Before going to Marrakech, one of the most common words I've heard used to describe it was, "crazy".  Crazy in the sense of a lot of people crammed into small spaces, getting hustled, and donkeys causing traffic jams in the streets.  Honestly sounds kind of like New York, only in New York you encounter a different kind of ass in the street.  While we were in Iceland a year ago, Linnea and I thought Marrakech would be an exciting contrast to the dreamy land of rainbows and ponies we were currently in.  It's like I forgot that I had to spend a full year in New York crazy mode before we would get to Marrakech, so when the time rolled around, I was kind of ancy that it'd be a continuation of my anxiety. Lucky for us, we found the most dazzling and perfect oases the city had to offer. I was so relaxed!

Once I got my bag after it was lost in Portugal for a day, everything was lovely. There's something really special about arriving at a Moroccan riad after walking through the ancient medina.  The soft echo of footsteps were met with the sound of a tall pour of traditional sweet mint tea. Every riad feels like a solid fortress with walls and heavy wooden doors that have withstood the test of time through centuries.  They look as plain as a wall from the outside, but inside there's a magical embrace that immediately fills you with calm. Both of our riads had open ceilings in the center with a small pool below, and ornate tile work on every inch of floor. The roofs were our own private escape and the best place to see the orange Moroccan sunset.

Between the two riads we stayed at, we took a little one nighter out to the Agafay Desert, a rock desert about 40 minutes from Marrakech. The best part, other than the cute camels, was the four wheeling. We actually got to go real fast and were out for about two hours. Usually you get gypped with that kind of thing and they give you the child speed safety key, but this was pretty awesome.  Full on horsepower hill after hill. Halfway through, we stopped in the middle of nowhere to have tea in a tent.

I'm not a big shopper, but shopping is one of the main reasons I would come back to Marrakech. The designer in me couldn't stop myself. The home goods, decor and textiles here are just stunning and wildly unique. And so reasonable. I would highly recommend packing a half empty suitcase so you have room to bring back a ton of goodies.

Photos are a mix of Canon5D MKIII + iPhone X.

Where we stayed (and would stay again): Airbnb, Riad Yasmine, Agafay Desert Camp