Tapas to Tajine : Troisième Partie

Time to move on again. After a quick breakfast we were driven (five different drivers in Morocco) from Marakech to Casablanca. Our flight out was not until the evening so we had a little time to look around. Our driver told us that it is vacation time here and people are out of town and the traffic is much worse most of the year. Good. 🙂 Casablanca had a slight European feel to it. Also a good looking beach, better than we expected. And yes there is a Ricks Cafe. Why not get the tourist money via Borgart?

The major attraction in Casablanca is the Hassan II Mosque, the third largest in the world and placed over the Atlantic Ocean to match writings in the Koran. It can accommodate 25,000 on the inside with an additional 80,000 in the surrounding plaza. Absolutely beautiful. We took a tour where the guide got Sydney’s number quick teasing her throughout the tour.

Then it was off to Mohammed V Airport and the next leg of our trip. After all the questioning we encountered on our earlier flight we gave ourselves plenty of time to get to the gate, after all this time we were leaving Morocco. But no, not one question on the one time it should have mattered. So off to Paris we went.

The three parts of this journey, Southern Spain, Morocco and Paris are linked historically. The southern part of Spain was ruled by Moors and Arabs for 700 years ending in 1492. When the Spanish reasserted themselves Muslims who lived in La Alhambera were asked to leave and many relocated to Fez in Morocco. In the 20th century Morocco became a French protectorate lasting from 1912 until 1956. So the three sections tie together quite well.

We had a late arrival to our hotel on Rue de Buci in the 6th arrondesmont, a section of Paris we know well. The place is jumping with people in bars. Kim and I skipped out for a quick drink with Sydney happy to crash in the room with her dvds. We hit a bar we know well. Good to be home. Well at least our home in Paris.