This week is the one-year anniversary of the beginning of my Morocco trip with my sister Allison. I realized that I never shared much about my trip on the blog because I wasn’t in a pattern of writing here at the time. Better late than never, right?
In general Fes was my most favorite city. It’s where we had the best food, stayed in the best hotel/dar and had the best experiences.
Casablanca was my least favorite city. The only thing worth seeing there is the Hassan II Mosque, then you should book it right back to Rabat.
Restaurant Dar Hatim in Fes was the best food we had on the trip, plus it was an amazing experience. The restaurant is inside the proprietor’s (Fouad) home and after they make amazing homemade food they show you around the house and the kitchen. Plus they picked us up at our hotel and took us back at the end of the evening.
Also in Fes Allison and I tried out a very traditional hammam. It was sooo cool. We were nervous beforehand, and did a bunch of research online about what to expect. My best advice? Just do it. The place was recommended by the owner of where we were staying as the place where his wife goes.
We also loved the little pizza place that was directly across the street from where we stayed in Fes. We spent several evenings on their rooftop, eating margarita pizza and reading while we waited for the sunset and evening call the prayer.
In Rabat we got to have lunch with my Country Director from Peace Corps. What a small world, right?
Fes was far less touristy than Marrakech, although Marrakech itself was not as hectic was it had been described. By the end of our trip we were sick and tired of negotiating prices for everything. It made me grateful that I live somewhere I can just shop at a grocery store and everything has a set price.
We had delicious street food in Marrakech. I loved how when the sun went down the whole square lit up with stalls selling food.
I did try out “snake charming” in Marrakech, totally worth the price for priceless pictures.
Favorite Facebook status update from our trip: “Why is it that only 20 yr old Moroccan shop keepers grab my ass and call me beautiful? (Although he did offer 40 camels…)”
I took enough pictures of stray cats to fill a photo album on Facebook