Arrived At Station In Fez--Now What?

We had learned on the train that there is a big festival in Fez for some sort of music. Oh no! That's the kind of thing that makes it hard to find a room. So when we stepped down without a reservation, into the desert heat, we were a bit apprehensive. Our plan was to find our first choice hotel, the Zahrat Al Jabar. I knew it wasn't too far from the station--just a few blocks, though I wasn't sure exactly where. So after using the 1 dh bathrooms (clean but that goofy square system and a bucket of water next to it) we left the station. It was hot. Really hot. We went to some red cabs. We asked them if they knew where the hotel was because I had a street name (Avenue F.A.R) but not a number. The driver quoted us a price of 50 dh or about US$7. Did I mention it was really hot?

Well, I knew it would take a few minutes to find it, but US$7 seemed way too much for a ride of a few blocks to a hotel where we didn't even have a reservation, so we left them to fend for ourselves. We found that in the shade, the walk wasn't too bad. I was in the lead with my huge backpack and Elena was behind me dragging her wheeled bag. The sidewalk was pretty uneven. We found the place where we had to turn right and went about 4 or 5 blocks, again in the shade, to the Avenue F.A.R. I parked Elena next to a cafe called the Blue Babel while I went to see if the hotel was in the southerly direction. It was and just as I arrived, a big tour bus pulled up. They all went by the desk so my wait was short. But sadly, the hotel was completely booked. A guy standing there offered to be my guide to help me find a hotel. I turned him down. I went back to Elena to figure out a plan B? We decided to head down to Avenue Hassan II because it has hotels and one of our Routard guide first choices was just off Hassan II. We went and a few minutes later found the Splendid Hotel. I left Elena on a bench in the boulevard and went in to ask if they had a room. Yes! I retrieved Elena and she approved when she saw they had a bar, pool, and AC. So now I'm 419 dh (US$60) lighter, but we have a place. We got 2 Special Flags for 30 dh (US$4) and drank a toast to good fortune.

After a nap, we headed out to a place in the Routard bok called the Bajelloul. The waiter started taling to us in Spanish. Either it was because we look Spanish or because our guide book was wrapped in an El Corté Inglés plastic bag. I ordered a set menu with choices--salad, steak, and fruit, getting salad lamb, and yogurt. A cat was ordering food from us, and didn't get what he wanted either. But it was good and came with a mint tea at the end. Total bill for bothof us 136 dh before tip, 150 dh after or US$22.

After that, we walked down the lively, clean, well lit, and relatively orderly Hassan II. We went to the first hotel again to ask the price--it being Saturday night, surely a slew of people would check out tomorrow. It is over 500 dh. It was only €32 on the internet. Oh well. Guess we're staying at the Splendid. At least the Splendid has a nice pool.