Hey, Africa! : Trip to Morocco (PT 2)

Without further ado, here's part two of our Moroccan adventure.

On Saturday, we woke up bright and early because we wanted to spend as much time as possible exploring the city. But before we left, we made sure to take advantage of the hotel's complimentary breakfast. After almost two months of nothing but toast and unsweetened corn flakes for breakfast in Spain, I was really looking forward to eggs and/or meat.















The hotel breakfast: four different kinds of bread. OH, COME ON!

After stuffing ourselves with carbs, we took a taxi to the Gran Socco and began walking. The sky was blue, the weather was great, and everything was very peaceful. After a few minutes, we began to ask ourselves, "Wait... where the heck is everyone?" The city was nearly completely empty, save for an occasional passerby.















In this picture: no one. Did the Rapture happen last night or something?

Undeterred, we decided that Morocco must be like Spain (not a nation of morning-persons, to say the least). We continued on into the main part of the medina. Most of the stores were still closed! I'll save you the suspense-- later on in the trip, we found out two important facts:
1. Despite being directly below Spain, Moroccan time is an hour off (we thought it was 8:00 a.m., it was actually 7:00 a.m.)
2. That Saturday happened to be a Muslim religious holiday, The Prophet's Birthday

Since it was a weekend AND a holiday, many of the biggest museums and attractions were closed. However, being the laid-back travelers that we are, we still managed to have an excellent time.

What did we do?















We trekked up a giant hill and visited the Kasbah, an ancient castle that now houses a museum of Moroccan art. And before you ask, yes, I rocked it.















We found a small art gallery that appeared to be open. Turns out that it wasn't, but the owner was extremely nice and let us look around regardless.















We also made a point to visit St. Andrew's Church, an Anglican church built in the 1800s. Not because it's a popular tourist attraction (it is), but because we were desperate for some English.















We weren't allowed to go inside this palace (or at least, I think we weren't? Neither of us could understand the guards' French), but the outside is beautiful!















We also spent a lot of time exploring the food market area, even though we knew we weren't going to eat anything there. It's not so much sanitary (there are bugs everywhere and refrigeration is unheard of), but it is definitely photogenic.















We spent some time in "Tangier's Beverly Hills" but we also spent a lot of time exploring small, less-wealthy neighborhoods.















On one of our maps, there was a tourist attraction labeled "Phoenician Tombs" (actually the map was in French so it said "Tombeaux Phénicien" or something equally ridiculous). We wandered to where we thought it was located and found these. We weren't sure if they were actually the real thing, but later research confirms!















We spent the majority of our time in the medina (market), haggling for random souvenirs. Being foreign is a major detriment, but I think we did pretty well. By the way, if you are looking for scarves, jewelry, pottery, slippers, rugs, knockoff Converse shoes, or fake Louis Vuitton bags, this is the place to go!















Inside one of the many shops in the medina. Note: it was in this shop that Ramya got the storeowner to reduce the price of a necklace by 50% (18 dirhams to 9 dirhams) and then promptly left without buying anything. That girl can haggle, let me tell you.















Look, I am actually here and not just stealing these pictures from Google Images! We spent a lot of time on the beach as well. Here I am hanging out on a weird rock formation on the coast.




















We also took the occasional break from PBJs to sample the local cuisine. This is harira, aka Moroccan Soup. It is delicious and sold everywhere for about $0.50. If you ever go to Morocco, I highly recommend it.




















Further proof that McDonald's is literally everywhere. In fact, the McDonald's in Tanger (you can see a bit of it behind the poster) was the nicest McDonald's I've ever seen. Two stories, tasteful color scheme, the works.

Overall, I give Morocco an A. We had lots of laughs, we met a bunch of incredibly nice people, we had some interesting experiences, we bought lots of cool knick-knacks, and we didn't feel as though we were in danger at any point. Also, we were able to spend an entire weekend there for less than $150. Great success! Though I must admit, I'm a little offended no one tried to buy my hand in marriage with camels.















Before you think I'm a total idiot, "Tanger" is the Spanish spelling for "Tangier". I wanted to keep it to as few letters as possible.

For many more pictures, check out my Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/laura.j.arnold?ref=profile
For Ramya's side of the story, check out her blog here: http://semester-in-sevilla.blogspot.com/2010/03/my-independence-day.html