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For work I had to make a trip to Beni Millal, which is a city nestled against the Atlas Mountains.  This was my first time seeing them, and I was stunned by their beauty.  Being able to see different parts of Morocco for my job is certainly a nice perk, and I am amazed by the variety everywhere.  I haven’t made it to the northern coast or to the desert yet, but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.

As you can see by the photos below, I went to see a beautiful fort that overlooks the valley below.  A beautiful family parks lies just below the fortress, and the sound of rushing water and the wind flowing through the trees makes me want to spend more time in the outdoors.

Today we got back from our trip to Marrakesh, which went really well.  We went out for dinner yesterday evening to the main plaza, which was exploding with activity.  Joseph danced along to the music from the many performers and Erik hungrily eyed all the sweets and juice being sold.  After looking at a couple of food stalls (roasted sheep heads and boiled snails included) we settled for a more normal place and dug into some kabobs, chicken tangine, olives, and a tomato salad.  We then took a casual stroll through some of the suk shops, with both kids getting cooed and coddled as we went by (Moroccans love kids, and our two blond-haired ones certainly stick out).  We watched a few more street performers and after getting some dried fruit and caramelized nuts decided that we had better head back to the hotel.

This morning, after strolling through a huge olive garden, we took the kids on a double-decker bus tour of the city.  The tour gave us a good chance to see some of the highlights of the city and get a sense for where we would like to visit on subsequent trips.  We decided to grab some lunch, but as soon as we drove out of the hotel Joseph conked out like a rock.  Rather than wake him up, we figured that it made sense to head on back home (we didn’t feel like walking around in the rain with a tired grumpy kid).
We had a great visit, and Erik made us promise that we will come back another time.

Norma, Erik, and Joseph in the olive garden

Local jewelry store

Cool gateway

While Casablanca has a surprisingly high number of good pizza places, nothing beats a homemade one.  The crust is courtesy of Alton Brown (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pizza-pizzas-recipe4/index.html) but the sauce was my own mixture of garlic, herbs, olive oil, and tomato sauce - yum.  Erik helped brush some olive oil on the crust and Joseph had a fun time watching the pizza rise up.

I know that I haven’t been posting as frequently as I would like, but things have been pretty busy for us since moving to Casablanca. For those of you who haven’t heard Norma and I are expecting another baby in early September.  While we are very excited for our new arrival, Norma has been feeling pretty lousy (just like our other two pregnancies).  Erik and Joseph have been helpful around the house, and they are both happy that mommy has a new little baby inside her.

Most of our household goods arrived last week as did our car (hallelujah).  We have been unpacking and trying to figure out where to put everything in our new home.  The boys have both had fun seeing their old toys (which they haven’t seen for a year) and playing in all the boxes everywhere. 

For my work I have also been travelling around Morocco quite a bit.  I am in charge of the American Citizen Services section, which basically means that if a U.S. citizen gets into trouble in Morocco I help out.  So far I have visited three abducted children, been on four prison visits, conducted two town hall meetings, and had three death cases – it’s been a pretty busy first two months on the job.  That being said, I very much enjoy helping those in need and getting to see more of Morocco, which is a beautiful country.