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Published: September 7th 2018
There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it. - Charles Dudley Warner
We are very excited to be travelling again, this time to Morocco and Paris! We booked this trip many months ago, and it is hard to believe we are finally (almost) on our way. Our flight leaves Vancouver tomorrow (at the civilized hour of 10 am), and we have a bit of a milk run getting to Casablanca (via Calgary, Halifax, and Paris). As most of you know, Susan works part time for WestJet, and we got a super cheap fare to and from Paris (confirmed not standby), so it was worth it to have a few stops along the way.
Ah, Casablanca ... it immediately reminds me of the movie of the same name. My absolute favourite movie as a teenager, and I still love it. So naturally, we are going to Rick's Cafe. Yes, I know the movie was filmed in a lot in Hollywood, not in Casablanca. (It was released in the middle of World War II so it obviously couldn't have been filmed in Casablanca). Yes, it is touristy. But I still can't wait to
have a cocktail at Rick's Cafe, and picture all those great characters from the movie. If you are interested check out this NY Times article on Rick's Cafe: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/01/world/africa/casablanca-morocco-ricks-cafe.html. And yes, they serve alcohol. Although Morocco is an Islamic country, alcohol is available. How widely available, we shall see.
A quick snapshot of Morocco: the population of this north African country is around 35 million (similar to the population of Canada). Muslims make up 99% of the population. The country varies from the Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, to the desert dunes of the Sahara, to the mountains of the High Atlas. Moroccan Arabic is the official language and is used throughout the country. French is still spoken, especially in the cities. Susan speaks both French and Arabic, which should be helpful (although Moroccan Arabic is quite different from the Arabic she knows).
We have two nights in Casablanca, then we are off on our exploration of Morocco, seeing quite a good range of the country, and the best part, riding camels again! As you know from our Egypt and Jordan blog, we both loved our camel rides in Egypt (Sinai Desert) and in Jordan (Wadi Rum). In Morocco
we'll ride camels to and from our desert camp in the Sahara.
After Morocco we fly back to Paris, where we will meet my Mom and spend the next six nights together exploring the city. Mom has always wanted to see Paris, and now she is! Neither Susan nor I have been to Paris before, so we are very excited about our time there. We have booked a 2 bedroom apartment in the Marais as a base for our explorations around Paris.
I am looking forward to all the new experiences that travel brings: meeting new people, seeing amazing things, trying new food, and seeing a place and people entirely different from what I am used to. And coming back changed in a way, like you always are after a trip to a new and different part of the world. When you read about a country in the news or see it on a TV program, after you have been there, you see it differently. I was right there, you say, I stood in that spot. I met people who live there. They may wear different clothes and have a different religion, but they are not so different
from me.
So, I hope you enjoy reading the blog and travelling with us. If you would like to receive an email when I post a blog entry, you can subscribe to this blog (click on the subscribe button above), or you can follow me if you are a member of TravelBlog. (If you have previously subscribed to my blog on TravelPod or if you have asked me to I have added you to to the list of subscribers. If you no longer wish to subscribe please unsubscribe - via the link in the email from TravelBlog). I will post as regularly as I can, but there may be some delays as wifi may not always be available (and this is the first time I have blogged while on a trip using TravelBlog).
And a big thank you to Norma and Jim for staying in our condo while we’re away and taking care of Ella! 😊
See you in Casablanca!
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Jo Dunaway
non-member comment
Happy Travels!
I am looking forward to “travelling” with you once again! Your photographs and commentary are the next best thing to being there myself. Have a drink for me at Rick's Cafe — my favourite movie too.