Campari, meet your African Cousins...

There are more cats in this country than Rome. Really.

Observation on Fridays

Who gets kicked out of a cemetery? Me. Had I taken advantage of "Black Friday" and gone to the souk FIRST, maybe leisurely strolling through the cemetery may have been more acceptable?

I *think* Fridays here are special. All of the ladies seem to wear darker colors today, the streets are not as crowded (maybe the ladies are at home making couscous and the men are at the mosque?), and every restaurant--even the pizzeria and burger joints--serve couscous.

To celebrate this special day, I purchased a jellaba and head scarf, experienced a Moroccan hammam (more later on how this compares to the Turkish ones), and endulged in a real Friday dinner of couscous (with lamb). 

My new look

I have to say, that only after a few hours in Rabat, I already like it better than Marrakech. It's smaller, less chaotic, cleaner, and the people don't hassle you! So lovely!

I reserved my first "hammam" for tomorrow. And tomorrow is Friday--"Couscous Day." (I guess it's the equivalent of Sunday Spaghetti Day). Regardless, I'm super excited.  I've learned that couscous is best served in the riads--not in a restaurant, as it is a made-to-order dish, made mostly for family/friends.

And speaking of riads, Riad Kalaa is beautiful! It's an old 1815 riad--a townhouse built around a central courtyard--with a rooftop terrace and swimming pool. I thought Riad La Terrasse des Olivers in RAK was great--this one is better. And I *know* the riad in Fes will be spectacular as it is a Relais & Chateaux property (oh la la!)

And to celebrate couscous day tomorrow, I'll buy a proper Moroccan jellaba. I tried one on today...and I shouldn't be surprised that the "one-size-fits- all" theory, (again) doesn't apply to me. But I will make do, as they do not come in children sizes and I don't have time for alterations.

Enzo's middle name may be Bab

Bab means "door or gate." There are tons of "babs" and they are often used as landmarks. "Go to Bab Doukkala and turn left." 

The word has kinnda of grown on me...and when given directions today, all I could say was "bab, bab, bab, bab"....the Moroccan guy in front of me just turned around and gave me the strangest look.

Happy Thanksgiving from Rabat!

While all my friends and family are cooking turkeys and feasting, I am driving from RAK to RBA! The highways were quite empty and surprisingly easy to navigate. For the first time in three days I didn't feel like the mouse. We made the trip in less than 3 hours and saw some cool scenery. Although it was a two lane (going each way) I swear drivers in Morocco think there is just one lane. They want to straddle the the lanes and take up both--not easy to pass this way!

At one gas stop we came upon a tour bus (ugh!) filled with US senior citizens nonetheless. Anja comes out of the bathroom, "There are trendy American women in there." I go in, and the "trendy" lady says to me, "we are from Arizona." I proceed to ask her where they have been, and then ask her what her favorite Moroccan city has been. She mentioned they were going to Casablanca and had already been to Rabat. But her favorite city has been "Morocco." Wow. I'll just keep speaking in Italian...

Being the "expert Moroccan travellers" now, we arrive in RBA, find a parking spot, refuse to pay 50 dh (the going rate is 20dh), and ward off all the men who "only want to be nice and show us to our riad."  Yeah, yeah yeah we know the drill. You only want to help us--and then you will demand euros! "We find it ourselves. Merci!"

I wonder what my Thanksgiving dinner will be....couscous? A nice lamb tangine? We shall see...

Does the Fontaine Moussaine really exist?

For two days we tried to find this infamous fountain Moussaine. We walked around in circles, afraid to ask anyone--you don't dare ask someone--they will expect you to pay them to give you directions. Then they will follow you, walk with you and not leave you alone.  (It's the culture, we are told.) Today, I finally said, enough. I asked a shopkeeper. He said "there." Right where we were standing. I guess "there used to be" a fountain. Ugh! 

Today felt like a good day to experience a Marrakech taxi ride. This trip is all about trying new experiences.  And the way people drive here, it appeared to be an adventure... Apparently, the cabs say they will take you to Point C....but cabs can't fit in those alleys, so they only take you to Point B and you must walk to Point C.  You, of course, only find this out once you've reached Point B. (i.e., Ben Yousseff Medersa)

The Ben Youssef was anything but how it was described ("great") We strolled through the important sites that Jacque, our riad host, suggested. The Jardin Majorelle-a gift to Marrakech from Yves Saint Laurent and the Bahia Palais-a grand palace with 150 rooms where some cool guy lived with his four wives and 24 concubines.

I had a wonderful experience at one of herb shops--herboriste. The herb guy spoke Italian!  So refreshing after depending on Anja to translate everything from French. 

I practiced my "negotiations" in the souks too. I'm still looking for the perfect "outfit"... 

Where are the pics?

For those of you who are wondering "where are the pics?! " Today--hopefully. 

For some reason, Enzo is not recognizing the RAW format images. I shot in RAW yesterday (as I usually) do, but recently installed a new version of  iPhoto 8 on Enzo... and for some reason he's not recognizing RAW format files... 

* Where is my CTO when I need him?! (yes, that is a bullet point)

Will shoot, reluctantly,  in JPG today and see if that helps...