Feb 16 – Feb 25, 2023

Holy smokes that was intense! We landed in Minneapolis and had to run directly to the gate to get to the flight to Paris. Got there just in time to see the Final Boarding sign and nobody in line. Last ones on! Back on track hopefully.

Made it to Paris. This airport doesn't believe in restaurants apparently. But hey, the arcade is pretty neat!

We made it!

I slept like a log at the Belere Hotel in Rabat. A few learning experiences were to be had. The condensation on the windows was pretty crazy. I noticed a mark on the ceiling and figured it to be the direction of Mecca for prayer. We could hear the call for prayer start about 6:40am. Haven't heard that since the end of Desert Storm when we were at KKMC getting ready to head out. Additional services we're available in the restroom which were much more modern than the facilities outside of the airport which were also remeniscent of my least trip to the middle east. Breakfast was provided in our package and was good. The coffee machine was the rock star of the morning. Off to tour Rabat!

Rocked the Casbah this morning (for you fans of The Clash).

Got to see some ruins of the Hassan mosque. Lots of mosaics in the fountains. The opera house across the street is purposely shaped like a cobra head.

Omg I'm dying. Someone asked if Morocco is an Islamic country. One of our guides says 'no we are a cosmopolitan country. See that police officer is a woman? But our women here have mustaches so that's why I married a German.'

Stopped by the Royal Palace real quick.

The museum of modern art had some pretty cool stuff. I think my favorites were the 3D wall sculptures. Didn't have a lot of time to appreciate it but captured what I could.

The Moroccan countryside outside of Rabat is mostly flat with some areas of rolling hills. Two things you see a lot which may appear strange are people walking through fields in the middle of nowhere and lots of partially finished buildings. As with other countries we’ve visited if your house is ’finished’ you have to pay taxes on it. Hence…unfinished. There were also people on the side of the road selling truffles. They don’t use dogs to find them though so that must be tough to find. Further away from Rabat we did get into some small mountains.

She might be asleep…

On the way to Marrakech.

Watching Casablanca while traveling to Casablanca.

Come get your poison patte! I might have read that wrong. My French is a little rusty.

That's pretty cool. Dude was doing a full service car wash on the spot. I just want to ride the bike.

Big birds need big nests…

A town outside of Meknes, Morocco.

Lunch today was at La Grilladiere. The mixed plate of skewers was delicious. The restaurant is 'dry' as many places are here but the fruit smoothies were delicious as well. More food than we could eat. Might be nap time on the bus.

The Roman ruins of Volubilis was definitely the creshendo of the day. An unexpected surprise. The mosaic of the 12 trials of Hercules was probably my favorite of the mosaics. The arc was cool as well.

View from the restaurant tonight with my lovely wife.

So we sit down for dinner tonight after a huge lunch. I'm like "Not feeling that hungry. These cheese, chicken and mushroom crepes for like $6 sound small. Oh, and maybe the banana, Nutella ones for $4. A little sweet, a little savory. That'll work." Needless to say the combination of my ignorance and their desire to provide an excellent experience culminated in this pile of food. It was delicious but damn. Good dinner though. Julie's pretty happy with her Moroccan wine too.

Moroccan cappuccino after a long day? Abso-friggin-lutely!

Views from the South Tower in Fes. You can see all three parts off the city from here.

The Jewish cemetery was one of our stops today. Difficult to move around in there. Was surprised how packed in everything was. Both the Muslim and Jewish cemeteries have white stones as a symbol of purity according to the guide. This was right next to a Jewish district. I believe he said there were about 50 Jewish families still living there.

Quick stop at the Royal Palace in Fes.

Shopping and lunch in the Fes Medina market. Super crowded. A few high pressure sales folks. Lots to look at. Julie and I escaped without buying anything <high five>.

Architecture, paintings, woodwork and other interesting and beautiful things in the Fes Medina market.

The visit to the leather area of the Fes Medina market was interesting. They cure and dye the leather in these big pots. The secret ingredient when curing the leather? Pigeon poop! I shit you not (pun intended)! Before going in they gave everyone a sprig of mint to smell because the pigeon poop was pretty stinky. Was a very interesting experience.

You saw it here folks. The billboard says it all. You too can have a hamburger meal at McDo's (that's what they call it here) for $28.

Want a motorcycle or scooter? Head to your local department store in Fes, Morocco. This place is growing on me. But I think I'd break one of those things lol. By the way, remember when malls were big? It's a thing here. TONS of people.

Gas station food doesn't suck here.

Not too shabby! Our room in Marrakech. Tomorrow will head to the Koutoubia and tour the Medina. We took a quick drive through down there and it looks like fun. Busy but fun.

First stop this morning.

Different orientation of the tombs indicated their religion.

One of these is a hairy beast that's ready for a wash after a long day of walking. The other is a camel.

What did you do this afternoon? Not much, just rode camels in Morocco.

Leaving Marrakech and heading back to Casablanca. Get to see our niece Sadie and her new family.

Snake charmer in the Medina of Marrakech. I let him have my phone for a minute lol.

Herbology in Marrakech. Julie may have possibly came out with a big bag of stuff. I'm not saying anything though because there's a Harley Davidson store in Casablanca we're going to in the next few days so...lol. REALLY good smells in this place and plenty of homeopathic remedies.

Shopping the Medina in Marrakech. Sensory overload. Apparently it's WAAAY more intense at night.

This gal was standing there minding her own business and an orange feel out of the tree and hit her in the head. She said "that's mine. I'm keeping it.". LOL

Bahia Palace in Marrakech.

Okay, the photos are nothing to be excited about but this chicken tagine was probably our favorite so far. Such good flavors. I was soaking up the juices with the bread after we were done and Julie was picking the bones dry. Was recommended by our guides. It was in a not-so-busy section of the Medina. When we got there there was NOBODY in it. We sat by the window. As we were eating people would look at us and eventually started coming in. By the time we left it was pretty much full. Delicious!

Catholic cathedral in Casablanca.

A quick preview of what we're doing tomorrow with Sad Mob . Currently the 3rd largest mosque in the world.

Finally ran into Sad Mob and her new family in Morocco!

The museum was more about the architecture than anything else but so beautiful. Very interesting how everything was created.

Today we visited the Hassan 2 Mosque with Sadie and her family. VERY large and ornate. Love the architecture. 3rd largest mosque in the world. Well worth the visit.

Here's some zen for the day...

Walking around Casablanca, the ocean, the market after the mosque. Best market visit yet. The whole day was culturally enriching and exciting for all the senses. The sounds, the colors, the smells (both good and...different). Fantastic day.

I really liked these murals on the buildings along the ocean drive. Sanae stopped for me to catch a few pics.

It's nice to be on a mass transit train where nobody is laying across multiple seats or shooting heroin in front of me or showing me their craziness. And bonus...no piss smell!

Casablanca - 1
New York - 0
Chicago - 0

Absolutely wonderful day with Sadie's family here in Casablanca. Privileged to experience all of them, their culinary delights and all of the culture here in their home. The cookies, the tagine, the bread and the fish stew we're all top notch. Thanks so much for sharing your hospitality and your family with us Sad Mob ! On the train back to the hotel a collective decision was made to take a trip to Tangier, Morocco tomorrow. Can't wait!

Another day full of Moroccan culture, colors, smells and quite a bit of laughter today. Starting it was a visit to the next town over from Sadie and Soufiane's place to check out the local market also known as a souk. SUPER chaotic! People yelling and pointing and throwing clothes. The smell of the grills going. Sadie and Soufiane choose several different kinds of meats to have grilled for us. Delicious! After that we became knowledgeable about why we always see people walking through fields because WE were those people! Walked a lot today. Stopped by a local mosque for our hosts to pray. Got a few pics of the inside for your viewing pleasure. Next stop they wanted to take us through a market closer to their house. Then a visit to a local tagine cookware dealer they recommended so Julie could pick her very own tagine pot. Luckily this was right next to the cousins house so a big dose of hospitality once again. Mint tea, cookies, breads, local honey, brownies. We never leave a Moroccan house with an empty stomach. Loved their house, so beautiful. Aicha and the rest of her family are such gracious and generous hosts. The cousins and Soufiane's sister surprised me with a Moroccan national soccer team jersey personalized with my name. Totally unexpected and meant so much. We said our goodbyes after Sadie loaded us down with a metric ton of goodies. Going home tomorrow. A great finale to our trip here. Much love to the new family for making us feel at home. Thanks and goodbye until we see you again!

Sadie's new family was gracious enough to take me to the local Harley Davidson shop in Casablanca. They sold a lot of other bikes there as well including Indian and Moto Guzzi. Struck out in t-shirts but they had a few Marrakech poker chips so I snagged them. Thanks for driving Sanaa!

After the Harley Davidson store it was time to get everyone chocolate. Delicious and friendly. Everyone that knows me knows that Michael shows his love with chocolate and I couldn't think of a better way to show this to new family. Thanks Divinshka!

Seen the movie Casablanca? Remember Rick's Cafe Americain? Beautiful place. Great meal. Didn't get to experience the music which didn't start until 9pm but still a good experience.

P..S. Hey Don Coleman II ... here's your Fez hat pic.