As if I haven’t traveled enough this year, I figured I would take one more big trip before 2014 was over. I cannot believe there are only 2 more months left in the year. INSANE. As I look back on this year of travel, I have crossed a few more cities off of my bucket list that I hadn’t been to yet and to complete my 2014 travels, Marrakech had to be on there.

I’m sure I am not the only one who sits down and watches every movie on Netflix and one lonely evening I came across Yves Saint Laurent’s documentary L’amour Fou . The movie follows the designers life from his time as the Creative Director of Dior to living in Marrakech and ever since I watched the movie, I have wanted to travel to Morocco. Well … a few months later and here I am jet lagged laying in my bed at La Mamounia in Marrakech typing this post for you to read. I got to experience this trip thanks to La Mamounia, Qatar Airways and The Brandman Agency along with a fantastic group including Beca Alexander of Fashion Indie, Lee Abbamonte the youngest American to travel to every country in the world, Ani Tzenkova of Trendland and Kelli Delaney of KD Hamptons.

Here are a few Marrakech facts for ya

• Marrakech is a city in Morocco that is in the Northwest part of Africa
• One of the busiest cities in Africa
• Arabic is the official language but people also speak French
• The city is split into two parts the old city, Medina and the new city, Gueliz

I’ll break down a travel diary for you all and post some pictures and a video to bring you along this journey with me. So here we go …

DAY 1-2

I left from JFK to begin my long journey. We flew Qatar Airways to get to Morocco, but the comfiness of business class made the long flight more than enjoyable. We left from New York, traveled to Doha, Qatar on a 12 hour flight.

After landing in Doha’s Hamad International Airport, we had a 9 hour layover where we enjoyed the business lounge, a massage at the Vitality Spa in the hotel that is INSIDE of the airport (crazy) then took a tour of the new Qatar Airways hub, which is one third the size of the city of Doha.  Between the lounge and the hotel, our time flew by so fast with an indoor pool, sandwich bar and our pampering time. After we relaxed, we got on an 8 hour flight to Casablanca.

DAY 2-3

We then took our Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Casablanca, Morocco. This took about 8 hours and although it was a long flight, it was more than luxe enough for us with lay down seats, desserts from Laudree and just about every movie you could think of. I slept most of the way so when we finally landed to Casablaca around 9am, I was well rested and ready for my day!

The airport is about a 2 and a half hour ride to Marrakech, so my friends and I got in a car and off we went. We arrived to the beautiful La Mamounia and I was in awe. I’m not the only one who was stunned by the property, Winston Churchill even said “it is the most lovely spot in the world”. The hotel is situated in town near one of the souks and a lot of local traffic but when you drive onto the property it feels like an oasis.

I would describe how it looked but my words can’t do it justice and my pictures hardly do either. It really is a beautiful property you just need to see in person for yourself.

We then checked into our rooms errrr suites and I pretty much could have got lost in a giant space all to myself. There was a huge walk in closet, a bathtub fit for a king and a bed that you just didn’t want to get out of.

As much as I wanted to enjoy my room, I made my way to have a poolside lunch then grabbed my camera and went to a local souk that was about a 5 minute taxi from the hotel. It was great to see, but I didn’t buy anything just yet. I wanted to wait and see what I would see the next few days of shopping.

Following a chilly day in the city, we returned back to the hotel and went directly to the spa for a traditional hammam followed by a massage. The spa has two traditional hammams and one private one. I started sitting in a warm sauna to relax, followed by an older lady who scrubbed my entire body, then wrapped me in a mud mask and rinsed me off! Then I had a glass of traditional Moroccan mint tea and got a massage.  I woke up and found that my spa treatment was over and quickly got ready for dinner at Le Marocain, one of the hotel’s many delicious restaurants. I even tried lamb brain!

DAY 4

This was a longggg day around Marrakech! We started with breakfast at La Mamounia’s poolside restaurant Le Pavillion de la Piscine and went out for a trek around the city. The highlight of my day was visiting Jardin Majorelle. This is a garden made famous by Yves Saint Luarent and it was everything I hoped it would be.

It was designed by the French artist Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s and 30s, but Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge took ownership in the 80s and after Saint-Laurent passed away in 2008, his ashes were scattered there along with a statue and plaque in memorial of him.

As soon as you walk in, you want to pull out your phone and start taking photos because everything is so picturesque. The electric blue walls and vases with pops of yellow serve as the perfect backdrop for you to pose in front of.  If you visit Marrakech, I would go here 100% even if flowers aren’t your thing, it is stunning.

A friend of mine mentioned a place above the spice market to go for lunch with a rooftop view and coincidentally that is where we ended up. Le Terrasse des Epices  is a nice getaway from the busy souk alleys. We enjoyed traditional Moroccan food, I had the chicken skewers, these cheese triangle things and some mint tea. I would recommend this place for lunch or even just to stop by for a tea to see a view from above.

Following our charming lunch, I was so stuffed and we continued our day with more shopping and saw a presentation of traditional caftans by a local designer. Each one was hand made with intricate beaded details and were very expensive around a few thousand dollars. But if you can, I would splurge and buy one because they really were pieces of art. And just like art in the  museums, you can’t take photos of the caftans either so you will just have to find the shop for yourself to see how wonderfully made they are.

We finally got back to the hotel and I got on wifi immediately to go through a bunch of emails and before I knew it, it was time for dinner. There are 4 restaurants on the property, so lucky for me I didn’t have to even leave to get an incredible meal. We ate at the L’Italien by Don Alfonso, an Italian restaurant where I ordered a pasta with shaved white truffle, after all it is truffle season and then followed my first course with chicken milanese and a few too many glasses of red wine that put me right to bed.

DAY 5

Today was a more relaxed day to explore La Mamounia and Marrakech . I woke up and it was very chilly outside so I bundled up in my leather jacket to have a poolside breakfast with some fresh squeezed orange juice and more mint tea.

Following breakfast, I walked around the grounds and did some exploring with Beca of Fashion Indie and Nylon Media and took some photos for my blog.  I then changed into something a little more comfortable and cooler because the weather warmed up and it turned out to be a  lovely day in the Red City.

Someone on Instagram recommended lunch at Grand Café De La Poste in Gueliz, so we hopped in a taxi and went there to sit and eat outside. The restaurant had a French colonial vibe with a French and Moroccan menu. I had the artichoke ravioli, a special for the day and filled up on bread and butter oops! I even splurged and had Coca-cola light, I never drink pop in the States but I love the taste of it overseas with a slice of lemon.

After lunch, we did a little bit of shopping in Gueliz at Stradivarius, a store I fell in love with in Paris … I accidentally left with a few pairs of shoes my last visit there. When shopping was over, we went to look for camels.  We didn’t have time to plan a trip out of the city to go to the desert for the full experiencece, but we did manage to find a few of them in the Medina. I didn’t actually ride it but I got a picture next to one which was good enough for me! If you are wanting to ride camels, look for a trip ahead of time and schedule out a day to go on a car ride to Palmeraie. Your hotel should be able to help you book it.

This was a Friday and I really wanted to go to the night market in Jemaa el Fna. It was an exciting and entertaining place to see at night. A travel tip would be to visit the night market with a group of people or  I would suggest to go during the day to get the best experience.

The square was filled with performers and people selling goods, food and chances to play with a monkey! After the crazy evening at Jemaa el fan, I stayed in and got some work done on my computer and ended my Friday with a bubble bath, a glass of local Moroccan wine and the November issue of Vanity Fair.

DAY 6

Good morning Marrakech! It is my last day already, this trip has gone by so fast. I just woke up and ordered room service this morning and enjoyed it on my balcony that opens up from the bedroom and sitting area of my suite. I had to have some fresh squeezed orange juice, they serve it most places in Marrakech and it is so sweet and delightful.

Now I am packing my bags and doing one last walk around the property to look around and see if there are any little gems I missed the chance to take a picture of. La Mamounia is on a 17 acre park, so I’m positive there are some things here I haven’t got to see yet. After that I will meet our group for lunch one last time at Le Pavillion de la Piscine, the Mediterranean restaurant by the pool and then get my things together to head to the Casablanca airport.

The car ride from La Mamounia to Casablanca was about 2 and a half hours, this airport is small and has a LOT of traffic so if you are flying out of this airport be sure to arrive with plenty of time to check-in. We then settled into the business lounge then tried to do a little airport shopping for last minute gifts.

I was pretty excited that the Qatar Airways flight to Doha had wifi, so I signed on and got some work done on the 6 hour flight. I didn’t want to sleep even though I was so tired so I could sleep on the longer flight to JFK and try to adjust myself back to US time to avoid jet lag. Another travel tip is I usually try to sleep during evening of whatever time zone I am arriving to so that when I get there, the adjustment isn’t so bad.

As I type this, I am sitting in the lounge in Doha waiting to board my flight. This week went by so fast so far! 12 more hours to go and I’ll be back in America!

DAY 7

After a 12ish hour flight from Doha to JFK, I have finally landed back in America. I watched a few movies on the flight, caught up on sleep and now I am ready to get back home and unpack after an incredible trip to Morocco! I hope you take a trip to Marrakech soon to experience everything I got to do and more. Stay tuned for a travel vlog on my youtube channel very soon.

A big big thank you to La Mamounia, Qatar Airways, and The Brandman Agency  for your generosity on this incredible trip!

Be sure to check out everyone’s posts from this trip: Beca Alexander of Fashion Indie, Lee Abbamonte the youngest American to travel to every country in the world, Ani Tzenkova of Trendland and Kelli Delaney of KD Hamptons