come with me to the kasbah!

even though I had been to Morocco before, such are the things that rule our imaginations... lines from old movies, images of exotic places seen in books when we were young---

"on a morning from a Bogart movie in a country where they turn back time, you go strolling through the street like Peter Lorre contemplating a crime...from the blue tiled walls to the market stalls there's a hidden door she leads you to..."

those are words from one of my favorite songs of all time by Al Stewart called The Year of the Cat...

so yes, we saw Morocco- and I acknowledge reality but my trip was to a place that was more than just the things we saw... and what could be better? so come with me to the Kasbah in Rabat this morning- I think you will find you can imagine yourself in a song like the one I just quoted or a movie from long ago... people may live here but it is still a place apart...

Aziz models for us...

on to lunch along the rive between Rabat and Sale - lovely fish place called La Pescaria... where the half bottle of wine was half the bill as well- LOL and we learn this constant reminder that we are in a Muslim country... then a late afternoon drive to Fes and our hotel for the next three nights the Palais Faraj... a stunningly beautiful restored palace... but more on that later-

oh and more scenes from a movie as well- think Indiana Jones...coming soon...

"everybody goes to Rick's"

and so do we- for lunch on our first day in Morocco... in Casablanca... our lunch was a combo of continental and local... GA had chicken tagine and I have a pasta dish with fish...

and here are the photos - all very atmospheric...

of course homage is paid to the movie-

and it runs on an endless loop in the bar/casino room upstairs...

the parking out front- and yeah, tourists go here all the time- but how many times in your life to do you get to imagine Bogey upstairs with the letters of transit in his dinner jacket- waiting to help someone get the late night flight to Lisbon?  so worth it!

we take a driving tour of other city neighborhoods and Aziz asks Mustafa to stop at Place Mohamed V but I am falling asleep in the back and my two hours for last night and the quick nap this morning have made it imperative that I find a bed pretty much immediately- so we pass on a walk around Place M5 and head back to the Hotel Doge - where I am asleep before my head hits the pillow... we meet up for dinner later that evening (early 7:30 reservation for Saturday night at the Relais et Chateaux place in the hotel) no real recollection of dinner- I think I had fish...LOL - up early tomorrow for a full day of Rabat touring and a drive on to Fes (our next hotel stop for three nights)- onward.... come back and join in the fun....