Return to Rabat

Bonjour,

After Fes, we returned to Rabat, where the Halloween festivities continued even though we were now into November.

Bob headed out to the local produce stand and bought a huge, pumpkin-like squash. Here in Morocco, people usually just buy a small piece hacked off of these mostly-green squash to cook as part of the standard Friday lunch of couscous and vegetables.

Astounding the produce guys, Bob bought the whole thing (for about $10, probably an average day's pay for the produce guys) and brought it back for Anna and Tommy to carve.

The kids went to town, carving a "rabid cat."

Since then, Rachida (our maid, cook and friend) has chopped it up and given most of it away to others. She's also made pumpkin couscous, pumpkin salad (cold and mashed, with lots of garlic), pumpkin-based soup... just a whole lotta pumpkin for us. We're still eating that pumpkin.

The next morning, Gracie spent some quality time at home with her cousins and Rachida, while Karla, Gary and I set out for the Chellah, since they missed it before. (See prior post on Gracie's North African Adventure).

Our next stop: The Tour Hassan and Mausoleum of Mohammed V and Hassan II (again, see prior post, but suffice to say this is like a Washington Monument for Moroccans, since Mohammed V was the first king of independent Morocco). (Fountain in photo at top is just outside of the mausoleum).

When leaving Tour Hassan, Karla received an unsolicited henna tattoo by a woman thinking that this tactic would earn her some dirhams. It didn't work.

That said, the tattoo does like pretty cool now.

Only two hours later, we were on the train, traveling to another former Spanish enclave, Asilah. Asilah is the present-day haunt of artists and many European and Moroccan tourists (and now on my list for another one of the prettiest cities in Morocco).

A bientot,

Kim