The day began with a short drive to the Ménara Gardens. This is essentially a large grove (250 acres) of gnarly olive trees, some over 100 years old. There is a long central reflection pool with a small pavilion at one end. We saw a few people picnicking among the trees. I was not overly impressed, but that was probably because I was still feeling sick. We went to a leather shop and then visited a jewelry store. Marian and Phil made purchases at each stop, but the rest of us just looked. We had lunch at Café de la Paix in a lovely outdoor courtyard setting. Phil got a menu to keep for his collection. We returned to the hotel to prepare for our last lecture given by Professor Stoti. I think the talk was about culture and the duality of life. However, he had a penchant to go off on tangents and I soon became bored. Marian was honest enough to leave the room after two and a half hours and I wish I had done likewise!
Later that evening, everyone except Phil and Louise went to the Place Djemaa el Fna. This is certainly the liveliest place we have visited thus far. Everywhere are story tellers, snake charmers, acrobats, musicians, magicians, food sellers, water sellers, fruit sellers, herb and potion sellers and who-knows-what sellers! Of course, there are the hustlers vying for your “donated” dirhams and the thieves who would just outright steal them if you were not vigilant! It is altogether a delightfully dangerous and fearfully fascinating place to be. We went from the square to a second-floor café where we could overlook the entire area. We sat for half an hour just watching the crowds. Martha managed to get some good photos using her telephoto lens. She also had Larbi purchase two colorful caps for her, like the ones we see many of the men wearing. These would be gifts for friends at work. Dinner was at the hotel and for the first time in days, I felt like eating, and did so.