Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Casablanca Culture: The Oddities and The Beauty (Fall 2014)

During Christmas Break, my "Holiday Stay-cation" I was able to walk around Casablanca and see all of the sights that I have yet to visit. I had time on my hands and no agenda. 
I walked to this old, white cathedral, named Cathedrale Sacre Coeur, that has been semi-restored.
 It's wiped clean of any furniture and now stands as an enormous empty hall with long, white walls and colorful stained glass windows. It's now occasionally used as an art gallery. I have always wanted to go and luckily for me there was an exhibit there! 
This exhibit portrayed Moroccan works of art that included paintings and sculptures.
These are cigarette butts in the middle asnd I believe tar in the tea glasses.

 This is for you Kerri! -->
The cutest grasshopper I've ever seen!

This gorgeous building houses not only artistic pieces, but the creepy crawlers and pigeons as well! However, the true essence of the building wasn't captured on camera because I was too disgusted to take a picture of it. At first sight I thought the floor was made of marble, but from closer inspection it revealed to only be pigeon poop. Go figure. Such a nice building and gorgeous pieces of art had to share their space with cockroaches, pigeons and shit nonetheless. 

Throughout my "Holiday Stay-cation" I found other oddities that provided much humor to me:

A "bougie" church candle...


The extent I must take to make a latte...


This was technically in Ceuta, Spanish city in northern Morocco, during Thanksgiving...
                                 


The little girl wanted to pet the camel's head one last time...
The real butcher shop...



While there may be oddities, there are acts of kindness and beauty throughout:

The barista making my latte with love. That's an "L" and heart if you aren't able to see it clearly.


Beautiful building in Casa.


Casablanaca's new train station (Casa Port) that makes it the biggest station in Africa. Complete with McDonalds, coffee & chocolate shops, clothing stores and the Asia Restaurant (yes, it is trademarked!)



I hosted my first cookie exchange party in Morocco! 


Cats find a home anywhere...

Beautiful artwork & murals in Assilah.


Beachfront cemetery in Rabat. What an optimistic perspective for a grave site...

Rockin' colorful doors in the Kasbah!

This cat knows where to get comfy: on the sheets in the streets 

Walking around Chellah on a hazy day