Mar 2-4: Arrival + Rabat
Jenna flew into Morocco Wednesday afternoon, and after meeting her at the airport in Casablanca we went straight to Rabat, where we stayed in an Airbnb close to the city center. This Airbnb was also close to the program's favorite Middle Eastern restaurant, which serves cheap and tasty hummus and shawarma.
Thursday consisted of us meandering around Rabat, visiting the main sights that I had discovered in past trips: the government buildings downtown, Oudaya and the casbah, the old medina, the tomb of Hassan II and Mohammed V, Agdal (including the sushi restaurant and shops), and the new art museum. After spending all day walking, we ordered pizza and hung out at our Airbnb.
Before leaving Rabat on Friday, of course we had to partake in couscous! We went to a nice restaurant near the train station that also served zaalouk and a dessert pastilla with almonds and orange blossom.
Mar 4-5: Meknes
Friday evening, after arriving, we went to my favorite place in Meknes - Sahrij Souani, a reservoir - to watch the sunset as well as people watch! We walked to L'Hadim, got some fruit and veggies, and returned home to make lo mein for dinner, then fell asleep watching movies.
It rained on Saturday, but that didn't stop us from going through a normal day in the life of Sarah. This included:
- going to the gym
- making brunch (a weekend tradition)
- going to the center where most of my studies take place
- visiting Abdullah the silversmith (not an everyday occurrence but I do pass his shop almost every day!)
- eating lentils at the lentil shop (unfortunately they were out of bisara)
- walking through L'Hadim and the adjoining souq, where we got matching pajama jellabas
We also went to a rooftop cafe above L'Hadim that had a good view of Bab Mansour, as well as saw the underground prison and the tomb of Moulay Ismail. Later we came home and made Nutella cinnamon rolls!
Mar 6: Fez
Noha joined us at this point in our journey, following her return to Meknes on Friday - although we were separated again soon after our arrival in Fez because she lost her phone in Meknes and whoever found it was willing to meet up with her and return it! So while Noha left and returned, Jenna and I went to a hammam and got all of our dead skin scrubbed off. We then reunited at the hostel and meandered around the medina - which included a visit to Medersa Bou Inania - before going to Cafe Clock for henna, music, and lots of wonderful food. The night was spent stargazing and talking up on the roof of the hostel.
Mar 7-8: Chefchaouen
Monday was mostly a travel day, as the bus ride from Fez to Chefchaouen took about 5 hours when all was said and done. This worked out for the best though, as it rained en route to the city and ended soon after we arrived! We wandered around the town a bit and got dinner (tagines) at a restaurant I realized we had visited in summer 2014 when I first came to Chaouen. There we met the Italian girls that we would run into periodically during our time in this small city.
Tuesday was our full day in Chaouen. We visited the casbah and walked to Ras al-Maa' (the overlook) in the morning before grabbing pastillas for lunch in a restaurant in the main square. The afternoon was filled with shopping and a visit from Jenna's friend whom she had met last summer while working in DC. We made it back to the hostel in time to watch the sun set from the hostel's terrace and enjoyed local goat cheese for dinner.
Mar 9: Tetouan
We didn't arrive in Tetouan until mid-afternoon, but we still got to see a lot with the limited time we had! Before sunset we grabbed a quick shawarma lunch, went to a nearby town with an overlook of the city, roamed the medina, and visited a museum with information on Islam in Morocco. It was nice to visit the city on a day that wasn't a major Islamic holiday and see how lively the city normally. For dinner we decided to try out a nice restaurant at a nearby hotel before settling in for the night.
Mar 10: Tangier
Unfortunately this was our last day all together, since Noha had to return to Meknes the day after to prep for classes. We arrived via grand taxi in the morning and found the hostel without any major issues - the terrace had a beautiful view of the sea! The day was spent roaming the old medina, with an excursion to the new city for lunch. My favorite sight was St. Andrew's Church, an Anglican church still currently in use that has The Lord's Prayer inscribed in Arabic around the altar. Our last evening was spent drinking tea and wine, snacking on amlou and fresh berries, and talking to new friends for hours on the terrace.
Mar 11: Travel Day
Getting to Casa took almost 6 hours via train due to an hour of delays at different points in the journey, and once Jenna and I got there we had a lot of issues concerning taxis who wanted to overcharge us/didn't know where they were going - needless to say it was a long day but thankfully we made it to the hotel safely before sunset! We went to a nearby Moroccan restaurant for dinner (and ate couscous of course for couscous Friday) and got to relax a little in the evening.
Mar 12: Casa
In the morning, we did a tour of Hassan II Mosque, which I was excited about since I had only seen the outside in visits prior. Both of us were impressed by how huge and glorious the mosque was - even pictures couldn't fully capture its beauty. We then walked to Rick's Cafe to get a picture for Jenna's grandfather. The afternoon was mostly spent at Morocco Mall, where we shopped and ate lots of good food - the Nutella banana crepes were my favorite! Thankfully we had no problems with transportation during the latter half of the day, and made it to the train station in the evening to spend the night at the airport.
Mar 13: Departure
We had found a spot in the airport near power outlets and got cozy. I decided to nap for an hour around 1 AM since I was fading and needed an energy boost, but otherwise we spent the night Snapchatting and talking. Before we knew it the time had come to say goodbye for now, however I know that summer will be here just as quickly.
I honestly couldn't have asked for a better break and am thankful to have had such awesome and flexible travel buddies!