For pictures of Morocco, please click here.
If you're a planner like me, you plan everything. Trips to other countries, particularly continents to which you have never before visited, warrant special attention. And, for me, trips to countries with belly dancing command an extra build-up of excitement and anticipation over the preceding months.
I had no time for any of the above for my trip to Morocco, but I was more than willing to make an exception because I knew this was one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities: the direct roundtrip flight from Switzerland was dirt-cheap and only three hours in length, I found a perfect travel buddy in my co-worker Daniela, the tour guide highly recommended by friends was available and able to make all arrangements, and the timing of the trip fit perfectly into my remaining two weeks (yes, I booked this trip just over one week before departure)!
We then made a quick trip to the square and finally stopped at our hotel to freshen up for dinner. The hostess seated us on the terrace, and even in the soft candlelight I could see that the vegetable couscous and chicken tagine were yummy.
I couldn't get over how beautiful the restaurant's lamps were. I had secretly scoffed when people told me that I'd want to bring one home with me, but as soon as I saw these gorgeous lace-like concoctions, I knew I just had to have one (I honestly wanted all of them).
The belly dancing was entertaining, although from a technical standpoint it was not as impressive as I had imagined it to be.
I somehow found myself pulled up to dance by the curvaceous woman balancing the tray of candles and a tea set, and I happily obliged. I'm not sure why no one else was pulled up to dance, but they insisted that I continue dancing after I motioned to sit down after one song. The restaurant owner, who spoke very good English (I later found out that he had lived in the U.S. for many years), said to me afterwards that he had a job for me in Morocco if I wanted it. He was probably being extremely generous, but I will pretend that I could actually have a second career in belly dancing if I wanted it!
I went to bed as quickly as I could after returning to our hotel -- Rachid asked us to meet him in the hotel lobby at 8am sharp. I had dreams of sparkly lamps and belly dancing costumes!
For pictures of Morocco, please click here.
