Casablanca, Rabat, Fez, Merzouga, Ouarzazate, and Marrakesh - The very names of these Moroccan cities sound like a dream... where to look is to paint, listen to music, pray and love. The imperial cities, the red earth of Dades valley, the kasbahs of rammed clay and sculpted stone, the labyrinth of pathways within the medinas, and the immense land of high dunes and desert and its dream-like oasis - Morocco is a country that was far more beautiful then Alex Woo could have ever expected.

Relaxing vacation is an oxymoron. The typical “relaxing vacation” is the sort of affair you need a vacation from. Between the exhaustion of jet lag, the chore of finding the perfect souvenir for everyone from your puppy trainer to your boss’s sister’s neighbor – ten houses down, and keeping up with detailed itineraries, things called enjoyment and genuine relaxation are forgotten. So when acclaimed jewelry designer Alex Woo found herself in Morocco, the last thing she expected to find was the kind of dreamlike escape you only find in your dreams. Or on a multimillion dollar Hollywood set… with computer graphics and an epic Oscar-winning soundtrack.

It seems the key components to a vacation of such make-your-friends-jealous variety are royalty-worthy hotels, bang-the-table-it’s-so-good food, is-that-a-painting? landscapes, and most important, fabulous people. The real kicker is that when you find a vacation so flawlessly incredible, like Alex Woo did in Morocco, you don’t want to keep it closely guarded like your favorite Christian Louboutin. You want to share it.

She kicked off the dream at the Palais Jamais, a Moorish-style palace in the city center of Fez. Undoubtedly, her queen fantasies went wild. Most of us have tried on a tiara, but I'm sure we haven't all had the chance to walk through the magnificent Andalousian garden inside the old city walls.

Then there’s the food. Forget your favorite hot dog vendor, Alex was munching Bstilla, a surprisingly delicious blend of sweet and salty flavors – usually stuffed with chicken or pigeon, with eggs, almonds, onions, and spices, all wrapped up in a pillow of crispy phyllo dough, sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon.

And you think your afternoon Chai latte is teatime? Try Morocco’s national drink, mint tea made with green tea, fresh mint, and sugar. Starbucks who? The fragrant tea is poured from a beautiful long-necked teapot you wish your grandmother had given you into a glass then back in again to aerate the tea. By the end of the ceremony you want to give your server a medal of honor for a teatime only as great as the imaginary ones you used to have with your stuffed animals.

So you wish you had laid off the last Bstilla (even though it was so gosh-darned good). Alex walked it off through the beautiful winding roads where laughing children play right in the streets without an impatient honking cab in sight. New York City’s farmer’s market has nothing on Morocco’s open-air markets. Straight from a scene in Aladdin, minus the handsome lad in the balloon pants, you buy your fish alongside your jewel-adorned slippers alongside your bread. You get your Saffron right next to your cucumbers right next to the rug you have spent half a lifetime looking for.

If this is not paradise, consider the greatness that is the Moroccan people. Your boyfriend can forget his usual male greeting rituals. There’s no frat boy fist pumping, deep grunting, chest bumping exchange we women so envy. One hand is placed on the chest to say, warm greetings from the heart. In fact, it seems warmth exudes everywhere, from the welcoming locals to the fresh bread to the hot sand.

And so we come to the piece de resistance, the sand. At the Merzouga sand dunes stretching for miles around, the high vast peaks of smooth unblemished sand slope deliciously like the perfect Tasty D-Lite cone. Little known fact: there is a reason “desert” looks so suspiciously like, “dessert.” Looking wasn’t quite enough so Alex decided to go Lawrence of Arabia and take a camel through the sand, tinted pretty princess pink from the sunset, spending the night under the stars in the Saharan Desert. Who knew camping could be so glamorous?

When the trip was over, no pinch (and we pinched hard) could wake Alex up from the dream that was this honest-to-goodness vacation. So, like a genie she did that magical thing that she does and the images of Morocco, from the winding streets to the finely woven rugs, to the striking landscapes, to the beauty of the people and culture, were blended and solidified into her newest line, the Zahrah, meaning blooming flower. More than jewelry, it is her medal of honor to the Moroccan people.

You can hope your next vacation will be relaxing, that you will eat that one amazing native dish, see that one breathtaking sunset, find that one moment that erases the memory of your lost Chanel sunglasses, your aching feet, and your less-than-stellar hotel view of a brick wall. Or you can just go to Morocco.

Thank you Abercrombie & Kent, guide Hussein and driver Rashid for exceptional service and friendship!