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Lily the International FashionistarsquosDiary 2 - Marrakesh Morocco

Off I Go

June 23rd 2016 Author Victoria Bowler RSS-Feed

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The day of travelling to Marrakesh arrived with some trepidation on my part I have

never been anywhere on the African continent and worried all night about what to

expect and whether I would be able to communicate and find my way around ok

That nervousness was paired with great excitement though for the beginning of my

fashionista journey

I am so glad that Mum and Dad are now encouraging my plans but Dadrsquos renditions

of ldquowersquore riding on the Marrakesh Expressrdquo were starting to drive me mad so it was

good to get going Bless them they dropped me to the airport even though I had a

really early flight ndash I felt like their little girl again and fought not to cry

Ever since I saw Sex and the City 2 I have wanted to follow Carrie and co to

Marrakesh it just looked so fabulous (Even though they were supposed to be in Abu

Dhabi in the movie filming actually took place in Morocco) To feed the new-found

fashionista inside of me it so happens that those Moroccan slipper-type shoes called

babouches are having a Vogue lsquoinrsquo moment The ones made trendy by Ceacuteline this

year donrsquot have the curly-up toe like Aladdinrsquos did but with prices ranging from 790-

1350 dollars (looking at the exchange rate thatrsquos about pound750) I think I will go and

have a look at the real thing to see if I like them and how much money I can save

Otherwise my redundancy pay wonrsquot last very long at all and I would rather spend

more money on a holiday than a pair of comfy flat shoes

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As a complete aside talking about exchange rates the pound has been dropping

quite dramatically (I know because when one is a global traveller one has to start

watching the financial reports darling) Apparently itrsquos a lot to do with the EU

referendum that we are all voting in this week Crazy

Anyway on with todayrsquos news so after a champagne (well prosecco) brekkie at

Gatwick airport about 5 hours later I arrived in Marrakesh and was so excited to get

to my hotel in the Medina Actually I am staying in a riad which is basically a

traditional Moroccan house with a courtyard it looks really gorgeous - as well as the

courtyard it has a pool and Hammam (Turkish bath never been in one of those

beforehellip)

Anyway I am unpacked freshened up and raring to go I think today I will see the Ben

Youssef Mosque which doesnrsquot look far on the map and generally get my bearings

then later I might have a swim and sauna at the hotel and try some tagine At least it

gets me out of watching the football

What a Great Place

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I would say my first fashionista trip has been a success what a wonderful place to

begin my story And surely I get bonus points for giving the Fez hat a miss

I wasnrsquot allowed into the mosque (when I checked my guide book again it clearly

states no admittance for non-Muslims to any mosques in Marrakesh) but I still

enjoyed the surrounding area for about an hour I have discovered mint tea grown

fond and respectful of the call to prayer and I LOVED the bustling Jemaacirc-el-Fna

square with all its wonderful food stalls entertainment and busy narrow souk-filled

alleyways stemming off it I was going to be brave and let a man put a snake around

my neck but screamed and ran away when it got too close And every evening I came

back to a nice relaxing drink on the hotel rooftop terrace which has fantastic views of

the city Sigh

And finally my fashion-item holiday inspiration the babouche Apparently they have

been around for centuries and they are basically an outdoors slipper with pointy toes

and no heel So comfortable more so than I expected and I was amazed by the vast

array available in the souks ndash an abundance of colour some adorned with beads or

silk embroidery as you can see from my holiday snap The shoes are all hand-stitched

and extremely exotic Slip them on and go I did feel strangely short after my high-

heeled broking days but for day-to-day wear they will be great and will look fantastic

with my crop jeans and maxi dresses And the best part After a bit of haggling (I

wasnrsquot brave enough to push it too far) I managed to get the seller down to 60

dirhams which equates to less than five pounds I like this Moroccan currency And

my strawberry red sequined babouches are definitely unique Take that Ceacuteline and

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Did I Save

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I didnrsquot have to get a taxi to the airport and they are picking me up again so that

saves at least pound50 I only saved pound10 on my flight by coming home a day earlier as I

booked it last-minute but every little helps ndash and returning a day earlier also means I

saved another potential pound30 on my hotel bill I havenrsquot had lunches and hardly any

alcohol so that must have saved me around pound40 And my new shoes cost me pound5

instead of Ceacutelinersquos pound750 so a saving of pound745 In total therefore I have saved 875

pounds - add on the airfare and hotel rates and I have still saved almost 630 pounds

GO LILY

On the downside Irsquom feeling like an idiot though because I think I made a big mistake

getting my currency at the airport Travelex desk ndash when I checked online to compare

prices of the shoes I realised that the exchange rate they gave me at the airport for

pound sterling to Moroccan dirham seems very hiked up Next time I will sort out my

currency before I pack my suitcase

Heading back home tomorrow I will miss the vibrancy of the lsquoRed Cityrsquo but I am

feeling very upbeat and canrsquot wait to tell my friends all about my little trip Plus of

course the rest of the world awaits me

(To see Lilyrsquos previous diary entries simply enter lsquolily currency solutionsrsquo on your

search engine or visit the Currency Solutions page)PDFmyURL lets you convert a complete website to PDF automatically

Keywords

fashion lily diary Marrakesh morocco dollar exchange rate currency

dirham pound sterling babouche vogue eu referendum

About the Author

Victoria BowlerContent Writer

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