After waking up in Mohamed's apartment, we scrambled to come up with a plan of action for the rest of our stay in Fes. We packed our sleeping bags, washed up, and waited for Mohamed to set us free from captivity. Along with his 2 roommates, we ventured out into town for a quick chicken (on the bone) lunch. Dana and I tried to keep up with Moroccan etiquette and ate with our hands - right and left to tear bread and meat apart and just the right to place food in our mouths. To our surprise, Mohamed and the boys picked up the tab and offered to let us stay with them for as long as we needed. WE ACCEPTED!!!!!!

With our accommodation problem resolved, we refocused our energies to look for an easy way to fill our afternoon. Mohamed suggested we venture out of the city some 60 kilometers to Ifrane, a village filled with homes modeled after typical French alpine chalets. So that's what we did. Dana and I stuffed into an old Mercedes with 4 other passengers (Grand Taxi) and headed for the mountains. After a short walk around, we found a park in the middle of town and caught up on some much needed sleep.

After our "exhausting" afternoon of sightseeing, we made our way back to Mohamed's flat. We were soon joined by a host of Mohamed's friends who all pitched in and helped prepare a traditional Moroccan meal - lamb tajine. While dinner was cooking, I taught our new friends how to play the card game "Oh Shit!". Dana was so "proud" of me as I partook in an evening of cultural exchange.

The next day we ventured into the medina/old city of Fes. We twisted and turned through the narrow and crowded streets for some time, getting lost time and again. We finally "found ourselves" when we accidently stumbled upon a Berber carpet shop mentioned in our Lonely Planet guidebook. After a quick breakfast, we were invited to look at an assortment of authentic Moroccan carpets/kilim and blankets. After a dissertation on the fundamentals of carpet/kilim and blanket making, lots of mint tea, and a whole bunch of deliberation, Dana and I walked out with our hands full and our wallets a bit lighter.

We tooled around the medina for the rest of the day making stops at the Karourine Mosque and University (one of the world's oldest universities built in the mid 9th century)and the tanneries (several mud vats used to dye and treat leather as well as finished skins drying on the walls).