Thursday, July 15, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Marrakech Madness
Ah, Marrakech! This post is a bit delayed I´m afraid and in fact, I´m writing from a small TI in Seville. No matter...
Whereas Fez was a labyrinth of hidden alleys (9000+) and seemingly set back a thousand years, Marakkech is a bit further ahead in time. It remains a bit stressful to navigate the medina. Both times we have stayed in Riads in the medinas for a more ahem, authentic, experience. Here´s where we stayed in Fez. Riad Aguerazame is where we stayed in Marrakech. Both were incredible, and I don´t think we´ll forget our gourmet meals served by Antoine for a looooong time! ´Tout est possible!´ More on our charming French hosts later.
Marrakesh really is amazing and I´m sorry to be as yet unable to post photos. (I really think that, for my next trip, I´m going to buy or borrow one of those little tablet pc things. WiFi is absolutely everywhere!)
There are far fewer cries of ´Balak! Balak! heard here, one must be mindful of speeding mopeds rather than those charming donkeys. The souks are just as exciting as I´d anticipated! They are truly a feast for the senses, or a new travel friend said, ´an assault on the senses´. Especially the tannery - a collection of rooftop workshops where animal hides are cleaned and treated (incredibly, with their own urine sometimes - the animals, not the workers) so that the well-heeled stay in style and indeed to inspire anual photoshoots for travel guides covers. A strategically placed sprig of mint (crushed and placed under your nose) comes in quite handy for a trip to a nearby rooftop ´terrace´. A bit voyeristic, perhaps. A trip to the main square, Jma al Fna (proper spelling later) was pure madness! To find dinner atop the show, at a rooftop terrace is the thing to do just before sunset. Sorry, no fire breathers but snake charmers, mpleys, henna hustling and more. The food sellers call out and the smoke...wait for the pictures! :)
That´s all for now. DC is ready to go so stay tuned for our stay in Sevilla!
Whereas Fez was a labyrinth of hidden alleys (9000+) and seemingly set back a thousand years, Marakkech is a bit further ahead in time. It remains a bit stressful to navigate the medina. Both times we have stayed in Riads in the medinas for a more ahem, authentic, experience. Here´s where we stayed in Fez. Riad Aguerazame is where we stayed in Marrakech. Both were incredible, and I don´t think we´ll forget our gourmet meals served by Antoine for a looooong time! ´Tout est possible!´ More on our charming French hosts later.
Marrakesh really is amazing and I´m sorry to be as yet unable to post photos. (I really think that, for my next trip, I´m going to buy or borrow one of those little tablet pc things. WiFi is absolutely everywhere!)
There are far fewer cries of ´Balak! Balak! heard here, one must be mindful of speeding mopeds rather than those charming donkeys. The souks are just as exciting as I´d anticipated! They are truly a feast for the senses, or a new travel friend said, ´an assault on the senses´. Especially the tannery - a collection of rooftop workshops where animal hides are cleaned and treated (incredibly, with their own urine sometimes - the animals, not the workers) so that the well-heeled stay in style and indeed to inspire anual photoshoots for travel guides covers. A strategically placed sprig of mint (crushed and placed under your nose) comes in quite handy for a trip to a nearby rooftop ´terrace´. A bit voyeristic, perhaps. A trip to the main square, Jma al Fna (proper spelling later) was pure madness! To find dinner atop the show, at a rooftop terrace is the thing to do just before sunset. Sorry, no fire breathers but snake charmers, mpleys, henna hustling and more. The food sellers call out and the smoke...wait for the pictures! :)
That´s all for now. DC is ready to go so stay tuned for our stay in Sevilla!
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Goodbye, Goya! We are going to Fez!
Sorry about the missing photos on the last post. They'll be up soon, I hope.Turns out that pc was too slow to load the pics. Am currently jamming keys on an airport `net terminal, so this will be brief..
Caught the Oranje game on tv last night. Sat with the locals and enjoyed some decent sangria and half-rate churros con chocolate. DC did not give the snack a high approval rating so we set off at half time to find a second helping. Turns out it was worth missing the rest of the match. (But only barely!) Churros are strips of tasty dough squeezed through a pastry tube and deep -fried until crispy. They are served (optimally) with a hot mug of thick, dark chocolate and dressed with plenty of icing sugar. I will leave you with that delicious image as I'm of to board RyanAir!
VamosEspagna!!!
Caught the Oranje game on tv last night. Sat with the locals and enjoyed some decent sangria and half-rate churros con chocolate. DC did not give the snack a high approval rating so we set off at half time to find a second helping. Turns out it was worth missing the rest of the match. (But only barely!) Churros are strips of tasty dough squeezed through a pastry tube and deep -fried until crispy. They are served (optimally) with a hot mug of thick, dark chocolate and dressed with plenty of icing sugar. I will leave you with that delicious image as I'm of to board RyanAir!
VamosEspagna!!!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
In madrid
Ah, international keyboards. How I´ve missed you so...
Arrived yesterday morning in Madrid. Hot. Soooo hot. As we trekked with our luggage along del Prado (not calle del prado where we should have been, but that´s another story...) we read off an electronic sign that it was in fact 38 degrees. celcius. seems more than a little ironic that i´m suffering with a cold, but i hear sangria and churros con chocolate is a lovely remedy for that. made a run for the galleria reina sofia to see picasso´s guernica as well as other modern and surreal works. had a wonderful first dinner of tomatoes, peppers, calamari (dc) and fried eggs.
Am trying to find out if we´ll be able to see the spain-germany football match...fingers crossed! (we´ll likely be on the road for Fez)
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Intro/T Minus Three
3 days until YYZ - MAD!
Welcome to my humble travelogue.
Objective: snap photos, jot down notes, sample tapas and ride camels while discovering Spain and Morocco over the course of 23 short days
Challenges: budget, vegetarian diet, mistrust of camels, fatigue, lack of Spanish vocabulary, time
Day 1: Leave Toronto (YYZ)
Day 2-4: Madrid
Day 4-6: Fez
Day 6-9: Marrakesh
Day 9-12: Seville
Day 12-14: Granada
Day 14-16: Alicante
Day 16-20: Barcelona
Day 20-22: San Sebastian
Day 23-24: Madrid
Welcome to my humble travelogue.
Objective: snap photos, jot down notes, sample tapas and ride camels while discovering Spain and Morocco over the course of 23 short days
Challenges: budget, vegetarian diet, mistrust of camels, fatigue, lack of Spanish vocabulary, time
Day 1: Leave Toronto (YYZ)
Day 2-4: Madrid
Day 4-6: Fez
Day 6-9: Marrakesh
Day 9-12: Seville
Day 12-14: Granada
Day 14-16: Alicante
Day 16-20: Barcelona
Day 20-22: San Sebastian
Day 23-24: Madrid
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