Hotel Plaza Casablanca

... day we got there, Tommy, my friend Katie (from our other trips) and I walked around for a little while. By the time we got off the ship it was raining and everything was really muddy since the streets were not very clean. We were met immediately out of the port area by people trying to talk to us and offer to show us around town, which we were told to avoid. We went to find an ATM to pull out some dirham (the local currency, about 8 dirham to 1 USD ...

... aggressive.  Many had good things to say about Obama, not so much about Bush.  They were worse than any Mexican vendors I've ever come across, worse than Thailand, you name it.  What a cool experience.  <br><br>still to catch up on - hike to the Atlas Mountains, Moroccan luau, express train to Casablanca, Rick's Cafe<br> <br>once again, pictures coming soon. I have posted some on facebook but for all those not yet connected, check back later...  and get with it, EVERYONE is on facebook!

... to sell me something, which he was, but once he realized I wasn't interested we went out and got some dinner which he paid for. Then we went and got some black market beers and got drunk outside the hostel. Overall a pretty good night. Today I went and wandered through the city to the main attraction, the Hassan II mosque. It was amazing but I left as soon as all the tour ...

... itself into a serious thunderstorm.  We took off for the airport early, since we had our fill of Casablanca.  But as a parting gift we took a taxi to the train station which had a cockroach for a mascot.  Lovely!  We hung out in the Mohammed V Airport (Mohammed V is a popular guy in Morocco if you can't tell) for 7.5 hours waiting for our 2:45am flight to Rome.  Ugh.

Opps I forgot....When you are in transit at Casablanca airport you have to go back through a scanner and x-ray machine. I had cleverly fashioned a disguise for my wet patch by tying a combo of scarf and jacket around my waist to dangle perfectly in front of the offending mark. I hadn't mastered walking normally (I looked like I had ******* myself the way I was going ...

... and thereby preserve, the language, fearing that it might die out as so many indigenous languages have around the world. The trip was about 4 hours each way, so there was a lot of commentary. We stopped midway for a break, were delighted to find western-style toilets (I've been really lucky not to have encountered the hole-in-the-floor with foot pads you sometimes find in Europe), and had something to drink. The popular beverage in Morocco is mint tea, so ...

... God's throne is on the water) and a giant sliding roof, because on those sunny days you sure do wanna put the top down and feel the breeze in your hair.  The sliding roof is also handy for those major ceremonies where the mosque can fill up with 25,000 people, especially since someone forgot the air conditioning in the construction plans.  The mosque's minaret (tower) also has a laser that points to Mecca! The Hassan II mosque is one of the few mosques ...

Casablanca housed the original restaurant filmed in many of the scenes of Casablanca the movie. We were able to drive along the coastline which was filled with, literally, tens of thousands of people swarming the beach. It's a very popular attraction. Too hectic for us to try to sunbathe and I think nude sunbathing was out of the ...

... 11 They shall be even an abomination unto you; ye shall not eat of their flesh, but ye shall have their carcases in abomination. 12 Whatsoever ...

... where the... underfloor heating system operates - oh yeah, and did I mention that the insitu wood carved roof also opens at it´s centre for occupants to enjoy the full effect of the star lit sky? Like I said, a little more than your modest village mosque! The afternoon saw us take in the sights and smells of Casa with a dip into the understated medina (not a strong point here as Casa is iconic of modern Morocco - where the ...