Author’s Train Journey from France to Morocco Explores Cultural Roots and Slow Travel

Invited to the show Ici Provence on France Bleu, Nassira El Moaddem recounts how she came up with the idea to write this book. It was in the summer of 2022 that she decided to travel from France to her native Morocco by train. She wanted to make this journey the old-fashioned way, to take the time to experience every moment, to make a stopover in Spain which she crosses every summer without spending good times there. Nassira undertook this train journey with her husband and children.

In her book, she shares her travel experience and advice, describing the splendid landscapes of France passing by through the train windows, as well as her family stopovers in Barcelona, Cordoba, Guadalquivir, and Cadiz. "It’s a joyful, eco-friendly, and political book to share my experience with as many people as possible, to show that such a train journey is possible, including with family, without necessarily being always more expensive than flying," she states in the show.

Her goal in writing this book is "to inspire Franco-Moroccans like me, Moroccans in France, Morocco enthusiasts, or curious people to travel differently." For the author, this book is "a journey within a journey, through France, Spain, and Morocco, full of freedom, fraternity, an ode to childhood trips to the ’homeland’ by car with our parents, with responsible tourism added and less hassle!"

"It’s also a work of transmission, for my children, all the children and grandchildren of Moroccan immigration, and for all those who want to understand an intimate part related to this ritual journey... In this guide-narrative, I propose several itineraries departing from several cities in France, including Marseille," adds Nassira El Moaddem, who is organizing a promotion and book signing session from Friday, May 16 to Saturday, May 17 at the bookstore "L’île aux mots" in Marseille.