Hotel Colbert Casablanca

... couldn’t really ever know what to expect. They would never let you take pictures without hassling you for money, so I apologize about the lack of pictures at that place or at many places in Morocco, because that happened everywhere. You couldn’t walk 4 feet without someone asking for money or trying to sell you something. So we had dinner at the hotel again and then went to this fantasia horse show that night. It was very touristy but ...

Favorite city: Agadir: I love the water and the boardwalk, as well as the not-as-many people. Cities I wanted to spend more time in: Meknes (2 nights) and El Jadida (1 night) Favorite food: bastilla (with chicken or fish) Food I don't regret trying: camel Least favorite food: brain Food I started to get tired of: lamb tagine Things I regret not doing: taking better notes about what we did, taking more photos Favorite ...

... napping (Mike did, I didn't). As we started flying over Morocco, the thing that stood out was the green fields - I had expected only desert. We arrived in Casablanca, finally got through several passport and customs checks and headed out to find a taxi. The ones that leave from the airport are big, old, dirty Mercedes and we found one easily and negotiated the fare 250dhs into the city. Mike sat in front and chatted to the driver - he found that Moroccan ...

... concussion. I got up laughing honestly. Rough night though. Our room was a disaster, worse than the first time. The beds flew from the walls, my postcards were out in the hall, the chairs had flown everywhere and the phone was making the dead dial tone sound because it had fallen from the desk. My roommate got severe seasickness then and so many people were hurt because they were being stupid, worse than me and ended up with broken wrists and sprained ankles. Back out to sea we go!

... Djema el Fna. The current king of Morocco is very popular with a young Moroccan population (over 50% are under 24). He went to university in France and married a professional woman (an engineer) from the middle class (She is also the first of the king's wives in history that the public has been allowed to see.). He has done a lot to make things better for women in Morocco, especially in divorce settlements. Divorce is very high in Morocco. Mariam has been ...

... harmless.  We finally decided on a small grill stall ran by three young boys, the oldest probably about fifteen years old.  They were very smiley and patient with our terrible French and indecision, helping us decipher what each item on the menu was with some enthusiastic sign language and mixed French and Arabic.  We went for the most expensive thing on the menu, and after leaving him a large tip the cost of our dinner hadn't quite reached four ...

... into Casablanca 25 minutes away. We had no idea were we were so we saw a Novotel hotel and walked in pretending to be guests and asked for a map of the city. They also organised a taxi for us to the markets. Casablanca is a unusual mixture of old and modern, strict dress and relaxed. It has a great vibe with people everywhere. Cool city. We finally met the Glovers at the station with a mixture of joy and relief that we had finally managed to connect. We then went to ...

... which, by the way is large enough to house Paris' Notre Dame. The mosque can accommodate 20,000 worshippers on the main floor, an addition 5,000 in ...

... again and descend by lift into the check in area. Back we all charged up the ramp, dragging cases and then took part in what amounted to a rugby scrum with hordes of travellers and luggage all trying to cram into a lift which was designed for 6 people. Somehow I found a space, I may be small but my aggressive streak came to the fore, and descended to the check in hall. The doors opened to reveal the area, packed to the hilt with would ...