It's true, our short-lived summer is well and truly over as we are now in the tight grips of winter - if the 4pm darkness didn't already make that obvious.
So, I was rather thrilled when I found out I was going to be following the sun - and the heat - at the beginning of October to provide me with a dose of weather-induced serotonin before embracing the grey and gloom of Britain.
It might have been for just 48 hours, but travelling all the way to a different continent in the name a temperature above 25C was worth it.
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And it kept my bank fairly happy too. North Africa might not seem like a destination for a quick getaway, but in the name of extreme short breaks - it was perfect.
After a 3hour 40minute flight, it was touchdown in Morocco and time to queue at border control to enter Marrakech. But coming from torrential downpours to 30 degree heat, enduring the budget flight and waiting to enter the Islamic country was worth it. After all, bargains and standing in line are two quintessentially British desires, so I shan't complain.
But, walking out of the flashy airport, it was safe to say I was not in the UK anymore. The heat instantly hit and the mild seasonal 'woe is me' was flushed out of my body, mainly thanks to all the sweating.
What followed was a short 30-minute journey to the Riad, a traditional Moroccan house with an indoor garden and courtyard, located just outside the Souks (markets) that make Marrakech so recognisable and a must-do cultural visit.
Let's just say it makes travelling through London at rush-hour seem relaxing and the main roads are smooth and clean, which makes a change from cruising around pot-hole Britain.
The closer we got into the city, the smaller and more chaotic the roads became. If I closed my eyes, it was possible to transport back to London with all the beeping.
But, visually this was a whole other world. People were happily going about their day without being inconvenienced by cars, getting seriously up close and personal with cars and not letting these big metal contraptions stop them in pursuit of khobz - a traditional Moroccan style of bread.
Khobz sellers lined the streets and those carting the sweet bread around weaved between the pedestrian, car and motorbike maze that seemed impossible to navigate having freshly stepped foot in the country.
After finally getting through the traffic - and nonchalant pedestrians - it was into the Riad Marwa and time to start drinking copious amounts of mint tea, which is the national beverage.
I don't have the exact price for the Riad as it was a birthday gift, but by the looks of Booking.com it's £94 a night - which worked out about £141 each for the three-night stay (arrived late afternoon and left early in the morning)
Fuelled up on the national beverage, it was time for a pilgrimage for food.
If Marrakech wasn't on your world food guide, then it should be. Not just for the quality, but for the price as well.
It's easy to fall in the trap of TikTok and Instagram influencers calling on you to go to 'cute' spots or nomads pushing you to eat like the locals do for a pressurised 'authentic experience'. However, I don't want to go to an international chain full of posers nor do I have the same immune system as locals.
After a bit of dithering and wanting shelter from the heat, dodging snake charmers and SIM card salesmen in the Jemaa el-Fnaa - Marrakech's main square - a rooftop restaurant called my name for dinner.
And I'm glad it did.
Just off of the square on a quieter side street is Al Khayma terrace and restaurant. It happened to provide calm away from the chaos and great views of it too. The menu was extensive and inexpensive to say the least. While individual courses were not costly, one of the set menus boasted a lot of food for just 180 Moroccan Dirhams - or £14.
Yes, £14. This wasn't some two-course lunch time deal - it was the whole shebang at a price we would only dream of back home.
Before the three courses started to arrive, we were provided a free basket of khobz to munch on. It was quickly consumed and aided down by a non-alcoholic mojito.
Me and my partner chose different starters so we could try both. Sharing is caring, right? Also, in my mind - and belly - you get more bang for your buck.
With a smile, Moroccan salads were planted in front of me and didn't know quite what to expect - but it wasn't that. Instead of three little bowls of lettuce mixed amongst the usual suspects of edible foliage, three cold, but cooked, foods sat in front of me served with a handful of chopped potatoes.
It was not the bunch of raw local vegetables I was expecting, they looked more like dips instead of salad. Though, all three were incredibly tasty and I did not want to stop eating them.
The three salads are as follows; taktouka( green bell peppers, tomatoes, garlic and olive oil), zaalouk (eggplant, tomatoes and garlic) and pumpkin salad (pumpkin, vanilla sugar, cinnamon and sesame seeds).
Surprisingly, although they didn't look like huge portions, the assortment of salads were quite filling and feared I wouldn't be able to stomach both dinner and desert.
As I sipped away on my non-boozy mojito delivered by the UK-banned twirly plastic straw, I felt that 30C sun on my face - something that I had been deprived off just three hours away flight time away.
It was a moment of pure bliss for my mind and then my taste buds when the chicken tagine was ceremonially placed on my table. Still bubbling away, being cooked in the juices and sauces, I was ready to tackle it. The meat just fell off the bone and was so succulent.
I just wished I didn't gobble all of the bread on first sighting as it would have been great to get every last slither of that sauce off of the pot.
Miraculously there was still room for desert; maybe because I wasn't filling up on a Malbec or a Sablet and instead drinking booze free mint juice.
Dessert came in the form of a Ktefa or Moroccan milk pastilla. If you're in need of a Specsavers appointment, then you would be fooled into thinking they're pancakes.
However, they are far from that and are instead a crispy pastry - think non-savoury poppadums. Each layer had an almond 'cream', more of a custard consistency, and was stuffed with almonds.
It's a taste I've never experienced before, something that took a couple of bites to really get going and convince my palette that I do indeed like it.
After the final course, it was time to pay up - a measly £14. So much food and joy for just over a tenner made me think about stretching my stomach to fit more in.
But, the sensible decision was of course to leave to find some traditional peppermint tea ready for sunset. There's plenty of roof top cafes to watch the bustle of Jemaa el-Fnaa below.
There's no place like home, but there's also no place like sipping on mint tea, listening to the echoing force of the Maghrib (sunset) prayer and watching the world go by below.
That was just the snippet of my first couple of hours in Marrakech, I knew then that I already wanted to come back before I'd even left.
