The New Normal - Buying what we need; shopping in Morocco

I've been working on this blog for a while, but I keep putting  off posting because we keep finding new places to buy stuff!  But, the time has come to finish it up.

Casablanca is a huge city, the largest in Morocco, in fact.  Despite the many shopping areas, discovering appropriate places to buy everyday items like groceries, household goods, clothes, etc. can be like a treasure hunt. Even after being here for almost six months, we continue to uncover more areas to shop almost every weekend. We have learned a lot and have figured out where to get most of the things we need.  

Shopping at Carrefour

During the first weeks living in our apartment, we actually thought there were no big grocery stores in our neighborhood.  We were totally wrong about that, and Richard has found a variety of larger food stores within walking distance, including Acima, a few Carrefours and O'Self.  While these are not like the typical supermarkets seen in the States, many different foods are available and these stores are great for getting staples, veggies and meat.  We have found that what we can't get in one store, we can often find in another (more treasure hunting).  We just have to remember to bring our own bags!

Bring your own bags, or maybe you can buy one

One Carrefour Market in our neighborhood

Meat counter at Carrefour

Food aisles at Carrefour

Fish at Carrefour (smelly!)

Below is a picture of Acima's absolutely huge carrots. If you think these might not taste good because of their large size, you would be wrong. Moroccan carrots are sweet and delicious. Weirdly, this is the only picture I would be able to get inside of this Acima; a security guy from the store came running up to me exclaiming in French that I was not allowed to take photos inside the store; go figure. 

Richard walking into Acima from Ghadi Mall

Also, we shop daily in the hanuts (small stores) across the road for bread, water, soft drinks and the occasional bag of M & M's. We also enjoy delicious pastries and bread purchased in one of the many French bakeries close by. Homemade bread is quite cheap to buy, only about 1-1.5 d's per stick (that's only 10-15 cents.)

Feri's Bakery is our favorite to get bread and goodies

In addition, there are street vendor carts along the roads where fresh fruits and veggies can be bought; you can't beat the taste of produce from these carts. 

Local Veggie/Fruit Market; wonderful veggies and fruit on every corner

Richard making his selections

There are certain kinds of foods that we miss that are difficult/impossible to buy in Casa.  Luckily, we have access to the U.S. Commissary in Rabat; GWA has an agreement that allows its employees to buy memberships.  A quick hour trip by car or train to Rabat gets us access to American foods like bacon, pork chops (Muslims don't eat pig, so it's harder to get locally), cheese (Edam is about all that is available in Casa), peanut butter, baking items, crackers, chocolate chips, etc.  Although you can't depend on items being available consistently, it is nice to have accessibility to American food.

Today we discovered a store right in Casa called "Taste of America", close by on the Corniche (thanks, Stacey!).  It's a bit pricey, so it probably won't be someplace that we will frequent (i.e. $14 for a box of Fruit Loops). That being said, it was packed with Moroccans eagerly buying everything in sight.

How we feel getting pork at the commissary!

Other stores in Casa like Tangerois and Bricodeco have household goods, home improvement items, and appliances.

Tangerois has appliances and other home goods

Bricodeco is a home improvement store that has home goods as well

For clothes we sometimes shop at the malls.  Both Anfaplace and Morocco Mall look a lot like those in the U.S., with multiple floors containing many shops and restaurants.  Both of these malls are on the Corniche, with the ocean right beside them. They each have a movie theatre, including an IMAX where movies play in English on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  The Morocco Mall even houses a huge aquarian that is quite impressive. 

Judy in front of the Morocco Mall

Judy at the aquarium, Morocco Mall

Richard at the entrance to Morocco Mall

Star Trek was playing when we first arrived . . . how cool is that?

Judy at AnfaPlace

There is also a mall at the Twin Center in the Maarif district, within walking distance of our apartment.  It is a little bizarre having buildings referred to as the Twin, considering the famous NYC buildings.  The two almost identical structures are called the West and East Towers (versus the North and South Towers of the former World Trade Center), and each have 28 floors (there were 104 in the WTC).  Shops, offices and even the very nice Kenzi Tower Hotel are located inside.  I have read that the office space is desirable to international businesses, but to me the mall seems like it is declining; many shops are closed and the interior does not look like it has been updated in some time.  It's spooky how similar the exterior of the towers in Casa look like the ones previously located in NYC.  

Twin Towers, completed in 1999

Twin Towers, completed in 1999

The World Trade Center - Formerly the NYC Twin Towers, was completed in the early 1970's

Kenzi Tower Hotel flags

Another option for shopping is in the souks and street markets, and they can be found in many Moroccan cities. Souks are open-air marketplaces lined with little shops.   One great thing about browsing in the Casa souks is they are a lot less touristy.  Less pressure from sales people makes the shopping experience here a bit more pleasant. 

There are a number of souks around town, including the souk in the old medina. The old medina is the spot where the city of Casa fell long ago. The western walls and the Marrakech gate, with colonial-period clock tower, have been refurbished in recent years.  You can also see the Skala bastion with cannon faces made of brass that face the sea. 

Marrakech Gate, entrance into the medina

Medina outside, clock tower

Medina, inside the gate

Medina, outside on the stree

This old walled portion of Casa is definitely not the tourist attraction of other cities like Marrakesh, but you can find all kinds of items there, including clothes and shoes, blankets, fresh food, and about anything else you can think of.  The shops follow twisty, windy roads, and it can be like a treasure hunt to find what you're looking for.  We do sometimes run into pushy salesmen there, but mostly it's more low-key than those medinas that we have been in in other Moroccan cities.  Unfortunately, prices are rarely marked, so bargaining is required.  This isn't one of my fortes; I don't enjoy it and I'm not that good at it.  We bought a warm blanket here a few weeks back and we had no luck bargaining . . . . . oh well.

Ikea (pronounced EE-KAY-AH) is about an hour car ride away

I had never been in an Ikea in my life until I went to the store in Casa.  Interesting facts about Ikea:  It was founded in 1943, partly in response to Sweden's impoverished state during WWII. Products designed and sold were better and more affordable, and the company created jobs.  The U.S. didn't get its' first store until 1985.  In addition, Ikea restaurants are big business, feeding over 600 million visitors a year.  The restaurant menu is customized by location/country and is often updated.  The founder is Ingvar Kamprad, who is alive and kicking at age 90.  Despite his vast wealth, he has always lived a modest life.  His children will be doing the same even after his death, as his company is structured in such a way that the kids can't live off the inheritance.    Very cool guy!  

And, part way to IKEA is Decathlon, for all of your sporting needs . . . great t-shirts, fleeces, backpacks, camping stuff, anything sports, etc.

So, for the most part we have conquered finding what we need in Casablanca.  Lucky for me, Richard takes care of most of the shopping anyway! 

Addendum:  Woops, out of business (as of October, 2017) . . . I guess $14 boxes of Fruit Loops didn't go over too well!