13-16 May 2023, Fes
Maison du Lac R495 [DH260]

Having spurned the Carrefour supermarket (at least for today), what fun we had this morning shopping in the souk (market). As we have a kitchen, we plan to take a break from tagines and brochettes and cook two or three simple meals. Tonight, pasta bolognaise.
First we got our bearings, working out where we had gone wrong yesterday and ensuring we could find our way back to our door, unobtrusive except for its blue colour. Then we had coffee in a local joint with resident cat eager for a game and a cuddle. Then we walked a circle through the section of souk dedicated to fresh food: fruit and veg, poultry, meat and fish. After breakfast in a place popular with locals*, we retraced our steps through the fresh produce market, shopping for one item only from each stall. Dates here, a sweet melon there, eggs (six carefully carried in a plastic bag), tomatoes, onions, courgettes, garlic, a red pepper.
We bought butter cut to our preferred size from a long block. And viande hache (minced meat) from a tiny butchery, the meat cut from a joint in the fridge and freshly ground while the butcher added parsely and spices unmeasured.
We were also entertained by cats waiting patiently beside the fish salesman who insisted we photograph him posing on a manta ray.
*Our breakfast was prepared in and served from a "hole in the wall", a tiny place that looked grubby but was clearly popular. We like to apply the "local test" when selecting a place to eat, and were not disappointed by this one with its eclectic but fresh selection of food: salad, fried aubergine, chips, fried eggs, bread, a soupy sauce.