Milan, Marrakech, & Madrid
Milan, 05/06 - 05/08
For the entirety of the trip, my friend Jake and I backpacked Greece (check out my prior post), Italy, Morocco, and then he departed back to the United States from Spain. Our flight left from Athens at 6:00AM, so we had to get up at 3 LOL. We flew into the Bergamo Italy airport, an hour drive outside of the city, and then took a bus to the city center. We walked around for a bit and stumbled upon Bosco Verticale, a residential tower that translates to Vertical Forest. It was so cool to actually see it in person!!! Our airbnb was located in Chinatown, a really cool & different part of the city. We took a nap and then ventured around the nearby neighborhoods. We grabbed dinner (I had a formaggio pizza) and then we had a wine night at the airbnb. We watched Sex & the City 2 and went to bed, we were EXHAUSTED.
We visited the Milan Cathedral (such an incredible piece of architecture), and then went shopping!! Jake had a list of items he had to pick up for his fam back in the states because it’s tax free. We went to Longchamp, Louis Vuitton, Versace, and a bunch of other designer stores. We felt so rich walking into all of these stores and walking around with all of these huge bags, even though none of it was for us LOL. We were literally so boujee.
I got some suggestions for things to do in Milan from my Italian architecture studio professors, one of which was the Triennale di Milano (a design and art museum.) The only regret I had was not arriving early enough to see the entire exhibit. The new installation, Broken Nature, displayed concepts that explored the connection between humans, design, and the natural environment. So fucking cool. Afterwards, we grabbed some dinner at Pizza Ok, a restaurant that listed 100+ pizza. SOO GOOD!!! Jake and I split a pepper and 4 cheese pizza & a bottle of Prosecco. We headed back to the apartment and got ready for our 6am flight to Morocco!!!
Morocco, 05/08 - 05/11
The practicing Muslims citizens of Marrakesh (most of the population) were celebrating Ramadan (May 5th-June 4th), a holy month abstaining from eating/drinking, sexual activity, and smoking from sunrise to sunset. Imagine that. Like it was 100 degrees and it blows my mind that not being able to digest a single drop of water. Literally insane. Most of the clubs and a few restaurants were closed, but it didn’t effect us that much. We had to go through customs and do all the security shit cause we were traveling from the EU to Africa, so that was kinda annoying. The flight was really cheap tho, like €30. We took a taxi from the airport to our hotel, Riad Rabahsadia. Everyone drove motorcycles, bikes, or donkeys lol. There was literally no traffic laws. People were just walking everywhere they wanted. We met with one of the hotel staff on the streets and then he walked us down a couple sketchy alleyways to the hotel. The entrance was literally just a wooden door that we had to knock on to enter lol. However, it opened up to a beautiful courtyard, something I was not expecting. We dropped our luggage off and then went to the central square where the Souks were located. The Souks of Marrakesh was an area where people sold literally everything. It was basically an exotic marketplace. Homemade goods like leather belts, shoes, and jewelry were found everywhere. You always had to be on guard. People were always looking to sell us something, literally dragging us into their stores and begging. I once got punched in the arm and yelled “fuck you, go play with the snakes in the square,” because I didn’t buy a t-shirt lol. We didn’t have internet on our phones so we were walking with no direction. We accidentally walked to an area where we should have not have been lol. We were the only tourist, and we stuck out so much. Someone almost stole Jake’s wallet and then the locals were trying to guide us into the wrong direction (I am assuming they were going to rob us). We finally got back to the more touristy area and had lunch at a small cafe. We stumbled upon the Marrakech Museum, and then walked back to the hotel to get ready and checkin. We had dinner at Cafe Arabe where I had the best fillet ever ommmmg. We got trashed and then walked around for bit. The town felt a lot safer at night because no one was trying to sell to you or guide you into the wrong direction. We assumed everyone was at prayer for Ramadan.
The following day we took a taxi to the outskirts of the city and rode CAMELS!!! Jake’s camel was pregnant and mine was only a year old, but she was huge. We named them Beyonce and Beverly. We were served a traditional tea made from mint and a bunch of other herbs. We walked around the Souks for the rest of the day and then went to s fancy dinner where I had a chicken breast. Jake and I had our eyes set on these Balenciaga shoes since we stepped into the marketplace. All of the stores sold fake/stolen merchandise. There were Gucci belts, Versace shirts, Chanel perfume. Literally so much. Half of it didn’t look fake. Like it had to be stolen lmao. We were so stupid. We strolled up lookin rich af with our designer brand sunglasses, Apple Watch on our wrists, and our hands decked out in jewelry. We were taken down this area where they sold everything we wanted. We tried on a couple pairs of shoes, picked out some shirts, and then bargained. HE WANTED €700 FOR 2 PAIRS OF SHOES AND 2 SHIRTS. LOL. We walked away and were literally trapped. Like we couldn’t get out of the area, so we were forced into buying 2 shirts for €50 lol. The man started shoving us, like it was so scary.
Every morning, our hotel provided us a traditional Morrocan breakfast. Msemen, Harcha, and Baghrir were served every morning with different kind of jam. It was kinda similar to a flakey pancake. We went to the Majorelle Gardens and the Saint Laurent Museum. So fucking beautiful. It was nice to get away from the hustle of the city and just walk around and take in nature. The 3 acre botanical garden also held an African jewelry museum which was pretty sweet. We walked around for a bit and then grabbed dinner and a mojito. Alcohol was hard to get at restaurants, so we went back to the one we already went to.
We checked out of our hotel on May 11th, grabbed some lunch, and then headed to the airport for our next stop. Madrid!!!
Madrid, 05/11 - 05/13
We landed around 9pm and the sun was literally still out, it was so weird. We checked into our hostel Hostal Miralva, and then we freaked out because there weren’t any lockers to store our stuff. Note: Jake bought $2,000+ worth of Louis that he was bringing back to the States, so he was freaking. We ended up leaving and getting a hotel down the street lmao.
We walked around for a bit & then went to this weird ass club where everyone was moshing and throwing fists. The drinks were cheap, so we stayed for bit. We barhopped for the rest of the night & then went to Macdonald’s :)
We walked around Madrid for the afternoon and grabbed tapas & a jug of sangria for lunch, we were trashed by 2 lol. I forced Jake into walking to Caixa Forum, a museum I leaned about in school that’s fricken amazeballs. We visited another Louis Vuitton and then took a nap at the hotel. That night we ordered the LITERALLY THE BEST STEAK I HAVE EVER HAD, to die for. We went a casino afterwards where I lost all my money and Jake ended up doubling the money I gave him, so technically it was mine :) Our flight to Barcelona left early the next morning, so we packed our bags and went to bed.
