A travel day today. Departure from the Hotel Lisboa Plaza at 10 am for our Ryan Air flight to Fès. Lots of mucking around with check-in as non E.U. passport holders had to get proof they could fly to Morocco without a visa.

Eventually after lining up for what seemed like hours (probably 30 mins) we trooped across the tarmac for our 80 minute flight.

More long queues for immigration and money changing on arrival before our wonderful main Moroccan man Majid did his magic trick of fitting everyone’s luggage (yes, even the humongous ones) into his mini-bus. Oh, and yes, all the bags arrived from Portugal!

Then a relatively short drive to our accommodation in the magnificent Riad El Amine. When Pam, Ev and I were last here in 2018, we were told by Noureddine and Mehdi they were planning to expand. And grow they did, in spite of the pandemic. They have now joined an old building onto the existing one and have created something truly wonderful.

These pics don’t do the place justice. I will try for some more tomorrow. But here’s one from the new roof terrace where Mehdi is creating a fabulous resort — a tapas restaurant, a bar, an outdoor dining place, nooks to relax, and an open air viewing platform from where to admire the medina of Fès. (That’s Mehdi with Ben, Pam, Ev and Chris).

The day ended with a terrific introduction to Moroccan cuisine (preceded by cocktails by the fountain and swimming pool).

And now to bed in our amazing rooms before the first Moroccan painting day tomorrow at a nearby palace.