2/13

The last time I went to Paris I didn’t make it to the Château de Versailles so I was lucky my mom decided to join me even though she has been there before! <3 We took the train to the palace and spent a few hours exploring. The garden was not in season unfortunately, otherwise we could’ve spent the whole day frolicking through the acres of roses and landscapes. Still impressive in any season.

It’s hard for me to imagine the days that Versailles housed King Louis– the absolute gluttony and pomp & circumstance of the palace used purely as a showcase of his riches as people around him suffered. Sounds familiar, actually... The extreme extravegence of every room is really quite silly when you think about its purpose– especially the Hall of Mirrors, perhaps the world’s most over-the-top incubator of vanity. Beautiful for sure, if you’re into gaudiness. 

We returned to the city and met up with my dad on the steps of the Sacré Cœur then walked around one of my favorite neighborhoods in Paris: Montmarte. 

I thought it would be fun to get the haircut I needed so desperately while in Paris, so we were seeking out salons all day. We passed Alvarez near Moulin Rouge and I decided to go for it. My stylist was adorable, she’s Japanese and was the only one who spoke English (still very little). We had fun speaking broken English/French/Japanese together and she gave me a gorgeous (she said there’s no French word for “gorgeous” so she likes saying it in English) new ‘do!

My stylist recommended a nearby restaurant for authentic French cuisine and ambiance. Dinner at Le Bon Bock was wonderful!

After dinner we hopped on the metro back to the hotel. It was jam packed and my mom reminded me to move my backpack to my frontside. She has intuition... We stood on the train squished together like sardines, my dad and I near the door with arms up holding on. Near the first stop I noticed two men touching my dad– one shaking his ankle and one unzipping his jacket. I immediately knew they were trying to rob him, so I yelled “Dad they’re pickpocketing you!” just as the train rolled to a halt. The three of them jumped off in a flurry of shouts, the men pretending that he was stepping on their ticket. I pulled my dad back on the train as the two thieves remained on the platform as to not draw attention to their unsuccessful crime. It was all a blur, happened so fast, but we are so lucky nothing was stolen and no one was hurt. 

2/14

My parents had a layover in Paris after their trip to Portugal (one month too early guys!!!) so I hopped on a short plane ride from Marrakech to meet them! We only had two full days but we sure made the most of it. I was soooo excited to see them, it was my re-set, a breath of fresh air in the midst of this crazy journey! I love you mom + dad!

I had been to Paris once before (on Valentine’s Day actually!) so I let them lead, and we sure covered the city. It was so romantic, I was third wheeling it missing Russell as all the cute couples went out on the town for Valentines dates. Sigh.

Notre Dame. Did you know it took 200 years to build?

Shakespeare & Company bookstore. I bought Le Petit Prince :) 

Endless cute cafes

Mom found Knoll, where she used to work!

The Louvre

Invalides neighborhood

My Valentines Day date in Russell’s absence.

Some tower

The Seine

Fun Vday dinner at this cute local pub, Le Mesturet. Great experience with friendly locals!

2/7

Had a full-blown girls day, heading to Henna Cafe after the YSL Museum. This is a wonderful place to support because it’s an educational center for Moroccans, offering free henna classes to locals. They use all-natural red henna with no additives. It’s also fun because you can order food and sip tea while watching the artists in action, with a rooftop view of the medina. These women are SO TALENTED, creating free-hand designs so quickly and accurately.

2/5

Three of us opted for a tour of Fez outside the city walls, while the rest of the crew went back to the tanneries to shop. Our riad host, the same guide as the day before, drove us to a few points of interest outside the medina.

We started at Dar al-Makhzen, the Royal Palace of Fez. It is not open to the public but we could admire the ornate brass doors from the outside- I could only imagine how it must look inside.

We then walked around Fez’s Mellah, the Jewish quarter. Muslims and Jews have peacefully lived side by side in Morocco since the 15th century. This I found fascinating, extensively questioning my guide about it. They have lived in peace because the first Muslims and Jews came to Morocco as refugees rather than colonizers perpetuating violence, as is most history when outsiders invade a foreign land. Mohammed came as a refugee/descendent in the 3rd century. The Jews first came as refugees fleeing persecution in Yemen, then from Spain where Queen Elizabeth exiled them. North Africa was the “new world” for the Middle East and Europe before America was discovered, its proximity providing a safe haven for oppressed populations. Fez is composed of three sections: the King’s Palace, Mellah, and French district. The city of Fez was founded in 808but the beginning of modernity, or “new city,” came about in 1912.

Our next stop was a viewpoint of Fez above a peaceful cemetery. We could see the tanneries, the area of our riad, amazed at how close together everything looks from afar when it’s such a maze inside.

Next, we visited Art Naji in Fez’s ceramic district, where we were taken step by step through the process of the intricate tile work and ceramics that cover the city. Moroccans learned mosaic from the Romans. There are 400 motifs/patterns that are paired together to make the designs- no human or animal representation, no meaning, all floral or geometric designs, all natural colors. Fez is known for smaller and more detailed patterns than other Morocco cities. The amount of work that goes into every hand-made piece is astonishing!

They create the mosaics by placing the painted tiles upside down, creating patterns FROM MEMORY. Unbelievable!

I bought a tiny ceramic tajine, the quintessential souvenir. We then headed back to the medina to see the tanneries as the other two I was with hadn’t seen them yet, so I braced myself for the smell once again- we also ran into the rest of our group there! Then we walked around the medina a bit more, I felt myself getting mentally exhausted from the intensity of the medina. It’s nonstop chaos (of course not chaos to them, but sensory overload for outsiders) that completely drains you after a while. We returned to our riad, packed up and made our way to the airport.

Transportation tip: Some people took the train back to Marrakech which they said was long- 7 hours versus a >1 hour flight. Flying between Tangier, Fez and Morrocco saves a ton of time, but I wish I had taken the high speed train between Casablanca and Tangier for the experience (would have to train from Marrakech to Casablanca).

2/3

The drive from Chefchauoen to Fez was a little over four hours. I talked with our driver the entire time while everyone else took naps-- that’s what I get for riding shotgun! The drive was beautiful. Mohammed told me there are French and Spanish territories throughout Morocco and the French got the more fertile land for agriculture. We also talked about his religion. He taught me the five pillars of Islam:

Believe God is one and Mohammad his prophet (messenger)

Pray 5 times a day

Participate in Ramadan- fasting sunrise to sunset once a year (I had never thought about this but Ramadan moves one month back every year so it’s harder in the summer when days are long than winter when days are short)

Give 2.5% of your money give to the poor once a year 

Go to Mecca once in your life (obligatory if you have enough money, if you can’t afford or are sick it’s not obligatory) 

After a long drive and lots of new knowledge, we arrived to our riad at about 7pm. There was a mixup with the booking so we would all be staying in three riads rather than one, but it was fine because they were all adjoined (and that way we got to see more riads!), so the staff offered us a free dinner. We’ll take it!! We enjoyed absolutely delicious Moroccan soup and dinner in one of the three gorgeous riads, then said goodnight after a long day on the road.

Just look at this place.

And the riad next door that a few others were staying in.

Riad: “the beauty is on the inside.” Once I learned this it made so much sense. Walking through tight streets with crumbling walls, you’d never know that just on the other side is a place of absolute serenity, an oasis within the maddening maze of the medina. 

Fez Medina Tour

2/4

We had breakfast in our riad- oranges, bananas, mint tea, coffee, and an abundance of breads that we came to find at every Moroccan meal (so much for eating healthy this month!) Then we set off with our riad host for a tour of one of the biggest, oldest medinas in the world.

Normally I prefer to wander a new place on my own, but the old city of Fez is such a labyrinth that it was a saving grace to have a local to follow around. We started at University of Al Quaraouiyine - the oldest existing and operating university in the world (!!!) founded by a WOMAN (!!!!!!!), Fatima al-Fihri, in the year 859. I was blown away by both of these feats, especially that it was founded by a female!! I would’ve thought that it took centuries in this part of the world for women to even be able to get a higher education, but as I talked with our guide more, learned that the world used to be more progressive, then went backwards, and is now turning back around. Progress is a squiggly line. But now that I know the world’s oldest college was founded by a woman (which I think should be a well-known fact), I know there is hope for all the girls of the world to receive a proper education. Our guide told us there are 400 students currently attending the university, which is known for astrology, theology, philosophy and mathematics but used to have all subjects. 

Al Quaraouiyine is made with a mixture of limestone, marble, and cedar wood. Fez is known for more intricate, tiny designs and carvings than Marrakech. 

Islamic art is mainly geometric patterns with no representation of people or animals. This is because their only God is Allah so no other living things can be worshiped, including through artistic representation. The patterns and geometry don’t symbolize anything.

Dar al-Magana: This is an ancient water clock built in 1357 that uses water weight to perpetuate movement of brass bowls to tell the time. Apparently the mechanics are so complicated that during recent renovations no one could figure out how it works!

There are 16 gates into the medina of Fez. This is the main one, the Blue Gate, which is actually green on the other side- the color of Islam.

Strolling through the maze that is Fez’s medina.

Mosques around every corner.

There were many buildings like this one, with open courtyards and two to three stories of rooms. They are artist quarters with rooms for artists to rent to create and sell their goods. We went into one to see some of the highest quality handcrafted leather shoes being made- they were absolutely gorgeous. I still want the yellow ones (price was only about $60, not bad at all!)

Ohhhh the tanneries. The stinky smelly tanneries. This is one of the attractions Fez is most known for, so we saved all our leather shopping for this trip. I really don’t know how we would’ve found anything on our own here, so we are happy our guide brought us. They hand you mint when you first walk in to mask the smell-- I could barely breathe without it on my nose the whole time. Soooo smelly!

First stage: soak leather in limestone and pigeon droppings (ew)- contains ammonia to bleach the leather and remove wool. Second stage: dye leather. The colors are all natural- yellow is made from saffron, red is poppy, pink is poppy + henna, green is wild mint, orange is henna.

Leather jacket shopping! Arpi got one custom-made, it’s soooo soft. I bought the backpack I’ve been wanting which is now my everyday laptop bag! After the fact I learned that I had definitely overpaid. The negotiation game here is tough. I was so excited with my haggling skills thinking I got it down to such a good price, then saw the same bag in another souk in the medina for much less. We learned that the guides take tourists to the tannieries and get a cut of whatever their group buys, so the priced are hiked way up. Tip: buy your leather goods in the medina, not in the tanneries and not where your guides bring you!!

Next stop was a silk store. We got a mini-show, just like the rug show, of blankets and scarves and silk throws. 

Lunch at a very touristy, overpriced restaurant, but how could I complain when it looked like this...

2/3

I planned our transport from Tangier to Fez through Tangier Taxi (they were great!) with a three hour stop in Chefchaouen (I was a little nervous about finding the driver in the confusing walls of the Kasbah and gathering everyone on time, but it all worked out!). 14 of us piled in the van and began our long road trip. I sat in the front, talking with our driver Mohammed the entire way. Just like our taxi driver the day before, you could tell how proud he is of his country and how much he wanted to share with us. The drive was absolutely gorgeous, endless green hills of olive trees that Mohammed made sure to point out continuously. 

We arrived in Chefchauoen, also known as Chaouen or The Blue Pearl, and had three hours to explore, which was not quite as much time as we’d like. I’d say four hours to a half day would’ve been better, maybe even an overnight as there are some hikes in the area, but to get the gist of the city a few hours was fine.

Stepping inside the walls of the old city it feels like stepping into a storybook. Enclosed by blue it’s like you’re swimming through the town, on land but under the sea. Chefchaouen means “look to the peak” or “horns” as it’s nestled between two peaks in the Rif Mountains. I’ve heard many different stories as to why the city is washed in blue-- keeps homes cool in the summer, repels mosquitos, painted by Jewish refugees who were fleeing Nazi prosecution as a color of solidarity. Whatever the reason, it casts a calm over the peaceful city that is broken in some of the most picturesque spots by instagrammers and influencers, such as this particular street:

There was a long line to get your photo on this street. It felt weird, intrusive, as locals were stepping by to get to their homes.. the kids above looking annoyed but used to the gaggle of foreigners constantly snapping photos of their entryway. Despite feeling bad about being one of these tourists, I still found myself waiting in line to get the shot, and struggled with this dilemma the whole time being there. I felt like I was taking so much from them but giving nothing in return (I guess besides money in their restaurants and shops). I bought a scarf from a shop near these famous stairs and met Ahmed (@roadtothedesert) who taught me how to tie my scarf as they do in the Sahara (his was 9 meters long, he just kept wrapping it and wrapping it!!) I asked him about his work and this city, if the amount of tourists blocking people’s homes was annoying. He said he lives in the Sahara so for him it’s no problem, they bring him business, but for the people who live here it’s a different story. 

We had lunch with the most spectacular 360º view of Chaouen, an immense peacefulness overcoming me. Afterwards we just wandered and explored until it was time to get back on the road. I would love to come back here someday with more time to feel that peace, absorb the city’s calming presence. 

Seven of us stayed in Dar Zaitouna in the Kasbah of Tangier. This place was basically a palace. It looked like an art gallery or a museum. The pictures on Airbnb didn’t do this place anywhere near justice. It was one of the nicest places I’ve ever seen, much less stayed in. It makes me wonder how many impeccable places like this exist within the old crumbling walls of Morocco’s old cities. You don’t really think about it as you’re walking around the medinas, but this what some places look like inside. I learned that riad means “the beauty is on the inside.” Dar Zaitouna is a testament to that. 

See the little kitty peeking out?! 

Me contemplating my life out loud to my friends: I’m living in a Moroccan palace drinking red wine out of a goblet. How did I get here?