Casablanca, Morocco

I’m on the road again, this time to Morocco starting in Casablanca! For Gimpy and I, this is one of the few remaining bucket list countries for both of us. So after a year of planning we are finally ready for this Moroccan adventure.

Originally, we are flying from Vancouver to Montreal then onward to Casablanca. However, the day before we leave, a notification that our once generous layover is now under an hour. There’s some anxiousness but the entire itinerary still checks out. But, after a restless night, I discover in the morning that our Vancouver to Montreal flight is heavily delayed which will result in a  misconnection in Montreal. Thankfully, after a call with Air Canada, they put us on a flight leaving later in the day to London, and then onward to Casablanca. So thank you Air Canada! In today’s world a lot of stories involving airlines tend to be negative. But in our case this is a customer service win and I’m appreciative of the quick and effective actions the agent took!

YVR Air Canada Signature Suite

One of the unintended bonuses of our updated itinerary is we’re now departing Vancouver on an international flight. Because I have a flexible business class ticket, I am fortunate to have access to the Air Canada Signature Suite. It’s been something I want to check out but didn’t expect to in the near future. It’s situated a floor above Air Canada’s regular Maple Leaf lounge and offers a sit down dining experience.

The Food

After being seated at a table overlooking the apron, I start with a glass Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Brut Rosé Champagne. For my appetizer I order the Brant Lake Wagyu Carpaccio and for my main I have the BC Lingcod. The food is akin to fine dining so its certainly an experience unto itself. I decide to forgo desert but finish off my meal with a glass of Famille Hugel, Pinot Gris. To think that at the beginning of the day, Gimpy and I were unsure if we would even make it to Morocco today. And now I’m sitting with some great food and enjoying the view of airplanes coming and going. I’m already starting this trip feeling especially blessed!

Air Canada Vancouver to London

Soon its time to head to our gate and board our plane to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. While I’ve flown a lot of flights overseas, I’ve never actually flown a long haul Air Canada business class flight before. So I’m eager to get onboard and see what my country’s flag carrier has to offer! I know Air Canada gets some negative press frequently, but I am happy to report that my flight was fine. The service is good and the food is tasty. I think overall its a good product, it won’t compete with the Emirates of the world but I think you can do far worse (see below)!

Here’s Looking at You, Kid!

Knowing our destination, refreshing my memory of this iconic movie is required. I confirm it’s on the Air Canada IFE and made sure to watch it during my dinner. I’m actually glad I did because later when I visit Rick’s Cafe, I’m able to pick up on some subtle callbacks to the movie!

Royal Air Maroc to Casablanca

After landing in London, Gimpy and I have a few hours to kill before boarding our final flight to Casablanca. This time on Royal Air Maroc. I am pretty excited to fly with them, its a new airline to me and the national carrier of Morocco. I’d like to say that I enjoyed the flight, but sadly it’s quite disappointing. The plane didn’t feel like it was cleaned (Gimpy said the same for her seat). There is hair in different nooks and crannies. I even find a bug in the packaging of my provided headphones. So I didn’t feel super comfortable onboard, and spent most of it on my phone or staring out the window. It’s rare that I have a negative flight experience, but in the case of Royal Air Maroc, I’ll likely avoid them in the future.

By the time we arrive in Morocco, clear customs and immigration and get to our hotel its fairly late at night. So after a long day of travel Gimpy and I opt for showers and crashing, in hopes of fighting Jetlag a little.

Hassan II Mosque

The next morning, we get up at a reasonable time, grab some quick breakfast and make our way to the Hassan II Mosque. Having been to a few spectacular mosques in past travels. I didn’t have great expectations for this visit. However, upon arriving, I’m happy to be proven wrong! This mosque is spectacular! Easily one of the best I’ve had the privilege of visiting! It sits right along the water and has an amazing outdoor courtyard that can accommodate 80000 people in times of prayer. It is immaculately designed and is really worth a visit! 

Inside the mosque is no different! From the large main hall, to the beautiful finishes, I am very impressed! We spend a good hour or two exploring different parts of the mosque. Both Gimpy and I easily conclude that this is one of our favorites’ and I can’t recommend it enough!

Rick’s Cafe

After we finally pull ourselves away from the Mosque, the next thing on our list is lunch at Rick’s Cafe! Ever since this trip to Morocco and Casablanca became a reality, visiting Rick’s Cafe is at the top of the list. While I know that this specific restaurant is NOT the actual Rick’s Cafe or filming location. This Rick’s Cafe was built to recreate that famous fictitious bar for one of the most classic movies of all time. Regardless of its movie ties, the actual venue is in a restored courtyard mansion and is beautifully appointed. So even if you’re familiar with the film, the restaurant itself is a very nice place to have a meal!

However, if you are familiar with the movie, there are some fun callbacks to parts of the movie. Things like the Champagne Cocktail on the menu and the owner of the restaurant called the “Usual Suspects”

And again, even if you aren’t familiar with the movie, the food is spectacular! For our first proper meal in Casablanca, you can hardly go wrong. Gimpy and I decide to share a few dishes. We start with the Smoked Salmon Salad. We then share two mains: Roast duck and the Grilled Sea Bass with Curry Sauce. Everything is scrumptious!

After lunch, we decide to head back to our hotel and rest a little. In the evening we will be meeting our tour group for the first time and will be heading out to dinner.

G Adventures Morocco Kasbahs and Desert

After a quick nap, Gimpy and I head down to our lobby where our G Adventures guide Said and group are waiting for us. We introduce ourselves and meet the other members of our group. Everyone starts to exchange past travel stories and experiences and our guide starts to go over the particulars of our itinerary. Our tour is the G Adventures Morocco Kasbahs and Desert tour and we will be driving through most of central Morocco stopping for various points of interest. 

After a brief orientation we all set out to have some dinner and get to know each other! We head over to a nearby restaurant called Restaurant Des Fleurs where I order my first of many tagines on this trip!

We spend the evening getting to know our fellow tour mates before heading back to our hotel to pack and head to bed. Tomorrow we will be starting our tour by driving to Fes with a few stops along the way!