Novotel Casablanca City Center- Open 23 Oct 2007

... bit, which is nice. It gives us a chance to relax, catch up on emails, call friends and family via Skype, etc. Tomorrow we are visiting another club. The weather has been beautiful, with today being the warmest. Sunny, breezy and highs probably in the lower 70s if I were to guess. I'm finding Moroccans to be very warm and friendly, even the ones who gawk at us a little on the street. :)

... inside and a further 60,000 worshipers outside. The guided tour that I took was downright annoying, but at least I can say I've been there and have no need to ever return there. <br><br> Dinner with the group was at a traditional restaurant with plenty of kebabs and cuscus. After dinner drinks took us to a place that seems like it has never seen Females. Lots of stares. There appeared to be a ...

... plaza. Construction began in 1986 and the doors opened in 1993. It is the Islamic megamosque. The mosque is covered with intricate tile, plaster, and metalwork all completed by Moroccan masters. I was impressed by the support the country offers to its artists. There seem to always be major work projects going on that will employ the artistic class. Right next to the mosque was a madrasah and museum complex under construction. It reminded me of the cathedrals built during ...

... also see a bread baking room where people bring there dough to be baked. It smelled amazing in the bread room. Our last stop was a cooking shop where I sampled many cookies that were delicious. However I felt icky afterwards from all the sugar but it was worth it. J We took easy on the ship late night to avoid being hassled by the Moroccan men if we would have gone out. I sat around and chatted with NKoyo and Ashley which was really interesting and fun ...

... cream, oil for dipping bread etc ended up buying a small bottle, but I don't think it gave the commission he was hoping for....it turned out that he also enticed 4 other girls on the trip to visit this shop to....(he must have been everywhere in that market!) We headed back to the hotel to eat our first of many tagines, washed down with local Casablanca beer. The following morning it was blue skies and sun, and we caught a taxi out to the Ain Diab Corniche overlooking ...

... and wandered the streets before somehow finding our way to Ricks cafe as in the movie casablanca fame. Play it again Sam and they did - that is the movie. So with Casablanca beer in hand we managed to watch the movie. Late lunch early dinner at Cafe Maure which was in the old fort wall overlooking the port.

... of the shopkeepers gave us a short discussion of the different rugs - traditional, Berber, and embroidered while 2 or 3 other men kept rolling out multiple carpets of all shapes, sizes, colors, and designs - it was fun. Afterward people had time to negotiate for one if they wanted it (and one of the assistant guides stayed with them) while the rest of the group left to go to several other stores. The shops were brought to had everything imaginable ...

... so much. Storks, it seems, are also relatively common. We saw them in several parts of the country. Choyce ...

... the loo), he sent her off to relieve herself where ever she pleased amongst the roman ruins (lucky the guide had given that demo on how to squat!) Popped into Moulay Idriss or whatever the nearby town is called, where I had the fantastic chance of riding a donkey thru the village... geez, if i didn't at all stand out as a foreigner before hand, the donkey ride sure did the trick. although i excitedly shouted donkey everytime we had seen one on the trip to-date ...

... said. I sat down and I as soon as I touched the keyboard I could feel the thick layer of dust on top of fat on top of fat on top of some more fat, it gave me the creeps. The computer was probably from the year 1998 or so - this was 2006. And it felt like it hadn't been used for years. This whole hostel sort of felt like it had been abandoned and some poor messy, fingerless guy had taken over the ruins.<br><br>My impression was even more proved when I went to the ...