Is it bad if I answer that with: “H&M”?
Way back in November, Mike and I thought it about time we hopped a train to check out the famous Casablanca. We also needed to go to the mall, and at that time Casablanca was the nearest option. Unfortunately, Casablanca is not as romantic as the film might lead you to think. In fact, if someone were to visit Morocco on a tight budget, I’d suggest skipping it altogether. There’s just not really much to do if you’re a tourist. It might be different if you’re living there, but we were happy with our quick day and a half visit. In fact, the second day we were searching pretty hard for things to do… and ended up at a Pizza Hut. So there you go. 
Of course, there are interesting bits to it too. We started off with the Art Deco tour in the Lonely Planet. I think you really need to be an architecture nerd for this. Yes, there were a few cool looking buildings (like this one), but there’s also a lot of dilapidation. The tour only took about 20 minutes on foot so soon we were searching for our next activity. We ended up doing another walking tour from the guidebook, then heading towards the beach, and finally making it to the mall. 
The mall itself was pretty nice and instantly took me back to the UAE. Oud was in the air. It was like a mini Dubai Mall complete with indoor aquarium. Visiting the H&M and indulging in some mediocre poutine was the highlight of the evening.
The next day we visited the Hassan II Mosque but regretfully missed the tour. As a fan of mosques, I can say this one was truly lovely. The mosque is the 7th largest in the world and boasts the tallest minaret. Perched up next to the Atlantic, the ocean floor is visible through the glass floor. I’m really wishing we were able to get a peek at that. 
We rounded out our trip with a stop at Rick’s Cafe. Should I give you the full report or leave your film inspired imagination in tact? You decide.*
xo, jill
*It’s nothing like the movie!!
I only wanted to go to Casablanca for the mosque, and sadly missed out on the experience. I want to get back to Morocco sometime soon though (there were a few other places I wanted to visit and didn’t have the chance!), so I guess I’ll be adding the mosque then. I had a few friends tell me that Casablanca wasn’t really worth it though, so I’m glad to hear that you think the same thing (as you’re a resident expert on Morocco now!).
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Wow what a sunset x
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Casablanca really disappointed me too. For some reason, I thought it would be in black and white and people would be wearing 40’s clothes… I’ve watched that movie waaaaay too many times!
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When I lived in Winnipeg, I used to get excited when I visited places with an H&M too. So sad!
Everyone told me that Casablanca was terrible and that it wasn’t worth visiting. We planned a day or two there anyway and I was pleasantly surprised – probably because I had such low expectations. I liked Rick’s Cafe!
I’m disappointed that we didn’t do the tour of the mosque as well. Ah well, perhaps we’ll pass through another time.
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