Rabat, living the high life.

On the morning of the 28^th, Claire and I said goodbye to Caitlin and Thea (who were heading up to Spain) and caught a train to Rabat, the capitol of Morocco. The train ride took about 2.5-3 hours, which was much shorter than we anticipated and we were both startled awake just in time to hop off the train! I have become a huge fan of train travel, especially longer trips. I love the sway of the train and being able to catch up on journaling or being rocked to sleep. It’s a small luxury!

We stepped off the train in Rabat and really had no idea what to expect. The train station was super nice and the minute we stepped out the front doors, we knew there was something different about Rabat. No one was staring at us and no taxi drivers approached us. People were going on with their daily lives hustling and bustling around the city. Women were much less conservatively dressed, and although we still didn’t fit in (note the LARGE backpacks and brightly colored clothes), we didn’t draw near as much attention.

We weren’t meeting our couch surfer until later that evening so we began our journey around the city. We walked to the royal palace and after trying to enter FOUR different entrances (they told us we had to find the visitors entrance) we finally made it and were able to walk all the way up to the door of the palace and take pictures! The royal palaces in the other cities would not let you come close or take pictures, so that was a pretty big deal for us. We sat on a little bench in the park and ate the warm yogurt that our Fez couch surfers gave us for our trip. They gave us like nine of them and no one else wanted them so I’m pretty sure I ate all nine.

 The Royal Palace

We then made our way down to the old medina. The walk was a little long and treacherous (walking right on the side of the highway) but we finally made it downtown and took a little lunch break.  Our extensive traveling and lack of solid sleep was starting to catch up with us so we found a grocery store and bought some fruits and made our way (miraculously/probably because of the sea breeze and smell) to the beach. There actually wasn’t a beach, just rocky cliffs. But it was still very lovely and we found a spot to sit down and relax and listen to the waves crashing into the caverns. We spent most of the afternoon there fending off weird men who would literally stand behind us for 15 minutes trying to talk to us (despite our lack of even acknowledging them) and people/seagull watching. It was a wonderful and relaxing break from our usual go-go-go.

 We saw one guy drop trow (trowsers) and pee into a cave, so we took that as our sign to head back.

We caught a taxi back to the train station and walked around that area for awhile popping into bookstores or little shops. Our couch surfer told us not to eat until he picked us up because he was going to take us out, but we stopped back at the train station café to have some mint tea. We were enjoying our mint tea (trying to, but the teapot was broken so the table got to enjoy the majority of it) when two guys from Sciences Po came walking right up to us! It was so random! They were visiting Casablanca but had just arrived by train…..to meet with the prime minister! It was actually hilarious because Claire and I were dirty and wearing the same clothes we had been wearing for awhile and here they stroll up in their suits and ties. We’re about to meet up with someone we met on the internet and they’re about to meet with the prime minister! Funny how things work out. It was nice to see them but they were running late so unfortunately they couldn’t share the tea with us and our table.

We met our couch surfer in front of the train station (we have no idea how he found us-could it have been the large backpacks and confused looks on our faces?). He was super nice and we all talked easily on our walk to the restaurant. He was born in Marrakech but moved to Rabat to work for an engineering company.  His English was excellent but he also taught us some Arabic and we exchanged a few words in Spanish (because he is taking a beginner course at a local university).

When we arrived at the restaurant we walked in and were greeted by a man who poured hot water over our hands from a beautiful teapot. Then we dried off our hands and walked upstairs into a Moroccan paradise. The restaurant was so beautiful and filled with lovely cushions and tapestries and rugs. We took a seat and unrolled our leather menus. Habib (our couch surfer), ordered for us and soon the waitress was at our table pouring us mint tea and bringing out 2 lovely platters of dip.

 Habib told us that Moroccans eat with their hands and therefore, he wouldn’t allow us to eat with our forks. They give you lots of bread to scoop things, etc. Which was okay with me because who wouldn’t want more bread, right?

The dips were absolutely fantastic and before we knew it our main courses were coming. He ordered me tagine avec legumes and it was seriously the most beautiful thing I have ever tasted. The vegetables were soft and filled with yummy spices (and olives!).

 I thoroughly enjoyed getting intimate with my food (because your hands are all up in it). I looked down at my fingers and they were filthy, I glanced over at Habib and his were clean. Mhm, well not all of us were born without utensils to use.  After the meal (which he refused to let us pay for) we washed our hands and went downstairs where the man at the door spritzed our hands with an orange-something mist. Habib tipped him (?? Not sure) and we walked back to his car. At this point it was already about midnight so we went back to his apartment which is about a 10 minute drive outside of Rabat. It was nice to see the city and the outskirts. His apartment was very beautiful and very white. There was a guest bedroom for Claire and me so we unpacked our things and went straight to sleep (because his maid was coming early-so we had to get up early). The next morning Habib took us to breakfast and ordered a TON of food for us, paid, and then left because he was running late for work. 

We sat on an outdoor patio and had fresh squeezed orange juice, coffee, bread, an omelet, and 2 kinds of special Moroccan breakfast biscuits. Both of our stomachs were starting to feel a little weird because of the drastic change in eating habits (eating late) and the drastic change in foods (very rich and a lot of it). We struggled to finish all the food but we didn’t want to waste it so we sneakily wrapped our croissants in a napkin and shoved them in our purses J we’re so American!

We rode the tram into town and visited supposedly the only tourist place in Rabat. It was beautiful and had a view of the whole city. It was also the location of the King’s tombs and another important mosque.

We also walked up to a lookout spot called the Kasbah. We met two american girls there who have internships in the north of France. We talked about our journey snd struggles through Morocco. It was nice to meet some companions!

In the afternoon we met up with Habib and walked through the souks because he was going to try to find someone to unlock Claire’s phone so that she could use it internationally. The souks were full and a little scary, but we made it out alive! We walked Habib to his Spanish class and told him we would meet him back there in 2 hours. He told us not to eat, but this was a trap that we didn’t want to fall into again. He had been paying for everything and we felt so bad, so we grabbed a few snacks so that we wouldn’t order as much at dinner. We also went back to the souk and bought Habib some dried mint tea leaves and also some fresh ones so that we could make tea later.

After class, Habib drove us to a hip little “juice bar”. We sat on the patio and ordered Panini’s and cups of juice-which were actually smoothies. I got a mango/orange one and a surprise one (secret ingredients). They were so good and so we ordered more J we tried to pay but he said his friend worked there and wouldn’t let him pay. We kept seeing friends and coworkers of his, which was really funny, but I guess the younger crowd all goes to the same places! Habib also kept giving money to homeless people and he then explained to us that Moroccans are very generous and give freely to those less fortunate. I thought this was interesting but definitely explained why we had had such great hosts in Morocco.

We returned to his apartment only to discover that all of our clothes were hanging on his clothesline on the patio. We were so confused so we went to the guest bedroom and our bags and all of our stuff was gone! The maid had unpacked our bags and washed all of our stuff! Our bags were in his closet along with my bathing suit and some of my clothes which were folded nicely in his drawers. It took about 30 minutes to gather all of our stuff. My journal on his bedside table, our snacks in his cabinets, etc. He felt really bad but Claire and I couldn’t stop laughing. And it was nice to have clean clothes, even if they weren’t going to be dry for the rest of the trip!

We stayed up late listening to music, drinking tea and watching movies in Arabic. At about 2am we decided we needed to go to sleep. I took a cold shower because the maid had accidently turned the hot water off (it was unfortunate). A total of two “baths” the whole trip. One in a Hammam and one in a cold shower. That’s the life.

The next morning he took us to breakfast again (and ate with us this time) and then walked us to the tram station where we said our farewells. We took the tram back to the train station and boarded our train to Casablanca!