Catchup Chronicles #1: Morocco and Frankfurt

I wish I had started this blog about four years ago, when I really started to give my passport and frequent flier accounts a workout, going to new places around the world. Well, in an effort to try to make up for some of that, I've dug up some old photos that I've taken, and will post them here in sections from time to time (especially when I don't see any upcoming travel for a while). This episode: Morocco, from a trip in December last year.



My main destination was Marrakech, where there were an abundance of night market vendors in Jema al Fna, the central plaza with an amazing generation of burning meat smoke. The guy in the big photo above was serving a hearty harira soup, which is apparently eaten after the fasting period of Ramadan, while the man the small B&W inset photo was serving a spicy hot tea, which was great in the freezing cold December air.



Kefta or brochettes (basically kebabs) are obligatory in this part of the world too. Admittedly we probably got suckered into a tourist trap in the photo above, judging by a number of tourists populating the establishment and what appeared to be a kickback being handed over to the taxi driver who recommended this place to us in the new city (outside the walls of the old medina city). Well, the kebabs were still tasty, especially with a little bit of grease oozing out of the chargrilled exterior. Fortunately, we did get plenty of more "down & dirty" kebabs from street vendors at the night market in the photo below, all with a great burnt taste. Yum.

Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of the wealth of other amazing dishes there including tagine (stew in ceramic pottery), pigeon pastille pastry puffs, couscous, the ubiquitous "Moroccan whisky" (very sweet mint and Chinese tea), and the grease-dripping tanjia mutton.

On my way out of the country, I had to route through Casablanca. I asked my cab driver where he liked to eat local seafood, and he took me to a place in his neighborhood for some deep fried goods. I don't know if this is true Moroccan cuisine (probably not?), but it was definitely still very tasty, especially with the hot sauce on the side, which tasted very similar to a roasted Mexican salsa.

And finally, I had to stop in Frankfurt on my way back as I was taking Lufthansa. With a few hours layover, I took the train into town and picked up some fire-roasted sausages and gluehwein off the streets. Yum - just the right level of "burntness" to match the mustard, and the warm wine definitely helped keep me going in the near-freezing December temperatures. There was also a great market near the river - I was salivating at all the cheese, sausages, and vegetables lined up all nice and pretty there.