Celebrating a birthday alone is never
very fun, but when you travel for a living, it is just part of the deal. I thought about taking myself out to a nice
dinner for the occasion, but then I remembered that my hotel has the best
restaurants in the city. So, I just woke
up and went about my business like any other day.
On my way to lunch, I was caught
off-guard by the training manager, who wished me a happy birthday in passing. Before I knew it, the group that I had been eating with the past
week was ushering me into the fine dining restaurant. To my surprise, the staff had somehow found out it was my birthday and they decided to celebrate with a champagne toast and a gourmet meal.
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| Enjoying a fantastic birthday meal in Casablanca |
After lunch, I couldn't stop thinking about the kind gesture on behalf of the team. They really went out of their way to make it a fun day and I am so grateful for the memory. That afternoon, e-mails and Facebook messages continued to remind me of the many wonderful
people in my life. Even though I was
unable to see any friends and family in person, I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my birthday in a foreign country.
Wednesday night, I joined the hotel
manager and his girlfriend for dinner at the traditional restaurant. We each tried a different tagine, which is
actually the name of the clay pot used to cook various meats and
vegetables. The restaurant also had a
live band and a belly dancer that stopped awkwardly at each table. I think the most fun part of the evening was observing the obvious effort that the hotel manager took to avoid looking at the belly
dancer! His girlfriend must be the
jealous type…
For my final night in Morocco, I was
invited out with two other people from the local team. As soon as I hopped in the back of the car
and noticed that we had a personal driver, I knew it would be a good
night!
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| Overlooking Place des Nations Unies as I wait for my ride |
We started with dinner at a trendy,
yet smoke-filled restaurant that served surprisingly good food. I even managed to communicate with the
waitress solely in French (without her responding in English), which I consider
to be a personal achievement. After dinner, we moved to a great nightclub that
was literally right next to the ocean.
The bar was in the center of an open-air patio and it was really cool to
hear the waves crashing as we enjoyed our drinks. I met some locals who were clearly part of
the elite circles of Casablanca. How do
I know? Simple answer: It was 2AM on a
Thursday night and we were enjoying bottle service at a club that charges more
for a drink than I paid for my two faux-Zara shirts the weekend prior!
On my way back to the hotel that
night, I thought about all the wonderful things I experienced over the past two
weeks in Morocco. From the dirty cafes
along the street to the swanky club on the corniche, this country is all about
extremes. Some of my friends would be
content with exploring only the higher end of the spectrum. I prefer both ends. It is fun to overlook the medina from my
five-star hotel but it is also fun to actually walk through the streets, to
bargain with the shop owners for knock-off merchandise, and even to chase pickpockets
through the narrow alleys.
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| Street signs, old and new |
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