GOODBYE MOROCCO!

Leaving on the Midnight Train...

AFter a whirlwind trip tour of Morocco-- how the past three and a half months of flown!--I'm leaving this fine country to its own devices.  I'm off to Spain tomorrow and bigger and better things like Oreos, Bagels and shorts. But I know I'm leaving a piece of my heart and many pairs of shoes here in the great Maghrib. 

So it ends, Morocco. It was swell. 

May your tea be as bitter as death, as sweet as life, and as mellow as love

Today I am going to Fes: Culinary Capital of Morocco. But not for me because I'm a strict budget of 200 dh a day. I am so disciplined! 

Tomorrow, I will receive my dear friend Marlies at the airport. She comes to keep me company on my wine tour/serious academic research on alcohol consumption in Morocco. 

But YESTERDAY: I met the King!! Of Morocco. His Excellency Mohammed VI. There I was enjoying some gelato on the sidewalk, pondering micro-credit loans and the future of the rural economy, when the trumpet sounded. Horsemen! Tagines! More horsemen! Carriages! The royal family rode by as the commoners mobbed the streets. It was just like Inauguration, only more...Moroccan.

SHOES shoes shoes

A Bird's eye view...

I could drink A Case of You, Morocco

So I embark on my Independent Study Project at the end of this week.  I'll be sad to end my Arabic classes.  For about as long as it took me to write that sentence. 

I've decided on the quite controversial and rather relevant topic of wine production and consumption.  Morocco may not be known for its Shiraz just yet, but it's vineries are up and coming.  The glass of Cabernet I had last week, I have to say, was surprisingly fruity--almost date-infused. 

Also, my mother was here. She agrees with me that Morocco has the best oranges in teh world, and that hotel service leaves something to be desired (honesty), but she refuses to swap flights home with me.  ("Didn't you see the Parent Trap? I'll cut my hair and you'll pierce your ear and no one will be able to tell the difference!")

A joke, Morocco. I couldn't leave you just yet.  Not when I have so much wine-tasting to do in Muslim country.  

Love,

Lani

But what do you do in Morocco?