Marrakech (Morocco) - The metropolis of Atlas tribes

MARRAKECH (Morocco)
15 October - 21 October 2017

Marrakech is relentless, your senses are accosted with fervour and persistence. Chaotic, lively and at many times invasive, the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and touches of all things that will surround will also inevitably challenge the way you think, feel and act. 

Next stop on the Magical Mystery Tour - MARRAKECH

Barcelona El Prat airport - Spain

Riad Arabo-Andolouse- Marrakech Medina - Morocco

My first few days in Marrakech happened 9 years prior to this trip. Within the first 25 minutes of arriving in the city I had my mobile phone stolen and paid for the privilege, was pounded by 50 degree heat, was preyed upon by pickpockets and was hassled relentlessly in the main square, Djemma El Fna. It was only on my last day that the turn happened, the point in time where the madness, the characters, the oddities and frenzy of the city settled sufficiently for me to appreciate Marrakech for its point of difference and how special it truly was.

I returned to Marrakech 2 years after the initial visit, far wiser. I was more alert, aware of the environment and experienced enough to know how to negate the annoyances around the edges that can drive some people to turning their backs on such a magnetic place. 

This time, now on my 3rd visit, I was comfortable with the situation. I was far more pragmatic in my approach and thus was able to offer Inga my advice on how to navigate the myriad of events that we would inevitably be thrust into.

Marrakech Medina - Morocco

The Red City (or Pink City) of Marrakech - Morocco

Marrakech - Morocco

The gorgeous outdoor patio of La Comptoir Darna - Marrakech - Morocco

The city has so many different facets to it. Mystical, moody, magnetic, alluring, chaotic, crazy. It's a city whose frenzied approach to all things goes directly against the far more measured approach of Europeans. Nothing typifies this more when you're attempting to haggle in souk and the process finishes without a sale. There's always an initial outburst from the sales person (always a man, so I'll say salesman), where they seem on the verge of telling you where to shove your dirhams. Their ferocious haggling techniques, ability to coerce and sell is legendary but beaten only by their short fuses. Still, walk away for a few minutes and come back to same person and all will be forgotten. There's a certain nonsensical allure to that.

La Foundouk - Marrakech - Morocco

Marrakech - Morocco

Marrakech - Morocco

Marrakech - Morocco

Marrakech - Morocco

Marrakech - Morocco

For me the Medina turns magical in the evening. Navigating the labyrinth of its back alleys with the assistance of extremely dim, yellow hued lamps, only adds to its sense of mystery. I mean that's the cool thing about being in a place you don't know, that feeling of excitement and anxiety that is so far removed from the mundane and routine at home. That part of travel, to me, is one of the most engaging. So when it comes to understanding the puzzle of Marrakech, all you can really say is that it's enigmatic. Bewildering, secret, and bold & brash. All elements are going to envelope you in one way or another.

We stayed for a total of six days in Marrackech, although admittedly 2 of those days we spent in the Moroccan Sahara near Merzouga and another day fully in the Atlas Mountains.

Our itinerary in Marrakech was full, and intentionally so. This is the type of place where the best you can do it keep up with it.

Marrakech - Morocco

Marrakech - Morocco

Marrakech - Morocco

Quad biking outside of Marrakech - Morocco

Quad biking outside of Marrakech - Morocco

Djemma El Fna at night - the buzz is quite something - Marrakech - Morocco

Djemma El Fna - Marrakech - Morocco

Of course spent a bit of time walking through the souks, which as many times as I've been there always appear to be endless. I don't think I've ever walked through and identified the other side,  which beckons the question of whether there really is an 'end' to the trade and commerce, or if perhaps its a portal to another dimension. You really can't take anything for granted in Marrakech because all is possible in the city. With all its strands of commerce and trade and the way the population has shaped the nature of its souks, its way of life is typified in the manner in which it does things right here. The medina surrounds this central spot, therefore this is the true epicentre of life in this Red City.

Perhaps its beyond my capacity to mention all aspects of Marrakech in one entry, so let me state some of the highlights below.

Quad biking outside of Marrakech - Morocco

Taking a rest from quad biking, mint tea, bread & honey - just the ticket, or tonic.

Djemma El Fna during the day - Marrakech - Morocco

Our guide to La Foundouk - Marrakech - Morocco

Marrakech - Morocco

Marrakech - Morocco

Dinner at Le Fondouk - for me, getting to Le Fondouk is the highlight of this experience. Hidden in the back alleys of the medina is a wonderful restaurant but getting there on your own would only be for the intrepid. When you do arrive a guide takes you with the aid of a lantern through the backstreets to the restaurant itself. For ambience & atmosphere this place is an absolute must.

Evening food tour - Absolutely fantastic. We took a guided tour through the souk and tried delicacies that we may not have considered on our own. Goats head (I ate the eye ball, which was in fact delicious), snails, specific food stalls in Djemma El Fna. All the food was tasty, delicious and probably would not have made it onto our radar without the necessary guidance.

Quad Bike tour - Half day quad bike tour outside of Marrakech. An exhilarating experience cruising through the parched countryside and into the foot hills surrounding the city

Drinks at Comptoir Darna - sitting out on the patio at Comptoir Darna, having sheesha and a few drinks is just a magical experience. Moody & atmospheric, just like Marrakech itself.

Dinner at La Mamounia - Set on a formal royal estate from the 12th century, this hotel is stunning and having dinner outside in their gardens just a real pleasure

Barcelona (Spain) - Your breakaway city

BARCELONA (Spain)

15 October 2017

First stop on the Magical Mystery tour  was the mighty city of Barcelona. To me, on the face of it at least, it appears to have all the qualities of a great city. Somehow when you look up liveability indexes  however then Barcelona slides down to just outside the top 40 (coming in at 41), just ahead of the likes of London & New York. So it’s definitely in good company.

Casting your eye over the top ten you encounter the likes of Vienna, Zurich, Vancouver, Munich. Swiss, German and Austrian, with a splash of Kiwi and Canadian in the mix. These cities, admittedly are impressive but in that perfect structure of civic structure & egalitarian sense. Punctual, ordered, measured. Somehow to me they lose something in character. They’re manicured and manufactured beauty certainly provides for liveability but what about excitement, character, dynamic lifestyle. List a Zurich against a Barcelona or a Frankfurt against  a Madrid or a Geneva against a Budapest and the latter, in my estimation, beats the former on every occasion.

Barcelona - Spain

Our stop in Barcelona, however brief, was enough time for me to organise a catch-up with Inga’s her good friend Agnete and her husband Krisjanis. This would be the first time the both of them had seen each other since our wedding and a nice way for all of us to get together and have a few afternoon drinks before out later flight to Marrakech (which Inga did not know of as yet).

Barcelona - Spain

Placa de Sant Agusti Vell - Barcelona - Spain

It seems everywhere you go in Barcelona there are cool bars or restaurants just awaiting you arrival and to support you in having a good time. The maze like structure of the Gothic Quarter or El Born can just draw you into its labyrinth of frivolity and there you’re bound to stay, hopelessly relinquishing control to the ‘good time vibe’ that is pervasive here.

El Born - Barcelona - Spain

We spent those hours chatting, having a few drinks and just having a good time, although ‘time’ certainly we did not have enough off. Over committed and under supplied, hours 4 hours of availability was deducted in the blink of an eye. Still, for a precursor and warm up to the rest of the Magical Mystery tour this teaser was a gem.

The Magical Mystery tour - Barcelona (Spain) - Marrakech (Morocco) - Lisbon (Portugal) - Dublin (Ireland)

The Magical Mystery tour
Barcelona (Spain) - Marrakech (Morocco) - Lisbon (Portugal) - Dublin (Ireland)
15 October 2017 - 29 October 2017

The Magical Mystery Tour book - 'clue provider'

All will be revealed here!

The Magical Mystery Tour book

Prior to departure - Riga - Latvia

Perhaps wedding presents should be more practical, more obvious or somehow more sedate. When I was thinking of what I could give to Inga as a gift on the day of our wedding all that popped into my head were the places that at one time or another we had discussed wanting to see together.

Marrakech - I was already familiar with but when I told my stories to Inga the city always came across as raucous, chaotic, engaging and challenging. Why wouldn't you want to go to a place like that and take your first step onto the African continent?

I took this photo in Gdansk - Poland

This was several months prior to the Magical Mystery Tour - a week or so prior to our wedding

subliminal messaging

Lisbon - The graceful and charming city on the outskirts of Euro-Central. A city that is now in a tourist driven renaissance also had to be there.

Dublin - Home of song, dance, tall tales and good cheer. Neither of us had been to Dublin before but intuitively felt that there was something there for the both of us that we'd enjoy.

The concept of the Magical Mystery tour germinated from a small idea in my mind and then grew around the central protagonist (a book of clues). I had the idea that the book would have several different parts to it, revealing clues to the next destination but not to the one following. Inga would only know which destination we'd be heading to just before the flight.

The Magical Mystery Book - Dublin page

From this it only seemed logical that I would dub it the Magical Mystery tour,  one that had a ready made them song to support our journey.

So lets dot it, Roll up, Roll up....Roll up for the Mystery Tour

Solna - Stockholm (Sweden) - Gimme Shelter

SOLNA – STOCKHOLM – SWEDEN

12 October – 13 October 2017

You simply can’t pass up the opportunity to see some living legends ply their trade when they’re going to be working in your neighbourhood. With the Rolling Stones scheduled to play at the Friends Arena in Solna (Stockholm), the 55 min flight from Riga to Stockholm was akin to me taking a train from Seven Hills station to Sydney, in terms of the time taken to get into the city. In that sense it  was a no-brainer, considering the proximity to us we were just going to have to see the Stones play live.

1962! Can you believe that's the year the first stable Stones line started hitting their straps!? That’s before the moon landing, prior to the Kennedy assassination,  and only 8 years after Elvis Presley started shaking his hips full-time. The Rolling Stones have been around are in the midst of their third generation of influence.  I remember as a 10 year old hearing about the Stones releasing another album, this was back in the mid-80’s, and even then there had been murmurs about when these 40 years olds would be retiring. My, weren’t those calls grossly premature.

Getting ourselves to Solna from Riga was a dream. A simple 10 min cab ride to Riga airport, a 55 min flight to Arlanda and then a short bus ride to Solna, on the outskirts of Stockholm, the bus stop of which was located directly opposite the The Winery Hotel where we had booked in for the night.

How could you go past staying at the The Winery Hotel, especially considering it was within easy walking distance of Friends Arena where the gig would be on! Another ‘no-brainer’. 

That dude has 'Moves like Jagger'

The Rolling Stones - Friends Arena - Solna - Sweden

The Rolling Stones - Friends Arena - Solna - Sweden

The hotel touts itself as being the world’s first combined urban winery and boutique hotel. Making use of their vineyards in Tuscany, their wines are made in Italy mostly, and I believe a few onsite also. The feel of the hotel is industrial, open and spacious, having a Brooklyn meets Tuscany feel, in the words of the hotel website. From our perspective, visually the hotel was pleasing and the concept itself was impressive enough. Where the hotel fell well short however was their failure to plan in accordance to known circumstances. Obviously a number of people had booked in to the hotel for the show but availability to food and alcohol between 1pm and 5pm, peak check-in time, was grossly under resourced. In fact it wasn’t resourced at all. The hotel restaurant was closed, so too was the bar. Access to wine was only via the self-serve machines, a novelty for sure but somewhat redundant when what we really wanted to do was find some food in an area that was devoid of it. In the end we were pointed the way to some nearby service stations. Well done Winery Hotel, you really recognised how to make your clients feel valued and how to add additional credence to your ‘five star’ mentality.

Meanwhile at Friends Arena the queues were insane, and for Sweden, unexpectedly disorganised. Crowds flooded under-staffed gates and advice as to the correct gates for entry were both cryptic and disjointed. Still, typically for a Swedish crowd, the masses were sedate and not too emotional with the snail like pace of entry. Certainly had the concert been further south there would have been far more emotional scenes that those we encountered here.

The Rolling Stones - Friends Arena - Solna - Sweden

Standing in the crowd you could easily see the inter-generational impact the band has had. There were audience members of the same age as the band, my own ages, twenty-something and teenagers. All of them either knew the songs, had grown up with them or had a grand-father that loved listening to them, and of course, these days seeing these guys is as much an event as listening to the music. Forever and the day they, as well as Inga & myself, will be able to say that we saw these guys play live.

The flattery as to their social impact and their music generally stops where their live show commenced. As 70+ year olds these pensioners are an inspiration for many reasons, and hence, it shouldn’t have been a surprise to allow the show to move at a pensioner pace, but as a fan that’s not what you want. You want the energy and frenetic pace of band that is recognised for its live performances. To me and to Inga it felt kind of tepid and meek. It was almost as if they were performing a parody of their younger selves, although this was serious. The music of course was great but the dynamic, the animation and vigour felt like it was missing.

Inga and I stayed around for about half the show. Enough to get an idea of what they’re about but not engaging enough to be taken on the journey.

Still, living legends exist for a reason. They are brilliant, that is for certain.

Here's the set-list from the night

Artist: The Rolling Stones
Location: Friends Arena - Solna - Sweden
Tour: No Filter

Setlist

  

1. Sympathy for the Devil
   Play Video
2. It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)
   Play Video
3. Tumbling Dice
   Play Video
4. Just Your Fool
   (Buddy Johnson and His Orchestra cover)
   Play Video
5. Ride 'Em on Down
   (Eddie Taylor cover)
   Play Video
6. Under My Thumb
   Play Video
7. Sweet Virginia
   (by request)
   Play Video
8. You Can't Always Get What You Want
   Play Video
9. Paint It Black
   Play Video
10. Honky Tonk Women
    (followed by band introductions)
    Play Video
11. Happy
    (Keith Richards on lead vocals)
    Play Video
12. Slipping Away
    (Keith Richards on lead vocals)
    Play Video
13. Miss You
    Play Video
14. Midnight Rambler
    Play Video
15. Street Fighting Man
    Play Video
16. Start Me Up
    Play Video
17. Brown Sugar
    Play Video
18. Jumpin' Jack Flash
    Play Video
19. Encore:
20. Gimme Shelter
    Play Video
21. (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction