Eight Hours to Fez - No Problem

Our Riad Room

This morning, we woke up a little after dawn with the chirping birds outside our window. We had our final delicious breakfast in Marrakech and taxied over to the train station. We said a very sad farewell to Josh and sent him off to the airport to go to Berlin. Traveling just isn’t the same without a brother to pick on me constantly.

We boarded the train and found that even first class seats in Morocco are pretty dingy, but they were surprisingly comfortable enough for the 8-hour ride. The Moroccan countryside was really gorgeous and the landscape changed often throughout the ride. We met a few interesting people in our car, including an incredibly adventurous Australian couple. Later, a sweet student got on and explained some things about Moroccan schools. Lastly, we were in the car with a very friendly Moroccan guy who worked for the tourist center in Fez. He told us everything we could want to know and hooked us up with a guide for tomorrow who supposedly showed Bill Clinton and Bono around Fez. It was like he was planted there by the government to give us all the inside details.

The train eventually stopped, and we took a van to the Palais Amani. It is tucked away in a poor-looking alley but it is anything but poor. We got the longest welcome I’ve ever received at a hotel. We walked into a central courtyard garden filled with beautiful tiles. Then the co-owner sat us down in the living room with mint tea and cookies and gave us a detailed explanation of the entire riad. It was fascinating. He was born in Morocco but grew up in France and had a very rich friend that he wanted to do some business venture with. So they decided to turn this previously private home (I would like this to be my private home) into a beautiful hotel. But he wanted to make it a project as well, so he said he would only hire local people. They trained the workers for a year before opening and had to teach them an entirely new way of reacting to things. It sounds like it totally changed their lives and he claims that they are very happy working here. I think I would be too, minus the long hours. Eventually, after my dad had all his questions answered, he showed us to our room. My parents are staying upstairs and I have a little bed downstairs in one big room. It is very nice.

Our Riad's Patio

We settled in and ventured out for a short walk through the city. We did not go very far because it is incredibly hard to navigate without a guide. The stores were all closed so we mostly just got looks and got asked to come to restaurants, but we saw some adorable kids playing in the street. I may have to smuggle a Moroccan child out of here when I go.

We went back to the riad and had one of the best dinners ever. It started with a beet puree. Then we had some sort of fennel dish with spinach. Then we had delicious beef – it was melt-in-your-mouth. It ended with sweet oranges and cinnamon. I wish I could say a more detailed description about the food but there was no menu and they couldn’t tell us in English what it was. But everything was perfect. Now we are relaxing and getting ready to sleep before the big adventure that surely awaits us tomorrow. And there is a party here tomorrow night for New Year’s Eve that I’m pretty pumped about!