Day 134

Today was our first day in the new AirBnb which meant we had a new neighborhood to explore!

After walking around our new neighborhood we headed outside the Medina walls. We went to the mall that is located in the “new city” of Gueliz. Lots of tourist stay in this area and there are new/bigger hotels for people who don’t want to stay in the Medina. 

We did lots of familiar things in the newer part of the city including Starbucks and the mall foodcourt. We also went to the grocery store in the mall, to get some essentials. At the store we found the biggest honey aisle we have seen yet. 

We wandered around the rest of the day and then got some yummy snacks on the way home. 

Day 135

Today was a mostly lazy and rainy day. But we did have one goal: to get more tajines. Cafe Henna is right down the way from our Airbnb. The people getting henna were entertaining and the food was yummy. We would definitely go back. 

Day 136

We have noticed that most of our daily plans revolve around food and today was no different. There has been a little bit of homesickness so we headed off to find tacos in the Medina. We found some at Cafe D’Or! 

Lots of places in Europe and here in Morocco claim to have ‘tacos’. But it is not the tacos we think of being from Texas. But these tacos at Cafe D’Or hit the mark and there was even salsa. 

We meandered through the souks and enjoyed some mint tea. As we were sipping our tea, Katie realized that today was Halloween. So we headed to the grocery store to get some candy. On the way to the store we found a great little park that had lots of interesting statues/sculptures. Check out the pictures below.

Day 137 

We left the airbnb without much of a plan other than coffee. After skipping past a few shops we came to one that looked tasty and had seating. Coffee and more mint tea were delicious. It’s going to be hard to give up the tea when we leave Morocco. We are glad that we have a while longer here. After our tea we walked around and then enjoyed a great sunset. 

We went to Jemaa el-Fnaa at night and it is a completely different place. The middle of the square fills up with food stalls and tables and the outside fills up with all kinds of performers and people trying to make some money. As it got later the crowd seemed to become a lot less touristy and more Moroccan. 

Day 138

We went to the same cafe as yesterday and then we found a park called Cyber Park. It is sponsored by the phone company and seemed commercial at first but is actually very nice. As we were walking around and while we sat and read in the park, we saw so many cats. We also saw some adorable (and very young) kittens as we were leaving. 

We tried out some Casablanca beer and had dinner at a place called Pik-Nik. There was some false advertising that said, “Authentic Mexican Tacos” but they were definitely the french kind with potatoes inside. But still tasty.

Day 139

The upstairs terraces at the Airbnb isn’t as nice as the one at the hostel but it gives a pretty good view for sunrise. After watching sunrise we walked around the souks and back to the square. We ended the day at Cafe Kif Kif and had two amazing tajines. 

Day 140

We meandered through the souks for a bit today. We started in a different direction than we had gone before and came across an area of the souks we had seen during our first days here. The souks are so expansive its easy to wander and wander and not be able to find your way back to a stall. 

We had coffee and a snack (Harissa soup) at Cafe des Epices. We were luckily in getting a table quickly. Shortly after we arrived there were lots of people milling around and looking for a table. As with many restaurants in Marrakech we were given a table number and told to pay at the register. Its interesting seeing the small differences between such an everyday activity as paying the bill. 

We enjoyed Cyber Park again and headed back to the grocery store. We’re trying to stay on our budget so eating at least one meal a day from the grocery store is helpful. Checkout the dried fruit bins at the store in the pictures below. All of the bulk type products are in bins that you scoop from. 

We tried to go to a restaurant around the corner, Dar Mama a few days ago but it was already closed. It was early today so we headed there for dinner. It was good but a little bland compared to all the amazing tajines we have been eating. 

More adventures from Marrakech next week but no promises that we do anything more exciting than drink tea, hang out in parks and maybe go to the grocery store! 

Morocco