Well my trip has finally come to an end.
We took one last tour, this time to the north of Spain.
We saw Santander, the capital of Cantabria, and then Bilbao and San Sebastian, which are in the Basque Country. Wow what a different world. All 3 cities were absolutely beautiful. Santander and San Sebastian are located along the coast, so of course we got to see some beautiful beaches. Santander has 7 beaches and San Sebastian has 3. Bilbao is much prettier than the guide books make it sound, and the Guggenheim is an architect's dream.
Check out the new pics I have uploaded.
I will be back home in Dallas on Tuesday (July 22nd) and will be there for a little bit until I figure out my next move. Thanks for reading all my posts and I hope u have enjoyed my journey as much as I have!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
The Travelling Continues...
I haven't written in a long time, mostly because we have been travelling all over Spain. We left Marbella behind (thank goodness), packed our bags, and began exploring as much of the country as we could.
In the south, we saw Sevilla, Granada, Jerez de la Frontera, Cordoba, Cadiz, Tarifa, Punta Paloma, Puerto Banus, San Pedro de Alcantara, and Almeria.
Then we went to Barcelona for the salsa congress in Calella, and Ilanit met us there. It was so great to see her. From there we toured Barcelona, watching Spain win the Eurocopa while we were there, and then headed to Benidorm and Alicante.
Now we are back in Madrid, resting, uploading photos, and washing clothes before we head to the north.
Check out my pics. We uploaded a ton of pics. Check under Tour of Andalusia (Sevilla, Granada, Jerez, Cordoba, and Ronda), as well as sets on Puerto Banus, San Pedro, Alicante, Benidorm, Barcelona Salsa Congress, The Feria de Marbella, and Spain winning the Eurocopa.
Enjoy!
In the south, we saw Sevilla, Granada, Jerez de la Frontera, Cordoba, Cadiz, Tarifa, Punta Paloma, Puerto Banus, San Pedro de Alcantara, and Almeria.
Then we went to Barcelona for the salsa congress in Calella, and Ilanit met us there. It was so great to see her. From there we toured Barcelona, watching Spain win the Eurocopa while we were there, and then headed to Benidorm and Alicante.
Now we are back in Madrid, resting, uploading photos, and washing clothes before we head to the north.
Check out my pics. We uploaded a ton of pics. Check under Tour of Andalusia (Sevilla, Granada, Jerez, Cordoba, and Ronda), as well as sets on Puerto Banus, San Pedro, Alicante, Benidorm, Barcelona Salsa Congress, The Feria de Marbella, and Spain winning the Eurocopa.
Enjoy!
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Lessons in Life
What an interesting trip this has been. It has had a lot of ups and downs. The ups have been really wonderful, and the downs have taught me some very interesting lessons in life.
Since I began my job as a cocktail waitress, I was reintroduced to the world of "serving others" but in a very different way than I have done in the last 3 years as a physical therapist. Let me tell you, physical therapy is a very "physical" job. It takes manual strength, mental and emotional strength, and intellectual strength. And I am sad to say, that I have not appreciated this skill that I have and this love for the body and healing people as much as I should have.
After about 3-4 weeks of working at Villa Tiberio in Marbella, running around like a chicken with my head cut off, taking orders, cleaning up after people, limping home, having to ice my knees, rub my back, not being able to physically get out of bed until 2pm, and to top it off having dirty napkins thrown at me by my manager, I decided enough was enough. My prince came to my rescue (I love u baby!) and we walked away from the restaurant, never to return. No amount of money or tips was worth what I was doing to my body, my self-esteem, and my pride. So many times I wanted to scream..."I'm a doctor dammit! What the hell am I doing here cleaning up after these people?" How could I expect anyone to appreciate me if I didn't appreciate myself?
That was a hard lesson learned, but never will I do that to myself again.
So with that said, I am so excited to return to the states and return to working as a physical therapist. It's where I belong. It's my calling in life.
Other than that whole drama, it's been one thing after another with our apartment. We should've known when we decided to rent the apartment from an old lady who had lived there for over 20 years. The place is falling apart. First we found out that we couldn't sleep on the bed because the mattress was so old it had no support. So since then, we have slept on the sofa bed, which to our dismay but recently not to our surprise, has bed bugs. We fall asleep at night itching and scratching. Very frustrating trying to sleep.
Next thing we know the neighbor from below leaves a note on our door that our toilet a/o bathtub are leaking into his apartment, and have stained all his towels. Great! So the plumber begins to investigate the origin of the leak in our apartment and in his, and can't seem to find anything. Then while Cesar is shaving one day our water heater starts making a weird noise. He opens the cabinet and there are sparks flying out of it! So he immediately disconnects it and we have been without hot water for about 5 days now. The same plumber that tried to determine where the leak was coming from came to fix the cable to our water heater. He couldn't fix it and now says we need a new water heater!
All this is really funny if you think about it, but what makes it not so funny is that the old lady refuses to pay for anything! The agency that found us the apartment has fronted the money for a new mattress, and the plumber, but no news on the water heater yet. What lesson have we learned from this? Haven't figured that one out yet! :)
So we have basically decided to cut our losses, ask for our deposit back and leave the apartment and Marbella. It just hasn't been what we thought. So with the money from the apartment and our savings from our job, we are going to travel through as much of Spain as possible.
I have already changed my ticket to return on August 9th instead of September 5th. Cesar is still working on changing his.
In the next month and a half, we will be posting a lot of pictures of cities in Spain. We are finishing Andalucia in June before we head to the east for the Barcelona salsa congress, Valencia, Mallorca, Ibiza, Benidorm, Alicante, and many more. Then we will head back to Madrid, and then check out the north of Spain (Bilbao, Santander, San Sebastian, and Santiago de Compostela). That's the plan. We'll see how long the money lasts. So stay tuned for some pics to come!
Since I began my job as a cocktail waitress, I was reintroduced to the world of "serving others" but in a very different way than I have done in the last 3 years as a physical therapist. Let me tell you, physical therapy is a very "physical" job. It takes manual strength, mental and emotional strength, and intellectual strength. And I am sad to say, that I have not appreciated this skill that I have and this love for the body and healing people as much as I should have.
After about 3-4 weeks of working at Villa Tiberio in Marbella, running around like a chicken with my head cut off, taking orders, cleaning up after people, limping home, having to ice my knees, rub my back, not being able to physically get out of bed until 2pm, and to top it off having dirty napkins thrown at me by my manager, I decided enough was enough. My prince came to my rescue (I love u baby!) and we walked away from the restaurant, never to return. No amount of money or tips was worth what I was doing to my body, my self-esteem, and my pride. So many times I wanted to scream..."I'm a doctor dammit! What the hell am I doing here cleaning up after these people?" How could I expect anyone to appreciate me if I didn't appreciate myself?
That was a hard lesson learned, but never will I do that to myself again.
So with that said, I am so excited to return to the states and return to working as a physical therapist. It's where I belong. It's my calling in life.
Other than that whole drama, it's been one thing after another with our apartment. We should've known when we decided to rent the apartment from an old lady who had lived there for over 20 years. The place is falling apart. First we found out that we couldn't sleep on the bed because the mattress was so old it had no support. So since then, we have slept on the sofa bed, which to our dismay but recently not to our surprise, has bed bugs. We fall asleep at night itching and scratching. Very frustrating trying to sleep.
Next thing we know the neighbor from below leaves a note on our door that our toilet a/o bathtub are leaking into his apartment, and have stained all his towels. Great! So the plumber begins to investigate the origin of the leak in our apartment and in his, and can't seem to find anything. Then while Cesar is shaving one day our water heater starts making a weird noise. He opens the cabinet and there are sparks flying out of it! So he immediately disconnects it and we have been without hot water for about 5 days now. The same plumber that tried to determine where the leak was coming from came to fix the cable to our water heater. He couldn't fix it and now says we need a new water heater!
All this is really funny if you think about it, but what makes it not so funny is that the old lady refuses to pay for anything! The agency that found us the apartment has fronted the money for a new mattress, and the plumber, but no news on the water heater yet. What lesson have we learned from this? Haven't figured that one out yet! :)
So we have basically decided to cut our losses, ask for our deposit back and leave the apartment and Marbella. It just hasn't been what we thought. So with the money from the apartment and our savings from our job, we are going to travel through as much of Spain as possible.
I have already changed my ticket to return on August 9th instead of September 5th. Cesar is still working on changing his.
In the next month and a half, we will be posting a lot of pictures of cities in Spain. We are finishing Andalucia in June before we head to the east for the Barcelona salsa congress, Valencia, Mallorca, Ibiza, Benidorm, Alicante, and many more. Then we will head back to Madrid, and then check out the north of Spain (Bilbao, Santander, San Sebastian, and Santiago de Compostela). That's the plan. We'll see how long the money lasts. So stay tuned for some pics to come!
Monday, May 19, 2008
Life in Marbella
I haven't written in a while because I have been waiting to get settled, with an apartment and a job. Now we have both!
The apartment is great. It's a fully furnished (unfortunately with little old lady decor and aroma) studio apartment located 1 block from the ocean. After a lot of cleaning, throwing out old stuff that we didn't want, and some rearranging, we did our best to create a home. We have a beautiful terrace where we dine every night and morning, that has views of the ocean. Also, there is a rooftop terrace that has a pool (not filled with water yet until the summer), a grassy area to lay out, exercise, or whatever, and panoramic views of the city. We can see the mountains, the ocean, the marina, and the paseo marítimo.
The job hunt has been a little more difficult for me than it was for Cesar. He got lucky on the first try, and got a job at a little chiringuito (a little beachside restaurant) working as a host/waiter. He has been working for a week now. I didn't get that lucky right away. I probably handed out about 30 CVs, and still no luck.
Then one day, Cesar and I were walking around and passed by this incredibly luxurious italian restaurant (look up www.villatiberio.com) with beautiful gardens, etc. When we entered, we saw the parking lot filled with porsches, bentleys, aston martins, and many others. The restaurant is SO nice. I didn't leave my resume that day, but went back the next day by myself during the day and talked to a girl named Melanie. She told me that the owner Sandro wasn't there, and that it was better to come back and talk to him in person. She said, "Who knows, he might give u a chance. He's a really nice guy."
So I went back the next day when she told me he would be there, and he welcomed me with kisses and hugs, sat down with me on the terrace, and started asking about me and my life. He didn't want to know anything about my CV and didn't even ask for it until the very end. He started making phone calls, and asking his managers if there was room for me. Then he said, "Let's try u out in the bar area. Come on Saturday at 5pm." Then he handed me 50 € which is about $80 and told me to go buy a black shirt and pants.
So I went on saturday to my first day of work. I was so excited. It has been forever since I have worked in a restaurant, and this one is the nicest one I could imagine. So my job description is cocktail waitress and assisting in the bar. Nothing reputable like DPT, but it's something. The work was exhausting. From 5-6 we set up, which isn't too hard, then we all eat together (everyone there is SO warm and welcoming). At 7:30 the madness begins. The restaurant is open from 7:30-12:30 mon-sat and literally on the dot, the people start coming. It's WWIII no joke! At the end of the night, my whole body hurt. It even hurt me to type yesterday on the computer because my arms were so tired. At the end of the night we split tips and then they paid me my pay for the evening as well because I am an extra. So I made 105€ last night...not too bad! Evidently for now I am only working Friday and Saturday nights until things get busier and the summer season begins, which fortunateyl is plenty to pay for rent, food, and have about 300€ extra a month. Not bad for working 2 days a week :)
One of the guys I work with in the terrace (the area they call the bar) told me that Sandro must've really liked me because there is a huge pile of CVs in the office that go untouched and he hasn't hired anyone in 3 years. A majority of the people that work there have been there for 18-20 years! Maybe it was the manner in which I approached asking for the job, maybe it was luck. Whatever it was, I am very grateful!
So that's the update. No salsa scene yet. Still on the hunt for that. There is an organization out here called Marbella Baila, but it seems like a majority of their students are beginners. Plus, they go out dancing in cities that are outside of Marbella. That poses a problem because we can get there by bus, but wouldn't be able to get home! So for now, I am still on the hunt for salsa.
Check out my pics of our apartment. Go to the collections page and click on Marbella
The apartment is great. It's a fully furnished (unfortunately with little old lady decor and aroma) studio apartment located 1 block from the ocean. After a lot of cleaning, throwing out old stuff that we didn't want, and some rearranging, we did our best to create a home. We have a beautiful terrace where we dine every night and morning, that has views of the ocean. Also, there is a rooftop terrace that has a pool (not filled with water yet until the summer), a grassy area to lay out, exercise, or whatever, and panoramic views of the city. We can see the mountains, the ocean, the marina, and the paseo marítimo.
The job hunt has been a little more difficult for me than it was for Cesar. He got lucky on the first try, and got a job at a little chiringuito (a little beachside restaurant) working as a host/waiter. He has been working for a week now. I didn't get that lucky right away. I probably handed out about 30 CVs, and still no luck.
Then one day, Cesar and I were walking around and passed by this incredibly luxurious italian restaurant (look up www.villatiberio.com) with beautiful gardens, etc. When we entered, we saw the parking lot filled with porsches, bentleys, aston martins, and many others. The restaurant is SO nice. I didn't leave my resume that day, but went back the next day by myself during the day and talked to a girl named Melanie. She told me that the owner Sandro wasn't there, and that it was better to come back and talk to him in person. She said, "Who knows, he might give u a chance. He's a really nice guy."
So I went back the next day when she told me he would be there, and he welcomed me with kisses and hugs, sat down with me on the terrace, and started asking about me and my life. He didn't want to know anything about my CV and didn't even ask for it until the very end. He started making phone calls, and asking his managers if there was room for me. Then he said, "Let's try u out in the bar area. Come on Saturday at 5pm." Then he handed me 50 € which is about $80 and told me to go buy a black shirt and pants.
So I went on saturday to my first day of work. I was so excited. It has been forever since I have worked in a restaurant, and this one is the nicest one I could imagine. So my job description is cocktail waitress and assisting in the bar. Nothing reputable like DPT, but it's something. The work was exhausting. From 5-6 we set up, which isn't too hard, then we all eat together (everyone there is SO warm and welcoming). At 7:30 the madness begins. The restaurant is open from 7:30-12:30 mon-sat and literally on the dot, the people start coming. It's WWIII no joke! At the end of the night, my whole body hurt. It even hurt me to type yesterday on the computer because my arms were so tired. At the end of the night we split tips and then they paid me my pay for the evening as well because I am an extra. So I made 105€ last night...not too bad! Evidently for now I am only working Friday and Saturday nights until things get busier and the summer season begins, which fortunateyl is plenty to pay for rent, food, and have about 300€ extra a month. Not bad for working 2 days a week :)
One of the guys I work with in the terrace (the area they call the bar) told me that Sandro must've really liked me because there is a huge pile of CVs in the office that go untouched and he hasn't hired anyone in 3 years. A majority of the people that work there have been there for 18-20 years! Maybe it was the manner in which I approached asking for the job, maybe it was luck. Whatever it was, I am very grateful!
So that's the update. No salsa scene yet. Still on the hunt for that. There is an organization out here called Marbella Baila, but it seems like a majority of their students are beginners. Plus, they go out dancing in cities that are outside of Marbella. That poses a problem because we can get there by bus, but wouldn't be able to get home! So for now, I am still on the hunt for salsa.
Check out my pics of our apartment. Go to the collections page and click on Marbella
Friday, May 2, 2008
Exploring the Costa del Sol, April 25-May 1
Cesar arrived to Madrid on Monday April 21st. After 2 months of a long-distance relationship, talking on Skype, Messenger, etc, we were SO excited to see each other. He arrived really early Monday morning. And guess what???? They lost his bags! I mean, I guess it's a recurring theme. If u plan on traveling to Spain, bring a carry-on only! Lucky for him, they delivered his bags the next day at noon. We spent a few days in Madrid so he could get a feel of the city I love so much. We took the double-decker bus tour around downtown, walked around, bought some cheese and a bottle of wine and sat in Retiro park for the afternoon, walked through the Prado museum, and many other things. After a few days, we started on our quest of where to live for the summer.
On Friday April 25th we took the bus down to Màlaga. I showed him around, since I had already been there. We walked around the modern center, the historic center, and then to the cute little beach town of Pedregalejos.
After a day or two in Màlaga, we took the bus to Torremolinos, which is a small city in the province of Màlaga on the coast. There we had the best Lebanese food I have had since home (Mommy, the hummus might have actually beat yours!), and got to know the city. We quickly decided that this town was more inclined to homosexuals than heterosexuals, so we moved on to the Benalmàdena coast, to a little marina called Puerto Marina. There we found somewhat of a nightlife, with even a few salsa clubs. Definitely more ambiance and nightlife than Torremolinos, but we both weren't satisfied yet.
From there we took the bus to Fuengirola, also along the coast. There we ran into nothing but angry, strange, and unapproachable people. We got out of there relatively quickly.
Our last stop was Marbella. The minute the bus pulled in, we were already liking it. Marbella has a little bit of everything we wanted. It has a beautiful beach, a small historic center called "casco antiguo", and a modern city (for those of us that still need some Zara, Mango, Bershka, Pimkie, and Stradivarius...just in case!) We spent a few days really getting to know the city, walking around until our backs, legs, and feet ached. We finally decided that this was the place for us to settle. It has a lot of opportunity for work in tourism. Also, there is a beautiful gym where that I dropped off my CV for potential work.
Nearby there is a marina called Puerto Banus. This little city has all the glamour and glitz that Miami and Beverly Hills have combined. Nothing but fancy cars, fancy stores, fancy clubs and bars. We also saw a lot of potential here for work. Way too expensive to live, but a short bus ride away.
After many days of searching, we found a little studio apartment in the heart of downton Marbella. We will be moving in this next Monday or Tuesday. We haven't taken pics of it yet because we want to move in our stuff first. The apartment is quaint, with a cute little breakfast nook on an enclosed terrace. But what sold us on the place was the rooftop pool and sunbathing deck. Panoramic views of the entire city, beach, and mountains. It honestly feels like we are on top of the world!
Hope u all enjoy the pics. I will add the apartment ones later once we move in.
On Friday April 25th we took the bus down to Màlaga. I showed him around, since I had already been there. We walked around the modern center, the historic center, and then to the cute little beach town of Pedregalejos.
After a day or two in Màlaga, we took the bus to Torremolinos, which is a small city in the province of Màlaga on the coast. There we had the best Lebanese food I have had since home (Mommy, the hummus might have actually beat yours!), and got to know the city. We quickly decided that this town was more inclined to homosexuals than heterosexuals, so we moved on to the Benalmàdena coast, to a little marina called Puerto Marina. There we found somewhat of a nightlife, with even a few salsa clubs. Definitely more ambiance and nightlife than Torremolinos, but we both weren't satisfied yet.
From there we took the bus to Fuengirola, also along the coast. There we ran into nothing but angry, strange, and unapproachable people. We got out of there relatively quickly.
Our last stop was Marbella. The minute the bus pulled in, we were already liking it. Marbella has a little bit of everything we wanted. It has a beautiful beach, a small historic center called "casco antiguo", and a modern city (for those of us that still need some Zara, Mango, Bershka, Pimkie, and Stradivarius...just in case!) We spent a few days really getting to know the city, walking around until our backs, legs, and feet ached. We finally decided that this was the place for us to settle. It has a lot of opportunity for work in tourism. Also, there is a beautiful gym where that I dropped off my CV for potential work.
Nearby there is a marina called Puerto Banus. This little city has all the glamour and glitz that Miami and Beverly Hills have combined. Nothing but fancy cars, fancy stores, fancy clubs and bars. We also saw a lot of potential here for work. Way too expensive to live, but a short bus ride away.
After many days of searching, we found a little studio apartment in the heart of downton Marbella. We will be moving in this next Monday or Tuesday. We haven't taken pics of it yet because we want to move in our stuff first. The apartment is quaint, with a cute little breakfast nook on an enclosed terrace. But what sold us on the place was the rooftop pool and sunbathing deck. Panoramic views of the entire city, beach, and mountains. It honestly feels like we are on top of the world!
Hope u all enjoy the pics. I will add the apartment ones later once we move in.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Burgos Salsa Congress, April 18-20
After 1 day of recovery, Ilanit and I jumped in the car with Rober, Patry, and Sandro, my friends from Madrid. We drove out to Burgos, which is 200km north of Madrid to check out the salsa congress there. We had rented an apartment which had 8 beds. Marcos and Silvi were meeting us later that day.
We got unpacked, and then went to the market to buy food and drink necessary for the weekend, ate lunch/dinner, and then went out to the congress.
The location could be compared to a circus tent, with a mud all the way to the entrance, and gooey chunky stuff all over the dance floor. Let me tell you, it did wonders for my new (and last) pair of dance shoes.
We watched the shows, and then danced the night away. Around 5am or maybe even a little later, we headed back home. The only thing that was clear at that point was that the first person to fall asleep was in trouble. Poor Ilanit, she lost the battle. She passed out and sure enough, her face got painted and she was covered in a roll of toilet paper, shoes put in her bed, and all sorts of other pranks. Then came Silvi and Marcos, who had managed to lock the door to their room. But that didn't stop us! We called and called their cell phones until they couldn't sleep anymore.
Needless to say, we were all exhausted the next day! We went into the old part of Burgos, took pictures of the square, the cathedral, the river, and then ate a one of the restaurants that came recommended to us. I took a stab at eating the morcilla, but never really swallowed a piece. Morcilla is dried up ox blood, evidently a delicacy in Spain, and especially in Burgos. I had ordered the sopa castellana, which has pieces of morcilla in it, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat a piece.
After our afternoon of sightseeing, we went home and had a battle with ice cubes and the hail that had fallen on the window sills. Then we got ready for the second night of the congress, ate a little dinner, and then went out to the shows. Ilanit and I got a 2-for-1 price (hehehehehe), and we danced with some great dancers from Latin Black, el Rumberito, and many others.
At about 530am we went home, and since everyone was so exhausted, there were no pranks this night. We all just fell asleep.
We got back to Madrid on Sunday afternoon, and I just crashed in my bed. I woke up the next morning early because Cesar was coming!!!!
Check out my pics from the Burgos Salsa Congress
We got unpacked, and then went to the market to buy food and drink necessary for the weekend, ate lunch/dinner, and then went out to the congress.
The location could be compared to a circus tent, with a mud all the way to the entrance, and gooey chunky stuff all over the dance floor. Let me tell you, it did wonders for my new (and last) pair of dance shoes.
We watched the shows, and then danced the night away. Around 5am or maybe even a little later, we headed back home. The only thing that was clear at that point was that the first person to fall asleep was in trouble. Poor Ilanit, she lost the battle. She passed out and sure enough, her face got painted and she was covered in a roll of toilet paper, shoes put in her bed, and all sorts of other pranks. Then came Silvi and Marcos, who had managed to lock the door to their room. But that didn't stop us! We called and called their cell phones until they couldn't sleep anymore.
Needless to say, we were all exhausted the next day! We went into the old part of Burgos, took pictures of the square, the cathedral, the river, and then ate a one of the restaurants that came recommended to us. I took a stab at eating the morcilla, but never really swallowed a piece. Morcilla is dried up ox blood, evidently a delicacy in Spain, and especially in Burgos. I had ordered the sopa castellana, which has pieces of morcilla in it, but I just couldn't bring myself to eat a piece.
After our afternoon of sightseeing, we went home and had a battle with ice cubes and the hail that had fallen on the window sills. Then we got ready for the second night of the congress, ate a little dinner, and then went out to the shows. Ilanit and I got a 2-for-1 price (hehehehehe), and we danced with some great dancers from Latin Black, el Rumberito, and many others.
At about 530am we went home, and since everyone was so exhausted, there were no pranks this night. We all just fell asleep.
We got back to Madrid on Sunday afternoon, and I just crashed in my bed. I woke up the next morning early because Cesar was coming!!!!
Check out my pics from the Burgos Salsa Congress
Marrakech, Morocco, April 13-16
Wow!
What a culture shock!
I arrived in Marrakech in late Sunday afternoon, and was automatically faced with the opportunity to practice my Arabic. After dusting off some cobwebs, I passed through the arduous security line and met up with Ilanit and her friend Pat from USC.
We bargained with the cab driver for a cheaper price to take us to our Riad. After walking through a maze of dark alleyways, almost hitting our heads on the low overpasses, we got to a dead end and they rang the doorbell to our hostal. From the outside, all you see is an iron door. Inside, the beauty of the hostal, and the warmth of the people is incredible. We were greeted by Kamaal, one of the workers that spoke Spanish pretty well. We put my bags in the room and then gathered up the rest of Ilanit's friends (Matt, Ryan, and Olen) and headed to the Jemaa El Fnaa (the open-air market in the middle of the medina) for dinner. Evidently the boys were having a craving for sheep head....naturally!
Walking into the market was incredible. The smell of food, the smoke, the shouts of the vendors, the snake charmers, the belly dancers (yeah so what if the belly dancers are males, right?), the mint tea, the couscous, the skewers of meat, it was all so overwhelming. I was hearing Moroccan Arabic, French, Spanish, and English all at once. Even the little kids trying to sell u kleenex could speak all four! So we walked around and the boys picked the spot where they had seen the sheep head the night before. We sat down at the table, and they waiter asked if they wanted a whole head or just half. Heck, why not eat the whole head!!!!
So he proceeded to chop up the head into various little bowls, teeth, tongue, cheek included! The only thing they remove is the brain. Evidently that is a delicacy, which I was not even close to trying. But I was so hungry, and the smell of the food was killing me. They boys dug in, ooooing and aaaaahhhing about how delicious it was. All I could see were things jiggling in the bowl, not looking very appetizing. But the hunger took over. I asked the boys to find me a piece that looked more like meat, preferably a facial muscle, cheek, etc, and i grabbed a huge piece of bread to distract myself from what I was about to do, and then I took a bite! Honestly, it tasted like any other kind of meat you would eat. That bite was plenty for me. After we saw the teeth and tongue in the bowl, everyone lost their appetite!
After that adventure we headed to a different stall so Ilanit and I could eat couscous and vegetables. Delicious food! We ended with some mint tea and a stroll through the market, avoiding all eye contact with the snake charmers and belly dancers for fear that they would make us pay for just looking at them.
That night we took the rum that I bought in Spain and "smuggled" into the medina and some cokes upstairs to the terrace to sit under the stars. We asked Kamaal if he could prepare us a hookah. He brought us apple flavor and we passed the hookah around, told funny stories, and then fell asleep on the terrace looking up at the stars......until......."ALLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH u AAAAAAAAKKKKKKBBBBAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!" Oh my goodness it's 3am! What on earth are they doing praying this early? It was so loud it sounded like a megaphone was blasting in our ears! This went on for about 5 minutes straight, to the point that we all woke up. Ilanit had the great idea of buying a megaphone the next day, and shouting back, "GO TO SLEEEEEPPPPPPP!!!!!"
After it ended, we were able to fall back alseep, but not for long because around sunrise it happened again. "ALLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH u AAAAAAAAAKKKKKBBBBBBAAAARRRRRRR!" oh well, we might as well just wake up now. It's pointless trying to sleep at this point.
We awoke and headed to meet our tour guide at 730am for our 4x4 tour of the Atlas Mountains. A 5-hour drive into the heart of the mountains was absolutely breathtaking, meaning both beautiful, and so scary that you couldn't breath because you were anticipating falling down the cliff because the rocky road was barely big enough to fit the car, and of course, there was no guard rail. During the 5-hour trip, we saw the most beautiful scenery....brown mountains, with bright green valleys, little villages where the kids ran out to greet us (to our surprise, if u try to take a picture of these cute kids, they start screaming "NONONONONONONONOOOOOOO!" because evidently taking their picture is like taking their soul), sheep, donkeys, gorgeous lookout points, and points where I was sure we were going to die. How could a car our size fit on these little roads? One miscalculation and were would tumble to our deaths. But our driver Yousef was a natural. He took the curves like we were on paved roads. After arriving to our lunch destination, we were all relieved and starving. A meal of kafta and eggs hit the spot!
And what better to help digest your food than a camel ride?! What a treat!
We got back into the car and headed to the spot where the movies "Gladiator" and "Passion of the Christ" were filmed. Beautiful city!
After a 4-hour ride back home, we had a good dinner and then went to sleep.
The next day we slept in a little bit, enjoyed the complementary breakfast in the Riad, and then headed out to do some sight-seeing. We went to the museum, an old dormitory/school, an old mosque, and then some colorful gardens. Tons of beautiful things to see!
Later we headed out to the souks to do a little bit of shopping and bartering. Talk about overwhelming! But honestly, if you stick to your price and as long as it's not completely unreasonable, you can get what you want.
We arrived back to the Riad for our henna tattoo appointment that we had made. One of the girls that worked at the Riad did them for free, and we just gave her a tip.
That night we had some wine and beer celebrating one of the girl's birthdays that was staying in the Riad, and then the belly dancing and salsa lessons began! We got everyone up to dance and it was like one huge happy family. The owner of the Riad (Hassan) was passing around the hookah and kept the wine and beer flowing. There were so many travellers there, all from different countries and backgrounds, all enjoying a fun evening together family-style in the Riad.
The 6 of us headed out to the market again for dinner and had the best night ever! We made friends with the waiters, sang with them, took pictures together, and laughed so hard! The pictures don't even do this night justice.
After dinner, we slept up on the terrace again, only to be awoken by the chanting once more. This time we were more used to it, but it still made us laugh.
On Wednesday it was time to pack up, do some last minute shopping, catch some sun on the terrace, and then head to the airport back to Madrid. Ilanit and I arrived home in Madrid at about 1:30am, exhausted, but satisfied.
Check out my pics!
What a culture shock!
I arrived in Marrakech in late Sunday afternoon, and was automatically faced with the opportunity to practice my Arabic. After dusting off some cobwebs, I passed through the arduous security line and met up with Ilanit and her friend Pat from USC.
We bargained with the cab driver for a cheaper price to take us to our Riad. After walking through a maze of dark alleyways, almost hitting our heads on the low overpasses, we got to a dead end and they rang the doorbell to our hostal. From the outside, all you see is an iron door. Inside, the beauty of the hostal, and the warmth of the people is incredible. We were greeted by Kamaal, one of the workers that spoke Spanish pretty well. We put my bags in the room and then gathered up the rest of Ilanit's friends (Matt, Ryan, and Olen) and headed to the Jemaa El Fnaa (the open-air market in the middle of the medina) for dinner. Evidently the boys were having a craving for sheep head....naturally!
Walking into the market was incredible. The smell of food, the smoke, the shouts of the vendors, the snake charmers, the belly dancers (yeah so what if the belly dancers are males, right?), the mint tea, the couscous, the skewers of meat, it was all so overwhelming. I was hearing Moroccan Arabic, French, Spanish, and English all at once. Even the little kids trying to sell u kleenex could speak all four! So we walked around and the boys picked the spot where they had seen the sheep head the night before. We sat down at the table, and they waiter asked if they wanted a whole head or just half. Heck, why not eat the whole head!!!!
So he proceeded to chop up the head into various little bowls, teeth, tongue, cheek included! The only thing they remove is the brain. Evidently that is a delicacy, which I was not even close to trying. But I was so hungry, and the smell of the food was killing me. They boys dug in, ooooing and aaaaahhhing about how delicious it was. All I could see were things jiggling in the bowl, not looking very appetizing. But the hunger took over. I asked the boys to find me a piece that looked more like meat, preferably a facial muscle, cheek, etc, and i grabbed a huge piece of bread to distract myself from what I was about to do, and then I took a bite! Honestly, it tasted like any other kind of meat you would eat. That bite was plenty for me. After we saw the teeth and tongue in the bowl, everyone lost their appetite!
After that adventure we headed to a different stall so Ilanit and I could eat couscous and vegetables. Delicious food! We ended with some mint tea and a stroll through the market, avoiding all eye contact with the snake charmers and belly dancers for fear that they would make us pay for just looking at them.
That night we took the rum that I bought in Spain and "smuggled" into the medina and some cokes upstairs to the terrace to sit under the stars. We asked Kamaal if he could prepare us a hookah. He brought us apple flavor and we passed the hookah around, told funny stories, and then fell asleep on the terrace looking up at the stars......until......."ALLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH u AAAAAAAAKKKKKKBBBBAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRR!" Oh my goodness it's 3am! What on earth are they doing praying this early? It was so loud it sounded like a megaphone was blasting in our ears! This went on for about 5 minutes straight, to the point that we all woke up. Ilanit had the great idea of buying a megaphone the next day, and shouting back, "GO TO SLEEEEEPPPPPPP!!!!!"
After it ended, we were able to fall back alseep, but not for long because around sunrise it happened again. "ALLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH u AAAAAAAAAKKKKKBBBBBBAAAARRRRRRR!" oh well, we might as well just wake up now. It's pointless trying to sleep at this point.
We awoke and headed to meet our tour guide at 730am for our 4x4 tour of the Atlas Mountains. A 5-hour drive into the heart of the mountains was absolutely breathtaking, meaning both beautiful, and so scary that you couldn't breath because you were anticipating falling down the cliff because the rocky road was barely big enough to fit the car, and of course, there was no guard rail. During the 5-hour trip, we saw the most beautiful scenery....brown mountains, with bright green valleys, little villages where the kids ran out to greet us (to our surprise, if u try to take a picture of these cute kids, they start screaming "NONONONONONONONOOOOOOO!" because evidently taking their picture is like taking their soul), sheep, donkeys, gorgeous lookout points, and points where I was sure we were going to die. How could a car our size fit on these little roads? One miscalculation and were would tumble to our deaths. But our driver Yousef was a natural. He took the curves like we were on paved roads. After arriving to our lunch destination, we were all relieved and starving. A meal of kafta and eggs hit the spot!
And what better to help digest your food than a camel ride?! What a treat!
We got back into the car and headed to the spot where the movies "Gladiator" and "Passion of the Christ" were filmed. Beautiful city!
After a 4-hour ride back home, we had a good dinner and then went to sleep.
The next day we slept in a little bit, enjoyed the complementary breakfast in the Riad, and then headed out to do some sight-seeing. We went to the museum, an old dormitory/school, an old mosque, and then some colorful gardens. Tons of beautiful things to see!
Later we headed out to the souks to do a little bit of shopping and bartering. Talk about overwhelming! But honestly, if you stick to your price and as long as it's not completely unreasonable, you can get what you want.
We arrived back to the Riad for our henna tattoo appointment that we had made. One of the girls that worked at the Riad did them for free, and we just gave her a tip.
That night we had some wine and beer celebrating one of the girl's birthdays that was staying in the Riad, and then the belly dancing and salsa lessons began! We got everyone up to dance and it was like one huge happy family. The owner of the Riad (Hassan) was passing around the hookah and kept the wine and beer flowing. There were so many travellers there, all from different countries and backgrounds, all enjoying a fun evening together family-style in the Riad.
The 6 of us headed out to the market again for dinner and had the best night ever! We made friends with the waiters, sang with them, took pictures together, and laughed so hard! The pictures don't even do this night justice.
After dinner, we slept up on the terrace again, only to be awoken by the chanting once more. This time we were more used to it, but it still made us laugh.
On Wednesday it was time to pack up, do some last minute shopping, catch some sun on the terrace, and then head to the airport back to Madrid. Ilanit and I arrived home in Madrid at about 1:30am, exhausted, but satisfied.
Check out my pics!
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