A day in Marrakesh....

Having breakfast after catching up on some much needed sleep. We didn't actually get to see as much as we might have liked in Marrakesh, because we were so tired. We slept in Christmas morning instead of sight seeing.

Amazing....even a "Santa" in Morocco! :)

Jim and Jenny heading into the Medina in Marrakesh. The look on Jenny's face is because of the snake charmers all around us...

Walking through the Medina.....something of everything for everyone!!

Jenny sampling the colorful, assorted candies. Taste result....ick! :)

Beautiful colors everywhere you looked!

Odd animals everywhere you looked also!

Colorful hats and scarves and necklaces and .......you name it!

Another tuckered out kitty!

Some of the halls of the Medina are quite tight....especially because everything from people to motor bikes to donkeys to kids are going through them all at the same time!!!

The wood carver was tuckered out too! :)

Merry Christmas! We were toasting the special day with fresh squeezed orange juice!  Yummy!!

Jim liked this cat's black goatee.

I liked that he chose this warm trunk lid to sit on for his afternoon nap!

Right....what would a Medina be without the snake charmers!  Yikes!

...and the pet monkeys!

After another 4 hour ride in the car we were back in Casablanca and heading to Rick's Cafe for Christmas dinner!

What a fun dinner we had. The food was great and the restaurant (copied from the old movie "Casablanca") was very entertaining.

The only thing that was really from the movie was the bar that they had shipped in from Hollywood. :) But the rest of the restaurant ....right down to the manager in a white coat and the help with the cute crimson hats on.....was just like in the movie!

Lastly, was home to open gifts! Monk and Max (my grandcats) weren't with us this year. They were home with a sitter. But Santa even brought something for their stockings!

Then, we ended the evening with a card game....anyone guess who the winners are? Yip.....the GIRLS!! So as I prepare to take Eric to the airport in the next hour or two to head back to San Francisco....I'm thinking back and thanking God for a wonderful Christmas in Morocco with my kids!

Off to Marrakesh...

Saying good bye to Omar and thanking him for leading us in and out of the desert.

Now for a hot shower, breakfast and then on the road for another 8 hour drive to Marrakesh.

Art work on the wall above the breakfast table.

The impressive doors that lead in and out of the Sahara Hotel.

Roads out of the desert......

The scenery all the way to Marrakesh was stunning.....beautiful trees and mountains.

and interesting architecture....

There would be NO trees and then we would come upon places called an "oasis" that were green and full of palm trees.

Main street in Ouarzazate where we stopped for lunch.

Jenny is just a magnet to the cutest little kitties everywhere we go....they LOVE her!! :)  I have to keep reminding her of my case of the fleas...

I thought these mountain ridges were amazing to look at and wonder how many years it took to form them.

The sunset was beautiful and then we arrived in Marrakesh. Note to self....try to plan next years trip better....try NOT to arrive in the town we are staying in after dark and when everyone is hungry and at a place that is really hard to find!!  ;)

An magical night in the desert..

Leaving Fes and heading toward Merzouga to the desert we drove through snow in the Atlas Mountains. It was a beautiful sight and made me a little home-sick for my Colorado mountains.

Then we drove through rain....even over the road at times. The road got a little "sketchy" at times....one lane, half of a lane..... At one point we had to move off to the side of the road and let about 7 or 8 of these large semi-trailer trucks carrying army tanks pass by. They were coming from Algeria into Morocco.....we didn't ask any further questions. :( !!

The drive was LONG....8+ hours long. But the drive was so interesting and different all along the way.

When we got to the turn off for the Sahara Hotel the road almost disappeared! We kept driving forward and ... there, out of the dust, appeared the hotel!

And then came the time we had been looking forward to....meeting our camels that would take us into the desert! We had talked about names for our camels, because Moroccans don't usually have pets, let alone, name a pet.

This one was mine! I had named her "Lucy", but quickly found out I would change it to "Lucas"! ;)

Eric jumped on right away!

Jenny loved her camel right from the start!

Jim's camel was tied on right behind mine in the pack. Jim's camel was breathing really hard and snorting a lot. We were laughing and making fun of him until we realized he was really hurting and struggling with a cold! Poor guy.

EVERYTHING in the desert was amazing......including the shadows!

Happy travels! Just FYI.....sitting on a camel is REALLY high up and camels are very bumpy to ride on! :) But the stories I had heard ahead of time (camels are mean and dirty and smelly.....) didn't describe our camels at all. They were a very well-behaved, clean, nice bunch of camels!.....even kind of cute!

At sunset our guide took the camels around the dune of sand as we walked up to the top, sat and watched the sun set. 

My kids sitting in the Sahara Desert!

Christmas 2010! Merry Christmas family and friends and wishing you a wonderful New Year! Blessings from the Lindstroms!!

The sun setting over the desert.

Our camels were ready to take us on to camp after the sun set. We ended up riding the camels about 1 1/2 hr.  and then arriving at the "camp".

At "camp" there were tents set up like this one and we were invited into one for dinner and another for sleeping. There was another group of people in the next tent over, but we had a tent all to ourselves.

Unfortunately for Jenny, she made it through the meal, but then was very sick most of the night. She made quite a few trips in and out of the tent....not fun. She commented how bright the stars were all night and that she hardly needed a flash light at all. The night was cold, but we had plenty of thick blankets on us to keep us warm.

This was a quick shot of the tents in the morning as we are getting ready to leave.

Great morning shot....Jenny - thankful to just be alive! Jim - thankful Jenny made it through the night! Eric - just wanting more sleep! :)

And there are our camels waiting to take us back to the hotel for a hot shower and breakfast!

I loved watching their legs bend when they were getting up and down! Being on them when they are getting up and down....now that is a different story.....a little frightening actually! Hold on TIGHT!!

Jenny switched camels with Jim so the sick camel wouldn't have as heavy a load. Here she is giving him a pep-talk before the ride back. He was so sweet!

Lucy/Lucas and I had our special moment before taking off also. Don't you just love his long eye lashes!! :)

We bundled up for this part of the trip....it was pretty chilly!

Omar (our guide that lead the camels) timed it just right again and we saw the sun rise! It was beautiful!! Officially, Christmas Eve day in Morocco!

Some of the beautiful colors, textures and architecture we saw as we neared our hotel.