Jess Wood OTP

The older I get, the more I realize the magic was never in checking destinations off a list.

It’s in the moments that make you lose track of time.

A camel ride through the Agafay Desert.
The sound of nothing but wind.
The feeling that life somehow keeps getting bigger, even as the years move faster.

Morocco, you’ve got a piece of my heart.

📷 1
The dangerous thing about Marrakech is that eventually you start convincing yourself you need an entirely different wardrobe, a riad, and several Moroccan rugs.
📍 Soufiane Zarib

📷 2–4
Retreats always start the same way: strangers around a dinner table.
By the end of the week, they’re usually planning future trips together.

📷 5
Marrakech has a way of making even ordinary corners feel intentional.
I probably took 47 photos of dried flowers on this trip alone.
No regrets.
📍 Beldi Country Club

📷 6
Part museum, part gallery, part rug paradise.
Many of the pieces at Soufiane Zarib were woven by hand in different regions of Morocco using techniques passed down through generations.
📍 Soufiane Zarib

📷 7–10
Morocco has ruined me for hotel design.
Everywhere you turn feels like someone cared deeply about every texture, tile, light fixture, courtyard, and doorway.
Traditional riads are built around interior courtyards, creating peaceful sanctuaries hidden behind the busy streets of the Medina.

📷 11–14
Before our cooking class, we shopped the local market for ingredients, learned family recipes passed down through generations, visited a traditional community bread oven, and somehow ended the day dancing with the women who taught us.

The best travel experiences are usually the details you can’t plan.

📷 15
The meals are memorable.
The conversations around the table are what stay with you.
📍 Jardin du Lotus

📷 16–18
If someone told me this was Tuscany, Provence, or California wine country, I’d probably believe them.
Instead, it’s just outside Marrakech.
We happened to visit during Eid al-Adha, one of the most important holidays in Islam, when families gather, celebrate, and share meals together.
📍 Beldi Country Club

📷 19–20
A reminder that the most meaningful parts of travel usually aren’t the places you visit, but the people you experience them with.

📷 1–3
If you’re only going to visit one historic site in Marrakech, make it Ben Youssef Madrasa.

Once one of the largest Islamic schools in North Africa, it’s a masterpiece of carved cedar, intricate plasterwork, and geometric tile. Every corner feels more beautiful than the last.

📍 Ben Youssef Madrasa

📷 4
One thing I love about Marrakech: the most beautiful places are usually hiding behind the simplest doors.

📍 Medina of Marrakech

📷 5 & 20
The official welcome ceremony.

Moroccan mint tea isn’t just a drink—it’s hospitality, tradition, and the perfect start to a week together.

📍 Marrakech Medina

📷 6
The rooftops are where Marrakech reveals itself.

Minarets, palm trees, stork nests, and a completely different perspective of the city below.

📍 Marrakech Medina

📷 7 & 8
Most mornings started here.

Rooftop yoga, warm desert air, and women choosing to show up for themselves before the city woke up.

📍 Riad Yasmine

📷 9 & 10
Moroccan breakfasts deserve their own appreciation post.

Fresh fruit, homemade yogurt, local honey, olive oil, and Eggs Khlea; a traditional Moroccan breakfast that somehow tastes even better in a riad courtyard.

📷 11–13
Traditional riads are part of what makes Marrakech so magical.

Behind unassuming walls you’ll find hidden courtyards, tiled pools, lush greenery, and some of the most beautiful design inspiration imaginable.

📍 Riad Yasmine

📷 14
A quiet corner of Marrakech that felt worlds away from the energy of the Medina.

📷 15–19
One of my favorite experiences to share with retreat guests is visiting a traditional herboriste.

Part apothecary, part spice shop, part living museum—filled with oils, teas, remedies, perfumes, and traditions passed down through generations.

📍 Herboriste La Sagesse

Pre-retreat desert night with my girls. 104° during the day, dinner under the stars at night, and guards watching the perimeter while I dramatically imagined Spencer Dutton appearing over the horizon at any moment.

📷 1 Some cities make you feel small. Paris makes you feel cinematic. This €15 Seine river cruise honestly might be the best Eiffel Tower view in the city.
📍 Eiffel Tower

📷 2 Every corner looked romanticized already, but the Musée d’Art Moderne might secretly have one of the best Eiffel Tower views in Paris.
📍 Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris

📷 3 & 4 Late night dinners, extra fries, espresso, and one more cocktail because nobody had anywhere better to be. Bambini is worth it for the vibe alone.
📍 Bambini

📷 5, 6, 7 & 8 Seeing Van Gogh brush strokes in person and wandering through Musée d’Orsay reminded me why people say Paris changes you. If you only do one museum, make it this one.
📍 Musée d’Orsay

📷 9 One of the best things you can do in Paris is wander along the Seine with absolutely no plan.
📍 Seine River

📷 10 The buildings here refuse to be casual.
📍 Louvre Museum

📷 11 Mamiche absolutely lived up to the pastry hype.
📍 Mamiche

📷 12 Carette hot chocolate is touristy for a reason and honestly I’d still go back tomorrow.
📍 Carette

📷 13 Le Marais genuinely feels like the neighborhood version of a Pinterest board.
📍 Le Marais

📷 14 If you love vintage, plan an entire morning for the flea markets because you’ll lose track of time fast. 😅
📍 Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen

📷 15 Upstairs and through an armoire lives one of the coolest hidden spots in Paris. Felt like being inside someone’s impossibly chic apartment.
📍 Derrière

📷 16 & 17 Tiny candlelit speakeasy hidden through the back of a taco shop kitchen. Paris is ridiculous in the best way.
📍 Candelaria

📷 18 I think part of becoming an adult is genuinely enjoying getting lost in a museum.
📍 Musée d’Orsay

📷 19 Surviving on espresso, delusion, and group chats.
📍 Le Marais

📷 20 📍 le duh.
A little taste of Paris… I think that’s why people return here so often. It’s not really about the Eiffel Tower or the croissants or even the beauty of it all.

It’s the feeling.
Paris makes ordinary moments feel important again.