I checked out of the hotel around 8am so I could catch a train to Casablanca. My taxi driver picked me up at the agreed upon time and took me to the train station which was only about 20-30 minutes away. When he dropped me off I tried to pay and tip him but he didn’t have any change. He looked for change for a while and all he found was two 50 dirham notes. I payed the 50 I owed and he was ok with me not tipping. That made me want to give him the other 50 but for some reason I didn’t. I really did appreciate how he handled the situation in comparison to what I had been experiencing.
I walked in the train station and I payed by credit card which was a mistake. That took forever!! The ticket agent I purchased from directed me to the left and that only led out to the street. Upon further investigation I found I needed to go out back. Before doing so I checked the board to see what train I was on and I noticed that there were multiple stops before mine. It never occurred to me that maybe I should have taken a picture to know the drop off order. Well live and learn 🙂 I was trying to communicate with people who spoke French and Moroccan which was a combination of Arabic/French and while I was getting some information it was confusing. One person said that it was two stops till Casablanca and the other said three. I had to just wait it out and see what happened. As the train would start to slow down at the station you could see the signs which was helpful. What I wasn’t getting was that Gare meant train station. So I was looking at a sign that said Gare Casa … and I almost missed getting off…Man I was freaking out a bit but that was a good experience in terms of trying to talk to the locals and maybe for next time being more prepared.
I got off the train and spoke with a cab driver that was trying to negotiate my cab fare. Most people did not use their meter and he said (I think) 80 dirhams which I said no. I said 60 dirhams and he came back with 70 dirhams which I thought for a second and said ok. What choice did I have? He precariously threw my luggage in the trunk and closed it but the trunk didn’t close all the way. I was freaking out a bit thinking the trunk would fly open and my luggage would be run over and strewn across the street. I tried to suppress my anxiety…Well good thing we got there in one piece because this guy was kinda high strung.
I felt relieved to get out of the car and just relax a bit. I was asked to walk through the metal detector which I did and it went off but I wasn’t patted down which I thought was odd. I checked in, went to my room and relaxed a bit while I connected to WiFi and checked the local restaurants. I did a quick search that turned up Blend Gourmet Burger as being number two on TripAdvisor but it had quite a few reviews so I mapped it and I was on my way.
At some point I lost internet and had to wing it a bit but eventually I found the place. I had a burger (can’t remember the name) and onion rings which was ok. I was expecting a bit more but then again I realize we live in a place where we have such great chefs and food that we are certainly blessed. Especially for a foodie like me 🙂
After that I went back to the hotel and chilled a bit before getting picked up for a half day Casablanca tour. I was really looking forward to seeing the Hassan II Mosque. When we arrived I guess we were a little late and I was not able to catch up with the tour group. I was really disappointed about this. I got to look inside and the space was huge!! It seemed as wide as it was tall. Well I got to take some pictures outside however when I set my tripod up I had a couple of guards come up to me and say that I couldn’t use that. I put it away like I was supposed to but it felt like I was being watched after that. I think I had asked my tour guide for about an hour maybe more then I was picked up and we went to another location where I thought I could photograph to my hearts content.
I setup my camera and tripod and a bike cop and another cop on foot came up and were staring at me. My tour guide was talking to them and eventually what I found out is that he had to pay them $20 to let me take photos. Literally the whole time I was there they were looking at me and I felt really uncomfortable. I took about 15-20 frames then wrapped it up. As I was leaving they told me to watch it however we left without issue. I felt bad about causing the tour guide problems and paid him the money he gave the cop.
We jumped back in the van and we drove to a church (not sure which one). When we arrived there was someone really important there so we couldn’t enter the church. I was only allowed to take pictures outside.
The last stop we went to was a rug store and the guy was really pushing me to buy. I had to walk out of the store because I was so annoyed. That concluded our tour and the driver took me back to the hotel.
That night I wasn’t sure where to eat. I looked on TripAdvisor and was almost going to go to Rick’s cafe which was supposed to be the place where the movie Casablanca was filmed but decided against it. After walking for some time I decided on this cafe which was not bad. I had a Caprese Salad, Pasta, and Coffee. After that I went back to the hotel for the night and just relaxed.