22 Hour Layover in Casa!

Ciao, Roma!

Chris was a much happier camper on this Royal Air Maroc flight, since we got the exit row and got to stretch our um, long legs. 😂

Assalaamu Alaikum, Casablanca! And yay for Continent #2 and Chris’s first foray into Africa! (just like Bono!)

Upon landing, we took a tourist cab ride into the city. We passed happy cows, Morocco Mall (the biggest mall in Morocco, and 2nd biggest in Africa), and the Hassan II Mosque, which js the largest mosque in Morocco, the 13th largest in the world, with the tallest minaret in the world at almost 700 feet. Also, fast food.

Chris’s alma mater 😜

We arrived at our hotel, which was quite the upgrade from our AirBnB.

Um, that’s a Cartier store off the lobby.

This is what $60 (or some number of Hyatt points) gets you in Casa. By the time we got settled to head out, the sun had set. We were starving and were searching for authentic street food. Our bougie hotel attendant recommended the 5 star hotel restaurant. And we’re like “um no, we want meat on a stick.” Chris, specifically, was on a desperate search for sheep head, long story unless you also watch #90DayFiance on TLC. We attempted to wander about Old Medina, a famous bazaar right next door. But given Chris’s very obviously non-local hue and my generally WASPy attire, we stood out like sore thumbs and were quite the attraction for vendors. Also, it’s a Wednesday night - not exactly a big night for tourists. So, we were extra special snowflakes.

Upon escaping that hilarious disaster, we headed towards Marche Centrale, a far less touristy - more food focused market.

Unrelated: We were also nearly trampled by a herd of small Chinese-American kids - most likely on a church mission trip. But I digress... We were getting hangry, and finally came across this lovely hole in the wall where there were a bunch of old Moroccan men eating, with no youths or westerners in sight. We had delicious chicken kebab sandwiches for first dinner, sans french fries, which are also very big in local cuisine.

While we ate, the tv in the corner of the room was showing the news. 😒 Since the official languages of Morocco 🇲🇦 are French and Arabic, and our French translation app was easier to use, we accordingly learned how to apologize for Donald Trump in French. Je suis désolé pour Donald Trump. Il est le pire. We headed back to the hotel to nap and get our coats since it was a little colder than expected. After much ado on the TripAdvisor app, we headed out. We took a taxi to The Hassan II Mosque to at least get a picture - since we could not visit during its open hours.

We had finally decided on a restaurant via TripAdvisor - traditional Moroccan food, not too expensive. And I thought I had called a good audible when I asked the taxi driver if our choice was a good one and what his favorite restaurant was/where he would go with friends. He said our choice was good, but recommended a different one. So, we went with it. Turned out to be the other top hotel restaurant. With 4 dollar signs. And it looked like this.

And then came the belly dancers.

No offense to the belly dancers - they were great. But, eye roll. Super touristy.

When traveling, we gravitate more towards homestyle - not fancy. We want things to taste like a grandmother cooked it. And especially in countries with developing economies, we want to stretch the US dollar as much as we can and not pay international chains. It was nice. It wasn’t insanely priced for the amount/quality of food... in DC. Mint tea

A selection of salads - Moroccan restaurants are the only place where I would ever order such an item. 😏

Chicken Pastilla

The Lamb Tagine with Dried Fruits was excellent.

We shouldn’t complain. We had a bountiful meal that was quite good and were given solid service, right after an eating marathon in Italy. But, you know.... it just wasn’t cooked with love. 😒

Better luck next time! But, not bad for a layover on a weeknight. We hope to take a longer trip to other parts of Morocco in the future. Especially since my brother and sister-in-law are obsessed with Rabat. 😉

View out the window the next morning and quite possibly the most robust “included” breakfast of any hotel we’ve ever been to... (interestingly, also $60 for 2 non-guests... which was the same as the room fee).

And quite possibly the most robust “included” breakfast for any hotel we’ve ever been to. (Additionally, 2 non-guests would also pay $60, which is also the cost of a room night...)

Also, the Pearl Lounge at the Mohammed V Aeroport has a pretty solid kids’ play area that I kind of wanted to hang out in myself...

- [x] Reminder/notes for next time - after checking in to the hotel, don’t pick up cabs from the hotel/say the exact hotel’s name to cab drivers. Beyond typical tourist upcharge/sanitization of recommendations, hyatt regency here = assumption that we have fancy needs. Make sure to request a “small taxi,” so they don’t flag down a luxury vehicle. As of today, small taxi from airport to Hyatt (16 miles) should be 300 dhs (currently = $30). Rabat isn’t that much further from the airport than downtown Casa. Go there or Marrakech instead😜, but consider a quick excursion to the Hassan II Mosque 🕌 during operating hours, because it looks amazing .