Marrakech Monday - Casa Botanica

Sometimes friends visiting Marrakech or clients coming to our guest house ask whether it`s a good place to bring children.  My answer is always an enthusiastic `yes!` With their sense of wonderment and natural curiosity, children love the colourful noisy streets, the donkeys and carts, the water sellers with their bright red costumes and pom pom hats, jugglers and musicians and of course the snake charmers in the main square Djem El Fna.  They love hearing the beat of the drums and the call to prayer.

However, living in Marrakech with a young child I sometimes miss more structured activities such as play groups, museums, libraries and playgrounds in the local park.  Having said that, things continue to pop up here all the time and one such thing is the wonderful Casa Botanica, which Zaki and I visited on Saturday.

On first impressions it looks like a huge nursery......and that`s because it is! We discovered that the huge greenhouses are great for running in.

 

And that there is so much more to do, like feeding the bunnies with leftover vegetable scraps from the organic cafe... 

playing in the bamboo play house...

 in the children`s garden...

checking out the hen house...

taking a donkey ride on `Reglisse` (`Liquorice`)...

or relaxing in the Flower Power Cafe...with perhaps a cup of Earl Grey tea and a dark chocolate chip and nut cookie...

The flower garnish is from the gardens (and is edible), as are the vegetables and herbs used in the delicious salads and tarts.  There are also fresh juices, and homemade cakes.  Because I was chobbling on all these goodies, I didn`t get images of the play `hanout` (small shop) or the sand box but you can see them if you`re lucky enough to visit this great place.  The children`s activities are free - you just pay for what you consume in the cafe!

The smell of the jasmine in the early evening was quite heavenly...what did you get up to this weekend?