Battered Suitcases

More blue.

Here are a few more photos from Chefchaouen. I think these better highlight the blue wash of the medina. The lovely blue color was introduced in the 1930s. Prior to then, the city’s windows and doors were painted in green, the traditional color for Islam. To whomever dreamed up the blue city, I’d like to say, “Well done.”

Sneak peek at the kitties to come!

Part one photos are here.

xo, jill

Give me the blues.

After our stay in Tangier, Mike and I hopped on a bus and headed over to the much admired city of Chefchaouen. What makes Chefchaouen remarkable is its uniquely blue walls. Nearly every building in the medina is colored by a signature blue color. I must say, it’s a photographer’s dream. Everything looks beautiful washed in blue.

We stayed in a hostel (for about $8 per night), and explored the town during the day. Nearly every turn revealed a scene more beautiful than the last, or another lazy cat basking in the blue glow. (You know there will be another cat post soon…)

More of Chefchaouen to come.

xo, jill

Ready for their close-ups.

I don’t think I’ll ever stop being excited at spotting cats out and about, which makes Morocco a very good place to live. As previously promised, here are the baby kitties of Tangier:

Love those little rascals.

xo, jill

Admiring the view.

Later in the afternoon we were able to check in to our hotel. We were greeted warmly and served tea up on the roof. I did not want to leave that roof. The view was amazing. I highly recommend staying at La Tangerina if you ever find yourself in Tangier. In addition to the amazing view, the atmosphere of La Tangerina is just perfect. The white interior is decorated with vintage radios playing jazz or classical music* depending on the hour. The giant bowl of tangerines in the atrium was the finishing touch. I was very grateful to my student’s parents who recommended it.

The rest of our time in Tangier was spent wandering back through the medina, eating dinner overlooking the water, and seeking out literary sights. The next day we were off to Tetouan.

xo, jill

*We asked about the music. Turns out it was two Swiss radio stations (jazz and classique) that you can stream online. I’ve been listening to them in my classroom ever since.

Home of the tangerine.

Back in November, Mike and I did a little tour of northern Morocco. We started the journey with an overnight train to Tangier. This was my second overnighter to Tangier having done so a month earlier when my mom visited. I must say, I think two is plenty. The trouble with arriving somewhere at 7am having slept in your clothing is that you don’t feel very fresh. Mike and I weren’t able to check into our hotel room until later in the day and therefore were left to wander around Tangier feeling a bit daggy.

When I started looking through and whittling down photos from our time in Tangier, I noticed that about half of my photos were of cats. No big surprise there. Don’t worry, a baby kitty post will be on its way shortly. Here are a few cat-free photos from the first part of our brief stay in Tangier:

The street our hotel is on. We had to bang on the door multiply times to get someone to let us in at 8am.

This woman walked her three chickens from the medina on leashes so they could graze at the park.

Ok, so those photos weren’t quite cat-free. Did you catch the beautiful black cat that snuck in there?

xo, jill