In the Jardin Majorelle

 January 19,

Today, Lindsay, Haily, and I went on a tour of the Jardin Majorelle, the Berber Museum, and the Yves St. Laurent Museum. (More on that one later.) While waiting in line, we discovered that tickets had to be purchased in advance, so we purchased a combo ticket online for the next available time. Since we had an hour to kill, we walked among the charming shops and restaurants in the area, noting souvenirs that we wanted to come back and buy once our tour was over. This was a self-guided tour through winding, plant-lined paths. The Jardin Majorelle is a botanical garden that was designed and constructed by French artist Jacques Majorelle. He built his Moorish-style house on the land and constructed the garden around it. The construction took over forty years. 

          

         

The Berber Museum was an interesting journey through Berber history, but we were not allowed to take pictures inside. The various exhibits featured weapons, tools, traditional clothing, and jewelry. I admit that I broke the rules and took a couple of photos before a guard admonished me. 

                                

What we did not get to see was the Yves St. Laurent Museum- at least I am not sure that we did. The pathways were winding, the signage was unclear, and the workers weren't particularly helpful, as most of them didn't seem to speak English and answered our questions with gestures. We went into a building that we thought was a museum but it was more of a shop. After exiting the shop, we had a light meal in the Cafe Bousafaf, which is located on the grounds of the Jardin Majorelle. I had vegetable briouat, a flaky, triangular Moroccan pastry stuffed with vegetables, a garden salad, and lemon cake for dessert.  We also sampled a traditional Moroccan tea called Sultan's tea, which was a combination of orange and mint leaves. After leaving, we returned to the shops and bought a few trinkets before walking back to our AirBnb. 

                                   

Later on, I went on a solo adventure, looking for a herb shop that I read about online. Called Herbalism Marrakesh, Lindsay, Haily, and I had tried, without success, to find it yesterday. Today, armed with a new address, I walked 30 minutes back to the souks, and continued following the very unreliable Google map, until I arrived at a shop that was surrounded by people. Apparently, there was a celebrity inside and they weren't letting anyone in until he left. I don't know who "Speed" is, but this crowd did, and they followed him through the souks as he left the shop. Meanwhile, I completed my mission, and purchased a variety of teas, soaps, and facial products before returning to the AirBnB.