Soaking up the Rays in Essaouira

About ten minutes after we left the hotel, we walked into a shop and I negotiated for four leather duffle bags for the girls. I negotiated the price down to 400 MAD each, which is about $50 CAD.
Then we walked back to the wood place where Alanna bought a table for her place. She wanted to get her receipt and their business card because it's being made for her and will be shipped to her place. We went next door to the silver place; Vicki and Pam bought some items. I bought a pair of purple Converse shoes for $14 CAD.

We bought chicken shawarmas for lunch and walked towards the beach and sat there soaking up the rays. A man came up to us and tried to sell us jewelry. He told me I was a 90 and I asked him what he meant and he said from my waist down I was shaped like an onion. He liked my hips he then offered 2,000 camels for me. I told him to go away.

We walked back to the square and I bought chocolate and banana crepe. It was delicious.
Now we're at the hotel waiting for the rest if the group to return, so we can take a 3 hour bus ride to Marrakech.

Morocco's Famous Clementines

Rock the Kasbah

Monday, we left Todra Gorge for Ait Benhaddou, known for it's Kasbah town that has appeared in Gladiator & Kingdom of Heaven. On our way there we stopped in Ouarzazate, which is the movie capital of Morocco, for lunch. It's definitely a tourist place and was my least favourite place on this trip.

 
We stayed at Maison d'Hote La Fibule in Ait Benhaddou, owned by Mr Action Houssain and his family. They call him Action because he's been an extra in 11 movies. Action and his sister demonstrated a couscous and tagine cooking class. The couscous here is much different than back home. The Moroccan way takes 2 hours and 40 minutes versus the 5 minutes out of a box back in Canada.

Mr Action Houssain:

The next morning (Tuesday) before we left for Aremd, we walked to the top of the Kasbah and saw beautiful views of the valley. Tuesday was our longest drive of the trip (6 hours) across the High Atlas Mountains. The views of the mountains were spectacular and some of the peaks were lightly dusted with snow. Along the way we crossed the highest pass in Morocco, named the Tizi 'n Tichka pass.

We spent Tuesday night in the village of Aremd, which is situated in the mountains. It was very cold that night and the fire in the common eating room did not throw off any heat. Really, it had to be the most pathetic fire I have ever seen or felt. However, the blankets were situated in a way that we were toasty while we slept.

Before we left Aremd, Vicki and Pam went for a 3 hour hike to the temple. They said it wasn't very picturesque but it was a good hike and they saw mountain men. We left Aremd for Essaouira, a town next to the ocean. The girls went to a street vendor for yummy sharwarma followed by drinks at Casa Vera. Vicki and I shared a pitcher of so-so sangria. I hope the sangria is better in Spain.

This morning our group went on a 3 hour tour to the port, through the medina and shown where to eat seafood and have coffee or gelato. Next our local guide took us to a the spice section, wood place and the workmanship is exquisite with mother of pearl inlay, lemon tree, etc. Lastly, our guide took us to a silver place where we all bought stuff.

After lunch we went to section 5 and order fish and seafood for the five of us. We ordered crab, shrimp, prawns, sole, sea bass, and red snapper. The crab and prawns were my least favourite as they barely had any meat.

This afternoon Alanna, Nina, Pam and I went to a local hammam. This one woman worked on the four of us at a time and she scrubbed, rinsed, exfoliated, rinsed, scrubbed, rinsed, washed our hair, rinsed, and massaged us. We were there for three hours and I don't think we could get any cleaner as every inch of us as she was thorough. It cost 150 MAD each, but we each decided to give her 200 MAD, which is $24 CAD.

We ate sharwarmas again tonight but at a different place and they were just as good. Some of us ordered a Moroccan salad, which is a favourite of mine and it consists of tomatoes, red onion, coriander, olives, and a bit of olive oil. It's so light and tasty.

Tomorrow afternoon we leave Essaouira for Marrakech, which is our last Moroccan destination. Not only will we spend the next two nights there, but we will also ring in the New Year there.

View of Jebel Toubkal, Morocco's highest mountain.

Hanging out in Todra Gorge

Today was a free day in Todra Gorge; Vicki and Pam and two other girls from our group went for a four hour hike and they visited a nomad family. I wanted to do the hike, but Yassine, our tour guide, said I needed shoes with traction. Unfortunately, my Chuck Taylor/Converse shoes don't have any traction and my runners are having their own adventure with my big backpack somewhere. Instead I went with the rest of the group on a two hour walk from our hotel to the Gorge.

Our local guide showed us fig trees, fava bean plants, date trees and almond trees. We even tried some almonds, which tasted the same as back home minus the salt. Our local guide showed us the locals plots of land and how they irrigate their lands. He took us to his family's kasbah and how they make sure to have people living in them to maintain the roof and structure so they will not deteriorate.

Lastly, he took us to the Gorge and it's very impressive. It was so nice to feel the sun on us and to be able to walk around and breathe fresh air. It was a relaxing way to spend the morning.

We went for lunch at a another kasbah restaurant and had soup, a dish with rice, beans, lentils, tomatoes, beets. And hard-boiled egg, and this was followed by a pizza similar to a calzone. The food here is good and is sweet and savory at the same time.

After lunch we went to another room for tea and we're shown carpet made by local women. It's a co-operative where women come during the week to learn how to clean the wool and make rugs. I bought a small one for my bedroom and it has purple, orange, turquoise and a bunch of other colours that I can't recall. It's very soft as it was made out of lambs wool. I can't wait to see how it looks in my bedroom.

Now I'm relaxing in my room and I'm soon to go on a search for some tea.

Merry Christmas from the Sahara Desert

Yesterday our group rode camels for an hour into the desert and stayed at a camp overnight. We ate chicken tagine with vegetables and had clementines for dessert. The clementines are more fragrant and flavorful than ones we get back home. We sat around the campfire listening to the beat of the drums and local music.  Our guide asked us to sing Christmas carols, which we did. However, we had a hard time remembering the words to the 12 Days of Christmas.

It was cold last night in our Berber tent and I snuggled next to Alanna for body heat. We woke up this morning before sunrise and rode our camels out of the desert. I love the red and gold colours of the sand against the blue sky and sun. I love the curves and lines of the dunes. It's truly beautiful. I think I need to do a three or five day camel trek. :-)

Yesterday, each of us named our camels: mine was Michael Schumacher because he always tried to overtake Alanna's camel; Vicki's was Mika Hakkinen; Pam's was Patches; Alanna's was Camel Quisha; and Nina's was Stinky because he let one go. Good thing Nina and her camel were at the back.


We're now in Todra Gorge for two nights and we exchanged the Secret Santa gifts at tonight's dinner. I received a lovely ceramic dish with a lid.

Coca-Cola with my lunch

Through all kinds of weather

In case you're wondering: still no luggage.

This morning in Fez, Vicki, Nina and I each had a deep fried donut with an egg (we never thought about our arteries at the time). It was a local dish and very tasty. The price for 3 donuts, 1 cafe au lait, and 3 mint teas was 50 MAD.

We left Fez behind in the pouring rain for our auberge just outside of Midelt in the Middle Atlas Mountains. On our way we stopped in a ski resort place for tea and pastries. Pain au chocolate was 3.50 MAD and the tea was 20 MAD. Our breakfast was a better deal.

We drove through rain, land coated in snow and snow blowing across the road. At this point, there was a hold up on the road as an RV was over on it's side. Our driver started to drive up the road but got stuck because he had to stop for other cars that decided to pass through at that time. We all hopped out of the van and pushed it to get going, then we ran to the other side to hop back into the van. On the other side of the pass it was clear if snow and rain and the land looked arid and dry.
We stopped in a small village called Zada for lunch. Vicki and I shared a tagine with a little goat meat, peas, onions, and tomato for 50 MAD.

We stopped at a national park full of cedar trees and saw adorable monkeys.

Now we're at our auberge just outside of Midelt and we were told to have our shower at night before supper because we only have hot water from 6:00 pm until 7-8 pm. There wasn't much water but it was hot.

Just ate a fabulous meal of vegetable soup, couscous with lamb and veggies. The veggies are so fresh and the lamb was tender. I had a fruit salad for desert with cherry juice.

Now we're listening to local Berber musicians.

Local entertainment in Midelt

How many camels for Alanna?

Our group went to see the Palace doors, which are exquisite metal, ceramic and marble tiles.

We went to a lookout place to get a panoramic view of the medina. I bought an umbrella for 30 MAD because it started to really downpour and I didn't hear anything from our local tour guide, named Hakima said as it was too windy and everyone's umbrella was turning inside out.

Hakima told us Fez Medina is the intellectual capital of the World because it's has the 1st university; it's the religious capital of the World (more than 365 mosques); and is the ceramic capital of the World.  After the lookout we went to a ceramic place and were shown how the students make and design pottery and mosaics.

Pam ordered a bowl with a hole drilled in the bottom to use as a sink in her new powder room and two tiny bowls. Vicki bought a big bowl and 4 small plates. Nina bought 4 small plates. Alanna bought a big plate. Everything is being shipped to Vicki's place in a couple of months after Pam's bowl is made.

We went to the Medina and to the textile section where men made scarves, fabric and they tied a scarf around each of our heads in different styles. Most of us bought scarves for our gift exchange person there.

We went to a rug place and Vicki, Nina, and Pam each bought a rug. Today is really a day of shopping.

We also went to a leather place and saw the tannery with its gigantic pots of various colours. Vicki and Pam each bought poufs, Alanna bought a small wallet. You can buy a custom-tailor made leather jacket and have it delivered to your hotel within 3 hours.

Hakina took us to a local restaurant in the Medina and it cost us 60 MAD each for a drink, 2 salads, bread, and either lamb, chicken, or beef kofte.

Tonight, the 5 of us went shopping for some underwear, socks, and a shirt(s) since we still don't have our luggage and we have no idea where it is or when we will get it. Nina and I hope we get our bags before we go to Spain.

Vicki and I stopped for fruit smoothies and pastries. The 5 of us each got a bowl of soup called hariri and 3 loaves of bread for 50 MAD, which is $1.20 CAD each.

When we were at the leather place one of the salesman offered us 3,500 camels plus 2 leather jackets for the each of the four of us and a leather bag for Pam. Don't worry, we didn't sell her.

We're off to Midelt tomorrow and the day after we are going to ride camels into the desert and camp over night there. You won't hear from us for a couple of days.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

My new bowl from Fez

It's being shipped to Vicki's place.

Gates of the Royal Palace in Fez

It's raining here in Fez. We just visited an old Koran school in the Medina for 10 MAD; the workmanship is exquisite. The School is now used for prayer and to educate illiterate people.

Morocco, finally!

Looks like our flight from Paris to Rabat is a go and will take off in 40 minutes. Once we get there we will need to arrange travel from Rabat to Fez where we will meet up with our tour group. I'm happy I will not be missing Fez, the Camel trek to the Sahara Desert and Todra Gorge.

Wahoo!

Sent from my iPhone

Guess what I found today?

Paprika flavored Pringles at the Charles de Gaulle airport. I have been on the search for these chips in Canada since my TMB trip with Vicki. We ate a lot of them in Chamomix.
We're waiting for our flight to Rabat and so far it's on time. Keeping our fingers crossed.

Rabat?? Maybe

So after 5 hours in line we got booked on a 12:40 flight to Rabat. We're hoping it doesn't get canceled. We made friends in line with fellow travelers from Turkey, Morocco, Bulgaria, Brazil, the States and who knows where else.

We got a hotel voucher for another Hotel Ibis, this one is in Paris and we're too tired to explore. Our voucher includes dinner and it's not like last night's dinner.

I'm happy that Alanna and her fellow traveler Kaitlyn have a room and a bed to sleep on tonight.
Girls were giddy at dinner from the lack of sleep.

Here's a picture of our trip so far

Good times ... NOT!!!

It started Saturday night when we were still in Montreal, Vicki and I both received text messages saying our flight from Paris to Casablanca on Sunday afternoon was canceled. The guy at the gate wouldn't book us on another flight and told us to wait until Paris. We finally arrived at the Paris airport and sat on the tarmac for 2 hours. After that we stood in line for 5 hours to get booked on another flight scheduled for Monday afternoon. We got a hotel voucher and went to the hotel. In the meantime, Alanna got a standby ticket for the 9 pm flight and we told her to go ahead and go to Morocco, if she can.

The four of us went to supper at a restaurant in our hotel complex and it was called Courtepaille. My mouth watered over the steak, which I had with green beans - my favourite dinner meal. I finished the meal with 3 scoops of ice cream. It was the best part of the day.

After supper, I heard from Alanna that her flight was cancelled and she was given the run-around. I got a hold of our group leader and told him of our situation. I asked him to send me the hotel details for Meknes, where we are supposed to be staying tonight or for Fez, where our group will be tomorrow and the night after that.
After a night of sleep and a shower, we went for breakfast and the first thing I saw was pain au chocolat and it was truly divine. How I love them. Brekkie was yummy and very satisfying. It gave us fuel for another day of the Aeroport de Paris and Air France, both SUCK!

Yahoo! We finally have Alanna with us and we listened to her ordeal. She stood/slept in line for 12 hours and got a ticket on the same flight as us for today. She has barely slept in 36 hours and is kinda giddy. While we were waiting for our 12:55 flight, Vicki read the bad news at 12:00 - flight to Casablanca is cancelled, again. The thing is it's not snowing here and flights are leaving to different destinations. Vicki and Alanna have a theory - probably there's not enough people for the 12:55 flight to Casablanca and Air France cancels the flight and use the plane for some other destination.

So here we are back in the same line that we were in yesterday and we're taking turns. Now we're trying to get a flight to Casablanca, Rabat, or Fez.

At least we are all together and we ate earlier. We sent Nina on a reconnaissance mission for a snack/pop machine in this area and there's none.
Stay tuned.
Sent from my iPhone

On Our Way to Morocco

So far we're off to a good start: a Guinness at my place and another Guinness and prime rib burger at the airport.

Morocco and Spain, here I come!

One week from today five of us (Vicki, Nina, Pam, Alanna, and I) will leave Ontario, Canada for Morocco.  We are going on a two week tour with Intrepid Travel that will take us around to Morocco's famous sites.  It starts in Casablanca and finishes in Marrakech.  I am looking forward to seeing ancient Fez, riding a camel in the desert and camping overnight in the desert, hiking in Todra Gorge, and seeing the Atlas Mountains, visiting the coast in Essaouira, and shopping in Marrakech with my friends.  Let's hope we get to rock the kasbah!!

Map from Intrepid Travel.

In the New Year, Nina and I will say good-bye to Vicki, Pam, and Alanna as they return home and Nina and I fly to Madrid for three days and Barcelona for five days.  I will celebrate my birthday in Barcelona, which also happens to be a national Spanish holiday called El Día de los Reyes (The Day of the Kings).  Apparently, people leave their shoes out the night before for the King's presents ... I hope someone will fill my shoes with presents.  :-)  I also read that most of Spain has a festival on the Eve of El Día de los Reyes to mark the arrival of the Kings and during their arrival candy is thrown to the crowds.  It should be a fun experience to witness.

Nina's Travel Tip:

• Don't forget to double count your money before leaving the currency exchange place to ensure you received the correct amount. 

A Walk through Beechwood Cemetery

Skate Canada International 2010

I went to Kingston last weekend with my best friend Vicki, my mom, sister Denise and eldest niece, Jen, for the 2010 Skate Canada International Grand Prix event, which was held at the K-Rock Centre.  Mikey drove my mom and I to Kingston on Thursday and we went to Pilot House for fish and chips, which was very delicious, then my mom and I went to watch the rest of the practices.  Everyone else arrived later that afternoon/evening and we went to the Raging Bull for supper ... very slow service.

Most of the weekend was spent at the rink watching the skaters practice and compete and watching Jenny running around getting autographs and pictures of skaters.  Unfortunately, some of the big names (Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir, Jessica Dubé and Bryce Davison, and my mom's favourite guy - Yuko Kavaguti & Alexander Smirnov)  were not there this weekend due to injury and/or recovery from surgery.  The Russian Pair couple were so adorable.  Canada's Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier won the dance competition and were great in their free skate to the Beatles "Eleanor Rigby".  It's hard to believe they are only 20 years of age, have so much artistry and technique ... I loved their free skate.

Canadians medal in every event at this Grand Prix, see the top three results below.

Pairs:
Lubov Iliushechkina / Nodari Maisuradze - Russia
Kirsten Moore-Towers / Dylan Moscovitch - Canada
Paige Lawrence / Rudi Swiegers - Canada

Men:
Patrick Chan - Canada
Nobunari Oda - Japan
Adam Rippon - USA

Ladies:
Alissa Czisny - USA
Ksenia Makarova - Russia
Amelie Lacoste - Canada

Dance:
Vanessa Crone / Paul Poirier - Canada
Sinead Kerr / John Kerr - Great Briton
Madison Chock / Greg Zuerlein - USA

Lady M came over to the mainland for lunch with Vicki and I and we went to the Merchant Pub, the outside reminds of a store in the Harry Potter movies and the inside was cozy.  It was nice to catch up with Lady M. I can't wait to see her next summer.  I working on something special for her.  :)

It was a good weekend with a lot of laughter ... scaring mom at the hotel, watching mom barreling through adjoining room doors, and laughing at one another.

Can't wait for Skate Canada 2011.  Vicki and I have placed bets where it will be held next year and loser buys the winner McDonald's and a pint of Guinness.

Vicki's picks: Saint John, Charlottetown, or Regina

Trixie's picks: Halifax, Calgary, or Moncton

Let the best woman win.