We woke up on Christmas morning in Fes, having slept pretty well in the slightly warmer room. Our bathroom and its shower was a little hard to figure out, and by the end of my shower there was water everywhere. Luckily the design of the floor was such that the water stayed in the tiny bathroom, but we needed to use our towel to create a safe surface to walk for the time being.
Downstairs they were setting up breakfast, and we had some fresh squeezed juice in a big room decorated in traditional Moroccan style. There was a plate of mini-tajines that contained olive oil, honey, olives, jams, and spicy sauces to slather over our flatbreads and rolls. Also the owner(?) cooked up some eggs with cheese which was a nice warm way to start the day.
So we were eager to explore other parts of Fes besides the old town, and so we scoped out on google maps the location of the royal palace, a historic gate, and a Carrefour – all in the same area. Let’s go!
It was about a 20 minute walk to the area of the royal palace. As we went we got some attention from the locals – kids sometimes shouted out to us and old dudes stared, but for the most part it was an easy trip. Near the palace was a gathering of a Japanese tour group, checking out the palace gates and doors that were beautifully decorated. We took some pictures there, and then walked along the big open square away from the palace. But after we had traveled a bit some guards started whistling at us, and waving us back – apparently it was a “no go” zone. I saw that one guard looked sheepish because we must have walked right past him and he failed to stop us. At least we didn’t get shot.
We saw the historic gate and then started down a road towards the shopping center with a Carrefour. We could see it, so we walked down a road that was under construction – but as it turned out it was pretty torn up and a risky crossing. In fact, crosswalks were hard to come by, and we didn’t like our chances so we walked back up the way we came and had to approach from a different direction. We kept passing squads of three soldiers – they nodded at us coolly as we passed.
Despite being next to the shopping center it still wasn’t clear whether there was access or even if it was open. Finally we followed some day laborers who were walking through the debris of the road and found the entrance. I guess most people arrive by car.
Inside the shopping center there were security guards pointing the way and it seemed like most stores were still closed. We took the chance to use the toilet but Kuniko returned with reports of no toilet paper or toilet seat. Eventually we found the Carrefour on the bottom floor – wide open and ready for business. Kuniko was super-happy: Civilization! Credit cards! Let’s go nuts!
Then we did some shopping for the next day’s long bus ride, getting snacks, throat lozenges, and bottled water. This Carrefour had an interesting spice section – looking like a spice market you’d see on the streets. Staff were stocking shelves but they didn’t seem to mind blocking customers from the products – customer service was different here.
From there we walked back, braving the busy streets but taking some photos of the buildings, tiles and a family of storks that were living in the fortifications of the palace. It was really nice to walk around in the wide streets after the maze of the old town.
But after dropping off our stuff back in our room it was back to the maze to do some more sightseeing and get some lunch. Plenty more “helpful” advice, questions about where we were from, and all the while trying to follow the map on my phone while doing threat assessments. Of course we were safe the whole time – but avoiding the attentions of the touts and “guides” was a little stressful.
One interesting spot was a large mosque that was actually built into the old town, and only open to Muslims. We walked around the sides and at one point we accidentally entered an area that was restricted – but nobody freaked out and some genuinely helpful people gave us directions back to the regular area. From one spot we could peek inside and take some pictures of the beautiful tile work.
Our next sightseeing destination was a tannery – the sights of the pools of dyes where leather is treated are pretty interesting. As we approached some locals sitting around asked us if we were looking for the tannery, and when we said yes they sent along a young kid who would guide us there – “no money” they assured us. Of course this rang alarm bells for me but I decided to just go ahead and go with the flow, and I’m glad we did. He got us right to the tannery entrance, and then passed us off to a guide who handed us handfuls of fresh mint sprigs, which was to cover up the smell. The smell wasn’t all that bad really, but I’m guessing in the summer it is worse.
With our sprigs in hand he walked us along the ramparts above the tannery. They had a few exhibits, he talked about how leather was made there, and let us take our time checking things out.
As we left he steered us to a store, and then when we didn’t want to buy anything asked for a tip directly, and I was happy to give him some money as he had certainly earned it.
Afterwards we followed our map to find our lunch target, but when we finally arrived after all the windy streets it turned out to still be closed – we’d have to wait 30 minutes among the street vendors, or find someplace else. I had a backup destination so we went off to find it. We got lost several times, at one point coming out onto a dead end with two little kids as surprised as we were to find someone else. The older boy said, “closed!” in English, and asked us what we wanted – a guide in training. Eventually we found our way to the place I was looking for, called Riad Fes. The sign said that the rooftop terrace wasn’t open, but once went inside the staff said that they could open it for us. There was a voucher system – we had to prepay for two vouchers that would be used against our lunch bill – I guess in a bid to keep out folks who didn’t buy anything.
Once we bought the vouchers a female staff member was assigned to lead us to the rooftop. She led us up two flights of stairs, and then disappeared – we wandered through a different area, and then finally found the rooftop. It was a luxurious spot with a dramatic view – it was set up for the upper crust – and it was empty except for us. We were still holding clumps of mint from the tannery and looking a little harried, but it turned out to be a good stop for us.
We had some local wine, some champagne, Casablanca beer, 3 mini-burgers, and a colorful veggie bowl with various sauces to dip into. The server was very kind and patient and would could finally sit down after so much walking through narrow alleys.
We lounged for quite a while, relaxing and trying to find our own hotel from the view that we had. This was a really nice break.
After our lunch we went back to our hotel to clean up and get a little rest. I was cold and still coughing, so I tucked into the bed and slept for two solid hours, leaving Kuniko to play Balatro. When I woke up I was surprised that I had slept so much – I guess I needed it. I felt like I was at a tipping point – we could just stay where we were, warm in bed, and rest up for the big travel day tomorrow, or we could go back out into the medina one last time to get some more food – which would actually be our Christmas dinner. In the end we made the right choice, and headed back out.
We went to the same restaurant that we had attempted to visit earlier for lunch – Fondouk Bazaar. Once more through the maze, but for this trip we were walking at night and so it was a different vibe. I liked the feeling, and I could tell that we were getting better at navigating the streets of Fes. When we arrived at the restaurant the manager said that while we could come in and sit down, the staff were on a 20 minute break so we’d have to wait. But we were here and so we said sure and took a table.
Rather than the rooftop we took a corner table, and had some hot drinks. I had a honey ginger infusion, and Kuniko had hot thyme lemonade. They were extremely effective for my cold.
For dinner we had orange chicken (nice texture, not too sweet by very orangey) and another version of the kefta with egg – this one was better than the previous night’s version. I thought the food here was really good if not completely traditional. Once we got up to pay the bill we saw a super happy cat stretched out on a chair in the lobby – there were so many cats in Morocco!
On the way back to our hotel we stopped to buy some Orangina to keep my vitamin C up. At the hotel desk we talked with (maybe) the manager who arranged a taxi for us the next morning, promised to make up some breakfast in a sack to go, and gave a bad review to the restaurant that we had just visited.
In our room with spotty WiFi we attempted a Christmas phone call with Ray, Bonnie, Nancy, Lynn and Kinsey in Arizona, and although they came through clearly I think our side wasn’t easy for them to understand. Not too long after that we went (back) to bed to get ready for the long travel day tomorrow.
