Chapter 12, Page 173

postmark: 14 MAY 11

Dear Experience,

No matter how much I do not want to see you go, I know that it is time.   I didn’t know what to expect when I greeted you on that plane to Spain.  We spent most of our time in Morac.  We sure did have a well-rounded trip with many more highs then lows.  You introduced me to many new and amazing people; people from all over the place with all of their own unique personalities.   I can only reflect on our past but I hope in a future with the people you introduced me to.  Do you recall our first walk in the Medina?  We got so lost and the sun wasn’t staying up for us.  Every street seemed to be one block closer but it really didn’t matter.  Finding out that being lost is the first step in being found.  You did steal my phone and break my computer and camera.  Yet, you gave me many stories to tell.  We saw majestic views together that left us speechless in each other’s presence. We had many glasses of nus nus and a few of mint tea.  We heard protests and aircrafts roaring outside of the classroom doors.  We ate many pastries together.  I will always remember the dh doughnuts and shnick.  We dickered for goods, winning and losing.  We saw skylines of minarets.  We traveled on foot, bus, train, plane, ferry, car, grand taxi, petit taxi, and even a chair into the clouds.  We had community.   We stuffed our cheeks and stomachs.  We even made it to Italy.   We did this and more.  So, I leave you now.  Thank you again for the times.  I will now look forward.

Until then,

Kyle

Chapter 11, Page 144

For the past few weeks Meknes has gone through a city beautification movement

The king is coming to town

Moroccans are whitewashing walls similar to Tom Sawyer whitewashing fences

Bus stops have been painted

Moroccan flags have sprouted in threes

Flowers have been planted in street side arrangements

Colorful lighted designs, reminiscent of Christmas, now hang along the streets

There is an Agricultural Festival in town

avril 27 – mai 1

Chapter 10, Page 123-134

My life in the past 138 hours

-Went to the Souk

            -Saw a sea of used T-Shirts

            -Only bought Strawberries and Moroccan Crepes

-Celebrated Palm Sunday with a Poms

-Saw a Moroccan Detective

-Went into a Synagogue

            -Car racing was being played in the lounge

-Went to a Catholic Church

-Had soda and story time at the Franciscan House

-Wondered the old Jewish quarter

            -Entered the ancient synagogue

                        -Tracked down the man with the keys

                        -Found a police escort and an old lady
                         found us

-Visited a Jewish Cemetery

            -Made a wish on a Dandelion

-Had McDonalds but didn’t Supersize.  After being here so long, you would understand.

-Helped make a list of Positive observations

            Ex: They have ice at McDonalds

-Saw a Moroccan with a Bass Pro Shop Trucker Hat.  I was jealous.

-Did laundry

-Went to a Moroccan Wedding

            -Stayed for the soup

-Got Caught in the Rain

-Watched the Barcelona - Real Madrid soccer game

            -Real Madrid 1-0

-Started writing postcards and stopped

-Tried two new cafes

-Watched a movie projected on a Giant Screen in the Medina.

            -It was part of a cartoon film festival

            -Saw Les Triplettes De Belleville

            -Watched Street Kids fight = very depressing

-Traveled to Fez

-Ate a pizza that was divided into four different flavors

-Had a camel burger

-Went to a Women’s Tennis Tournament

            -Found out tennis is not very popular in Fez
            -Got special access
-Had an Arabic Quiz

-Went to the Bollywood Theatre

            -Watched 36 China Town

            -Was many in Hindi

            -Had Arabic subtitles

            -Cost 18 D’s plus a D for the seat guide adding up to a
            rough $2.43

I now sit on my fifth floor balcony perch listening to music, eating khubz, and watching the sun go down with a giant poster of the Laughing Cow cheese girl.  I have been sitting here for the past 4 hours of the 138.  It will probably grow to the past 139 hours once I finish this post.  

I have broken up these hours by trying to make sugar cookies and playing with my computer camera.  I also have played the classic game of spot the lost tourist.  The running total is one.

Besides it being nice outside, I am trying to plan one of my last free weekends in Morocco.  I have studied many top ten lists.  Most places, left, seem to be too far for such a short weekend.

In reading through Lonely Planet, I have thought of having a “Meknes Tourist Day.”  This would be done, by hitting ever place mentioned in the Meknes, Morocco section.  If I don’t do that I will be somewhere other then here.

Make that two more lost tourists.  A total of 3 lost tourists plus a baby in a stroller.

The neon Pizzeria sign has just flickered on. 

Chapter 10, Page 112

The Stomping Ground

Rome

Florence

Cinque Terre

            Monterosso al Mare

            Vernazza

            Corniglia

            Manarola

            Riomaggiore

            + Levanto

Pompeii

Sorrento

            Capri

            Ana Capri

            Positano

Naples

Rome (to bookend it)

A glimpse of the happenings in Italy.  A short list.  A list of a random 8.

1.  Got Blessed by the Pope

2.  Got stung by a Jellyfish in the Mediterranean

3.  Had a picnic above the Clouds

4.  Had a tour de pizza in Naples

5.  Saw a man stealing wishes

6.  Did the tourist thing

7.  Broke my Camera Lens. . . RIP

8.  Got stuck on an Island

Words are unable to make sense of my true feelings.  The past ten days in Italy still linger in my mind without even being able to digest a day of it.  I can say the joys have come from my new friends and freedom.  Italy was not about standing at the base of the Coliseum and looking up at its grand nature–it wasn’t about closing my eyes and seeing a time that no longer exists.  All of those historical moments were amazing and as some would say “breathtaking.”  It was about being part of something that I am still unable to comprehend.  Life can come to a point in which it seems so simple with the mundane.  The freedom within these travels have broken me away from the clutches of singularity; in Italy we were free to come and go as we deemed necessary.  

Chapter 9, Page 101

Another Couscous Friday.

With the buried treasure of dejuge, chicken

That was almost my last Moroccan meal for the next ten days

Couscous will be replaced with real pasta and it’s sauce

Mint Tea will have to take a backseat

It is time for a Moroccan Spring Break

A time ahead with the crossing of the Mediterranean

I will walk the streets of Morocco and Italy the next

I will eat gelato ontop of pasta

That is how Italian I am going to be

Chapter 8, Page 93

 Fes.  A city of tanneries, the hat, and 1,012,000 people. 

We visited a pottery workshop.

The local Medina postman


A man passed out mint leaves to help lessen the stench from below.

Above and below is the largest tannery is Fes.

Take a large pit and add

 lime

pigeon feces

some secret ingredients  

and you have the perfect concoction to soften leather

The leather is tanned in some strange colors that I am sure a no cow would want to represent.

I was almost more amazed by the number of satellite dishes painting the roofs then the pigeon and dyeing pits below. 

 

For lunch we walked down some dark alley to a place called Clock Café. The place was very touristy.  They spoke English or I magically translated their French or Darija so fast it sounded like English.  I split two burgers, one being lamb and the other camel.  I might mention, even though I don’t have a picture to prove it, the burger patties were actually big.  In most places the burger paddy size is something similar or thinner to a McDonald’s paddy.  Even if one orders a double the size will still be a little less then a typical “American” standard.  Anyway, the Camel was very good.  It didn’t taste gamey, wasn’t dry, and had good flavor.  I would recommend it.  I even found a place in Meknes that has a Camel Tagine.  Pretty awesome, I know. 

------------

On a complete side note:  It has been very cold, cloudy, and rainy in Meknes these days. Take a look for yourself.  

The top of the picture should be blue.
Rivers are forming on either side of the street.
Gasoline raindows are being pulled down to the city below.
Strange things are happening.

Chapter 7, Page 87

There is a new café down below our neighboring apartment complex.  It just opened yesterday.  Many snazzy elites seemed to partake in its celebration.  Flashes were seen echoing the café with its glass walls.  A Moroccan style rug paved the entranceway like the red carpet.  Velvet ropes marked the entrance without keeping people out.  There is a new café down below us that can be seen from our balcony.  La Tulipe, a café next door, may not be so pleased with this new arrival in their hood.  I wonder how honorable La Tulipe’s customers will be.  I hope not to see a limping flower or unwanted flickering of their neon tulip light.  Maybe they are friendly cousins, from the same family, like Red Lobster and Olive Garden.  Maybe they are trying to rule this hood together.  There is a new café down below us with more included then just a café.  This café attempts to grab patrons from multiple angles.  This is true because it takes up the majority of the bottom floor of the apartment building but also because of their many options.  The café has a restaurant, patisserie, café, glace, and probably more, like friendly non-English speaking service.  I say that in a good way.  I hope they have good café and mint tea.  I hope they have good pastries.  Oh, I love pastries.  I could be a regular.  The place almost seems to close to be a regular, though.  No morning walk to my regular spot, if that makes any sense.  There is a new café down below and its name is Promenade Palace.