...At least the food was good!

We ventured down to Casablanca last weekend to participate in the Casablanca International Marathon festivities. We were both only planning to run the 10k, but we were going to take this opportunity to spend another weekend in Casablanca and see different parts of the city. Between this visit and our visit back in September, we feel like we've gotten a good look at what Casa has to offer when folks come to visit. This trip's agenda included stops in the Habbous District, the Villa des Arts exhibit, a walk along the Corniche, and meals at some key restaurants. The restaurants ended up being the stars of this trip...

Trip Summary

> Le Point du Jour Hotel. Although we wanted to change things up this visit, we actually ended up staying in the same hotel. It may only be a two-star hotel, but it still has the best reviews in all of Casablanca. And at $55/night, we didn't want to pass it up! It was a good choice, as the staff remembered us from last month and they welcomed us back like family.

> Cocktails at Sky 28 lounge. This lounge, located on the 28th floor of a 5-star hotel, boasts panoramic views of the Casablanca coastline, highlighted by the magnificent Hassan II Mosque (see previous Casa post on the mosque).

Our review: The views are gorgeous, especially if you can catch the city lighting up at sunset. The place itself was a bit overrated and touristy. The drinks were expensive (and sub-par), the music was way too loud, the service was not 5-star quality, and since it does attract visitors, you have to be a little aggressive if you want that picture-perfect shot of the city.

> Dinner at Le Petit Rocher. This cozy restaurant located right on the water has beautiful (and close-up) views of the Hassan II Mosque and the ocean. The food was stellar, the service was excellent, the prices were totally reasonable for the quality of the restaurant (we enjoyed wine, an appetizer, two entrees, and dessert for $90).

Cool note for our foodie friends: The offer a 400-day aged Waygu steak...for about $60!! This rare find could cost you upwards of $1,000 in the US! Also note, we didn't try it...maybe next time!

> La Villa des Arts. Neat art-deco exhibition located in a house in the middle of downtown. The gardens are beautiful and the facility is well-kept; however, the exhibits themselves were a bit underwhelming. Perhaps it was because we visited while it was raining, or perhaps we caught them in between exhibits...overall impression: the place looked cooler from the outside than what was happening on the inside. Bummer!

> Habbous District. This quiet neighborhood near the King's palace is known for its unique architecture and laid-back medina, where you can find traditional artisan goods without the hassle of the larger medina. We were hoping to score some good finds here; however, we actually ended up getting hassled MORE by shop owners here than any other medina we've been in. The highlight of this quick walk around town: the olive market we found tucked into one of the alleys. How do you decide which kind to get??

> La Corniche. This ocean-boardwalk neighborhood is home to some pretty impressive beach-front property. It's located adjacent to a mall, so you can enjoy walking inside if the weather is bad/too hot, and then pop outside and walk along the restaurants and beachfront when it's nice.

> Dinner at Al-Mounia. This traditional Moroccan restaurant is famed for it's outdoor seating - white, iron tables and chairs scattered underneath twinkly white lights and the sweeping branches of large pepper trees, it's quite romantic! Unfortunately, it was raining when we visited, so we were seated inside (which is authentically Moroccan and very impressive).

Our review: Al-Mounia did not disappoint! While our previous meal was more modern and French-style, this place was a true Moroccan experience. The facility is much older (and darker), but the food is off-the-charts delicious, the atmosphere is enchanting, and the prices were ridiculously affordable. We ate a 5-star quality meal, including dessert for about $40. Unfortunately, the ambiance was a little too dark and we couldn't get any of our photos to turn out well!

> Casablanca International Marathon 10K. Didn't happen...ok, it's a long (and entertaining) story. The short version is that daylight savings in Morocco was supposed to go into effect early Sunday morning. The race was at 8:00am on Sunday. Because technology is the way it is, all of our phones "fell back" an hour during the night. Well, what we (and the staff members of the hotel) did NOT hear about was that on Friday afternoon (less than 48 hours prior), the Moroccan government decided that Morocco would keep summer time year-round and would NOT be setting the clocks back. So, our watches and phones read 6:15am, when it was really still 7:15am. We frantically got dressed and tried to get to the race before it started, but at that exact moment, a hurricane-like storm rolled in with 25mph winds, torrential rain, and 52-degree weather. We made it about 100 feet out of the hotel before laughing hysterically, turning back, and calling it quits! The race started 45 minutes later, at 8:00am, and we were not there...

Our review of the weekend: ...at least the food was good!