The Rabat Olmsteders decided to run the Marrakech 1/2 Marathon, so we packed up the car in late January and headed to Marrakech for the second time.
Unlike all of Jamil's other races, we sadly were unable to meet him at the finish line and have no pictures. Gabriel and I came down with a nasty, but short lived, bug that had us up the night before and stuck in bed the morning of the marathon. Luckily, Gabriel and I were feeling better later that same day, and Jamil and Abraham were in the clear.
Last time we visited Marrakech, we stayed at one of the beautiful riads within the medina wall... remember, this was the trip where we kindly got booted out of our riad but offered even better quarters away from guests who had a sans enfant vacation in mind. :) We're still humiliated but are finding a little more humor in the story as time goes by.
This experience was quite different from our initial visit last summer. Our dear friend and neighbor just so happens to be a runner and... are you ready for this?... an Olympic gold medalist from Morocco. He was on the board for the marathon, and offered us a ridiculously nice place on the outskirts of the city. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with him and his guests and even got to celebrate Khalid Skah's birthday. Gabriel made a great friend, Ryan (pictured below), and they wasted no time finding trouble. Also, our fellow Olmsteders, Christina and the Saunders, joined us for a couple of evening rendezvous.
Unlike all of Jamil's other races, we sadly were unable to meet him at the finish line and have no pictures. Gabriel and I came down with a nasty, but short lived, bug that had us up the night before and stuck in bed the morning of the marathon. Luckily, Gabriel and I were feeling better later that same day, and Jamil and Abraham were in the clear.
Last time we visited Marrakech, we stayed at one of the beautiful riads within the medina wall... remember, this was the trip where we kindly got booted out of our riad but offered even better quarters away from guests who had a sans enfant vacation in mind. :) We're still humiliated but are finding a little more humor in the story as time goes by.
This experience was quite different from our initial visit last summer. Our dear friend and neighbor just so happens to be a runner and... are you ready for this?... an Olympic gold medalist from Morocco. He was on the board for the marathon, and offered us a ridiculously nice place on the outskirts of the city. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with him and his guests and even got to celebrate Khalid Skah's birthday. Gabriel made a great friend, Ryan (pictured below), and they wasted no time finding trouble. Also, our fellow Olmsteders, Christina and the Saunders, joined us for a couple of evening rendezvous.
The night after the marathon we attended a 5 course meal followed by an amazing fantasia show including musicians, a belly dancer, a magical flying carpet, and what show wouldn't be complete without fireworks? We knew we were setting ourselves up for a lot of work by taking our children to a dinner that started at 8pm (bedtime), but sometimes you just have to go with the flow and pray to the heavens for a miracle. During dinner, Jamil and I rotated watching the kids as they ran around the musicians outside. I attempted to even rock Abraham to sleep, only to be serenaded with drums and crashing cymbals 2 minutes into my desperate attempt. I was tempted to leave after dinner before the boys decided to flip their sweet little switches and turn into heathens, but it was truly well worth the stay. Though it was a lot of work, we made it through the night tantrum free, and the boys were in awe of the fantasia show. We did not get into the car until after midnight, and I swear I could have snapped and the kids were out! Poor boys! Did I feel guilty, definitely. Was it worth it, sure.
FYI, those are camel behinds... we're definitely not in Texas anymore!
Jamil celebrated his 31st birthday on the road back to Rabat. He dosed off as soon as he hit the couch, and we quickly taped streamers, found some used spiderman birthday hats, unthawed a frozen cheese cake (surprisingly tasty), found a random assortment of 31 candles, and colored pictures to add to his present... books from his Amazon wish list, of course. Happy 31st birthday, Jamil!
