Morocco! Part One of...who knows, at this rate :X
All the promotion for tonight's premiere of Expedition Impossible: The Kingdom of Morocco is a taunting reminder that this time two months ago, I was in Morocco for the first time in twelve years. If you're new here, long story short: my mother is Moroccan, I was born there, and we still have loads of family there. As a kid, we used to go every summer for two months, but then college and internships and summer jobs, and law school, and real jobs nixed that. My mom and my brother have been in the last few years, but I just couldn't ever seem to find a good time. This year my mom and I went for just two weeks, knowing going in it would be a crazy two weeks just because of the number of people we'd have to visit.
4/12: We left Baltimore around 2:00pm on Tuesday the 12th, and flew into New York. We caught our connecting flight out of JFK at 6:45pm. I didn't take any pictures, so you'll have to use your imagination.
4/13: We arrived in Casablanca at approximately 7:30am on Wednesday morning, local time (+5 hour time difference). In the old days, one my uncles or cousins who was in the military would always met us at the gate and whoosh us through customs. No one could swing it on this occasion, but we didn't have any issues anyway. Yay. I was really tired and took no pictures this day either. Worst travelloguer ever :(
My aunts and their husbands picked us up from the airport, and we headed to Rabat, where most of the family lives. Rabat used to be forever away from Casablanca, a good 3+ hours from what I remember, but the King has commissioned a lot of infrastructure projects, and courtesy of the new autoroute, it was only an hour and a half to the capital.
4/14: If I had to summarize my trip to Morocco in three words, it would be these: So. Much. Food. Below is lunch on Day 2(in media res...headed towards "after"). There's fried fish (three different kinds), steamed seasoned shrimp (too much work, not enough payoff!), and 80 billion kinds of salad. Oh and bread. Lots of bread.
4/15-4/16: Tangiers, which I probably would have liked a lot better if I'd ever been able to get my toes into the water :( But alas, the water's too cold for swimming in April. OR SO I WAS TOLD.
One of the biggest things that has changed about Morocco in the last twelve years? There are McDonald's everywhere! Also, so much traffic. I liked everything around Tangiers sooo much better than the city itself :X
The old city defenses.
Street view of one of the Royal Residences (yes, there are apparently at least two in Tangiers).
Down the road aways from all the fancy villas, we stopped to enjoy the view ourselves.
My aunt's husband stretched his legs among the greenery...
...while my mom and my aunt couldn't pass up fresh squeezed orange juice.
Cap Spatel - said to be where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean oceans meet.
The Cave of Hercules, so named because...I have no idea. No one was there to explain it to me! Missed opportunity, Moroccan Tourism Board. It was really pretty there, nonetheless. I love that it looks like a mirror reversed Africa.
Next: The incredible, breathtaking road to Tetouan, also known as where I will be spending the rest of my days if I ever win the lottery.
4/12: We left Baltimore around 2:00pm on Tuesday the 12th, and flew into New York. We caught our connecting flight out of JFK at 6:45pm. I didn't take any pictures, so you'll have to use your imagination.
4/13: We arrived in Casablanca at approximately 7:30am on Wednesday morning, local time (+5 hour time difference). In the old days, one my uncles or cousins who was in the military would always met us at the gate and whoosh us through customs. No one could swing it on this occasion, but we didn't have any issues anyway. Yay. I was really tired and took no pictures this day either. Worst travelloguer ever :(
My aunts and their husbands picked us up from the airport, and we headed to Rabat, where most of the family lives. Rabat used to be forever away from Casablanca, a good 3+ hours from what I remember, but the King has commissioned a lot of infrastructure projects, and courtesy of the new autoroute, it was only an hour and a half to the capital.
4/14: If I had to summarize my trip to Morocco in three words, it would be these: So. Much. Food. Below is lunch on Day 2(in media res...headed towards "after"). There's fried fish (three different kinds), steamed seasoned shrimp (too much work, not enough payoff!), and 80 billion kinds of salad. Oh and bread. Lots of bread.
4/15-4/16: Tangiers, which I probably would have liked a lot better if I'd ever been able to get my toes into the water :( But alas, the water's too cold for swimming in April. OR SO I WAS TOLD.
One of the biggest things that has changed about Morocco in the last twelve years? There are McDonald's everywhere! Also, so much traffic. I liked everything around Tangiers sooo much better than the city itself :X
The old city defenses.
Street view of one of the Royal Residences (yes, there are apparently at least two in Tangiers).
Down the road aways from all the fancy villas, we stopped to enjoy the view ourselves.
My aunt's husband stretched his legs among the greenery...
...while my mom and my aunt couldn't pass up fresh squeezed orange juice.
Cap Spatel - said to be where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean oceans meet.
The Cave of Hercules, so named because...I have no idea. No one was there to explain it to me! Missed opportunity, Moroccan Tourism Board. It was really pretty there, nonetheless. I love that it looks like a mirror reversed Africa.
Next: The incredible, breathtaking road to Tetouan, also known as where I will be spending the rest of my days if I ever win the lottery.