Six days of annual leave left to take, a desire to take a short haul flight to somewhere sunny and a couple of weeks to plan it in. The only challenge….it’s February. After a lot of playing around on Skyscanner, the short list was whittled down to either Lanzarote or Marrakech. We absolutely made the right choice.

The first few nights were spent in the heart of the Souks, in Riad Romance. The Riad is an oasis of calm, hidden away down a maze of chaotic alleyways and lanes. As soon as we arrived we were offered fresh mint tea and pastries next to the pool while the fantastic owners gave us the lowdown on what to see and where to go in the city. I would definitely recommend taking the organised transfer from the airport to the hotel, as I have no idea how on earth you would find the guesthouse otherwise!

For the next few days we ambled around the markets and the historical buildings, drank mint tea and ate some excellent food. The markets and squares were a riot of colour, people and activity, They were full of everything I imagined they would be – snake charmers, monkeys, exotic reptiles. George is convinced that some of the snakes were synthetic though! By far the best evening meal was served right by the pool in our hotel, made with ingredients fresh from the local market.

In general we felt very safe walking around the city centre. Some of the younger local men like to play a game where they send you in totally the opposite direction of where you are aiming for. The first time this happened, we felt a bit intimidated as we thought they were trying to send us to a dangerous neighbourhood. It seems though that they just get a kick out of being annoying. Lesson learned…trust your map reading skills!

The Bahia Palace is a stunning example of Moroccan architecture.

The Majorelle Gardens, situated a short walk outside the city, were built in the 1920s and then restored in the 1980’s by Yves Saint-Laurent. They are vibrant and beautiful, although rather full of tourists taking selfies!

For the final few nights, we stayed in an all-inclusive hotel (Eden Andalou) a few miles outside of the city. Although the hotel was very nice, and the pool was ginormous, we could have been anywhere in the world. The food was made to cater for the masses, which meant it was very beige and there wasn’t a tagine to be had anywhere! The pool was icy cold, which didn’t seem to deter George. Several people decided to jump in for a dip after him, but they instantly regretted it and clambered out quickly. All except the ‘macho’ men who were tough enough to manage at least half a length! There was nothing else to do except read a good book, lie on a lounger and enjoy the view.