Morocco part 2: Casablanca

When we were deciding what tovisit in Morocco, it seemed that the capital Rabat doesn't really offer much of touristy spots. All of the reviews about Morocco sent us to Casablanca. The original plan was to actually stay there two nights and then come back to Rabat for another two nights, but since the whole plan got ruined by the Air Strikes, we were unsure if it's worth enough to go to another city, since our time was so limited. But in the end, we decided that it's better to spend the whole day in Casablanca and visit the most amazing views we found on Google maps, rather then skip it for convenience.
When we were searching how to get there, Google doesn't really show any public transport and most of the websites suggest getting taxis, since it's so cheap. But since our previous day experience with the taxis didn't go so well, we looked into the public transport and found a train going to Casablanca for 37 MAD (£ 2.6 ). To be honest, the train station and how easy it was to find the right ticket and platform really impressed me. The self service machines had English menu and the main French words to find the right way to the platform are not that different from English.

The journey took us a bit more than an hour. When we got to Casablanca, their train station impressed us even more. They had proper WiFi, McDonald's, Starbucks and all the basic things you are surprised to find in Africa.
We headed straight to the main point of the city Hassan II Mosque. This is the place to see in Casablanca.

Since the Mosque is a touristy spot, there was a lady doing henna tattoos. It was definitely on the bucket list of the things to do in Morocco. I have never tried henna before, so the 'small burning' on my skin was really unexpected. Also, I thought that it's straight as it is - these random brown lines on your skin that you see in the pictures. Turns out it looks a lot different when you apply it and you have to wait around 20 mins for the henna dye to dry. Price - around a pound; lasted almost two weeks.

After the Mosque we started going towards the famous market while looking for a place to have some lunch. Can't remember the name of the place, but all we needed is some Moroccan cuisine and WiFi to tell families how we are doing and check were the market actually was. The prices were quite good again and even though the cuisine didn't really impressed ( I guess, because I didn't order the right thing (was going for the vegetarian option which later turned out to be just an omelette with some bacon bits) ), we had lovely time. AND the freshly squeezed STRAWBERRY JUICE. OHMYGOD. It was pure deliciousness (ordered two - believe one glass was around £0.60) RECOMMEND!

Spent the rest of the day in the market, looking for Moroccan tea, which is Green tea with mint ( found the next day in Rabat), checked fridge magnets, postcards, scarves and all of that goodness. To be honest, it was really tiring. LOADS of knock offs ( Gucci, Prada, Nike and all of that). And also, really difficult to find an exit! :D

Sorry if the post is not informative enough, but this has been a draft and on my mind for the past few weeks. And even though I was really ill the past week and spent the whole time in my bed watching Friends and could've easily finished the whole story, it feels like so many things happened in those three days that you can't write it all down.

PS. Most of the pictures are my friend's Zanna's. Not that she reads my blog, but thanks honey for taking time to capture this trip!