| "The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are
ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the
destination.” Don Williams, Jr. (American Novelist and Poet, b.1968) |
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| Tombeaux Merinides |
Abdoulaye and I
walk into the foyer of the Hotel Merinides and we immediately feel transported.
Richly embroidered couches line the perimeter of the lobby and
hand-woven tapestries blanket the floor. Shiny silver and gold tea
sets are displayed on wrought-iron coffee tables and royal portraits
of Mohammed VI, the king of Morocco, sit quietly in gilded frames by
the front desk and on open table spaces. Porters float by wearing
fez caps and gypsy suits as waiters expertly weave between the
furniture while balancing trays of pulpy, fresh-squeezed orange juice
destined for hotel guests on the terrace. We exit the lobby to soak
up the panoramic view of Fez at sunset and sigh into white patio
furniture as we order two orange juices.
Our flight left
Mali this morning at 2 a.m. and we arrive in Casablanca around 5:30
a.m. Customs is a breeze since we are maybe 2 of 4 people not taking
a connecting flight to Mecca – our entire flight was filled with
Malians making their pilgrimage.
We catch the first train out of the station (conveniently located inside the airport) at 6 a.m. and settle into our first-class seats (definitely worth the couple dollars more in price for air-conditioning and an almost-private car). We try to nap but are too excited to sleep as the Moroccan countryside and city scapes blur past us beyond the windows. Abdoulaye strikes up a conversation with a Moroccan man headed to his home in Fez and asks what are the must-sees in the city. “You have to visit the Hotel Merinides at sunset,” he says. I nod and tell him I will not forget the name and Abdoulaye agrees. Our plans for our first night in Fez are made! We drop off our bags at our hotel in Fez and freshen up before heading into the city to find lunch. After following the flow of mid-day traffic we find a street side café prime for people watching and settle in. I tell Abdoulaye how much I would like to find a hat and a pair of sunglasses. A few minutes later a man walks by with straw hats and bags; I buy one of each. Satisfied with my purchases, we order our lunch and begin to people watch. A few minutes later a man walks by selling sunglasses. I think to myself 'I could ask for a lot of other things!' but I decide to keep my mouth shut – this game of ask-and-you-shall-receive is getting to be too much! 
After filling our
bellies we decide to catch a few z's before heading out for dinner.
For our first night out on the town I decide to get dolled up and
wear an exceedingly cute and equally uncomfortable pair of
espadrilles. I still have the blisters to show for them and their
cuteness.... We decide to walk to the hotel recommended to us by our new train-friend and find ourselves on a
street-corner that looks promising and with another tourist couple
looking lost. But tired of walking and with the sun quickly setting
in the west, we flag down a taxi and explain the hotel we are looking
for. “It's on the hill!” I say excitedly while miming a hill
with a panoramic view of the city for our driver since we forgot the
name, “and you can see all of Fez!” The taxi driver looks
unimpressed with my body language and begins to drive in the
direction of what he understands we are talking about. We pull into
the hotel driveway and I twist my ankle in excitement as I leap out
of the taxi to get change from the concierge. We are here!
We walk through the
lobby of the hotel and then sip our orange juices on the patio while
the sun sets on Fez. The moon rises in the east and our first day
traveling together outside of Mali has come to a close. As I sit on
the outdoor sofa next to Abdoulaye I think that life could not get
any better than fresh-squeezed juice on a hotel terrace overlooking
the former Imperial capital city of Morocco. And then Abdoulaye asks
me to marry him so I can enjoy moments like this with him by my side
for the rest of my life. Life just got better.
|
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| A carriage ride through Fez our second night in the city |
See more pictures from our trip to Morocco here and here!
3 comments:
Gosh! Breaking this story up was definitely a good idea! Also, everything in Morocco looks gorgeous - more posts on your trip to come, I hope!
Great location . wonderful photos thanks for sharing
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