First we went down, then up, by another street, and then down again, to the bottom, and then, too tired to go up again, we took a petit taxi to go up… And like this for 3 days. And we didn’t get tired of it… I would go up and down in Fès for ever!
Even on a busy Sunday evening, pushed by everybody, shove by (stinky) donkeys and (rude) porters.
Because in Fès they push! All the time! And after 2 days you stop too to say “pardon” (French pronunciation, remember!)!

That’s strange, because in Paris and Milan they push you all the time, but I don’t stop to say “Scusa” or “Pardon” and I get always pissed by rude people all the time. Especially in Paris, in the underground: gosh, they are SO rude…
But in Fès no, they are not rude (except porters), they simply do not have the same concept of physical space we have: they are not afraid to touch a stranger in the street, they are not afraid of physical contact, they are not afraid of people. They smile, they chat, they walk around, for leisure or going to work or school, always smiling.

And if you had the enormous fortune to live in Fès, well, you would smile too!
We left our hearts in Fès! It is the most beautiful city we have been in Morocco, where we had our first understanding of Moroccan life, our first real touch of what life is there.
It’s very difficult to describe it, but it’s the most fascinating city I ever been too. You cannot see it or understanding in 1 or 2 days. Even 3 are not enough. It’s tiny, but mesmerizing.

And our personal advice is to save money, eating in the street, to be able to go and eat to Le Palais de Fès, on their terraces! The food is amazing, but the view is what is important… That view… It will never leave my mind… Ever… Le Palais de Fès does not have sign outside his door. Once you arrive down down and you arrive at R’Cif, and it looks like you are going out of the Medina but you are not, you arrive on a main street (don’t bother to look for singpost: there aren’t), follow it, and soon you’ll find on your right a cinema. There is a little square before the cinema. From the center of the square, cinema on your right, main street behind you, you’ll see a door, surrounded by green ceramics. That’s the entrance to the restaurant. Then you go up and up and up…

And be brave and go down until you find a part of the city tourist less, le quartier Andalous, on the eastern border of the Medina, and you can see real Morocco… And you eat a lot of nice, simple and tasty stuff, for nothing, as usual!!!
So tasty I couldn’t wait to take a bite of the potato puff before to take the picture!!! 😛

P.S. There is a way to enjoy Fès without the pushing: take a walk around 8am! Unforgettable!!!

For the whole set of pictures, here!