Traffic, Cats, Restaurant Music

 I know this is a barrage of posts, but we leave for Barcelona tomorrow and I want to get our experiences in Tangiers written up before then.

I've lived in countries where traffic is chaotic. It's nothing new to me. I flirted with a driver in Mexico City while our cab driver was trying to cut him off. I panicked when my mother was stuck in the middle of a railroad crossing with the arms coming down in Bangkok. 

Traffic in Tangiers is actually reasonable orderly. But there is a certain amount of jockeying for position, especially in the small traffic circles. I saw cars using other cars as shields as they made their way into the circle. There are also a ton of pedestrians, who are generally given the right of way. But there is a certain amount of playing chicken. Pedestrians tentatively step out into the street or they step out brazenly and put their hand out to halt the car coming toward them. I found myself looking out for a group of people who might be looking to cross the street, figuring there's safety in numbers. The cars respect the right of way of the pedestrians and stop, but it sometimes looks to me a little too close for comfort.

The other noticeable thing in Tangiers is the cats. They wander around everywhere. They don't seem to be feral. They are taken care of. One vendor we were working with stopped to feed the cat that frequented his shop. Walking around the Catholic Cathedral after mass on Sunday, we saw three women giving a proper burial for a deceased cat. It was very touching.

The Catholic Cathedral in Tangiers

Last night we went to dinner, at my insistence, at an Italian restaurant. I'd been getting tired of 3 nights of Middle Eastern fare in a row. We ended up at a place called San Remo. I'd seen an article on Google that said it was one of the 10 best restaurants in Tangiers. It lived up to the hype. We both had delicious sole, even when mine had to be stripped down to salt and tartar sauce to avoid gluten and cow's milk.

 Also notable was the music played in the restaurant. Chris started by saying that he recognized a song but couldn't place it. I started listening and it was a young woman singing a slowed down and breathy version of the Rolling Stones' "Let's Spend the Night Together." We thought it was pretty hilarious until we heard the next one: "Sympathy for the Devil"! Finally, she wrapped up with "Under My Thumb." I'm sorry, but no self-respecting woman should sing "Under My Thumb," one of the most sexist songs the Stones ever came up with!

And then today (Monday) - we rode camels!!

On to Barcelona tomorrow (Tuesday, April 23).