Luxor Crowne 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.  

still to catch up on - hike to the Atlas Mountains, Moroccan luau, express train to Casablanca, Rick's Cafe
 
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!

Introduction: many of you know exactly what this is, for those of you that don't -- it's a travel blog. somewhere along the way, some ego-maniacal joe/jane got the bright idea that somehow their life was important/entertaining enough for others to care about. along comes Al Gore and his witch-like "internet," and a vehicle for said ego-maniacs was born. so, let's get something straight from the get-go (what is a "get-go?"), i like myself and i like ...

... offered 3000 camels for my roommate. It amazed me how people were not prepared for the culture shock that they were walking into. Even if I did not study this area of the world in college with as much emphasis as I have, I would have known what to expect to an extent. Most of these people had no idea what they were stepping into. Anyway, we had the best Moroccan food and it was so funny because our health team had worried everyone about food in foreign countries and ...

... which turned out to be owned by the same people as Cafe Moure. After pointing us out to the nearest ATM, Moubarak surprisingly and graciously told us that he'd drive us to Cafe Moure when we mentioned we were heading there. This turned out to be a terrific help for us, as he drove us first to the Hassan II mosque, one of the largest mosques in the world. Although we couldn't go in at nighttime, the sheer size of it was astonishing. Apparently the ...

... sweet mint tea and eating crepe au miel (crepes with honey) at a pavement cafe, watching the locals go about their business. Casablanca may be the main financial hub of the country, but the locals are very friendly, and there is still a feel of long ago. We dined at a local restaurant as a group and ate marinated olives in oil and chilli, a delicious fresh Moroccan salad and the most divine vegetable tagine and chicken, lemon and olive tagine, followed by a huge ...

... to only stay one night we hopped off the train and headed for the HI youth hostel that was nearby.  We were immediately welcomed by a multitude of odours, the most prominent being of fish and garbage, followed closely by something close to latrines.  The fish smell was probably due to the large port sitting beside the train station and the various fish parts that littered the streets, and the garbage was probably due to the large amount of garbage ...

... but then again this is Morocco...of course the road was dangerous. In this square abounds acrobats, jugglers, fortune tellers, snake chalmers and others all eager to make a living......it has rows of food stalls serving quick but very tasty food. Since I was here the area has canged dramatically. Old buildings surrounding the square have ben demolished or atleast dramatically refitted......modern structures blend in.....rather too well.....in a rather planned ...

... We're in the desert. Rick: I was misinformed. Initial impressions were not favourable. The hotel was located in a decaying part of the city ...

... Lynn and I felt like we were back in Morrocco... all was well again. Took an overnight train to Barcelona that evening and arrived there thursday morning at the paraiso hostel (also a fantasic hostel, right next door to the Bocaria market, just off the main street La Ramblas). Wandered Barcelona that day, and saw the fantastic Sagrada Familia Cathedral, by Gaudi... absolutely worth its 5 euros. Saw another assistant that evening, Drew, and went to the Dow ...