Day 2 Rabat

All night long the wind was howling and the rain was beating against the windows, I thought I was dreaming or in some bad Hollywood storm scene. By 6 AM, I was planning some hasty itinerary change to the south in bed. Then we slept in until 8:30 and the rain gods were letting up. Breakfast buffet was good in the hotel, coffee, juices, brioche, eggs, fruits and yogurt. We prepared for the rain and headed out  to sightsee. Then a miracle, the rain stopped and the sun came out for the rest of the days, all despite a forecast which said rain for the whole day. We roasted in happiness, over dressed. Money changer and SIM cards were satisfied, but the most satisfied was Guittel. She literally regressed before us at the sight of her old apartment and the elementary school she attended. She went up to the third floor of the Vidal Assurance Building and knocked on the door, introduced herself and toured the office that now occupies the space. At the school, which was not in session,, she rang the bell and the watchman let us in to see the small yard and the outdoor areas. What appeared large in childhood was actually quite small for adult perspective. More of the same, we walked the few blocks around and saw the same patisseries that had been there 40 years ago. Howeveer, not only memory changed, but the conditions of the buildings and streets suffered a decline mostly from the years of the former French influence.
At the same moment the sun was shining and we walked along a newly repaved Rue d'Alger with preparatory work for an urban tramway through Rabat from the Gare centrale towards (to) Salé. After a few blocks of embassies we reached La Tour Hassan and the remnants from the twelfth century attempt to build a huge mosque on the hilltop overlooking the Bou regreg River and the distant ocean. The Tower is only half built and the rows of pillars stand only 2-3 metres in height but still pretty impressive. In the same area was the Tomb of Mohammed V, the grandfather of the current monarch. The tiles and guards made for a great photo op with the colours contrasting with the white marble stonework. Then a slow walk back to the Hotel Le Pietri, a few phone calls to our car rental company agent, Amine, and we headed to a Rabat landmark for pizza called La Mama. Moroccan in staff and ownership but definitely Italian in quality. Tasty pizzas, some with bacon, saucisse and jambon washed down with beer or wine (the place was busy with "business men" or government employees). Good lunch. For digestion, we walked along the Boulevard Mohammed V, the formerly fashionable main street through Nouvelle Ville and then through the wall into the crowded and poor medina. Lots of vendors, small stores, bootleggers with DVDs and video games as well as more traditional vendors of fruits, nuts, nougat, pastries with flies nd bees circling the merchandise more than customers. It was quite a sight for our young explorers and even for the older ones.
End of the afternoon and more "excitement" about the Kangoo. We convinced the agent to change the car for the tire problem and because the back doors didn't lock. So he sent a driver with a new Kangoo from Casablanca and this toothless wonder arrived around 7 PM. We had a chance to have some mint tea in the restaurant while waiting wile the boys napped and read. The man arrived, traded cars and papers with us and then clicked the remote button on the key which I had not noticed in my imperialist way, assuming that the thing was manual locking only. The guy drove away with the flat tire and went to find a garage. We prepared and walked a few blocks to a Moroccan Restaurant, Le Petit Beurre, for dinner. But on our way, the cell phone rang and Amine asked if there had been problems with two tires not just one. He said two tires had been punctured or slashed. This stunned us and I suspected that the street watchman whom we had not paid off, had taken his revenge. We were reassured y the hotel staff that this was not so. In any case, we had to return to the hotel and give the driver our spare tire so that he could fix the other car, with the promise that it would be returned tomorrow.  To make matters worse, I drove the new Kangoo around the block to park in front of the hotel again. I again had trouble getting into reverse gearsetting up an impatient driver behind me and a hotel employee rescued me by parking the car. Was I embarassed again! Anyways, the kids were happy to find out that Dad was an incompetent whom they could aspire to match or to surpass sometime in the near future.
With this charade out of the way we returned to our restaurant and finally sat down to a delicious Moroccan meal of choukchouka, pastilla and tagines of lamb, beef and chicken. The usual bickering from the kids turned into appreciation for the food as the Moroccan musician serenedaded the guests. Good meal, then finally late back to the hotel. A rock band was playing in our restaurant so bedtime became midnight as the noise carried  up to the third floor.Hopefully tomorrow will go forward and not too much in reverse as we visit other parts of Rabat.