We arrived by train in Rabat, then walked to our apartment, during which one of the wheels of my suitcase broke and I had to drag it for about 20 minutes. Once we finally arrived at where Google Maps said our place was, we were confused. We couldn’t find street numbers anywhere and were walking up and down and in circles. We then asked a security guard, who asked another guy, who called down the road to ask his friend if he knew where our apartment was. The game of Moroccan whispers was fruitful, and we finally stood outside our apartment waiting for the owner to meet us. He had been emailing my Dad for months asking what time we would arrive and was very anxious to know precisely, so it figured he was late.

The apartment looked like a former bachelor pad, with the term former being used very loosely. The owner’s clutter filled up all the drawers; I found wigs, old light bulbs, photo albums… The living room had an empty beer keg turned seat (it had a cushion on top), there was a surfing board in the corner and in the photos on the website there was a boxing bag hanging from the middle of the living room, although thankfully that had been removed. This could all be ignored except for the fact the apartment was pretty dirty, no doubt he had been doing the cleaning himself bachelor style as well.

I was feeling sick again, no doubt my immune system was weakened after the antibiotics, and we joked I had contracted camel flu. A friend of mine revealed camel flu was actually a real thing, which we had a good laugh at, since Mum thought she had invented it. After then infecting my parents with the “camel flu” (doctor’s diagnosis pending) and having resigned myself to being an unadventurous traveller, we decided to have a very restful week.

So to my friends who have come here looking for adventure and the exploration of the unknown, this blog post will consist mostly of how we ventured out into the local eateries on our street, and *shock* one on the next street over (wow, maybe I was an adventurous traveller after all?).

Our favourite was the one that was literally downstairs. We walked out the front door and there we were. Gosh I loved it, 10/10 for convenience. It also made very good French tacos, which became one of my new favourite foods. They are essentially soft grilled tacos filled with chips, salad, cheese, meat and sauces. The place also had a very nice family friendly vibe, and the waitress gave us a game of connect four to play. I felt very special.

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The restaurant on the street over also sold French tacos, so of course it was a winner. They also had pizza and salad, which meant we could have a nice balanced meal of French tacos and pizza. It was more of a take away place, so we brought it back to the bachelor pad and enjoyed it there while Mum and I watched Strong Girl Bong-soon; a South-Korean romance drama show with Buffy the Vampire Slayer vibes which Mum and I had really gotten into.

At some point during the week I decided to clean out one of the cupboards in the kitchen cause it was annoying me so much (it was the most cluttered place in the apartment). I am by no means a neat freak, and as my parents will attest, I generally live with a decent amount of mess around me at all times. So for this to annoy me, it was bad. I wish I had taken before and after photos. Before I started it look like the kind of thing that could avalanche and kill children. It took a whole night to clean it. I found mouldy containers, really expired herbs (I didn’t even know they could expire) and everything was covered in a layer of dust so thick it felt wet. After I was finished, I had colour-coordinated the cupboard, made everything easily accessible and I could now safely say nothing was living in the cupboard anymore, which in my books was a huge improvement.

After a few days Mum was out of bed and we decided to walk around town. Rabat is the capital of Morocco, and is a lot more modern and cosmopolitan than Marrakech, although is much less of a destination for tourists. We went to the main shopping street and stopped in at a cafe, where Dad was very distressed to order a tea and get a cup of hot milk with a tea bag in it. I hate to think what the English would make of that. Next we were off to the souks, which was much more like what we had seen in Marrakech. There I found a new suitcase for about 40 euros, which would likely have cost four times as much anywhere else.

On our last day we were feeling a bit healthier and more adventurous. We took a train to Salé, a short tram ride from Rabat across the river, and walked around the old medina, which was a bit unloved and certainly not expecting tourists. This contrasted starkly with the marina area just a bit further on, which was like one of those waterfront-living commericials, with brand new super ritzy shops next to expensive looking modern houses. We stopped in for an ice-cream before heading back across to the Rabat side of the marina, where we wandered around the kasbah (walled citadel or fortress), which was nice with its blue walls and views across the Atlantic.

Rabat may not have been wildly exciting, sure, but was a welcome contrast to the craziness of Marrakech, and whats more a chance to spend a week in bed getting over our illnesses. Next stop, Asilah!