Rivoli Casablanca

... closet He keeps telling me to be quiet and looking nervously out the window like hes not supposed to be there He makes the tea out of sight. Not a big deal but enough to make me nervous He locks the door He takes my shoes and puts them under the bed He sprays me with some terrible cologne He keeps making awkward hand gestures that I have never seen before He stands up and takes off his pants (he had another ...

... inside and a further 60,000 worshippers 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. 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 protest ...

... and higher into the peaks, getting out occasionally for amazing photo opportunities. After driving for hours and I do mean hours, we finally made it to this really old Berber village on the edge of the Atlas Mountains (yes, we really were that close to Algeria) and had a kind of tour of the village. We visited one of the oldest castles in all of Africa and that was really awesome because the inside was gorgeous. Oh my gosh, so intricate and beautiful. The architecture in ...

... 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 ...

... shock when we arrived in Marrakesh, having wrangled my way through the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, but it probably wasn't as bad as it could have been. Though this is their peak travel season, the square where the street performers are wasn't as crowded as it normally is. It would fill up in the evening. There are fortune tellers, women who will do henna tattoos on your hands, and of course the snake charmers. Jane and Helen stopped to pose with the snakes, and ...

... so we decided not to go in!We then continued to walk through the Medina and found the market! It was Saturday and the market area was massive, spreading from the Medina to the streets surrounding it on the Southern side for several blocks. We encountered market after market; it seemed like there were many smaller markets which, due to location, were all connected together. For example, you could explore a few streets find the fresh food, clothing, other goods, then within a few ...

... de algumas horas a espera de boleia e mais um falso alarme, encostou o Driss, senhor simpatico e generoso que começou logo por me oferecer pequeno almoço na estação de serviço entre Rabat e Casa, o meu primeiro « pain au chocolat », mas chocolate nem vê-lo. Nenhuma das cabines disponiveis funcionava com moeda. Paciência, depois vejo isso. Fui conversando com o Driss e ele foi me dando algumas dikas de coisas importantes a saber em arabe, visto que até então ...

... restaurant recommended to us called Squall in a beautiful building in the old city. Gorgeous nooks with tables and vine covered trellises. Food was ok too. Wow what a great city. People everywhere, and such a huge convergence of cultures. There were traditional dressed Muslims walking side by side with those dressed in fashionable western clothes. The city was dynamic with numerous coffee bars along the street side and amazing markets that were woven into the narrow ...

... we arrived after the shops were closed for the day, so it appeared even more desolate. A walk around the central market did not buoy our spirits ...

... smarter than romans) and made us smell some dudes hashish in a temple. Also helped me with my potential donkey purchase from Jamal. I loved the donkeys, couldn't see enough of them... with trailers, without trailers, tied to trees, with people on their backs, brown ones, white-grey ones... i was developing strong arguement for having a donkey in Bergerac as my main mode of transportation... just had to sort out a few details involving where i'd keep it, and what ...