http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Africa , Morocco , Fès-Boulemane en-us Thu, 23 May 2013 05:17:47 +0000 Thu, 23 May 2013 05:17:47 +0000 So its our last night in Spain and we thought we39d have a quiet dinner and a few drinks at a bar ....well a crazy Norwegian guy who spoke English in an Irish accent and a lovely Swedish Estonian couple later ...we find ourselves fairly drunk and it39s 5 am in the morning That would not be a problem if you didn39t have to shower pack grab some brekky and get to the bus station which http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Fes/blog-785522.html We are now in a luxury riad but still paying 50 eurosnight....the staff here is wonderful much laughter and helpfulness We spent time on the roof terrace today then in a rooftop restaurant and then hiked up to the ruins of the tombs on a hill outside the walls.In between we walked through the Medina again and visited the largest merdersa which is one of the few places in the country where http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Fes/blog-784347.html We first saw them last night as we walked to our riad from the gate of the Medina...cats everywhereToday as we stolled the medina and souks cats prowled the edges of the streets and kittens rolled out under our feet. The Moroccans hold them in affection it appears...one would sleep in our room in Marrakech and the restaurant where we ate lunch today had several cats from an old tomcat to a t http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Fes/blog-784235.html It all began well....We took a taxi to the beautiful train station in Marrakech and the taxi was less expensive than we39d been told...we met up with Harrie and Ans a Dutch couple staying in our Riad and who happened to be traveling to Fes on the same train. We got window seats on the train and pleasant traveling companions....We chatted watching the scenery go by and having our questions a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Fes/blog-784232.html 3202013Depending upon ones perspective the location where one might live and work for the next two years in a country thousands of miles away from home might be considered pretty important information. So on March 18 2013 we returned to Fes yet again to finally discover our new hometown Naturally we considered this reunion with all 96 trainees imperative to attend as well as anot http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Sefrou/blog-777162.html 3172013TITLE ONE MORE DAY And..new things in an old cityThere is only one more day until we find out where our next two years will be spent. Will it be hot or cold Will we sweat in the desert or freeze in the mountains Will we be living in a small town or big city It is hard to believe that we arrived here only two months ago. Because in that relatively short time we have made http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Fes/blog-776808.html 3112013It has been a week since our last blog. The first part of the week was cold and raining. It was NOT fun to walk to the dar chebab every day. Some excitement came when one night our brother Hamza got into big trouble. You might remember from our descriptions that this kid is very mature for his age and extremely independent. His Mom spanked him threatened to take his money away he has http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Sefrou/blog-775623.html http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Fes/blog-775217.html 332013Anticipation buildsLife has not been dull here in Morocco and here we are two adults back in school awaiting graduation and our new careers. One of the anticipatory things right now is the decision about where we will be sent for our 24 months of work after our present training is completed. Throughout the country there are locations that have specific needs. There are locations which http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Sefrou/blog-774006.html 22713Some things are just priceless because they are so foreign to ones own life experiences. That sentence should and probably will stand as our mantra during our Peace Corps service. To help you better understand what we mean by this saying let us start with our little brother Hamza and his obsession with birds. Some of you may or may not have seen some of the photos of his pigeons and the http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Sefrou/blog-773618.html February 24 and 25 2013A great daytripOn Sunday February 24 2013 we went with our family on a daytrip. Earlier in the week we thought they might be taking us on a trip but things became more clear on Saturday night. As we sat around after dinner our 17 year old sister Khadija was calling various people to see if she could get a driver for the day. There are local taxis that drive in the http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Sefrou/blog-773188.html So here we are freezing to death trying to understand and talk a new language trying to make a class schedule for over a hundred kids who dont speak English grownups living in a small bedroom in a house with no hot water or heat when all of a sudden we are celebrities Yes our group of 6 Peace Corps Trainees did some things about which to be proudThis last week we had another two d http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Sefrou/blog-773181.html February 17 2013What has been happening in Morocco in February other than what we have relayed in our specific blog posts Let us begin with winter in Ain Cheggag. Most days it is so unbelievably cold that we wear long johns under our jeans and 4 layers of tops under our coats. The long johns and socks for the following one two maybe three days are the same ones that we wore to bed because tak http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Sefrou/blog-772802.html February 10 2013We apologize for the time it has taken to get blogs up lately but there are forces in place preventing it i.e. bad internet along with an extreme training schedule that requires us to be in boot camp from 800 a.m. until 730 p.m. We are not talking Monday through Friday either Sunday through Saturday folks We will be lucky enough to have a couple of hours off this Sunday a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Sefrou/blog-772055.html Our second day waking up in Fes and we had planned a daytrip to a nearby city called Meknes one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco. After another delicious terrace breakfast of flaky pancake with honey we caught a bus from the crowded and hectic bus station literally buying our tickets from a man on the street telling us that it was going there. An hour later we arrived beside the old wal http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Fes/blog-771980.html Our journey from Chefchaouen to Fes was much more comfortable and far less interesting than our first Moroccan bus journey It took about 5 hours including a halfway break at a service area which included a 25 hour mosque and sheep carcasses. The cooking skewers smelled delicious. Arriving in Fes we negotiated our way into a petit red taxi to bring us to Funky Fes hostel in the Medina on the of http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Fes/blog-771966.html SORRY SO DELAYED INTERNET AND TIME ISSUES WE WILL LABEL THE PICTURES AT A LATER DATE.February 3 2013Sunday is our only day off posted on the schedule although we are supposed to do selfdirected learning i.e. cultural experiences. On February 3 2013 we did just that In a big way We will explainIn Morocco there is a long honored tradition of charging down a narrow field on horses an http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Sefrou/blog-771668.html Pour nos derniers jours au Maroc nous nous sommes installs Meknes o finalement nous navons vraiment pas fait grandchose. videmment nous avons visit un peu mais jai surtout consacr mon temps lire manger et profiter de notre chambre de luxe chauff o nous avions mme un schoir que nous utilisions pour chauffer notre lit avant de sy install. Jai a http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Fes/blog-770669.html January 31 February 1 2013 A crowded bus a reunion and dorm room fun... sort of.As if grueling language classes were not enough our schedule called us to travel to Fes for a twoday practical training getaway along with half of our original PC group. We started by packing our laptop backpacks with just enough to last an overnight stay. We opted to include our shiny new sleeping bags and th http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/Sefrou/blog-769730.html February 26 2013 Note We spent the 3rd in a very special location doing something completely AWESOME We were privilaged enough to see something most travelers and visitors do not get to see or enjoy. We thought that this day deserved its own entry and we will be finishing it up today. You will throughly enjoy the story video and numerous and fablous photos that will accompany the entry http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Morocco/F-s-Boulemane/blog-769494.html