A few days in Marrakech.

Well Moe had some work in Marrakesh so we decided to tag along. That is a great thing about the on line school we can be flexible. Too mad we did not have a good Internet connection in Marrakesh but we can make up the days this weekend. We drove over and spent 2 nights. It was nice. The area is growing fast but it is still one on my favorite cities in Morocco. Hope to move there soon.

The kids and i walked to Jama Ifana (the big market) both nights. The first night we went down a little too far and did not take the shortest route. No biggie but the kids kept saying we were lost. No problem as we could always take a cab. But after stopping a lady and asking directions we made our way to the center of town. It is always a wonderful feeling walking through the ancient walls of the old city. The crows, sights, smells and sounds are so different than anything I have experienced in the US. I could just take a chair and sit all night watching everything. Adam made friends with the man at the orange juice stall number 19. He went twice and had the big glass of fresh squeezed OJ. It was so sweet and cool. When we went back the second night he remembered Adam and gave us both an extra 1/2 glass of OJ for free. Heck it is only 3 Durhams a glass or about $.39. Not bad at all. We walked around a while and then headed back to the apartment. The Taxi Gave us an inflated rate and did not use the meeter. We did get him down to 25 DH but should not have been charged more than 10DH. Heck after all the walking we did it was worth it. We did better the second night and got the ride for just 10 DH. I am getting better at knowing what they should charge so it is thugher for them to take advantage of me.

Moe took us on a drive to the lower Atlas Mt.s and we had lunch on a roof top patio over looking all the olive groves. In some spots along the drive you could smell the fresh olives being pressed for oil. Wish we could have seen them doing the pressing. The smell was wonderful.

Our stay in Marrakesh was short but nice. The weather was warm and sunny. We could not have asked foe better weather to enjoy the sights. I look forward to going back soon and hope to look at some houses when we go next time. I did find a listing for a Riad in the Medina but i am sure it would have needed too much work and living in the old city like that the traffic would be bad and we might not even have driving access to the house. Would have been fun to look though. Maby next time.

Well we are now back in DarBouazza and the kids are working to get their schooling done. Moe left yesterday for Fez on business but we needed to stay home to get caught up. The weather is still nice. Cool at night and in the lower 20 C in the days. Great to have the windows open. Wondering how it will be when winter hits as we only have a few space heaters and this house is all tile and concrete with high ceilings. Guess we will be wearing layers :o)

To all our friends in Raleigh we miss you! Have a great Thanks Giving.

Setteling in.

Well we had a good trip from RDU to Casablanca for the most part. But Noura did come down with a bad cold and was not feeling well on the trip. She is doing a little better now but still has a bad cough.

The DarBouazza area is nice and quiet for now. I know in the summer will bring the crowds. We have been lucky to have a friend living right behind us who is showing us around and introducing us to other Americans in the area.

We walked down to the beach and had coffee and watched the sun set yesterday. It is just one block away from the house. I am sure we will be regulars there.

Adam has been working hard on his Arabic and can write all the letters now and is starting to write words. He really is a hard worker. The kids will start their on line school tomorrow so that will be our challenge of the week.

It is great to be together as a family again and with Moe working from home it is nice to catch up on things. We have not seen all of his family yet but I am sure we will soon. We had a nice lunch with some of them at Nana Rocco's on Sat. and they stopped by on Sunday to say "Hi!" The ladies in the family had come by the house before we came and did a lot of cleaning to get things ready for us. That was so sweet and made it nice to come to a clean house. Moe had things painted and fixed so only a few things to get done. We will head in to Casablanca today and do a little shopping then home to let the boys play soccer on the beach.

Noura and Adam have already made some new friends and i am sure that will help them settle in. Having the Magic Jack and Internet has been nice as they are keeping up with friends back home each day.

So the adventure has begun and so far it has been a positive experience. I will try to get some photos and post them soon.

The move is just around the corner.

Well it is Friday and the kids last day of school in the States. We will have a few days to finish up getting ready then it is off to Morocco on the 29th of Oct. Emotions are mixed as we are excited to see and be with Moe after such a lone time apart but will miss the comforts of home and the family we will leave in Raleigh. It will be an adventure. We have had many calls from Moe as he gets things ready for us in the new house. It sure will be nice to know we will have the basics when we arrive as i just can't imagine needing to house hunt and start home schooling all at the same time.

Moe is so excited i think he will be at the airport very early ready for arrival of our flight. Well better get back to reparations for the kids party and getting things in order to leave.

The Adventuer is about to begin.

Well we are in panic mode. Just weeks away from the big move from the comforts of our home in NC to the new surroundings of DarBouazza Morocco. The feelings of excitement and worry that we will not get everything done make for a interesting last few weeks.
The Internet has made things much easier and knowing that we have both family and new friends waiting is a comfort. Things will be very different from back when my family moved to France and Japan with out the convenience of computers.
We hope this Blog will make it easy to keep in touch with all our loved ones we are leaving behind and to give them the chance to keep up with our adventure.