Full day excursion to Bhalil,Sefrou & the slopes of the Middle Atlas Mountains

Hassan picked me up from my accomodation. I was the only traveller with him.We headed out of Fez to Bhalil, Hassan's home town. We visited a family who live in a cave. The man of the house served Moroccan tea. He speaks multiple languages as does Hassan but I'm a bit naive on the custom of tipping and felt very bad after we had left when I emptied my pocket of coins and Hassan told me that tips are his income. From then on we didn't go anywhere that needed tips. Moroccans pay for their house water like we do in Australia but hey also have public water in a lot of places so locals take buckets to the taps or do laundry in the public areas. Bhalil is a small town built on hills. No roads, cars are parked in a communal parking area at the base of the hill and looked after for a few dirhams a day. We then headed to Sefrou and had a view of the town from the top. Then down to the medina. Hassan says it is market day but am not sure what that really means as the medina is open every day. I was a bit concerned that I might have been pressured into buying something I may not really want but Hassan wasn't like that. He knew I loved food so took me to have white beans and chickpeas with a tomato base with an aubergine salad. MMMM yum.Then on for some fresh orange juice. Then a walk around the medina and we stop for fava bean soup. The 2 meals and juice for 2 I had to pay for Hassan cost less than 10 Australian!! SO filling and so tasty! I love that mandarins are sold with stems and leaves - you can be sure that they are really fresh. Another walk around the medina and a man who sews tiny buttons asked Hassan if I wanted to see buy some. Hassan said no to him. Thankfully he was right. The buttons are delightful but totally impractical for the clothes that I wear.. The scenery in this part of the world is lovely. A really lovely day out with a perfect gentleman!