From Madrid to Morocco

And the study abroad adventures continue! This past weekend, three of the girls in my study abroad group and I ventured down south to Rabat, Morocco. We had so much fun! Though we were only there for a day and a half, we were able to see so much of the city and even make a trip to the beach!

Mandatory beach selfie

Our first night there, we went to the Medina, which is a huge outdoor market in the center of the city. There I bought a beautiful and very colorful Moroccan scarf and also a pair of turquoise earrings that I am in love with! It was so much fun to walk through and see what all of the different stands were selling. We saw one stand with buckets and buckets of turtles! Some were selling fruits and pastries, and I naturally had to try some Moroccan dates, which were SO GOOD. After walking through the Medina, we walked to a restaurant where we ate lots of couscous and I also tried the signature drink of Morocco, mint tea. It was so good! Anyone who goes to Morocco needs to try the tea because it was delicious!

A rug stand in the Medina

My perfect mint tea

The next day, we went to the beach in the morning because it was so incredibly hot. The heat felt very nice compared to the cold weather we’ve been having in Madrid! The beach was gorgeous and it was nice to relax and get some sun. Then we walked to an old palace near the beach (I honestly can’t remember what it was called!) and took a tour of the palace and the surrounding streets! It was lovely to walk around and stretch our legs! We stumbled across the most enchanting park in the middle of the city, and spent an hour or so meandering through paths in the park before heading to lunch.

Adorable door at the palace

At the park!

The unknown palace

After lunch, we took a little road trip outside of the city with our adorable taxi driver from the day before. He showed us some of the smaller villages outside of the main city, which were so amazing to see. It was very refreshing to be in a less urban setting and all of us absolutely loved driving through the lesser-known areas of Morocco. When we returned, our lovely driver took us to the Mausoleum of King Hassan, which was absolutely beautiful! We spent about an hour there, and our driver Gerald decided to become the personal photographer of the trip. He insisted on taking pictures of us from about every angle, and even jumped in a few of them himself! If anyone ever needs the number of a great, trustworthy cab driver in Rabat, look no further than Gerald. He was the only driver we used for the entire trip, and we LOVED him.

The Mausoleum

Ceiling of the Mausoleum

Gerald!!! Our favorite Italian cab driver!!!

After our long day seeing the sights of Rabat, we walked around the Medina one more time before having a delicious dinner of kebabs and dates for dessert! When we settled in for the night, we were all exhausted from a long day of exploring. The following morning, we left for the airport after having one last Moroccan breakfast.

So long Africa!

Though our trip was fairly short, we were able to see so much and I had so much fun going! I am so glad that we decided to take a chance on a less popular city to visit, because it turned out so well! I can’t wait to start our next adventure, which I am blessed to say is happening sooner than I anticipated due to a series of very fortunate events. This weekend I am jetting off to….SWITZERLAND! I absolutely cannot wait to go, since I didn’t originally think that I’d be able to make the trip to Switzerland this semester. But due to an unexpected long weekend and exceptionally inexpensive flights, I have just booked my ticket and will be leaving on Thursday with three other friends! So stoked!

Much love and happy traveling to all 🙂