8) linking the two, as we discovered en route, weaves through semi-arid plains, small Berber villages, and stretches of argan forests.  Unfortunately we didn’t manage to spot any “goats in trees”!

A Moroccan Service Station:
Service stations when you are on a road trip in a foreign country are really important. You need a place to refuel, take a toilet break and grab a snack or lunch particularly if you are on a long journey.
It was helpful, therefore, when our first stop, about an hour and a half into our journey was at a Moroccan service station in Chichaoua. We were both astounded at how organised and friendly the place was. There was a small supermarket area where you could buy provisions, a place to sit and eat/drink as well as toilets.
We opted to order some cold drinks as it was already proving to be quite a hot day. The waiter was so welcoming and soon brought them to the table. The price for two sodas was about half the price of what we had been paying in Marrakech!
Whilst we relaxed for a while, Said had gone to the rear of the services and taken a seat at the counter had ordered a typical Moroccan breakfast explaining that he had been out early that morning dropping some guests at the airport before coming to pick us up.
I thought it was a good idea to pick up some bottles of water whilst we were there and to pop to the toilets before leaving. Again I was astounded how clean they were. You would never believe that you were not in a first world country.

Cooperative Marjana:
Back on the road we soon reached the Cooperative Marjana which was founded to provide economic opportunities and financial independence to women, including widows, divorcees and single mothers. 
As part of the tour provided to all visitors you can observe the meticulous and physically demanding process of cracking the argan nuts and grinding them by hand to create the oil, which is a testament to the women’s hard work and skill. 
Following this element of the stop you then get an opportunity to sample some of their products and take a stroll around their shop. I’m going to be honest here and say that their products are quite expensive but I’m not a beauty connoisseur so maybe they just exceeded my price expectation. I did come home with a few extra items in my luggage, however, to try when I returned home.

Arriving in Essouira:
We stopped momentarily on the hill above Essouira which gave us a great panoramic view of the city and coast line before descending into the town itself. Said dropped us off adjacent to the car park on the sea front and directed us to the fish market and harbour.
While Essouira can be described as a town due to its relaxed atmosphere and relatively compact size, its designation as a “port city” reflects its historical and ongoing importance as a maritime centre. 
It’s design and architecture show significant European influence, particularly Portuguese and French.

Essouira Harbour:
We crossed over the road and made our way to the harbour where I was immediately struck by both the hustle and bustle of the vibrant fish market on the opposite side and the wonderful sea blue fisherman’s boats bobbing around on the water in between.

Making our way around to the market we passed fishermen mending their nets, traditional wooden boats being cleaned or repaired, whilst a couple of bigger boats were still landing the day’s catch. Historically boat builders here in Essouira have supplied fishing vessels for the entire Moroccan coast and even as far away as France.
Stands lined the narrow street, some backing onto the water whilst others opposite backed onto an open space with a couple of what looked like bars with tables and chairs.
We soon learnt from one of the tradesmen that you could buy fish for lunch and then take them across to this area and request for the fish to be cooked for you, taking a seat at one of the tables to enjoy your fishy fare.

We were not, unfortunately, hungry at this point so having wandered up and down taking in the wonderful atmosphere and photographing various stalls we made our way around to the Sqala du Port.


Sqala du Port:
This honey-coloured bastion was built during the reign of Sultan Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah in the 1760s as part of the city’s defense system. Its primary purpose was to protect the port of Essaouira from potential naval invasions and it was part of a larger project to establish Essaouira as a major trading port and military stronghold.

For a small fee you can go inside its thick stone walls and explore. We initially looked around the ground level before climbing one of the narrow staircases to the upper level to check out the well-placed and meticulously preserved cannons that still stand guard, aimed at deterring any naval threats.

There are also strategic lookout points which give panoramic views across to the city walls on the right, the Atlantic Ocean below, the bustling port from whence we have come and the whitewashed buildings of the Medina.

Fans of “Game of Thrones” may also recognise the ramparts as those in scenes of Astapor.
The fort’s design not only served a defensive purpose but also adds to the aesthetic charm of the area, blending seamlessly with the surrounding landscape. I really enjoyed walking around aware of those who would have trodden here before me whilst no doubt defending their city from incoming marauders.
Unfortunately due to our time constraints we weren’t able to return here to see the sunset but have stored that idea for a future trip.

Île de Mogador:
Standing as far over to the left as you can, the fort’s elevation also allows you to catch a glimpse of these two islands with several tiny islets that lie just off the coast. Also known as the famed Îles Purpuraires or Purple Isles in ancient times, the Romans used to extract the purple dye from molluscs plucked from the bay to dye their imperial togas.
Today you cannot land on the islands without special permission. They are uninhabited and act as a protected sanctuary for Eleonora’s falcons.
The Eleonora’s falcon is a small raptor that takes its hunting abilities to the next level — by catching small birds, then stripping them of their flight feathers which prevents them from being able to fly away. They then stuff the birds into rock fissures or deep holes, from which they cannot escape and come back to feast on them later! That in itself sounds like some mythical creature from days of yore!

Lunch and a Toilet Break:
Before heading off to the Medina and as we left the fort behind I spotted a sign for a public toilet. Summoning up all my courage hubby and I went to find said ablutions knowing that other toilets were probably few and far between.
Spotting both men and women, both local and tourists alike, queuing alongside a brick built building we went across and joined the queue. For a fairly minimal fee we both paid to enter two separate brick built cubicles with wooden doors. You can imagine my naive surprise when I was faced with a hole in the floor, no loo paper or washing facilities. By this point my bladder was fit to burst so squatting over said hole I proceeded to relieve myself, happy in the knowledge that all I needed was a pee!
I had wet wipes in my rucksack which needless to say came in handy once I was back outside where I then watched as an attendant took a bucket of fresh sea water into the cubicle after me assumedly to wash away my pee .

Just after the public toilets we came across a line of food outlets winding their way around in an “L” shape”. With predominantly blue and white facades each separate tented area offered visitors and locals alike the opportunity to choose a selection of fish and shellfish which then would be cooked on a grill to the rear.
This looked right up our street and so we browsed the whole line before selecting the place we wanted to eat. We tend to always work on the theory that if locals are eating somewhere it’s probably a good choice and in this scenario we chose Restaurant de Grillade de Poissons which was one of the last we had looked at.
Conversing, as best we could, with the gentleman selling the fish we chose a selection before taking a seat at a table inside. Our drinks arrived fairly quickly and then the platter of fish and shellfish as ordered, along with some local bread. We seriously could not fault the quality and it’s probably some of the freshest fish we have ever eaten.

The Medina:
Crossing over Moulay Hassan Square we walked up the street opposite to us -Pl Moulay Hassan stopping off to take out some cash from the bank on our left. From here we walked to the junction and turned right passing Patisserie Driss and then by continuing straight ahead it wasn’t long before we turned left onto Av Oqba Ibn Naafia. By following this clean, honey coloured street with patches of trees and squares of greenery, we soon started to see the small alleyways on the left that represent the outskirts of the Medina.
It’s not as busy or as congested as we have seen in Marrakech and immediately I can sense a more bohemian vibe with shops set amongst the most amazing sparkling, whitewashed buildings with blue shutters.

Just like Marrakech though it is surrounded by honey coloured fortifications making it a UNESCO World Heritage site. The maze-like streets are filled with local artisans, spice stalls, and traditional crafts. 
Browsing the small shops isn’t as frenetic as it feels in Marrakech. I’m not as conscious of the people surrounding me and have no real desire to follow Google Maps but instead we just wander somewhat aimlessly.
On our travels we spot Patisserie La Charlotte and decide to sit outside in the afternoon sun and feast upon a couple of beautiful pastries each accompanied, in my case, by traditional mint tea. It offers a welcome respite before we need to head back to the seafront to meet up with Said and our return journey home.

Essouira Beach:
It’s a 20 minute walk back to the beach, semi-directed by Google. Enough time is left for us to sit on the sea wall and take in the beachfront vibe.
Essouira is a prime location for windsurfing, kitesurfing, and surfing. due to the strong trade winds but on this occasion the beach is full of sun worshippers and paddlers. In the far distance we can spot some horses and camels which look to be offering treks along the beach on the other side of the bay.

Reflecting on our day spent here there’s a real blend of Arabic, Berber, Jewish, and French cultural influences which together have created a somewhat unique and cosmopolitan atmosphere. It’s a place that will definitely be on our road trip of Morocco when we return here in the future.

The final episode in our trip to Marrakech will be a summary of all the wonderful food we have eaten whilst here including our very own cookery lesson……………

A Third Day in Marrakech: From Bahia to Culinary Adventures

Our second day in Marrakech was spent at our Riad learning some wonderful Moroccan cookery which I will happily tell you about on another post where I intend to cover “Feasting in Marrakesh”.
On Day 3, therefore, we set out fairly early once again finding ourselves on the quiet streets of Marrakesh before all the traders are set up to sell their wares. Our first stop of the day is the……

Bahia Palace:
La Bahia or ‘the beautiful” is an 8000 sq metre floor to ceiling palace of fabulous Moroccan marquetry, painted wood known as zouak and amazing plasterwork.
Opened to the public in 1998, the palace began it’s life back in the 1860’s under the guardianship of the Grand Vizier Si Moussa but it was his son and successor, Abu ‘Bou’ Ahmed, who went on to finish it’s construction. Not only did he expand the large Riad which sits at the centre of the palace but also built the small Riad. It is a true example of how powerful families lived in Morocco during the 19th century.

It was still reasonably quiet when we arrived at 9.15 am, although the sun was already shedding it’s warmth on our skin as we entered through the small external garden resplendent with colourful tree blossom and the smell of oranges ripening above us.

Petit Riad:
Closest to the entrance, this area has two separate large rooms which are richly decorated with floral, geometric and written motifs and is similar in layout and size to traditional houses found in the Medina.

The white plasterwork walls, however, have been painstakingly crafted and inscribed with verses from the Quran.

In the 19th century when it was originally decorated, this plaster would have been carved in situ while wet!
At the centre surrounded by this artistry is an open-air courtyard furnished with a four-part garden known as a “charbagh” with a white marble fountain at its central point. This quadrilateral garden layout is divided into four smaller plots by walkways. This design originates from Persia and represents the Paradise Garden with four rivers described in the Quran.

Cour d’Honneur:
Between the Petit Riad and the Grand Riad we also walked through the Cour d’Honneur which is undoubtedly the “heart” of the Palace. At 1500 sq metres in size it is seen to be one of the most spectacular open spaces ever to be conceived in Morocco.
Despite being restored to its original brilliance in 2018, there was more work in progress in this area when we were visiting but we were still able to admire the vast expanse of Italian Carrara marble on the floor along with intricate zellige mosaics and the bright blue and yellow plaster and woodwork.
This area originally served as part of Ba Ahmed’s harem, providing access to around 80 rooms that housed his concubines. 

Grand Riad:
As we wandered on and into the Grand Riad the restoration continued into it’s large courtyard. Although studded with fountains and lush foliage there were sections of the gardens cordoned off which restricted access.
The Grand Riad is the oldest part of the palace complex and I marvelled at the carved wood lintels, zouak artistry and stained-glass detailing – Bahia Palace was thought to be the first building in North Africa to use stained glass as a decorative feature.
The art of Zouak is a traditional wood painting technique native to Morocco. Zouak craftsmen work with only a handful of materials, but draw on hundreds of years of history and heritage. The materials that go into producing Zouak crafts may seem simple enough: fine wood, talc, and a handful of bold colours. But though the materials seem simple, the art of Zouak transforms them into a stunning and intricate finished product.

We both really enjoyed this fine example of Moroccan artistry and architecture and on leaving the palace behind walked past shops now open for trade, selling brightly coloured Moroccan herbs and spices and unique hanging lanterns amongst others.

We were in need of sustenance by this point and thus headed to our next destination……

Moroccan Culinary Arts Museum:
Arriving here at 10.45 am the small downstairs tea salon was quiet but invitingly beautiful. The staff were super friendly, helpful and courteous and we were soon settled at a table with liquid refreshments and a plate of traditional Moroccan biscuits.

This Museum of Culinary Arts claims to be the first of its kind in Morocco and has been established within the confines of a large 18th century palace.
Having finished our break we wandered across all three levels of the museum. Each area focuses on a different type of traditional Moroccan cuisine covering everything from the often seen couscous to soups, pastries and even street food.
Couscous originates from the Berber people with couscous or seksu meaning semolina of wheat in Berber. It is traditionally cooked in couscoussiers. This is a traditional double-chambered food steamer with the lower part, the pot, usually containing water, vegetables, red or white meats and the upper section the actual couscous. Examples of these cooking pots have been found in the excavations of the Numid kingdom from the 2nd century BC.
Couscous is not an accompaniment as we often see back in the UK but an actual full dish with chicken, meat and vegetables, not dissimilar to how we might serve rice in the Western world.
It is very prevalent in Moroccan households often described as “a dish that accompanies us from birth to death, a festive dish, a dish of mourning, a dish of Friday after prayer, a dish of sharing.”

Not surprisingly the interior architecture of this museum is once again astoundingly beautiful………..

There is also a rooftop restaurant which gives you memorable views across the Medina opening at midday.
Having finished our tour we made our way back down and through the tea salon to the external areas. The Riad has two interior courtyard gardens/patios paved with zellige (enamelled terracotta mosaic tiles) with decorative columns and friezes.

At the centre of the first courtyard is a Carrara marble fountain framed by four olive trees and around the perimeter we explored two salons with ceilings more than 16 ft high and traditional elegant furniture.

Having sat within the courtyard and taken in both the sights and sounds of this beautiful Riad we made our way out through the shop, back out onto the street and headed to the

Badi Palace:
Built in the 16th century and taking nearly 25 years to complete, this palace was designed as a testament to the grandeur of the Saadian Dynasty and the beauty of Moroccan art and design. 
Built in 1578 by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur, the ruler of the Saadian Dynasty, the palace was built as a symbol of the Sultan’s power and wealth, and it was meant to be a grand display of his wealth and influence. The palace was built with a combination of traditional Moroccan and European styles, and it was decorated with intricate mosaics, marble columns, and ornate carvings. Featuring Italian marble, gold leaf from Sudan, and onyx from India, the palace was said to have 360 rooms, each adorned with the finest materials available.
The grand courtyard, with its sunken gardens and reflecting pools, was the heart of the palace, where banquets and celebrations were held. 
The palace was also home to the Sultan’s harem, which included over 500 women.


At the beginning of the 18th century the palace was, however, destroyed by Sultan Moulay Ismail and all the precious interior decorations and valuables were carried off to the city of Meknes where Ismail intended to build his capital city.
The once magnificent palace was left in ruins, and over time, the site fell into disrepair.
All that remains today are the remnants of this once beautiful palace, one of Marrakech’s most significant historical landmarks, it’s towering walls and the palace’s vast courtyard are now overlooked by the pairs of nesting storks which have made the walls their home!

We, unfortunately, could not get inside!
It can be closed for events, weddings and film shoots and it would appear without notice. We had checked the site only the night before and had not seen any notifications of closure.
However had we decided to buy our tickets in advance we would have found that tickets were not for sale for three days beginning on Day 3 of our trip!
It was disappointing but serves as a learning curve for us and an education for others who may also not necessarily want to buy tickets in advance that it is worth checking availability even if you are not buying!

Day 3, thus, came to a bit of an abrupt end but we happily wandered back to our Riad and instead spent a little time relaxing on the top floor in the sunshine on a couple of sunbeds!

My next post about Marrekech centres on the beautiful beachside resort of Essouira, coming soon…………….

Learning More About Marrakesh (Day 1 contd.)

Leaving the cafe at the top of the Maison De La Photographie behind we make our way down onto the street and turn right back towards Ben Youseff Medersa from where we ardently follow “Google Maps” to our next destination ten minutes away ……………..

Le Jardin Secret:
This wonderful garden originates from the second half of the sixteenth century and alongside the palace was occupied until 1934 after which it fell into disrepair. The idea of restoring the building complex and opening it to the public started in 2008, and Le Jardin Secret came into being eight years later.
Whilst we are both lovers of architecture the primary reason for visiting this oasis of peace is the traditional Islamic Garden which was restored following the likely nineteenth century layout which gave it four sections. This sits alongside a carefully laid out exotic garden.

The original “khettara” or underground irrigation system was also restored and can be seen immediately as you enter and this still feeds water to the gardens today.

The water paths highlight the way in which the water, coming from the Atlas Mountains, was distributed inside the palace not just to irrigate the gardens but also to serve the kitchens, the hammam and fountains.
Interestingly Muslim culture considers water to be a symbol of life and a sign of God’s existence and power, while heaven is described in the Quran as a “garden in which streams flow”.

There are plenty of places to stop, relax and enjoy the sights, sounds and smells of the gardens. We certainly didn’t feel rushed in our exploration.

At it’s centre you can admire the creative woodwork arches and decorative ceiling of this middle creation.

There are two cafes to choose from should you want to eat or drink – Café Sahrij is at ground level:

and the Café Menzeh is at the back and upstairs which is where we decided to have lunch overlooking the gardens below:

We were more than happy with the menu and the food and service provided.

Koutoubia Mosque:
We left the Gardens and turned right to walk another 15 minutes to the largest mosque in Marrakech. The call to prayer begins just as we approach and, as a result, whilst we cannot enter the inside of the building (as we are not of the Muslim religion) we do get a glimpse of the beautiful interior.

The mosque began its life back in 1147, with a second version of the mosque being entirely rebuilt around 1158 with the 253 ft minaret being finally completed in 1195. It is this second mosque that we see today, a great example of Almohad architecture.
The mosque was named after the Arabic word for “booksellers”. At one time as many as 100 book vendors worked in the streets at the base of the mosque.

There are many photos to be had from all sides although whilst we were visiting there was scaffolding on one side.

The square design of the minaret separates it from the more commonly seen domed shape prevalent in the Middle East. It’s scalloped keystone arches and jagged merlon crenellations are architecturally beautiful.

As you can see the minaret is topped by a spire of brass balls, these are filled with a special mineral salt taken from the High Atlas Mountains which includes nitrate and magnesium which prevents the spire from oxidising. This salt is changed yearly during Ramadan to ensure this brass pinnacle maintains its glow.
There are no stairs within the minaret, only a ramp, which the muezzin would have once ridden up on horseback to give, the five times a day, call to prayer.
The wooden stick at the top points towards Mecca and also bears flags on religious holidays.

To the rear of the mosque there are several gardens including The Koutoubia Gardens where once again you can retreat from the general fray of Marrakesh traffic, people and scooters and find a bench in the shade.
We visited the Park Lalla Hasana with its fountains, park benches, sculptures, palm trees and flowers.

Patisserie Des Princes:
Our walk back to the Riad from here will take us 30 minutes so we decide to encompass this wonderful Patisserie that I had read about during my advance research.
We feel like we are taking our lives in our hands as we cross the busy roads outside of the mosque in order to make our way towards the main square “Djemaa El Fna”. The patisserie is on our right as we walk along Pass. Prince Moulay Rachid.
This is one of the city’s most famous patisseries and a wonderful “hangover” from the French influence I have explained previously. On arrival you will see an ice cream kiosk outside so if, unlike us tea and cake doesn’t tempt you, then maybe an ice cream will. Amongst the array of flavours on offer you will find orange and even date or fig alongside more traditionally expected tastes.

Inside you will find two large display cabinets where the team of dedicated, skilled chefs create delightful confections that reflect a passion for the art of pastry-making.

You can place your order with one of the staff behind the counter and then at the rear of the shop is a small tea room. Smartly dressed waiters are available to seat you at a table and take your drinks order whilst also delivering your beautiful chosen cakes.

We were spoilt for choice and opted for two cakes each, alongside some home made lemonade for hubby and refreshing mint tea for me. The total cost of this little afternoon sojourn was less than £10 and it felt lovely to be amongst the mainly female Moroccan ladies taking a break from their shopping and treating themselves to a similar afternoon delicacy.

Our first day ended here before we made our way back to the Riad. Day 3 was a slightly less frenetic day which is coming soon……………….

Starting our Exploration of Marrakesh (Day 1)

Good Morning:
I slept quite well on our first night and was woken the next day by the call to prayer at about 4.30 a.m. Rather than being annoyed at such an early disturbance I marvelled at this new culture I was now part of and just drifted back off to sleep, waking a bit later to the sounds of people outside on the street. Washed and dressed we made our way down to breakfast early, wondering what we would find to eat and drink.
Pandering to the needs of us foreigners there was a choice of coffee or tea. I always bring my own decaf teabags so I asked and received a teapot of hot water or on another morning asked and received Moroccan mint tea.
We were also offered freshly squeezed orange juice and again, as is our normal, we both accepted this offer and then hubby drank his before swapping his empty glass for mine and consuming that as well. Juices are acidic and, therefore, to avoid inflammation that enhances the swelling on the inside of my arthritic knees I never indulge.
There was a selection of tiny serving bowls with honey, two types of jam and butter. Yoghurt and fruit were laid on the table alongside spongy, honey-comb like pancakes which we later discovered were called “Baghrir”.
Every morning at the Riad breakfast took the same format except the pancakes were substituted for “Batbout” – a small, fluffy bread, similar to a pitta or “Msemmen -a flaky, square-shaped Moroccan pancake and sometimes we were also given small Moroccan cakes. Everything, we discovered, was cooked fresh on site by Said’s wife.

Exploring:
Armed with the map that Said had given us (hubby still loves a map!), my itinerary and my trusted Google maps app we set off early at about 8.45 a.m. on our first morning ready to explore the city. Despite what I had previously read, whilst back at home researching, it soon became apparent that it was really easy to follow Google Maps in order to reach any destination in Marrakech we wanted to see.
Making our way back to the main street “Rue De Bab Aylan” we turned right and within about ten minutes arrived at our first stop.

Ben Youssef Medersa:
This theological college was built here in the 14th century before being rebuilt in 1565 by the Saadian Sultan Abdullah Al-Ghaleb Assaadi. This is the largest Medersa in Morocco and for 400 years it remained a central part of Marrakech, attracting scholars thirsty for knowledge in various fields but particularly the religious sciences.
With 136 rooms spread across its ground floor and upper floor, a prayer hall, a courtyard, and an ablution room, visitors now flock here to admire the beautiful and outstanding Moroccan architecture.

The Courtyard:
Entering through latticed doors the courtyard is spread out in front of you. With a large pool set in the marble floor, surrounded by channels that keep the water flowing and an Arabic inscription on the entryway which reads “You who enter my door, may your highest hopes be exceeded”.

It is truly a masterpiece, displaying Moroccan architecture. through the ages with diverse motifs, vibrant colours, and astounding tile work. The walls and columns are covered with “zellige” -colourful, geometric mosaic tile work with friezes of calligraphy above, then intricate stucco carving and finally everything is topped off by carved cedar wood.

At either end of the patio are two porticos with sturdy pillars, perfectly symmetrical and facing each other. They complement the open-air courtyard and also provide shelter from the sun and bad weather.

Unfortunately there are very few seats on which to sit and admire the incredible craftsmanship on display here, I felt like I just wanted to drink it all in and create a forever indelible memory to return to in the future.
Before leaving the courtyard behind to explore the upper quarters where the students lived it’s important to enter the prayer room at the far end of the courtyard, opposite the entrance. Look up and you will see beautiful honeycombed “mugarnas” on the domed ceiling.

Students Lodging:
All the students who studied here also lodged on the second level. With 130 rooms, up to 800 students could be accommodated at any one time spread out in dormitories arranged on different levels around the main courtyard and also around six other courtyards open to the sky to provide light (as shown in the photo below).
The stone pillars once again display the attention to detail adopted here with intricate patterns and engravings.

It is possible to walk through the corridors that the students would have used and enter many of the bedrooms. Those overlooking the courtyard are particularly worth looking into. No expense was spared here with some outstanding wooden engraving and decoration.

Both of us admire architecture and to see something so marvellously unique was a wonderful start to our trip.

Maison de la Photographie:
Less than a five minute stroll from the Medersa is this wonderful photography exhibition.

French Influence:
Historically France established control over Morocco from 1912 to 1956 making French the dominant language in official capacities such as in the government, education, and the media. It also influenced daily life and infrastructure within the country.
As a result the French language became a significant second language in Morocco, a trend that continues today. This led to a lasting influence where many Moroccan locals still speak French, especially in urban areas and the tourism industry, resulting in French names being used for some historical sites, businesses, and attractions.

The Maison de la Photographie de Marrakech has been open since 2009 and was established by Parisian Patrick Menac’h and Hamid Mergani from Marrakech itself. They both realised that they had individually been collecting vintage Moroccan photography and as a result opened this gallery in order to show people their collections. Their primary aim was to show the extraordinary diversity of Morocco, as seen by those, anonymous or famous, who visit it from the beginnings of photography until the modern period : 1860 – 1960.

Whilst parts of this three storey exhibition change every 6-12 months, the ground floor courtyard with rooms fanning off it are devoted to portraiture. Everyday life is dominant in the photos on display here. Below is one of my favourites of a little girl and her lamb.

Throughout the exhibition you also get to see once again some great examples of Moroccan interior design such as these wonderful windows.

And these balustrades….

Also on the ground floor you get to see the oldest photos on display here. Photographs which show how photography started here in Morocco when the first Europeans arrived with cameras and began documenting life here with images of Tangier taken between 1870 and 1900.

On the rooftop terrace you will find a cafe where we decided to purchase our first Moroccan food outside of the Riad. The cafe is at one of the highest points in the Medina and so affords some fantastic views alongside a cosy and comfortable area to sit and just take a breath.

As we do just that I’m going to take a pause in our adventure and let you join us on my next post as we continue our exploration of this wonderful city.…………………….