After Matt’s death, I did something that not many people would consider responsible, but I still maintain is one of the best things I’ve ever done.

I hit on my personal trainer. I’d been jokingly flirting with him and teasing him for two years just to make him blush, but on a whim, I messaged him while in California to tell him I missed him. The rest is history. He came over to watch a horror movie with me when I got back to Edinburgh, and we’ve been together ever since.

By March of 2024, my landlords decided to sell the flat I’d lived in for 10 years, and the hot trainer and I decided to move in together. It was a first for me. Moving in with someone, completely sharing my space and not being able to starfish in bed. I hadn’t even had a flatmate since I was in my early 20s, so I had no idea how I was going to do. We survived building lots of Ikea furniture, and now I have someone to cook dinners for me.

Shortly after we found a place to live, I booked myself a little time away for my birthday. One of the things that I worried (and still worry about almost 3 years later) was that being part of a couple meant that I couldn’t just pick up and travel whenever I wanted. I need to be able to go on multiple trips a year to make sure that I don’t implode from the stress of my job.

Luckily, the boy doesn’t care if I travel solo, so I booked a short excursion to Marrakesh to mark another year around the sun.

Marrakesh is the 4th-largest city in Morocco, founded in 1070, and sits just west of the Atlas Mountains. I’d been warned that the city itself did not have the best reputation with solo female travellers, I am too stubborn to let that keep me from visiting places and exploring new cultures.

I stayed at the BeLive Collection. It was outside the main part of the city, and despite the internet not working while I was there, it was a really nice place. The weather was not quite the warm sunshine I wanted, but it was nice to be out of the country for a bit. The resort also had kittens running around, which was an unexpected bonus.

The first thing I did was book some tours. I love a good day trip and settled on one that would allow me to see a little more of Morocco. The trip started out with a drive through traditional Berber villages and up into the Atlas Mountains. The Berbers are the indigenous people of Morocco, and many live in villages in the mountains. We went on to Toubkal National Park and hiked up into the mountains to a waterfall, and had a chance to see Mount Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa. We had lunch cooked for us by a lovely Berber family, and some of the best Tagine I have ever had. We ended the tour with a very touristy camel ride in the Agafay Desert. While I enjoyed seeing the camels, I was a bit uncomfortable with being dressed up in the traditional costumes and wish that I had opted out of that part of the ride.

The next day, I opted for a tour of the Jemaa el-Fnaa. This is the most famous square in Marrakesh. It holds the souk, which is a bustling maze of commotion and goods. The tour took us to the Bahia Palace. It was built in the 19th century and has over 150 rooms and several courtyards and garden spaces. We continued our walk past the Jewish quarter and the Kutubiyya Mosque. Unfortunately, the mosques were closed because it was the start of Ramadan, so I wasn’t able to go inside.

When the tour was over, I made the mistake of going back to the Jewish quarter alone. I never pass up a chance to see Jewish quarters, but being a woman alone, and clearly a tourist, men kept coming up to me to see if they could take me into their shop or guide me to the temple despite the very clear signs. One man followed me around demanding money because he pointed me toward the entrance gate, despite my not asking for directions.

The Mellah of Marrakesh did not disappoint, though. I was able to visit the synagogue without being bothered and learned all about the creation of the Mellah in 1558, although Jews had been in Morocco since the 1400s. The Slat al-Azama Synagogue is built in the riad style, with a large courtyard and house.

After the Jewish quarter, I wandered the market stalls for a bit, but I didn’t enjoy the stares and the constant shouting at me to come in and buy something. I had wanted to pick up something from the market to bring home, but I was really put off by the forceful and angry tone that men took when I said no to something. While I have done a lot of solo travelling all over the world, I have yet to really encounter real problems, so rather than waiting for the free hotel shuttle, I got a taxi and went back to the hotel.

I spent the next day sitting by the pool. Although there was no sun, it was warm, and there was a cat, so it wasn’t all bad.