We started off our first full day in Tangier by checking out the Old Medina....as we walked through we even saw scenes from the Bourne Ultimatum motorbike chase scene.
We ended up in the Grand Socco and had some coffee and crepe for a mid-morning snack. Then we continued to walk and head to the Kasbah Museum.
As we approached the museum, there was a great lookout of the harbour from the edge of the Medina.
The Sultan's Palace - Kasbah Museum
The Kasbah Museum is a former sultan's palace and it features a traditional courtyard garden and contains exhibits from history of Tangier. There were a variety of exhibits with historic pieces and one of the most interesting exhibits was the floor mosaics from the Roman city of Volubilis.
Grand Socco
We went back to Grand Socco for lunch and ate from a rooftop terrace with a view below. Then we decided to do a little rug shopping. We didn't want a large rug, but decided to get a little doormat rug, as rugs are quite popular in Morocco. We didn't quite know what to expect and how much they would want, but they started out with a price of 650 dirhams for a small one and we negotiated down quite easily to 300 dirhams. The item that we paid the most for was actually some kids t-shirts. We try to get t-shirts from each country we travel to, to hopefully one day make a travel t-shirt quilt for them. However, we waited until Tangier to buy them and they were somewhat hard to find. We ended up paying about $25 for the two of them.
Then we headed back to the Airbnb. On the way we found an ice cream shop and stopped for a treat.
Tangier Beach
Once we were back we changed and headed across the street to enjoy the beach. It was only about 26 C that day and very windy, but the kids didn't seem to mind and got fully immersed in the water. We even made a few sand turtles, before they got cold and we had to head back for some warm showers.
For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant along the beach and as we walked back to the place for the night we promised the kids we would stop at the playground for a bit. They did play a bit there, but some pretty savvy vendors had placed some trampolines and motorized vehicles for kids right at the playground, so soon they were asking to ride those. We obliged, as the cost was so cheap - about 15 dirhams. Our son insisted on riding his own, so it kept the man busy chasing after them making sure that he wouldn't run into anything. There were also several boys with their horses along the beach that would try to have you pay to ride them.
While at the Park, I must have bent over my daughter's necklace fell out of my bag, but I was so impressed when a young man came up to me to ask if it was ours. Overall I found the Moroccan people very kind and honest.
Hercules Caves & Achakkar Beach
Our last morning in Morocco (October 11) we packed our bags to head out to Hercules Caves and Achakkar Beach area. It was conveniently located close to the Tangier Airport, which we had to arrive at by mid-afternoon. Hercules Caves was an interesting cave - it actually got quite dark in some areas, as the lighting wasn't very good - but there is a sea opening in it and it provided a great view of the waves coming in. It was also great because there is no admission fee - for locals or tourists.
We had lunch across the road from the cave, and they actually had a playground as part of the restaurant - so the kids had a good time playing while waiting for the food to come.
Charf Hill
We then drove the coastline for a bit and stopped at Charf Hill, which is the division between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Afterwards we stopped to check out one of the many beaches along that road. Even though we had explained to the kids we were just going to walk along the beach and not go swimming, the waves and water were just too tempting. ;-) It also didn't help that the waves were so big and a little unpredictable. Needless to say the kids and I were both pretty wet and sandy by the time we got back to the vehicle. We had to do a quick drying and change before heading to the airport.
Odd Rental Car Drop-off
We drove to Tangier Airport and tried to find where to drop off the rental car - however, nothing was signed or labelled, which made things difficult. We drove into one parking lot and then out, and asked a police man, but he couldn't speak very good English so it wasn't much help. Eventually we came back to the parking lot a second time and saw someone from Hertz. He told us we just park the vehicle anywhere and then just go to the desk in the airport to check-in...a little different than normal. We parked and Alex went in to check the vehicle in, but there was no one at the Avis desk. Eventually he found someone to call the number on the desk, and the Avis guy said he was away and wouldn't be back for a while; but if he wasn't back to just leave the keys on the desk. Alex waited around as long as possible to see if he could catch him, but we had to head through customs and security, so he never connected with him. It was a bit sketchy, but luckily, all the deposit was returned to the credit card after we arrived home!!
Once we got through customs and security, there was a kids play area, which was great - the kids really needed it. I've never seen our son work up a sweat as much as he did in the play area in the warm terminal. ;-) As Alex was in line for some food, a Moroccan man even purchased some gummy bears for the kids - so a fitting end to our trip to Morocco with kids.
Our flight was to Paris - Beauvais and we got in a little late again - around 9:30 p.m. local time. However, we got a taxi to our hotel for the night and went to bed.
Departure Back Home from Paris
The next morning we decided to take the train to the Paris - Charles de Gaulle airport, as it was a little cheaper than a taxi - plus we didn't have any car seats for the kids. However, it was definitely longer. We had to start out early to walk to the train station, and then it was probably about 1 hr. 45 mins to Charles de Gaulle. We checked in, had lunch at McDonalds, and then boarded our flight. I found it really weird though that you actually do customs and proceed through tunnels to the terminals before you actually go through security before getting to your gate.
Luckily, the airplane ride home was pretty uneventful and we arrived back home in the mid-afternoon....just an hour after we departed Paris... ;-)
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