mountain stage

Traditionally we are heading for the moutains on the last Green Gardens workshop day.

On our way we visit the most colorful and inspirational botanical location. In terms of color and originality, it's my favorite of all gardens.

To stay in the color theme, the next garden in the row, Anima Garden, fully gratifies a bright color explosion. Anima Art garden is a imaginative botanical staging with sumptuous trees and sculptures. Here too, inspiration is everywhere. We pick some blossoms and leaves for the herbarium, have a drink in the cafe and get in our minibus for the last part of the trip.

When we cross the Ourika river, we pay a short visit to the local weekly market. A really great market, where I could walk around for hours.

On arrival at our final destination for the rest of the day, we have a delicious lunch, overlooking the red valley of Kasbah Bab Ourika. Plenty to enjoy at this magical place! The most beautiful vegetable garden with breathtaking views of the Atlas Mountains. And I realized this was my 15th visit to this Kasbah Bab Ourika, the magical views remain as special and enchanting as the first time.

organic, what else?

Green goal of another Green Gardens workshop day is buying our own food and cook our own Moroccan lunch.

With its bounty of organic vegetables on the market in the medina, today's 'green is the theme' was all about veggies. At the local vegetable market everything is organic. For the people in the medina eating organic is not a trend. To us it's a conscious choice to eat healthier. This pure market is a return to tradition and makes you realize, once upon a time all food was organic.

A team of 12 cooking students with arabic-french shopping lists went into the herbs- and vegetable souks. When we arrived back home with our baskets full of fresh ingredients, chef Rachida of Chambres d'Amis was ready to give us a Moroccan vegetarian cooking class on the patio in the shade of the banana trees.

We made ourselves a delicious Moroccan lunch and enjoyed the tasty and pure dishes together on the roof terrace.

After a siesta at the plunge pool, we continued our Green Gardens journey and left at the end of the afternoon to the Secret Garden. The light is so beautiful at the end of the afternoon and the garden with water fountains and wildlife, is a peaceful oasis hidden in the bustling streets. After closing time we walked from the Jardin Secret to Le Jardin.

Concluding this food themed day in Le Jardin, the greenest restaurant imaginable, with a small dinner on the rooftop in the dusking sky certainly is the best way to end this day!

palms & pikalas

Today on the program; a green bicycle tour!

A mighty fine bicycle tour to discover the beauty of the surroundings of Marrakech in the most green way!

Together with our twelve orange Pikala bikes, we visited Jardin Majorelle (with a short herbarium tea break in Cafe Majorelle) and afterwards the new Yves Saint Laurent Museum around the corner.

All bikes are parked in a row in front of Jardin Majorelle, from there we continued our ride to explore the palm grove, beyond the busy districts outside of Marrakech and to traverse the palm jungle.

After a beautiful bike ride, we arrived at the pergola terrace at Les Deux Tours for a lunch. In a setting of palm trees looking towards the Atlas Mountains, this is the perfect spot for relaxation and we had all afternoon to swim, to have nap on the lawn and a to walk through the gardens.

And obviously around sunset is the best time to enjoy the beautiful skies and views, to cycle back to Marrakech.

Which automatically means that we end up in the evening rush hour in the medina, another adventurous experience at the end of this wonderful day.