Tanger, Morocco
Thé à la menthe
Mint Tea. Mint! Tea! Encore.
Cinéma Rif, Grand Sacco 90000
We had a lazy morning, missing the Continental Breakfast included in our hotel stay. Instead, we ambled down to the Cinéma Rif to people watch while taking in a light breakfast. Cinéma Rif is a Tanger institution, recently revived to show contemporary independent films. Darren Aronofsky is a board member of the organization. It is painfully hip, with college students and expats smoking cigarettes and sipping espresso at every hour of the day.
We stumbled upon a late lunch at the El Morocco Club, a delightful restaurant and café in the kasbah. We had fresh jben, fresh farmer’s cheese and pistou, a Provençal cold sauce made from cloves of garlic, fresh basil, and olive oil - flavors that perfectly matched the weather and scenery.
Our attempt to sight-see was a bit thwarted by poor directions and fatigue from harassment. At every turn, we found someone aggressively offering directions, with an expectation of getting paid a few dirhams. It was annoying and overwhelming, so we gave up on seeing the Kasbah Museum. Yennie was ovz museum. Instead, we wandered around the kasbah and went back to Cinéma Rif for an afternoon thé à la menthe and people watched. Admittedly, we spent a fair amount of time on the Internet, reading about the primary election results from Oregon and Kentucky. #feelthebern
Dinner was at Hôtel Nord-Pinus Tanger, a beautifully designed hotel in the kasbah, with a view to boot. We sipped on rosé and nibbled on olives, dressed in harissa - a new favorite. We were the only people dining at the restaurant, as the hotel is empty off-season. It was an added luxury for us, whispering in an empty dining room, all to ourselves. When we come back to Tanger, we’re staying at Hôtel Nord-Pinus Tanger, fo’ sho. 😎
Gazelle Rosé, Le Val D’Argan, Morocco
Hôtel Nord-Pinus Tanger, 11, Rue Riad Sultan, Kasbah
