Don't you know we're riding on the Marrakech Express?

Breakfast at the PRINCE was delighful this morning, with young Moroccan girls doing their best to try and understand such exotics as "croissant"and "coffee".  They were charming, although I cannot quite understand how a person that speaks fluent French (she corrected my gutter French several times) did not understand what a croissant was.  Not only do they have the pastry, but there's one on the top of every mosque in the world!

The Guarre de casa Voyegeurs is one of two train stations in Casa.  The Marrakech Express leaves track 2 every two hours.  Inspired by Steven Stills, we caught the 10:50 train going south.  After chasing some vagabonds out of our first class compartment, we settled in for the two+ hour journey into the Saharan plain.  We rolled through small towns with Arabic names that sounded like birdseed and puget sound, but of course we do not have Arabic-tuned ears.

Marrakech station is very pleasant and clean, and was a welcome introduction to this amazingly clean and well-maintained garden city.  We arranged a pickup from the station through our hotel, and thank God we did as no one would ever be able to find this place.  I cannot even describe where it is, except to tell you that it is in an alleyway somewhere behind the post office.  You make a left, a right, and a left past the parking lot and knock on the door with the awning.  There are also plenty of kids running around in the streets that will help you find it for a Coke (I know because I did it).

The Dar Limoun Amara, our digs for the next two days, is a converted private residence.  It is quiet and pleasant and on the edge of the Medina, a Arab term for old town.  Well, more like medivel town; this is something straight out of the Arabian knights, with moorish arches and dead-end walkways and crumbling bits of stuff all over the place.  These people live like their ancestors did a thousand years ago.

Tomorrow I will write about the Djmaa al Fna, the largest public square in Africa, which is about a quarter mile from here and loaded with just about anything you could imagine.  More photos forthcoming.