Paris, je t'aime

I know I just said that I was so excited to be back from vacation in my beloved city of Angers, however, when you get the opportunity to go to one of the best cities in Europe to reunite with some great friends from high school, you have to seize it! This past weekend, I went to Paris and met up with two dear friends, Rachel and Liz from the good ol' USA. It was fun being a tourist and seeing all the sights again. For Liz, it was her first time in Europe in general, but more specifically, France. After spending years together in French class, it was so fun to see her eyes light up (and tear up) whenever we arrived at a famous site. Don't feel like typing anymore... plus, pictures are more fun anyways.

Liz and me at the Eiffel Tower

Liz on the Pont des Arts with a lock for her loved one

Selfie at Sacre Coeur

CHIPOTLE IN PARIS

Selfie at the Moulin Rouge

Selfie at Notre Dame

However, as I've said before, there's nothing that beats the feeling of coming back to what feels like home. It's the final stretch of my time in France, and I have so many emotions. I don't want to leave the amazing people I've met here. I feel so incredibly lucky and honored to have had this experience. Excuse me while I go cry in a corner. 

Yalla yalla !

vi-brant
adjective
1. full of energy and enthusiasm
synonyms: spirited, lively, energetic, animated, sparkling, effervescent, vivacious, dynamic, stimulating, exciting, passionate

If I had to characterize Morocco in one word, I’d probably choose vibrant. I recently got back from my two week holiday, of which I spent about 10 days in Northern Africa visiting tourist-popular Marrakech, more Westernized but beautiful Casablanca, and confusing but ‘authentic’ Fes. Throughout the whole trip, my senses were in overdrive… Spices and the markets filled my nose with amazing odors, bright reds, oranges, blues, etc. took over my eyes, a mix of Arabic, French, and English consumed my ears, tagine and couscous kept my belly full. What an experience.

Place Jemaa El Fna

Marrakech
As soon as we stepped off the bus in downtown Marrakech from the airport, I could tell I was in for an adventure. Never have I been so stressed or panicked. We just wanted to take a minute to ourselves and orient ourselves with the map, but right away, all sorts of people swarmed us telling us to buy this or to get in this taxi or just harassing us in general. I thought I was about to have the worst vacation of my life. Luckily with the help of our fifth traveler who arrived earlier than us and had the chance to explore, we finally found our hostel. The next day, we got to explore the city, walking around the souks and the main square (Place Jemaa El Fna), schools, and more. The weather was so warm and perfect with the sun beating down on us. We ate great food, bought some nice souvenirs, and took so many pictures.
 
Zagora

Dromedaries in the desert

My favorite part of the whole week was our excursion to the desert. Starting bright and early at 7am, we hopped in a car and hit the road. Our tour guide Aziz lived up to his rave reviews on TripAdvisor and spent hours driving us on the winding roads through the Atlas Mountains, stopping multiple times for photo opportunities. Upon arrival to Zagora, we hopped on camels and took off into the sunset... ok, well the sun was setting behind us, but we were able to turn around and watch. This was followed by mint tea, dinner, fire, music, and stargazing. So relaxing and peaceful. I felt so isolated from the rest of the world. It really is something to look around and see nothing but sand in every direction.



Casablanca

English Assistants of Angers take on Morocco

Instead of trying to do the 7-hour train ride from Marrakech to Fes in one go, we decided to stop in Casablanca for a night. Research stated that this city was rather unfriendly, so everyone was a little wary. We started off on a great note… as soon as we got in the cab and told the driver the name of our hotel, he said “c’est pas bon… comme une poubelle (it’s not good… like a garbage can).” How reassuring, right? It was fine. After a fabulous dinner, a walk, and a viewing of Rick’s Café from the movie Casablanca, we soon fell asleep after a long day of travel. The next day, we visited Hassan II Mosque which is the only one that non-Muslims are allowed to enter. We had the best tour guide ever who spoke English so well—and by that, I mean she spoke in such a monotone voice, but she was just full of jokes! After the tour, we took a (long) walk through the sun to the beach! I had a great time frolicking in the water. This was followed by McDonalds  (because why not?), and a walk back to the hotel. We ended up catching our train to Fès only 3 hours later than we had anticipated!

Fès

Me & Rhys at the View looking over the city

The last stop of our Moroccan tour was Fez. This city was even more confusing than Marrakech and seemed to have a reputation of being more dangerous? I guess because it is less tourist-y? Luckily, we had an amazing hostel who organized a tour for us led by a man who was full of insightful wisdom. We got to see authentic Fès and spent the day walking, visiting a berber textile workshop, a tannery, a pharmacy and so much more. One last highlight of this city was eating a camel burger. Yum.


Needless to say, it was an amazing week-- Amazing, but exhausting. It was definitely great to come back to France and the routine of things. Luckily, the second week of vacation was full of sunshine and warmth, which meant lots of walks and being outside. As for now, the first week back at work has already come and gone. I can tell the students aren’t happy to be done with the holiday, but then again… I can’t blame them, haha.