The luxurious Riad we had moved to on Wednesdy had only 2 nights of availability, so we again had to undertake a change of Riad. This was unfortunate as this Riad had been THE nicest accommodation on our trip, and we would happily have stayed there another couple of nights at their normal rate. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our last breakfast when they served up the following: (It is worth description.)
- A full plunged coffee jug and decent sized mug, not a small cupful of instant dishwater you get at some places (ok, my Melbourne coffee snobbery comes out here). A pot of tea for my Brazilian non-coffee drinking girlfriend (incredible I know).
- A series of crepes, breads and rolls of different grains
- A delightful selection of condiments, sufficient to not even bring Vegemite to the table. These included Date honey, Fig, Lemon rind and Sweet Potato jam, and Argan Olive Oil (which tastes more like olives than normal Olive oil)
- Homemade yoghurt
- A freshly squeezed OJ, of which I greedily asked for a second
To find new accommodation Cinthia and I take different avenues... she takes the internet and I take my feet for a walk through the medina. Within the hour I return, having scanned about 10 different places, to find what I believe is the best deal. We arrive, it has a lovely open courtyard, and we manage to get the medium sized room for the small room price. We do this by talking about Trip Advisor, after the Hotel Manager proudly boasts they are No. 4 in Fes, but hoping to go higher. It should be remembered a Hotel (Riad) Manager is a very good job in Morocco, and hence he is keen to keep his Trip Advisor rating high....so pleasing the guests is crucial, especially when the hotel is only half full.
We spend most of the afternoon shopping again, and seeing the same vendors, some of whom we have already bought things from, some of whom we find too aggressive to give them business, and some of whom we found out the initial price yesterday, and we are just waiting out for a lower offer to come.
One of the more humorous aspects of the medina is not just the cats, however their strategic locations. It seems like every cat has inherited a butcher, or perhaps the other way around- every butcher has inherited a cat. Under every butchers window there is a cat, strategically placed, no doubt claiming that butchers shop as its own. I don't know whether any actually belong to the butchers, or if they are mainly strays, however the Cats and Butchers link is as strong as mother and baby post childbirth. Certainly if another cat was to encroach upon that territory I suspect there would be one hell of a catfight.
We have dinner at Thami's (a half way cross between restaurant and food stall) where we have eaten at least once every day in Fes, as it is good food and cheap. Cinthia is amused how whenever we order a drink, the waiter goes next door to buy it. No refrigeration required here, and still a Just In Time inventory system at work. This restaurant is also a great people watching street, and it is interesting to watch the interaction, the vendors endeavours to get business from tourists and locals alike, and of course, the cats.
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