fast paced slow processing

I more or less decided I didn't want to do any more tour groups after this one. Not because of any negative experience or mishap. I was impressed with the organization. I liked our tour guide. I don't know how I would've fit nine cities into ten days.

But for how expensive it all turned out to be, I would have liked more time to lose myself in the markets.

We were given so much time to take selfies in front of the royal palace in Meknes. From far away and right up against the giant doors. I have so many close up snaps of the intricate tile work. It was beautiful, definitely, but my heart started racing as I unwittingly followed our guide into the covered food market hidden behind the stalls of tagines and art and knickknacks. The first thing I saw were the people making pastillas (but I didn't know this until I asked Issmail later). I panicked, watching the group weave further and further into the market as I was debating if I should ask if I could take a picture of the woman slapping the phyllo dough down on a round flat top and pushing it in a circle to make a paper thin sheet. I settled on a quick snap of the entrance because my social anxiety extends to the food vendors of Morocco apparently. And I don't trust my limited knowledge of French.

We walked through bags of spices and dried herbs. And dried fruit and more date varieties than I knew existed. And funny blobby fish and lots of butchered meats... and people butchering the meats. And olives galore. 

This is also where I got khlii (but that's a different post).

My favorite find was by far the spice piles. I came out with only one picture in my haste because I mistakenly thought I'd see more of these artfully layered piles. Guess this was just a Meknes thing.

*heart eyed emoji* times infinity.

We got a round of fresh squeezed orange juice before making our way to someone's living room for lunch. Because it was Ramadan, the usual place they take us was closed, so a local family prepared camel burgers for us - so I can check that off the list now. Which was not quite what I was picturing.

It was more pita sandwich than burger, where the falafels are camel meatballs, but so delicious. I thought it tasted just like pork. More specifically... just like pork dumpling filling. And the bread was incredible - crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. Until then, the bread I'd had had been pretty dry and dense.

We found some shade while waiting for our train to Fez and snuck some pictures of Issmail being contemplative.
I'm not sure how many of the food choices were influenced by Ramadan and how many were partnerships with Intrepid Travel, but I wasn't too impressed with most of the restaurants we ended up at. There was tagine and couscous on every menu... but there was also pizza and pasta. And they were always out of fish (and one time, rabbit), which was never not disappointing. So for our first night in Fez, Audrey and I decided to forego the recommended restaurant option. But not before stopping in to familiarize ourselves with what it was...

... and taking a picture of the happy restaurant owner after he saw me gaping at the display and asked for a picture himself.

Note: you have to ask before taking pictures of people but sometimes they'll volunteer.