3 July

OFF TO CASABLANCA

We drove off to Casablanca to meet the family of Rahif, a Moroccan colleague of Olivier. After a 4-hour drive of arid landscapes we were received as royalty by his sister Siham , her husband Aziz and younger brother Ayman.

They lived in the north-eastern suburbs in a beautiful Morrocan-style home .

After a very warm welcome, Aziz showed us how to prepare the traditional mint tea which we drank accompanied with the typical  Moroccan sweet and salty savouries. 

We then had la magnificent lunch together. They had prepared typical Moroccan dishes such as different little sauces, marinated aubergines, accompanied with bread and 3 types of freshly fried fish. Every single dish was just delicious!! We were surprised by a very typical home-made dish called Pastilla, which is chicken flavoured with honey, coconut, spices and cashews baked in a filo-pastry crust. A magnificent blend of flavours, which just melts in your mouth!!

After having finished our lunch with a huge assortment of fresh local fruits, Aziz gave us hints and tips for the places to visit on the planned itinerary, before setting off to the city center of Casablanca.

We took off with two cars: his’ and my dad’s hustling and bustling down the coastal road to take us down-town Casablanca. 

Luckily my parents were used to African traffic as we soon found ourselves surrounded by cars, 3-wheeled taxi’s , donkeys and wagons, and mopeds criss-crossing the busy streets of the city. Locals were all over the place!! It was quite a scenery to take in! 

Aziz drove us around the city, showing us the Royal Palace, the souks, Ministry buildings and the old Medina. Many French colonial influences could still be spotted in architecture, names and such. 

We stopped at the magnificent Hassan II Mosque situated on the beach front, an impressive building beautifully decorated with a mixture of different regional traditional styles.

We decided to soak in all these new impressions with a cold Heineken on the Cornice, further along the bay before heading home.

It was 23h30 when we arrived. The boys had both fallen asleep … We shared our experiences accompanied by a delicious couscous with everyone and together with family which had equally just arrived from Paris  before heading off to sleep at 2h, exhausted from our first full day in the Kingdom!

This was an experience never to forget and a great kick-off to our trip around Morocco!

An enoumous Thank you to Aziz, Siham, Raif, Ayman and the family.