Marrakech

Yves Saint Laurent memorial in the Majorelle Gardens

Bahia Palace

Central square in Marrakech (with snake charmers!)

Majorelle Gardens

Yesterday we took an all day trip to Marrakech, about 3 hours south of Casablanca, at the foot of the Atlas Mountains.  First stop was the Majorelle Gardens, built by French painter Jacques Majorelle in 1919 to house his collection of plants from 5 continents.  Yves Saint Laurent established a trust for the gardens and his ashes are in a memorial there.  We then entered the Marrakech medina and toured the Bahia Palace, the only royal palace in Morocco open to the public.  The palace was built for the wives and concubines of the grand vizier to the sultan, and has been the location for many movies.  We also had lunch near the central square and saw snake charmers and monkey trainers in the square.