Monday, September 29, 2014
Morocco day 1. Drive the Atlantic coast
Woke up about 9 am thanks I the alarm. Packed our stuff up and fought the horrendous traffic of Casablanca before making it to the highway on our track to tangier then to our hotel is chefchaugen. Did I mention how horrible it is to drive here? Poor matt has to listen to me tri and I've him directions from a paper map, while fighting off traffic and having lanes randomly end and the random policia stops we have to make. But alas, after about an hour of fighting off horrible drivers we made it to the highway and started our trek towards rabbat. A coastal town we heard good things about. Along the highway they have truck stops. We stopped for breakfast and both got an omelet, and coffee and some sweet bread. All for 10$. It wasn't Hotplate but it was half the price. After an hour we made it to rabbat where people also don't know how to drive. Made it to the old medina (the old town) parked our car walked the harbor and made it I the medina walls where we were greeted by a local who spoke English and for a small fee he would show is the medina. Whatever. When in rome? So we followed him through the labyrinth of narrow walkways out to the Atlantic. Took some pictures. then back to te garden. Where he demanded 120 dirham (14$) for the hour tour he provided. Whatever it was nice to not get lost ourselves. Walked back to our car through the market where we bought an oil painting rolled up to hopefully get back home. And then started tonight out way through traffic again onto tangier. The gateway to Africa. I fell asleep on the drive but matt woke me up just in time to get him lost with my horrible directions. Made it to the ocean and we were looking for a place to park and I directed matt up one of the tiniest streets (reminded me of old San Juan, if you split those streets in half and filled them with people ) in search of he advertised parking. After nearly burning through the clutch and narrowly missing numerous pedestrians we found a spot to park on the street where you have to pay the supervisor to watch your car. Gave him 20 dirhams and told him we would be back in an hour.
Well. We started walking. Got lost in this labyrinth on our way to the las ah and the port. Had a nice old dude who worked at a souvenir shop point us in the right direction after of course making us shop his shop first. Made it to the water/port. Could not see Spain. Then the. Sun was setting so we were well, matt was determined to get to the kasbah to see the sunset. Started hiking along the labyrinth. Found the ocean which was jut down an unstable slope. Matt said it was okay as I was hesitant wearing my long dress. And then a five year old kid came along and communicated "danger" and kasbah? Once we agreed yes kasbah, he took us there. When his five year old brother joined along. Of course we have to tip them and then we did make it to the kasbah overlook. It was quite pretty especially with the sun setting in the distance beyond the kings palace. Started our trek back to the car through the labyrinth and then came out the street we wanted when we came across a street restaurant. An English speaking older gentleman was eating and said in the twenty days he's been in tangier he had eaten that food 5 times we decided to sit at te table in the street. I ordered the chicken and matt the beef meatballs. We were served olives as an appetizer a basket of bread. Coke lights and our food. It was well spiced and home grilled. Dessert we got a pastry tray along with mint tea (a Moroccan specialty) and our bill. 15$ total. Paid that, made our way to our car three hours later and then started our drive out of the city and to chefchaugen where we had a room reserved. The two hour drive through the mountains with winding turns and no shoulders was a little intense especially in the dark but we made it to our hotel after 3 or 4 wrong turns thanks to me..... Bought a couple beers, sat on the outdoor balcony and relaxed taking in the mountains and just enjoying the day. Matt then attempted to give me a history lesson before we called it a night. Tomorrow we will tour the town of chefchaugen drive 2 hours to fez then 4 hours to midelt. From there our plan is to camel trek into the desert from merzouga. Well see what adventure tomorrow brings! Goooooood night! M&A
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Well. We started walking. Got lost in this labyrinth on our way to the las ah and the port. Had a nice old dude who worked at a souvenir shop point us in the right direction after of course making us shop his shop first. Made it to the water/port. Could not see Spain. Then the. Sun was setting so we were well, matt was determined to get to the kasbah to see the sunset. Started hiking along the labyrinth. Found the ocean which was jut down an unstable slope. Matt said it was okay as I was hesitant wearing my long dress. And then a five year old kid came along and communicated "danger" and kasbah? Once we agreed yes kasbah, he took us there. When his five year old brother joined along. Of course we have to tip them and then we did make it to the kasbah overlook. It was quite pretty especially with the sun setting in the distance beyond the kings palace. Started our trek back to the car through the labyrinth and then came out the street we wanted when we came across a street restaurant. An English speaking older gentleman was eating and said in the twenty days he's been in tangier he had eaten that food 5 times we decided to sit at te table in the street. I ordered the chicken and matt the beef meatballs. We were served olives as an appetizer a basket of bread. Coke lights and our food. It was well spiced and home grilled. Dessert we got a pastry tray along with mint tea (a Moroccan specialty) and our bill. 15$ total. Paid that, made our way to our car three hours later and then started our drive out of the city and to chefchaugen where we had a room reserved. The two hour drive through the mountains with winding turns and no shoulders was a little intense especially in the dark but we made it to our hotel after 3 or 4 wrong turns thanks to me..... Bought a couple beers, sat on the outdoor balcony and relaxed taking in the mountains and just enjoying the day. Matt then attempted to give me a history lesson before we called it a night. Tomorrow we will tour the town of chefchaugen drive 2 hours to fez then 4 hours to midelt. From there our plan is to camel trek into the desert from merzouga. Well see what adventure tomorrow brings! Goooooood night! M&A
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Sunday, September 28, 2014
Made it to morocco.
Our flight kept getting delayed later and later. Until we were scheduled for a 715 departure. All the while the 330 pm flight came and left on time. Frustrating. Matt and I had a how I met your mother viewing marathon. Got mcdonalds twice as that was the only good in our terminal. Fell asleep a couple times until finally our plane arrived. We got the emergency exit row and we set up the iPad with our headphones and tried to watch a couple episodes only to fall asleep. We were woken by cabin service meals in the short two hour flight. A cold pasta and chicken. It was okay.
Finally we arrived to Casablanca. Where we were shuttle buses to the terminal waited forever to get through passport control and then walked through the rest of customs. Got to our rental car place out full insurance in it just in case because apparently Moroccan drivers are crazy. Took out some cash from the ATM and started our forty minute drive to our hotel. It's 1000 pm by this time.
Matt about had three heart attacks in that short drive. Drivers will speed up behind you flash their brights which means move and then speed past you. Or the pedestrians just walking out of no where in the middle of the street. Or the lack of traffic control anywhere and people just going. But after only misdirecting matt like twice we made it to our hotel. Got a room and showered for the first time in 40 hours. Quite nice. Booked a hotel for tomorrow I. Chefcheoegan. The blue city. It's about 5 hours of driving. Well see. But it should be good. The plan is to wake up at 8am and hit the road. Well see how it goes. Hope all is well.
A&M
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Finally we arrived to Casablanca. Where we were shuttle buses to the terminal waited forever to get through passport control and then walked through the rest of customs. Got to our rental car place out full insurance in it just in case because apparently Moroccan drivers are crazy. Took out some cash from the ATM and started our forty minute drive to our hotel. It's 1000 pm by this time.
Matt about had three heart attacks in that short drive. Drivers will speed up behind you flash their brights which means move and then speed past you. Or the pedestrians just walking out of no where in the middle of the street. Or the lack of traffic control anywhere and people just going. But after only misdirecting matt like twice we made it to our hotel. Got a room and showered for the first time in 40 hours. Quite nice. Booked a hotel for tomorrow I. Chefcheoegan. The blue city. It's about 5 hours of driving. Well see. But it should be good. The plan is to wake up at 8am and hit the road. Well see how it goes. Hope all is well.
A&M
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En route to morocco.
After figuring out that usairways flies across the pond and we were going to catch the 1150 flight to Philly then to Barcelona, andrea awoke at 7 am to check loads. Only to find out that there were only 2 seats to phl and we were 5,6 on the standby list. She did some quick research and found the Charlotte flight that had 6 first class seats open across the pond and 20 seats to Charlotte that left in three hours. We quickly got ready and flew to the lightrail. Had to run to the platform as a train was pulling up. Made it to the airport and through security without a problem. Grabbed caribou coffee for breakfast and hung out at the gate.
We boarded and had the middle seat open between us so we snuggled up and watched office space with our headphone splitter and noise canceling headphones. Got into Charlotte and andrea discovered that we can check the standby list on our phones. We re charged our electronics and grabbed a beer and margarita with some nachos for lunch. We were 1.2 on the list and there were still four spots in first class. Fingers were crossed. Soon enough the plane started boarding and our names got called. Seats 2f and 2g were ours. We were allowed to board too, got our bags up and then began the frantic car rental, and Casablanca flight bookings. Made matt pay for a full fare at 196$ but we are guaranteed seats and on the same flight. Then Hotwire pooped out on us for car rental saying there were no cars, but alas we used kayak and got a 2 door manual mini coop reserved for 30$ a day. Hoping that they still have a car when we get in. Our seats were lay flat seats and we were promptly greeted with champagne and menus to choose our dinner dish. Matt went with the beef cutlet and I did the turkey. We finally got our flights and car booked just before they closed the cabin door. We pulled out our own noise canceling headphones and iPad and started watching season nine if how I met your mother. We went with a French white wine which was marvelous and had a four course dinner complete with hot towel to clean up with before we started eating.
It definitely was a spoiling leg of the trip, although the foot/leg rest was rather short which made the flight slightly uncomfortable but I probably shouldn't complain as I'm sure it was much better than a squeezed in coach seat. The upgrade was 100$. And definitely worth it. No question. Matt hardly slept and I kept tossing and turning. It was only an 8 hour flight. Breakfast we had a quiche and fresh fruit. Then before we knew it we were in Barcelona. Exhausted. And wanting a shower.
Barcelona customs and passport control was probably the easiest I've ever been through. No paperwork and the dude just stamped our passports. We cleaned up a bit in the bathroom and then walked around trying to find the air Maroc kiosk among the hundreds of other ticketing counters. Of course we were five hours early for our flight too so they weren't even ready when we got there. But matt found the ticket counter, we had to check our suitcases and then got emergency exit row. Now just siting in one more airport but atleast we have an official ticket here. Cozied up and took a nap, then grabbed some mcdonalds for lunch as our flight got delayed. It is raining here though. We are both exhausted, so we booked a hotel in Casablanca that we can drive to when we get in and pass out. Well start exploring tomorrow. That's all for now! Next post will be from Africa!
Andrea and matt
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We boarded and had the middle seat open between us so we snuggled up and watched office space with our headphone splitter and noise canceling headphones. Got into Charlotte and andrea discovered that we can check the standby list on our phones. We re charged our electronics and grabbed a beer and margarita with some nachos for lunch. We were 1.2 on the list and there were still four spots in first class. Fingers were crossed. Soon enough the plane started boarding and our names got called. Seats 2f and 2g were ours. We were allowed to board too, got our bags up and then began the frantic car rental, and Casablanca flight bookings. Made matt pay for a full fare at 196$ but we are guaranteed seats and on the same flight. Then Hotwire pooped out on us for car rental saying there were no cars, but alas we used kayak and got a 2 door manual mini coop reserved for 30$ a day. Hoping that they still have a car when we get in. Our seats were lay flat seats and we were promptly greeted with champagne and menus to choose our dinner dish. Matt went with the beef cutlet and I did the turkey. We finally got our flights and car booked just before they closed the cabin door. We pulled out our own noise canceling headphones and iPad and started watching season nine if how I met your mother. We went with a French white wine which was marvelous and had a four course dinner complete with hot towel to clean up with before we started eating.
It definitely was a spoiling leg of the trip, although the foot/leg rest was rather short which made the flight slightly uncomfortable but I probably shouldn't complain as I'm sure it was much better than a squeezed in coach seat. The upgrade was 100$. And definitely worth it. No question. Matt hardly slept and I kept tossing and turning. It was only an 8 hour flight. Breakfast we had a quiche and fresh fruit. Then before we knew it we were in Barcelona. Exhausted. And wanting a shower.
Barcelona customs and passport control was probably the easiest I've ever been through. No paperwork and the dude just stamped our passports. We cleaned up a bit in the bathroom and then walked around trying to find the air Maroc kiosk among the hundreds of other ticketing counters. Of course we were five hours early for our flight too so they weren't even ready when we got there. But matt found the ticket counter, we had to check our suitcases and then got emergency exit row. Now just siting in one more airport but atleast we have an official ticket here. Cozied up and took a nap, then grabbed some mcdonalds for lunch as our flight got delayed. It is raining here though. We are both exhausted, so we booked a hotel in Casablanca that we can drive to when we get in and pass out. Well start exploring tomorrow. That's all for now! Next post will be from Africa!
Andrea and matt
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Friday, September 26, 2014
Standby Fail round 1
Matt and I got to the airport to hopefully catch either the MSP--> AMS nonstop flight or the MSP --> LHR nonstop flight. The numbers looked good Thursday night when we booked our seats, but unfortunate events in chicago (some dude trying to blow up ATC) ruined alot of peoples travel plans and caused a lot of people to re route through MSP. Numerous people drove from Milwaukee and chicago to make their flights. Hoping for alot of mis-connects, matt and I got dropped off at the airport by Joseph. We then checked in and then stopped at chili's for a 50$ dinner and a drink a piece. (It really wasn't THAT good). and then we waited. got to the gate as they were boarding. Matt got a seat in first class, but I was 10 people behind him including a family of 3, that got the last three seats on the plane and they were just ahead of andrea. shucks. Didn't make it, called andrea's mom and she picked us up. Then we started researching Matt was looking at United, and I looked at USAirways-- which flies through PHL to BCN (and there is a non stop flight from BCN to CMN for like 200$) a much better option for getting to madrid. and USAIRWAYS standby list is ranked in priority based on time of checkin. we are checked in are paying 10$ a piece for a first class seat to PHL and then we get coach across the pond. Fingers crossed this works! time for bed. we are exhausted.
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