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So I ordered some M&Ms from the commissary in Rabat, which I thought I hid fairly well.  As you can see from the photo below, I obviously didn’t do as good a job as I thought.  While I was kind of mad, when I saw how the two of them had moved a chair, climbed onto the counter, and were covered in chocolate, I just had to laugh.

Erik and I thought it would be fun to try using the local taxi system and visit Casablanca’s downtown open-air market, the Habous.  After waiting for about 20 minutes before figuring out how to get a cab (you have to be on the side of a busy street, which aims towards your destination), we made it.  One thing about the cabs I found pretty odd is that by law they can only carry a maximum of three passengers.  So, to boost their fares, drivers will stop and get as many people as they can going the same general direction.  This meant that on our way home, we probably stopped 10 times while the driver tried to find one more passenger.  Given the relatively cheap price for taxis, and seeing how most are full of people, I don’t mind that they try and gather people together. 

The market was remarkably clean, and we didn’t have too much pressure to buy anything.  I did get a toy lute for Erik, which will make a nice addition to our large collection of local musical instruments.  The tall mosque in the background is that of the old central medina in Casablanca.

During our visit, we stopped by a local fruit store to get a smoothie.  The local specialty combines basically anything you can think of (strawberries, banannas, oranges, apples, etc.) plus some things I wouldn’t have though of adding (almonds, raisins, and dates).  While a bit on the crunchy side, it was still pretty tasty.

Living in Casablanca, we a just a few moments from the beach. Erik, Joseph, and I headed out one afternoon to see the ocean and take in the local sights.   The Corniche is basically a sidewalk that runs along a pretty large section of the ocean.  Local vendors sell everything from garbanzo beans to cotton candy. 

Erik and Joseph chased some chickens on the beach for a while, and loved picking up shells and hopping over little tide pools.  I can tell that they really miss swimming in the ocean.  During this time of year the water is too cold for taking a dip, and because the waves were pretty strong, the whole beach was marked as a no swimming zone.  Once the weather gets a little nicer, I’ll definitely take them to a place where they can get into the water.

Sharing cotton candy

We arrived in Morocco and after a few days in an apartment are settling into our new home.  Our place is amazing, and has more space than we could ever use.  Norma and the kids are adjusting to our new place and Chris is getting used to his new job. 

So far our impressions of Morocco have been very positive, and we think that this will be a great place to be for the next couple of years.

The panoramic view from our roof of the ocean

While we were in New York, we took some time to see the Children’s Museum, which is basically a five story indoor playground for kids.  Erik and Joseph absolutely had a great time, and I think that I will use some of their ideas for our home.  I’m surprised that more cities don’t have places like this for kids.  There must have been 300-400 people inside the museum at one time.  Here is the link for them: http://www.cmom.org/

Joseph cranking blocks

Erik playing fireman