Let me start off by saying that it was 72 degrees in Paris on Sunday. If that wasn't enough to put me in a great mood, the fact that I got to spend the majority of the day with Valentine and my new friend Laure definitely was. Val and I headed over to Laure's house around noon for a delicious brunch of eggs, crepes, strawberries, avocados and more. After filling ourselves to the brim with food, we decided to take advantage of the nice day and venture outside.
Now if you read the title of this blog post, you're probably wondering why I was drinking warm tea on what felt like a summer day. What if I told you that tea I drank was a substitution for alcohol? I, personally, don't drink tea in place of booze – although I do tend to drink chai excessively – but many Muslims do. People of the Islamic faith do not drink alcohol because it is forbidden in their religion, so they drink tea instead. [Interesting fact: the Berbers of Morocco frequently drink something called Halal Whiskey, which is actually more similar to tea than the distilled liquor.]
Getting to the point, I spent an hour of my Sunday afternoon at la Grande Mosquée de Paris with Val and Laure drinking mint tea. I am absolutely positive it was the best I've ever had. The warm weather, hot tea and Moroccan-inspired mosque really made it feel as if we traveled to Marrakech for an hour. This small taste of Morocco made me especially eager to travel there in the beginning of June. To add even more enticement to the mix, I bought my plane ticket into Fès earlier today. So make yourself a cup of tea and stay tuned for more magic from Morocco in a few weeks.
Now if you read the title of this blog post, you're probably wondering why I was drinking warm tea on what felt like a summer day. What if I told you that tea I drank was a substitution for alcohol? I, personally, don't drink tea in place of booze – although I do tend to drink chai excessively – but many Muslims do. People of the Islamic faith do not drink alcohol because it is forbidden in their religion, so they drink tea instead. [Interesting fact: the Berbers of Morocco frequently drink something called Halal Whiskey, which is actually more similar to tea than the distilled liquor.]
Getting to the point, I spent an hour of my Sunday afternoon at la Grande Mosquée de Paris with Val and Laure drinking mint tea. I am absolutely positive it was the best I've ever had. The warm weather, hot tea and Moroccan-inspired mosque really made it feel as if we traveled to Marrakech for an hour. This small taste of Morocco made me especially eager to travel there in the beginning of June. To add even more enticement to the mix, I bought my plane ticket into Fès earlier today. So make yourself a cup of tea and stay tuned for more magic from Morocco in a few weeks.