While not my favorite city, there’s just something about Casablanca that charms me every time. Perhaps it’s the art deco or the fact that nearly all the signs look 30 years old, but it’s always a great place to stroll around.

An example of Casa’s fine colonial architecture

The famous Cinema Rialto and not-as-famous Cafe Billiard (Hamza says that’s a real pool table)

Arabic readers, please read the Arabic on the “The Man” sign.

Funky old tourism office. Guess Casa doesn’t see many tourists nowadays.

I truly wish I knew what to tell you about this sculpture.

The sad tale of the Hotel Lincoln, a local landmark burned quite awhile back with no current plan.

The fat cats of Casa.

Rather majestic, no?

Surprisingly, you don’t see these Coca-Cola signs in Arabic all that often

Gatsby?

Buffet in Morocco?  That’s something you don’t see too often!

Qadeem wa jdid

And if you get the chance, take a taxi to Snack Yamine, which has only five things on its menu - a fried fish plate for either one, two, three, four or five people.

Part two of my birthday plans consisted of splurging in Fez yesterday…Although unfortunately, we couldn’t find Zen Garden (recommended by The View From Fez) and got stuck eating disgusting fish at a downtown place called Walima (utterly NOT recommended), the rest of the day went swimmingly!

Approaching Fez, we saw a cavalcade of motorbikes racing by, followed by several stately cars and a limousine. I was too late in pulling out my camera, but we had, in fact, spotted the king on his way to Rabat…And perhaps his Saudi Arabian counterpart as well!

A flurry of Moroccan flags

And the Saudi flag flies between

Then we marvelled at all of the wonderful new fountains and renovated parks cropping up in Fez…

The beautiful new fountain with a rotating globe

And my second favorite, this bizarre starburst fountain

I admired how clean and well-kept the ville nouvelle’s grand center parks are, while Hamza griped that Meknes has been ignored by investors (although two new parks are in progress, and we’re rumored to be getting a similar fountain to the starburst)

We did a little shopping, a little shoufing, and then went to our intended destination, NausiKaa Spa where, if you recall, I spent Labour Day.

This time, I splurged on a relaxing massage.  My caretaker in the hammam, Radia, was exceptionally helpful (I suspect Hamza told them it was my birthday), even washing my hair and face for me!  Talk about being pampered.  The massage was fantastic, and I think I spent over an hour in the Jacuzzi.

We ended the day in our freshly cleaned apartment…there’s no place like home, after all.

So, my birthday is coming up this Friday, and it’s kind of a big one (can you guess?).  For the occasion, my mother is giving me a sum of money with which to take a short break…But unfortunately, Hamza and I can’t decide where to go.  We’ve picked two possibilities, but will you help us decide between them?

Lovely beach town Asilah, where we vacationed last June:

+ The weather is warm, I’ve been working out and my skin is translucent

- It’s quite far away, we only have two or three days.

or…

Beautiful Fez

+ If we go there, we plan to go back to NausiKaa spa for a massage and hammam visit, and it’s close so we’ll most likely just drive home for the night.

- Because it’s so close, it won’t really feel like a vacation.

Last time I was in Fez (and Marrakech too, actually), I discovered the latest way of getting around…

Trailing behind the engine car are three passenger cars; the tourist train seems to run on major roads in Fez (whereas in Marrakech, I spotted it doing a loop around the Djemaa al Fna). Fortunately, I don’t think Meknes will be partaking in any of this nonsense anytime soon.

Perusing a popular travel board, I came across this posting by Mary King about the cost of traveling in Morocco. She kindly granted me permission to repost it here.

I don’t want to offend anyone and I am not getting at anyone in particular. But I just wanted to point a few things out, about the costs involved in taking a 4×4 tour or hiring a car with guide/driver.

I am getting just a little tired of reading posts with statements such as : “Oooh, it was sooo expensive, the driver wanted 100 euros a day!!!” etc, as if all this money went straight into the driver’s pocket!
I know Morocco is perceived as a budget destination: after all, it’s Africa, right? But, before making judgements such as these, please just think a little.

Take for example a trip from Marrakech to the desert.

With the distances involved - many tourists want to go via the piste or make detours from the route, (and why not…) the fuel can easily add up to 60 euros a day.
Then there are hotel and food expenses for your driver. OK, so sometimes he gets lucky and gets to sleep on the floor (or even in a bed) for nothing. But sometimes he doesn’t. And he has to eat. Often he has to eat where you do, which might be quite expensive for him.
Then there are the nights before and after your trip, if he is not based in Marrakech. He has to get there the day before, pay the fuel, stay overnight, eat…to meet you at your mid range or exclusive riad bright and early the next morning.

There is the wear and tear on the car: New tyres. Stones scratching the paintwork, the windscreen, breaking the headlights. Shock absorbers. And insurance. Some of the roads are very rough and they take their toll on cars, even 4×4s, and parts are expensive! Even in Morocco.
The driving is tiring too. Sometimes your driver will be working 12 hour days.

And that is for drivers who are lucky and own their own cars.
Many of the drivers you encounter will work for an agency. If they are good, and the agency is doing well, they might earn 150 euros a month. That is, a MONTH. The average family’s expenses will be around 200euros a month.

So how do they manage it? Well they will be sharing their small apartment with another family, maybe a brother. And if he is lucky, and has work, he can expect to earn 5 euros a day for a 6 day week.

These people are struggling to feed their families while you are on your holiday.

So you can’t afford it? That’s fair enough. I wouldn’t be able to afford it either, I always go by bus when I travel. But don’t think you are in some way being ripped off.
Even those who are doing well can only dream about holidays like the one you are having. Most will never get the opportunity to travel outside their country.

Many people in Morocco are highly intelligent, adaptable, ambitious, motivated, inventive. The need just a little chance to drag their lives out of the gutter. For increasing numbers of them, tourism has offered them that chance.

This is the positive side of tourism! So please don’t knock it!

My dreams of being a hand model have come true!

That is indeed my hand, in a photo by the glorious Janine; the tajine is at Restaurant Tijani, near Bab Oued Zhoun, Fez (I’ve lost my brochure, but it’s easy to find - ask at Pension Dalila) - a typical palace restaurant but the food was extremely delicious, even by typical Fassi standards.

(any pixellation in the photo is my fault; I couldn’t post it at its original size)

Everyone in Morocco knows that behind old, plain doors lie beautiful things.

Old, decrepit minarets.

Nesting birds.

Well-fed cats.

Aging trees, storks.

A flower grows from nothing.

Not all doors lead somewhere…

…But through this one, a magical view.

Chellah has a timeless quality.

And a placeless one too.

Hanging flowers.

And as we left, we were looked after…

Doesn’t this cactus look a bit like something out of Super Mario Bros. to you? This was my first time visiting the Jardins Majorelle and I was very impressed with…the bizarreness of the cactus garden and the bamboo graffiti, actually. In addition, the house was so blue, the fish so orange, the plant potters so so yellow. An oasis of bright color in a city of ochre.

Not only the bamboo was victimized - there were cactuses covered in graffiti as well, including one where someone had actually taken pains to draw a lovely khemisa.

Morocco’s ubiquitous cats (though this one looked plump and healthy, even flealess!)

The color of the house (now the home to the Museum of Islamic Art, which I skipped - partly because photography was forbidden and partly because I don’t love Islamic art) is truly striking. Janine, my companion and photography-oriented friend told me that it’s so blue that her camera kept thinking it was a mistake.

Even the lilypads are out of this world.

Bright colors everywhere.

All photographs in this post are by Jillian York (me)

For eight days, my friend Janine, whom I actually know from the internet of long-ago (okay, 2001ish) visited me here, hence my lack of postings, returning e-mails, and the cause of an inbox full of 500 pieces of spam.

On the other hand, Janine is only the second of my friends to visit Morocco (some are scared, others poor, others still probably don’t have passports), so it was quite a nice change for me to actually be able to travel with another foreigner and see things again with wide-open eyes.

I have forgotten what it’s like to see Morocco through fresh eyes.  Despite the fact that some things still surprise me, that there’s never a day without something new, I’ve grown used to my adopted home since the first time I stepped foot on Moroccan soil three years ago.  The call to prayer no longer wakes me up (granted, I no longer live next to a mosque either), I no longer cringe at the sight of cow heads or skinned sheep with fluffballs on the ends of their tails, and most importantly, I’ve slipped casually into the tongue of darija and can saunter back and forth between languages.

Yet for some reason I still can’t stop without cooing at street cats.  But that’s a story for another day.

There’s an hilarious post over at The View From Fez on the March breakout of…knee season! That’s when all the knee baring male tourists show up dressed in their “traditional garb” (er, shorts) and embarass the rest of us by not respecting the dress code.

This is not Saudi Arabia, mind you, but there are a few good rules to follow.

Women:
Don’t bare your cleavage, and make sure your skirt goes past your knees.  Short sleeves are okay in big cities, and even modest sleeveless (shell) tops; in smaller towns and villages, mid-length or long sleeves are recommended.  Sandals are fine, ankles are fine, lower arms are fine.  Don’t cover your head if you’re not Muslim - you’ll just stand out more.  Just remember - the more you cover  (reasonably), the less attention you’ll get.

Men:
Unless you’re a teenager or a child, don’t wear shorts.  Men look stupid in shorts anyway, but it particularly irritates Moroccans.  Those “flood” pants are okay, even though I think they’re silly.  And don’t show your armpit hair - frankly, that rule should apply in your home country, too.

And like I said, sandals are culturally acceptable, however, not always recommended - Moroccan ground is dirty and broken glass is common.

Enjoy your trip!