Shopping the Souks

Yesterday (Wednesday) we had to complete any shopping that we were going to do so we headed out for the souks again.  It's actually quite fun since one gets lost every time and you can always find the same thing at another store so don't despair!  We met Aydin at 9 am because we wanted to get an early start.  But when we got down to Jemaa El fna, most of the stores were still closed:  shutters drawn down.  That made it quite pleasant and easy to walk but of course crippled our shopping plans.  So we wandered up and down, in and out, ending up on alleys (they are all narrow, about 12-15 feet across) where there were no tourists, an indication we were getting away from the Jemaa El fna.  Lots of good photo shots but the Moroccans either don't want to be photographed or want to be paid for it, so only Fernando had the guts to go ahead and shoot.

Aydin was looking for Babouches (leather slippers) and we were successful in that, even Fernando bought a bright red pair.  Then I got a wooden orange squeezer, appropriately out of orange wood (we'll see how it survives the trip home), and a wooden camel out of juniper root for my Christmas pesebre.  I also picked up a miniature tagine of blue and white pottery from Fez for Fernando's Aleppo pepper and a real rustic earthenware tagine for one serving for next to nothing which I hope survives the trip home.  But most of the morning was spent wandering (no, merci; no, merci) and learning how not to ask the price of an item unless you really intend to buy it.  No pricing of things simply out of curiosity or the store owner will follow you past several stores,  gradually lowering the price until it is a quarter of what he initially requested.  And still you know that he is making a profit.

Aydin had to be back at the EUSIPCO conference for a poster session in the afternoon so we sent him off in a taxi and we proceeded to the Artisan Complex where the prices are fixed and the goods are guaranteed to be good by the government (if that is possible).   We had been there the first day but only bought a map (which has turned out to be the best one so far), although we had seen several things that tempted us.  We discovered that there were more shops than we had seen on the previous trip, and no, we didn't buy a carpet but Fernando did get a new leather belt (has he been eating too much?).  So we ended up with painted mirrors, wooden bowls out of juniper, a copper lizard for my powder-room collection and a pair of bright orange babouches with sequins for me.  In my old age I seem to be buying a lot of bright orange.  I might have to change the color of our walls to match!

Eventually we had bought all we could carry and were ready to catch a taxi back to the hotel but a driver of a horse and carriage offered to take us back for the same price.  So we got our touristy fix.  There must be hundreds of these carriages and though they are much slower than taxis, who is in a hurry with this heat?  Now all we need is a camel ride.

Our afternoons are always spent on a shower and a nap and fortunately the hotel is very quiet (except this morning they are mowing the lawn).  We met Aydin at his hotel at 6 pm and we let him exercise his little Suzuki car with a trip south to the Carrefour.  It's only about 10 minutes away because the traffic is light but there really wasn't much to see.  What a disappointment.  I still remember the row of French cheeses in Toulon and probably hope to encounter them in other Carrefours.  The Carrefours in Colombia are a treat because of all the tropical fruits.  Here in Morocco, the produce is much the same as in the US and looked rather tired.  They did have a lot of Jerusalem artichokes, sold in the potato section.  This Carrefour is in the basement of the Almazar shopping mall which has its food court on the top floor.  Hardly anybody was there and apparently it is true that Moroccans eat at home.  Most of the Moroccans in the restaurants near the hotel were only drinking coffee or soft drinks.

Disappointed with the Almazar mall and not finding anything in the surrounding area, we headed back to our Hotel Row and ate at a Cafe specializing in fish.  Aydin had the fried fish platter, Fernando had swordfish and I had a Sicilian pizza (I could only eat about half of it -- it did have anchovies, so I did my fish part too).  A Moroccan nearby was drinking a bright green soda so we asked the waiter, who only spoke French and Arabic, what it was.  It turns out that you can have a little pitcher of mint syrup (no, it is not creme de menthe) to put in your soda water.  So, of course, we asked for some too.  Now I know what we can do with the Old Fedcal creme de menthe at Mother's!

Naturally after dinner we had to stop at another outdoor cafe (they all have outdoor seating areas) for coffee.  Naturally I didn't have any coffee because the night before, after an iced cafe mocha, I couldn't get to sleep until 2 in the morning.  Fernando ordered an ice cream dish with 3 types of ice cream and espresso poured on top.  One of the ice creams was hazelnut and quite good -- I had to help him with it of course.

Now it is Thursday morning, we have had our last buffet breakfast -- our last croissants and cafe au lait -- and we are waiting until 10:30 am when Aydin will come and take us to the airport for the 1:40 pm flight to Madrid.  The Aparthotel in Madrid has wifi as well so hopefully I will be able to post there as well.  We've had a good time here in Marrakech.  Hasta Manana!