Travelling with Ma and Pa Lee: The Marrakech Edition

Everyone blogs about travelling with kids, How to keep them amused. How to keep them fed and watered. And how to ensure they don’t go wandering off alone, speak to strangers and end up living in the desert with a tribe of Bedouins and a pet camel. Turns out travelling with septuagenarians (yes, I had to look that up) is similar. So here’s the Marrakech edition of “Travelling with Ma and Pa Lee”.

Want to read more about the time we took Ma and Pa Lee to London to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary? You can read all about that trip here! And our two cruises have also been taken with Ma and Pa Lee in tow.

Why Marrakech with Ma and Pa Lee?

Marrakech wasn’t actually on my radar. It was Pa Lee who casually expressed an interest in visiting. And you can’t mention anything travel-related in this family without me immediately looking up flights, hotels, useful blogs and starting a “Marrakech Family WhatsApp Chat”. I couldn’t trust Pa Lee to visit the souks alone and not swap Ma Lee for a camel and a carpet so naturally we decided we’d go along for the ride.

Travel Planning to suit Ma and Pa Lee

You’ve read about the trips Mr Fletche and I take. 25,000 steps a day, getting lost, and often winging it (despite meticulous research). But for this trip, it was important that we had some sort of plan (to actually stick to), kept the itinerary quite simple and built in plenty of down time.

I booked places to eat on both evenings, checking the menus beforehand. A walking tour so we could all benefit from an informed guide (rather than me spending all my time Emsplaining things I’d looked up on Google). Where to treat ourselves to a little rooftop beverage of the alcoholic variety in a largely dry city. Thus keeping Pa Lee happy. Sights that weren’t too costly, or too far away from the centre, or didn’t involve getting naked (yep, a hamman was out of the question). Places to eat where the food was authentically Moroccan, but not too authentically Moroccan (sheep head? Ma Lee says “Not for Netty”!)

And of course, occasionally things don’t go to plan. A cancelled desert tour meant no plans for our final evening. Rather than wandering around aimlessly, we selected a rooftop restaurant to visit with an unusual lack of debate and enjoyed a refreshing early night before our alarm call for our mid-morning flight. Relaxing in our rooms for once didn’t feel like a waste of our trip. Instead it felt like an opportunity to recharge. Even without parents, Marrakech isn’t a city to plunge headfirst into; the chaos and crowds meant we were extremely grateful for the downtime.

Access & mobility challenges

Marrakech is not the most accessible of cities. In a location famous for its rooftop terraces it can be difficult to find fully accessible places to eat and drink. Whilst Pa Lee is sprightly, Ma Lee does have issues with her knees which can make climbing stairs a painful challenge. And lifts are few and far between. So we took it nice and slow, keeping a buffer above and below in case of balance issues. And reminding Ma Lee that coming down one step at a time on her bum was always an option. Taking the piss is always a good distraction.

Although they occupied the ground floor room in our riad, they chose to climb the two floors to enjoy a rooftop breakfast. Giving us a wake-up call on the way. Our riad did offer the opportunity for breakfast to be served in the ground floor courtyard though, which makes it a slightly more accessible option.

Here are some pics of Ma Lee rocking her patterned trousers/patterned walking stick combo. See how she blends seamlessly into the background?

Actually, the presence of a walking stick could have literally opened doors for us. A gentleman working at Bahia Palace insisted we jump the ticket queue; Ma Lee however, polite as always, declined so as not to offend anyone. Three of us grumbled at this decision.

Although Marrakech is quite compact, there’s still a LOT of walking to be done as most of the attractions are best reached on foot. Ma Lee’s knee held up with the aid of a knee brace, plenty of rest stops and a lot of painkillers. An unnecessary hike across the city to find an ATM didn’t help matters. Yet she didn’t want to miss out on a moment.

Experiencing Marrakech with Ma and Pa Lee

Prior to our visit, its fair to say that we were all feeling a little apprehensive. Even Pa Lee couldn’t remember what had sparked his interest in Marrakech in the first place. And its a far cry from their usual type of holiday. Not to mention the first time Ma Lee has had to squeeze her entire holiday wardrobe into one carry-on case.

Our first impressions of the city didn’t help either. There was a wild taxi ride from the airport, an insane amount of traffic trying to get in and out of the city, and almost getting run over by at least seventeen motorbikes the second we got out of the taxi. Our riad host Said had to take us “the long way round” because of the congested streets. It’s hot, it’s dusty, it’s noisy. It’s an overwhelming introduction to the city for anyone, not least to Ma and Pa Lee. They’re more used to being transferred to their hotel in a luxury airconditioned bus.

Once we get to explore the maze-like streets of the medina alone, I see a shadow of confusion pass. How DO we find our way around? And that’s just me. As Mr Fletche and I start to familiarise ourselves, we point out landmarks and things to look out for. We don’t intend to leave Ma and Pa Lee alone at any point, but just in case, we need them to know how to get back to the riad. And we also need them to provide some sanity when Mr Fletche and I are bickering about the correct route. Which happens often.

I have educated Ma and Pa Lee beforehand on the do’s and don’ts of Marrakech. Pa Lee knows not to point at monkeys or snakes. And Ma Lee – a naturally friendly person – has been given specific instructions not to engage with anyone offering us directions. They are thankfully good students. In a country where there’s such a cultural difference – and particularly travelling during Ramadan – they are as fascinated and willing to learn as I am. Our riad hosts are eager teachers, from our first-floor room we often hear Ma Lee chatting away to the staff.

Marrakech Travel Blogs and Tips from A Brummie Home and Abroad
Book a tour through Get Your Guide
Book your free walking tour via Guruwalk
Find accommodation with Booking.com
Check Skyscanner for flights

Making memories

I’m so happy that after a lot of discussion, we finally got this trip out of the Family WhatsApp chat. This was a trip that Ma and Pa Lee would have never made alone. Even if they had, it would have been done very differently. To see them set foot not only in a new country but on a WHOLE NEW CONTINENT makes all the travel planning anxiety worth it. And I’ll keep on encouraging them to travel for as long as they are fit and healthy enough to.

So what’s next in the “Travelling with Ma and Pa Lee” series?

Pa Lee: “You know, I’ve always fancied Berlin…” Watch this space readers!