Exploring Marrakesh, Morocco

Trip date: September 2023

On our first morning in Marrakesh we had booked a private walking tour of the medina with a local guide. This had worked out really well in all of the cities we had travelled through so we were excited. Jamal started by taking us by one of the local hammams; just like mosques, most neighborhoods have a hammam, or public bath. He explained that there were seperate hours for men and women, and that it was a very social place for everyone. Kinda like a coffee shop!

Then we arrived at the Madrasa Ben Youssef. The interior of the courtyard of this 14th century Islamic school is possibly one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen! The tile work is absolutely mesmerizing!

And just like the one we visited in Fes, the upstairs students' rooms were not fancy at all. 

From here Jamal took us through one of the many souk's in the medina. We didn't really have time to shop as this was just a morning tour, so we tried hard to remember where we were so that we could return another day. Didn't happen! The souks are just too confusing!! 

We stopped into one of the rug co-ops to see how the rugs are made. These shops are said to represent Berber women of different tribes around the country and sell their rugs to help them earn a living. Jamal assured us that we didn't have to buy anything, that this was just so that we had a better understanding of the craft. We were seated, and offered tea or water, and then a couple of men started unrolling rugs and showing us different Berber patterns and styles. 

It felt very salesy though. We let them show us everything, Gail was originally considering a rug anyway, and there were a couple I thought were nice but I hadn't planned on buying anything. We politely took the little scraps of paper that the manager wrote prices on for the few we inquired about and then we were back out into the busy streets of the medina. 

We walked through Jemaa el-Fnaa, Marrakesh's huge square. Jamal told us that at night this place is teeming with people and filled with hundreds of food and juice stands. This is also where you will find street musicians, performers, and the awful monkey handlers and snake charmers. Jamal warned that if you take a photo of them, they will come and demand money from you. And they are generally not polite about it. 

During the day there are just a few vendors and a couple of animal abusers under the shade of umbrellas. At the far corner of the square sits the Koutoubia Mosque, the largest mosque in the city. The mosque was closed due to damage from the earthquake, but as we aren't Muslim we wouldn't have been able to go in even if it was open. It's a striking symbol of the city and when the ladies and I walked past it that evening I thought it was even more beautiful!

We walked back thru the Jemaa el-Fnaa and Jamal led us to a spice shop/pharmacy where we again were given a little presentation this time on herbal remedies. Even though we all left with something, I would have preferred to be seeing more of what we had on our list, like the Jewish Quarter or Mellah.

We did walk thru some of the Hayel Mella, mainly just the market, but it would have been more interesting to see the synagogues. 

Our last stop was to one of the local bakeries. As in the other cities, the neighbors take their dough to the baker in their unique linen so they can identify it once cooked. This baker was also doing some open faced sandwiches for a local cafe.

We ended our tour just a short ways from Jemaa el-Fnaa square. Jamal showed us around a couple of the food stands and then was nice enough to walk us to Nomad where we wanted to have lunch. We discussed this tour while having our lovely meal on the terrace overlooking the medina. We also discussed the rug that I liked. I ran some numbers and went back to the shop after and negotiated hard. It took a while but I did end up buying a beautiful Berber rug!

I think we all felt that this was not the best tour & guide that we hired. Wasn't terrible but compared to our guide in Fez it was just really meh. Add to that the obvious kickback/commission spots that we were taken to (he even messaged me asking how much I paid for my rug!) it seemed he was more focused on earning vs. guiding. For those reasons I will not be recommending him here. But I still would recommend a walking tour of the medina.

It was quite hot when we were in the city so it was always really refreshing to come home in the afternoon, poor some cold wine, and have a little plunge in the cool pool. 

One of our favorite days in Marrakesh was spent at the incredible Majorelle Gardens. Originally designed in 1920 by French artist Jacques Majorelle, it was almost destroyed in the early 80's by a hotel developer, but Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent purchased it and restored it after years of neglect. 

The garden is a haven with so many hues of green from all the plants, and accents painted bright yellow and of course the patented Majorelle Blue. It's stunning! There are trees, cactus, fountains, ponds, etc. The garden crews work non-stop picking up any fallen leaf or petal! It's absolutely pristine!

And as gorgeous as the gardens are, the onsite Berber Museum was absolutely incredible! No pictures are allowed. I also loved the gift shop where I bought some tea that I haven't found to be available anywhere else! I'd say this is a definite do-not-miss. 

Next door is the YSL Museum, a wonderful collection of the designer's sketches, designs, and a film of his fashion shows. Unfortunately there are no photos allowed here either, you'll just have to go and see for yourself! We had bought our combo tickets online in advance as they sell out frequently. 

Wandering the area after, we found a super cute homewares shop called Chabi Chic!

Our last full day in Marrakesh was a dedicated shopping day! Caitlin had read about a small shop selling handwoven scarves, bags, etc called Fiber Trip. It took us a while to locate but it was worth the hunt and the owner was super nice helping us pick out styles.

When we passed The Secret Garden we decided to stop in; we had expected it to be on our tour on our first day but it wasn't. This is another amazing and beautiful garden!

An oasis in the middle of the city! 

Back to shopping! We stopped into Corinne Bensimon, a lovely design shop, and I splurged on some gorgeous table linens and had then shipped back home. Caitlin and I stopped in the shoe souk and tried on pretty much everything before buying leather sandals and slippers. Gail found some really fun straw lamps & we were all amazed at how the shop owner was able to fold them into really small packages! We also found a really nice little jewelry store and I bought some pretty earrings. By the time we were done, we had spent every bit of Moroccan dirham we had!  

And that worked out just perfectly because the next morning we were up and out early. Our Airbnb had arranged the guy with the wheelbarrow to load up our luggage and take it to the private taxi they had scheduled to be waiting for us. 

Traveling around Morocco had been a dream of mine for a long time, and this girls' trip was an absolutely fantastic realization of that!

All Marrakesh photos here.

Other posts from Morocco:

2 Nights in Tangier, Morocco 

Tétouan and the Blue City of Chefchaouen, Morocco

Riads and Restaurants in Fes, Morocco

A Food & Culture Tour in Fes

Berber Luxury Camp Overnight in the Sahara Desert

From the Sahara to Marrakesh in 10 Hours
Marrakesh Eats and Drinks

A Food & Culture Tour in Fes

Trip date: September 2023

On our first full day in Fes we hired local guide Amal, who was recommended by our riad, for a combination food and cultural walking tour of the medina. She met us at 10am and we started the day at the iconic Bab Boujloud or Blue Gate. 

Blue represents the city of Fes and the opposite side is tiled a rich green, which represents Islam. Passing through the gate you leave the noise of cars and buses behind and you enter a crazy throng of thousands of people who seem to be in constant motion. 

The old city of Fes is a Unesco World Heritage site because it is the world’s largest pedestrian-only area. Give that a couple of minutes of thought! This medina, about 540 acres, is a complex web of over 9000 alleyways, the WIDEST allowing only 2 mules to pass one another!

Fes El Bali, as the ancient walled city is called, is over 1200 years old and has over 300 neighborhoods! Homes, schools, mosques, hamams, bakers, and of course vendors selling everything you could possibly need. The markets, or souks as they are called, tend have groupings of similar venders together by product or craft, possibly keeping prices competitive and quality high. It's customary to negotiate before buying.

We entered past stalls of butchers, many with live chickens waiting to be "purchased", and hopeful cats waiting for a hand out.

Amal expertly navigated us past craftsman selling leather goods, handwoven rugs, wooden furniture and tools, lamps, etc. There were also kiosks selling antique silver and brass tea pots and trays. As we wandered past all of these stalls we went deeper and deeper into the medina. We were also experiencing all the very loud sounds and smells, not all of them pleasant!

We stopped in front of the Funduq al-Najjarin, a guest house built in 1711 and now a museum, to see the oldest fountain in the medina. In the days when caravaners passed through the city, they would stop here and perform ablutions which is an important ritual in Islam. We also took the opportunity to wash our hands while admiring the gorgeous tiled and plasterwork. 

Amal continued to lead us through the tiniest of alleys, where we ducked and sometimes just fit through. She explained that between the 8th and 16th centuries camel caravans crossed the Sahara and traded goods in Fes and throughout the Middle East. These travellers would overnight with their herds in caravanserais, communal 2-story courtyards. There are still many in Fes, they are mostly abandoned and in ruins.  

We continued following Amal, I really couldn't tell if we were coming or going as far as directions. We asked her a lot about knowing her way around and she said that she still gets turned around in certain spots, everyone does! This maze of streets was not accidental. The medina was a fortress and the confusing streets were a hindrance to anyone who invaded. That plan is still working!

As we approached the Mausoleum of Moulay Idriss II, the streets had very low beams overhead. This was to make sure that people didn't ride their camel or donkey to the shrine. As non-Muslims we were not allowed to go inside but even just gazing up at the ceiling from the entrance was amazing!

We were getting a bit hungry at this point so Amal led us to the souk where there were all kinds of great looking food stuffs! All of the tasting was built into the price of our tour so we didn't have to deal with cash which was great. 

We tried so much stuff! Freshly fried dough with honey, a selection of fresh goat's cheese, khlea (preserved meat similar to confit), fresh pressed pomegranate juice, dates stuffed with walnuts, etc. 

And of course olives, olives, and more olives! Everything was excellent and the vendors were all super friendly and most spoke English so Amal didn't have to translate everything. 

We stopped in to one of the farans, an underground communal oven that each neighborhood has. Families bring their dough and leave it for the baker, then pick up their fresh baked bread later in the morning. They identify their loaves by the linen it is wrapped in. The daily bread, khubz, is what is baked here and these farans are still in use all over Morocco!

But there are other types of bread in Morocco as well. Baghrir is like a crumpet with lots of airy holes inside excellent for trapping butter and honey. Batbout is Moroccan pita and is eaten with tagine; this is made on a stovetop so is generally made at home. M’smen is similar to scallion pancakes (without the scallion) in that it is made with many layers. Sometimes meat is folded into the layers before baking, like the preserved meat we tried. In the souk the dough is stretched super thin and then layered onto a large dome shaped griddle. This was my favorite of the breads we ate. 

Feeling full we continued to explore other parts of the medina. It was so great having Amal lead the way, I mean some of these ways were real tight and seemed a bit sketchy! But we felt very safe everywhere we went. 

We came to the fabric dyers next where men were hand-dipping individual pieces of fabric, yarn, and clothing using long sticks into hot vats of rich dye. These were all hung to dry under rafters which were vented to allow for maximum air circulation. I'd never seen anything like it!

Next we were in the small Safreen Square that was incredibly loud with multiple copper and brass smiths. Craftsman hand-hammering metal creations all day long! Everything was beautiful! Huge pots, hot water urns, platters, mixing bowls, saute pans, etc. But their poor ears!

Amal was very excited to take us to the next stop, "the tea man". Standing in front of a wooden door we eyed the stairs that truly were more of a ladder. Straight up the very narrow staircase led us to a tiny room with a big copper hot water urn, green herbs poking out of every corner, and the tea man!

In Morocco, mint tea is just that, a big bouquet of fresh mint steeped with hot water & a bit of green tea, that you then add your desired amount of sugar to. But Sidi (the tea man's name) uses a variety of 6 herbs in each cup; geranium, sheeba (wormwood), verbena, common mint, spearmint, peppermint, and marjoram. We were given a bouquet of the fresh greens which went into a tall glass that was then filled with a hot combo of water, green tea and sugar. A silver sleeve made it possible to pick up the hot glass. Sidi is a character, the location is like a treehouse, and it all costs about $1! Mint tea is also jokingly called Berber whisky!

Amal had taken sprigs of mint from the tea shop and told us to hold them under our noses as we headed to Chouara Tannery. This is the largest tannery in Fes and is believed to have been in operation since the 15th or 16th century. We entered one of the many leather shops that are in this area and were led upstairs for a view of all the vats.

You smell the tannery way before you get to it. And it is STRONG. Before being dyed, hides are soaked in a mixture of cow urine, pigeon feces, quicklime, salt, and water in order to soften them. Those are the white stone vats on the left in the photo. Pigeon keepers actually sell their bird's shit to the tanneries! I'd heard how horrible to smell was but I guess I thought it had something to do with the hides. Nope, it's piss and shit! 

Once softened the hides moved to one of the many vats filled with colorful dyes. The tannery still uses natural colorants such as poppy for red, indigo for blue, and henna for orange. The hides are then hung to air dry before being sold to leather craftsman who create all sorts of beautiful and colorful pieces. 

After some shopping, and a stop for a delicious banana/date/chocolate smoothie type of drink, we continued on to the Al-Attarine Madrasa. This high school was founded in 859 AD for male students to study and learn the teachings of Islam. The building is incredibly beautiful, it's courtyard is filled with stunning tilework and intricate cut plaster that looks almost like lace. 

Upstairs are 30 very simple rooms for the students who lived here during their studies. Many of those students went on to study at nearby Kairaouine University which was founded in 859 AD and is the oldest continually operating university in the world. As it is also a mosque non-Muslims are not allowed in but you can peer into the courtyard from the massive wooden doorway.

And all of that was before lunch! Amal had shown us so much and given us a lot of history, cultural information, and of course delicious food. We finished by sitting down to a light lunch were she had us try some hot potato fritters, a delicious soup made from fava beans called bisarra, and eggs scrambled with the preserved meat khlea. 

I'm so glad that Amal was recommended to us and that we were able to do a combo food and cultural walking tour. There is no way we would have found everything and had the experiences we did without her! Reach out to her if you are heading to Fes!

All photos from Fes here. 

Other posts from Morocco:
2 Nights in Tangier, Morocco 
Tétouan and the Blue City of Chefchaouen, Morocco
Riads and Restaurants in Fes, Morocco

Berber Luxury Camp Overnight in the Sahara Desert

From the Sahara to Marrakesh in 10 Hours

Marrakesh Eats and Drinks

Exploring Marrakesh, Morocco

All Around Riga

Trip date: January 2017

After being in Riga for two full days we decided to take a day trip out to Jurmala. This pretty beach resort is just 30-minutes from the city and during the summer I could imagine it is a haven on the Gulf of Riga which connects to the Baltic Sea. During the winter it is a bit different!

We drove thru the small town and found parking near the beach so we could take a short walk around. It was a bit drizzly as we got out of the car, and it was cold! The old soviet-style buildings and hotels were interesting and we even found the bronze turtle statue that stares out to the gulf. 

From here we made a circle walking through more of the town. Some of the beach houses were very old and in need of repair while others were new and quite modern in their architecture. 

The main street is really cute and filled with shops; there was even a small Christmas Market going on. 

It was getting colder and it was also time for lunch so we drove to another part of the town, past very large mansions, to a fantastic little restaurant that sits right on the beach- 36.Line.

I had traditional veal pelmeni (dumplings) served in mushroom broth and sour cream to start, followed by a ridiculously huge pork shank. Everything was delicious and we had a front row seat to watch the snow as it started falling!

The snow continued to fall as we headed back to town, the city was so pretty! We walked past the Laima Chocolate clock (which was suppose to be some big deal but I wasn't impressed), and over the river past the Freedom Monument. We'd mostly been in the old town and now were in City Center.  We made our way to the Corner House, the former headquarters of the KGB where you can walk thru an exhibit which explains the power and activity of this secret organization. There are also tours of the cellars, interrogation rooms, etc. which unfortunately were sold out when we arrived. I had gone to a similar museum in Vilnius. 

The next day we drove out of town again to Birini Palace. It was snowing quite hard when we left town and at one point as I drove through a very thick forested area it was so dark and snowing so hard that I couldn't see a damn thing! Finally it cleared as we neared the palace and we were rewarded with absolutely stunning views of the palace grounds!

The palace, which also is a hotel now, was built in 1860 and has lakes, parks, horses, a restaurant, etc. 

We were shown around a bit by one of the "castle keepers" and then were turned loose to explore on our own. It is very pretty; I wouldn't put it in your "not-to-miss" list but if you are in the area the pink castle is a beautiful site!

We had an average lunch at the on-site restaurant and then got back on the road. Our plan was to hit a few more castles before the end of the day as there were four in the nearby national park. But the snow started falling really hard again and we just didn't want to risk the roads so we headed back home and had a couple of cocktails!

On our last day in Riga we woke up to an actual snow storm! We had booked an Art Nouveau Architectural walking tour and spent 3 hours walking around the city which was freezing but so beautiful!

The buildings in Riga are so interesting, I highly recommend one of these walks which cost us 15 Euro each and included a coffee break (where I chose mulled wine and an apple caramel tart!). 

We all had early flights the next morning and shared a 5:30am taxi to the airport. Ugh. Forest, Thibault and I had an Air Baltic flight to Paris where we said goodbye after traveling around together for 2 weeks. I had a 3 hour layover before my flight to Seattle, so I spent some time duty free shopping before hitting the Delta lounge which is just ok at CdG. Then I had a very nice flight home in business class with multi-course meals, wine pairings, and a lay-flat bed. 

Another wonderful New Year's Eve trip was in the books! I was so charmed by Riga and the surrounding countryside. If you get the chance to visit I would absolutely go. And if you happen to be there during the holidays when there is snow and Christmas markets, then all the better!

Latvia photos are here.

You can also find photos of our trip on Instagram using the hashtag #BalticBash2016

Other posts from this trip:
36 Hour Parisian Birthday Party
Christmas in Beaujolais
Baltic Bash Kick Off
Out and About in Lithuania
Baltic Road Trip
A Very Baltic New Year
Latvian Eats & Drinks

Day-Twah Weekend

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Trip date: June 2016

Resurget cineribus was the motto Detroit adopted in 1805, "It will rise from the ashes". It might be time to update that to "It will rise from the crumbles". The city had a population of 1,850,000 in 1950 and now sits at just 677,116 leaving many businesses and buildings deserted. In fact, there are over 70,000 abandoned homes and buildings.

Tidbits like that, and being named one of the most dangerous cities in American, are why I've been curious about Detroit for years. A true American tale; from rags to riches, rags again, future riches? It's hard to say what lies ahead but Detroit is one hell of an interesting place to visit.

My ever-traveling brother was also curious about The Motor City so earlier this summer we met there for a weekend to check it out. I booked a direct flight from Seattle on Alaska Air and was excited when I got a complimentary 1st class upgrade. My brother's flight landed a bit before mine, so he was conveniently waiting for me at the airport when I landed. We grabbed a cab and headed into the city.

I was using a gift certificate for the Westin Book Cadillac Hotel and Mark decided to stay there too. I was super happy with my complimentary upgraded room; a very large corner room on the 21st floor with views of the river and the city. The room was the size of a suite only without room dividers.

The Book Cadillac was left abandoned for 25 years before an architect firm bought it recently; the largest abandoned building in downtown. They refurbished it, restoring many of the original features, and in partnership with the Westin chain, turned it into a hotel with condo residences. It is absolutely beautiful but only the outside is still original. Historic Detroit has some fantastic photos and history on many of these buildings, this one has an incredible story which you can read about here. And just down the block sits the 36-story Book Tower, originally owned by the same brothers, it was abandoned in 2009, full history here.

Mark and I immediately set out to explore. We started by catching the People Mover (in Seattle we call this type of train the Monorail) which does a complete loop around town. We had signed up for a guided walking tour of the city the next day but thought we'd just get a little lay of the land. We rode the People Mover to Grand Circus Park and walked over to Comerica Park (the Tigers weren't playing in town that weekend sadly).

From here we chose to follow the elevated tracks around vs. riding it. We stopped to admire the beautiful facade of the Wurlitzer Building (abandoned but apparently sold and being renovated by a boutique hotel) and noticed the murals painted on many of the empty buildings, including one by Wyland which seemed very out of place!

The concierge at the hotel had told me to stop at Downtown Park which was hosting a summer "beach" complete with bar and live music. We were ready for a sit down after walking a couple of hours so headed to the "Tiki Bar" only to find it was serving canned beers and sugary vodka drinks. Wanting to give it some redemption we ordered rum neat, grabbed seats, and put our toes in the sand while enjoying the live reggae band. There were quite a few people at the park but as soon as we left we encountered almost silence in the streets.

From here we slipped into the over-the-top gorgeous 40-story brick Guardian Building; we were the only people in the lobby on Friday at about 4pm. The 1929 building has some impressive architectural notes, more here.  In 2003 the building was made open to the public, it had been only open to employees for over 25 years before that. Now the Bank of America branch inside it is truly the nicest bank branch you'll ever check out (see what I did there?).

We continued towards the waterfront where we could see traffic heading over the bridge to Canada, which confusingly is located south of Detroit. We walked past the Cobo Center with its banner thanking Mr. Hockey, Gordy Howe, who had just passed away the day before. This huge concrete mass is one of the ugliest sports centers I have seen and looks almost Soviet Block era-ish. Luckily for the Red Wing fans, a new arena is underway for Mike Ilitch's team (fun fact, Ilitch who owns Little Cesar's Pizza, also owns a huge chunk of Detroit. Dan Gilbert, of Quicken Loans, owns most of it though.)

We had walked about 8 miles so it was time to head back on the People Mover, take a lie down, and get cleaned up before heading to dinner. All afternoon, except for the people at the Downtown Park, we really hadn't seen many people in town. And there was little to no traffic, we had been jaywalking all over. It was quiet and odd, like being in an episode of The Walking Dead!

That night we had reservations at Roast which happened to be in our hotel. Owned by personality chef Michael Symon it gets quite a bit of press in a city with few serious dining options. We started with cocktails at the bar and could not pass up trying their fried baloney sandwich as a snack (ok, I couldn't pass it up). It's a thing, and it was good! Dinner was also delicious, the restaurant a modern steakhouse as the name implies. We were super happy with our roasted marrow bones and perfectly cooked steak. I'd heard they have amazing wings but we didn't see them on the menu that night.

We grabbed an Uber and headed into Cork Town for after dinner drinks. Cork Town isn't far, and I don't even think it is dangerous as its reputation once was, but the streets were just pitch black and seemingly deserted so a car seemed the better way to go.

Drinks at The Sugar House were great! The bar has a very good rum collection and multiple menus of original, classic, and tiki drinks. We sampled a few before heading back to the Westin.

The next morning we grabbed coffees to-go and walked to Eastern Market for the Saturday market. Along the way we stopped at The Belt, an ally/outdoor gallery of cool local art.

It was a long walk through flat, empty neighborhoods. It was a bit strange but it never seemed dangerous. We were actually just continually surprised by the lack of traffic and people. Once we got to the market area we found the Russell Street Deli I had heard about for breakfast, but decided that the line outside was entirely too long; here's where all the people were! Mark spotted a place called Farmers Restaurant that featured house-made corned beef. Sold! We were seated in the diner in a matter of minutes, had one of the friendliest waitresses ever (who was also over-the-top curious as to why we were in Detroit), and had fantastic corned beef and eggs for breakfast. Go!

The market was ok, honestly nothing out of the ordinary, but the area around the market is really interesting. Boutique shops sprouting up in an otherwise mostly industrial abandoned area. We headed to Detroit City Distillery for a tasting of their gin and ryes and then decided to grab seats at the massive wood bar for a cocktail made with said spirits. As you do around noon on a Saturday.

Refreshed, we called an Uber and headed to our next stop, the Shinola Midtown store. We had already seen the Shinola clocks around town, the company is one of the most visual to try to create more jobs in the city (besides Quicken and Little Cesar's) since opening there in 2011. The shop could have as easily been in Brooklyn as Detroit; bespoke watches and leather goods, a live DJ, and a spirits tasting in front of the luxury bicycle production area.

The city is so spread out that we called another Uber and headed back to the hotel to drop off my purchases. Then we went for the ultimate Detroit snack, a Detroit Coney. There are two famous places to get these at, Lafayette or American, which happen to be side by side and owned by brothers. We chose Lafayette, sat at the counter, and had some locals assist us with our order of coney dogs and fries. When you go, and why wouldn't you, be sure you have cash. No credit cards accepted.

We stopped back at the "beach" in the downtown park for some shade and cold drinks before meeting up with our Urban Adventures walking tour; I was really excited to see and hear more of the amazing architecture of this city!

There were 8 of us with our guide Charles, a retired Detroit-er. He was sweet and full of information, but he was also very long winded. One of the coolest stops that Mark and I hadn't already done ourselves was the GM Renaissance Center. Charles not only took us around the buildings but took us to an awesome spot for views of the waterfront and got us up to the 72nd for amazing views of the river, and the lake.

On our tour we spent time around the stadiums, Greektown, passed the Joe Louis memorial, saw the Ford and Penobscot Buildings, etc. When they were headed to some places we had already visited, Mark and I cut out as the tour was already in overtime. I really like this company for walking tours, Forest and I did one in Mexico City that I was really impressed with also.

That night we met at the Motor Bar in the Westin for cocktails before taking an Uber to Hazel Park, about 30 minutes away, for dinner at Mabel Gray.

Wow! We had the tasting menu with wine pairings and everything was spectacular. The restaurant itself is very casual and looks like a diner. It is also a little loud, but I think that was mainly the table of 6 next to us who were very drunk and seemed like they hadn't been let out of the house for a while. My poor brother got a whole glass of red wine spilled on his khakis as one of them accidently knocked it across the table!

Once they left, we enjoyed the rest of our meal and ended up closing the restaurant down. On our drive back into town it became very apparent how much of the city's buildings were abandoned as whole blocks were just completely dark.

We started our last day at the Roasting Plant for coffee, a peek inside of CompuCom's HQ with its awesome lobby water feature, and one more visit to the Guardian Building, this time getting into the Bank of America area.

We grabbed an Uber and had her take us to the infamous Michigan Central Station. Abandoned in 1988, this hulking building sits crumbling while bicyclists ride on the paths that once were train tracks. There are ongoing battles between those who want it demolished and those who want it saved. Kindof like the city itself I'd say.

We walked over to Slow's BBQ for a good lunch before walking back to the Westin through Corktown. We walked along parts of Michigan Ave that are still brick, past the lot where the old Tiger Stadium was, towards the skyline of downtown Detroit. It was all very quiet.

I'm so glad I went to Detroit, and even more fun was experiencing it with my brother. It's a complicated situation for sure, not just the issue of jobs and attracting younger people, but what to do with these buildings and how to connect the suburbs which are so far away. We'll all just have to wait and see!

All photos from Detroit here.