Recap of Morocco Trip

Woah!!! Morocco was quite interesting!

Day 1: Pulled an all nighter (even tho didn't have to study or anything; just to make sure i did not miss my alarm). I met Alli at the Plaza de Cuba bridge around 3:15...well i decided not to bring any electronics so i did not even know if it was 3:15am when I was at bridge...lucky me we found each other and legit powered walked to the hotel. The streets were not quite they were quite busy because Thursday was a holiday and people were out and having a jolly good time. We were like the firsts at the hotel and we chilled and waited til more came. Once we loaded the bus, we happily each had our own seats and we all fell asleep. We drove 2 hours to get to the ferry that was going to take us to the Morocco. When we got to the ferry place we met up with the kids from the Granada ISA. We had to get off our comfortable bus to join their not so comfy bus but we made new friends and had a good time. After waiting for a while on the bus then going inside the "ferryport" to get stamped and get our tickets we boarded the ferry. It was quite interesting inside...i was not picturing the ferry to look quite so nice. We explored the ferry a little then all sat down and passed out. So i really did not pay attention the ride on the ferry on our way to Morocco and did not see the Strait of Gibraltor. :( We ended up going to the sleep. After the ferry we took a long drive to our Fes Hotel..I was pretty much passed out the whole time. When we got to the hotel i was roomies with Kellie...we had about 2hrs til dinner so we went upstairs and passed out...lets say we slept pretty much through dinner....hahaha. we were able to eat but did not eat much. After we explored a little bit...aka went to mcdonalds with a few and checked it out...lets say its 2 stories and very clean. After we talked a bit with the others but we were all slap happy and ready to sleep.

Day 2: We needed to be up around 9 i believe so breakfast was at 8. well Kellie and I haven't been good with time and we ended up waking up 2hrs earlier then we needed to, once we realized it we went to bed. We were the first ones downstairs and ate some sort of pancake thing and some mini croissants. We had to bring all our stuff so we had our bags with us. This day was considered our first real day in Morocco...in the city of Fes. In Fes we had some cool tour guides that explained different parts of Fes to us. They were older and wiser of course. They were cool, we all enjoyed them. We checked out some fortresses and learned more about the culture. We also went to the Medina of Fes, which is the market. We went to specific places and saw a lot. We went to a pharmacy (where I bought a lot of goodies...all natural products), then a rug shop (never go, because you will be asked multiple times to buy one...thankfully i didnt), a scarf place (beautiful scarves and if had the money I'd buy it all) a silver place where plates and jewlery were sold (didnt buy because nothing caught my eye) we had lunch at a nice place and had some good food...different...but good. The medina was dirty thankfully i had closed toed shoes and was covered. After the Medina we made our way to Meknes...the other city we visited. When we were on the bus we watched money ball but i fell asleep...again lol....before arriving in Meknes we were informed that we could participate in a "Hammam" (google it if you would like to know what it is all about) and henna. What we ate for dinner that night was quite american...some chicken that to some looked like the shape of a squirrel and some hamburger meatballs and fries. Afterwards, we went to our own rooms and slept. The meds at this place were not as comfy as the ones in Fes.

Day 3: Well Day 3 was LONG!!!! I can't believe we all made it. We got up early, had some breakfast...same food we had in Fes and then we were off. First place we went to were the Volubilis Roman Ruins; that were about an hour away from our hotel. The ruins were gorgeous...I really enjoyed the visit. There is so much history and I feel like that is where our Sevilla group really got know each other and have a good time. We laughed and learned a lot and took photos and it was great. I enjoy seeing ruins from those who are no longer here. After we met our tour guide who took us around Meknes (the old parts) we went to the medina in Meknes...and i have to say I liked the one in Fes more even thought it was cleaner. I liked Fes more because I did not have to see cows heads everywhere...it was disgusting...i like ran through that medina fast so i could avoid smell and puking. YUCK!!! and Poor animals.  We also did a quick tour of the other parts in the Medina. We had lunch at the end our tour in the medina. The lunch we had was the same we had in Fes...it was good but I did not eat much because my tummy wasn't feelin to good. During lunch, we sat and ate with some girl from the Granada Group. They were nice. During lunch there was also a type of protest going on, and we watched from the balcony...it was cool to watch, but glad we weren't down there during it. After, we went and drove around then went to a water house. The water house was cool, it was like a fortress for those in the city to go to if they Moroccans were attacked from outsiders. The could live in the water house for 10years with water and food. There was a lot of history. We also checked out a mosque and a golf course. the Mosque was really cool, the people we passed when we were going in, were coming out of prayer and they were nice and smiled at us. The mosque inside was gorgeous. The golf course was cool, for the part we did see, I thought of my dad who likes to golf when I was there. The prison that was near the golf course was interesting, not like a jail I've seen before. After our long day of tour, we went back to the hotel to rest a bit before our Hammam. Around 5:45, Kellie and I met in the lobby with everyone to meet the locals who are part of the ISA Morocco for the Hammam. If you would like to know more about the Hammam, you can google it or ask me....let me just say...it was different, an experience that you should try because it's part of the culture and that my skin is SO soft now!!!! After the Hammam, we had dinner...it was PASTA :) and chicken with fries and veggies. I just had my serving of pasta and called it a night.

Day 4: well we left at 7am...earlyish. We all got together to eat breakfast...i didn't eat much because my tummy was eehh.. We got on the bus and pretty much all fell asleep all the way back to the ferry stop. We were all tired but all felt good after our Hammam. Once at the ferry stop, we had to get our passports and such ready for customs...which was nice and simple. Once on the ferry...we had Homework time... (for some of us) and we were all up looking out for the strait of gibraltar. we had some interesting conversations and just remembering everything we had gone through together on our trip. We also went outside of the ferry on the deck and took some beautiful pictures and we did see Gibraltar but no monkeys :( but it was cool. We went through some security again and then we split our groups (Granada and Sevilla) and went our own ways. The director of Sevilla was sweet and came to our bus to say goodbye to all of us. She is so sweet. We fell asleep on our 2hr drive back to sevilla. It was nice to have our own seat to ourselves. Once we got back, Alli and I walked back to together then split once reached plaza de cuba. When I returned, my host family was home and I said hello, then dropped of my stuff and hung out with them. I was able to catch the end of the Spain vs Italy soccer game...the game ended up being tied. My host parents asked how it was and what I liked and I told them. Apparently Eugenia missed me and she and I were playing and so was the little one Cristina. It was nice to see them. We had a light dinner and then said our good nights.

The trip to Morocco was definitely worth it and I enjoyed it. It was a great experience and I learned a lot and I am glad that I went with the people I went with. Something I will not forget.

Now off to bed....goodnight...also check out the pics on FACEBOOK!!!! until tomorrow or aka later today!!!!