Xmas in Morocco - random thoughts

So i have spent Xmas in Morocco before - it provides decent weather alternative to UK (often cold in morning but shirt sleeves by lunchtime), is relatively cheap and has a diverse and interesting history. The people are generally very friendly - although pushy at times in the most touristy areas. My french is good enough to get around as English is not understood in all areas.

Previous trips have been to Marrakech this time i split my time between Casablanca, Fez and Marrakech - three very differerent cities. Casablanca is commercial centre, Fez is one of the ancient capitals and sees itself as cultural and educational centre, and Marrakech is very international/cosmopolitan. I spent three days in each which was about the right amount of time for a leisurely look around.

I flew into Casablanca got the train to my hotel and then used it as my hub for the rest of the trip.

Travel between the cities was by train - easy to book online and use etickets when here, basic but fairly reliable, cheap and easy to negotiate. There is a faster service i believe between Tangiers and parts of the country, but my trips were between 2 or 3 hours a time. I stayed in three IBIS hotels, all just by station, decent although a bit tired. As per my experience with other Accor hotels over recent years, they struggle with some basics such as having reliable electronic door keys! You either had to replace every 24hours or place the card at some random angle to actually get a green light! They obviously dont have the same variety/uniqueness of some of the riads you can find, but worked for me on this trip.

For the first time i used an e-sim for my phone - probably more expensive than getting the cheapest local sim card, but easy to load and decent value. Having google maps came in very hand as i like to randomly walk around cities,  get a bit lost but with comfort blanket of google.

You see the french influence quite a bit. Wide boulevards, French being universal second language and in the posher restaurants some of the waiters demonstrate an aloofness/arrogance rivalled only by their collegaues in Paris.

Food is generally decent and fairly cheap - in particular outside main tourist areas. 

Whilst its perhaps a bit arrogant/rude for me to judge (or think i really understand) but the country does appear to remain failry male centric. In coffee shops you see groups of men sitting and chatting but very rarely groups of women or mixed. Most sights of women are whilst working - Men less so. However you can sense a bit of change amongst the younger generations.