Madrid in a day

Arriving at our hotel we found our rooms and started organizing. Being as disorganized as I am, of course I had to empty my bags completely just to find one thing I was looking for. We went to dinner that night looking for something quick. We found a small bar where we split a delicious risotto and had a few beers. That night we returned early to take showers and use Internet.

They next morning we woke up and went downstairs to find an enormous breakfast selection. There were dried and fresh fruits, cereal, meat and cheese, all different Danishes and types of bread, churros and chocolate, fresh squeezed orange and pineapple juice, and coffee. It was delicious.

We met our tour guide Amor to take a 4 hour bus and walking tour to some of the most important sites in Madrid. We went to a famous park and lookout with a statue of Don Quixote. The strangest part was seeing the iron fences covered in locks with names written on them and trinkets marking the spots where people would lock up their bikes regularly. We also visited the bull ring of Madrid and some famous Plazas. It was freezing! On a small break a few of us ran to a nearby coffee shop where I got the best cafe con leche (coffee with milk) on the trip so far... Which I don't know if it was just because I was so cold or if it was really that good. Haha

Returning to the hotel we prepared for an even longer walk with Les and Rod by bundling up even more. We took a three hour walk to see some things we had hoped to see before departing Madrid. The botanical gardens were one of our stops, but it was lacking in color being the off season. The train station a one of our neatest stops. the main entrance is a grand room with an interior garden of palm trees and a small modern restaurant in the middle for people to sit and wait on someone coming in or leaving. We also went to the Plaza del sol and ended in a square in the city before having dinner at a nice restaurant where Hillary and I were able to find our first vegetarian paella to split.

For dessert Kathleen and I picked up Chocolate with churros since I had missed them at breakfast. We then headed back to the hotel for a quick pit stop before heading off to the soccer game! We saw the Madrid team which is second seed play the thirteenth seed team. The streets were packed on the way there and people were covered in their teams colors. We decided to join in and all buy scarfs to support our team. THEY WON! It was a great time and very exciting for all of us to be there together enjoying Madrid together.

We woke up this morning and had breakfast before heading to the train station were we boarded the high speed train headed for our next destination. Here we come Barcelona!

Good Times in Granada

Boarding the ferry to leave Algeciras, we all waved goodbye to Africa and began our trip back to Spain. The ferry was a two hour drive and after we had another four or five hour drive to our hotel in Granada. We didn't arrive until midnight and were dreading an early morning wake up, but were relieved to hear our wake up time wasn't until 9:00 A.M. We woke up the next morning and headed out to see the Al Hambra which is the castle in which the sultans had once lived overlooking the city and had beautiful gardens surrounding it, including one that had the original plants that were there 500 years ago. The interior of the castle was gorgeous with intricate carvings and water features in every room. The tour guide Alfonso told us there is not a place on the grounds of the castle where water can't be seen or heard. After going through the castle we continued down to the city where we ate lunch and walked around on our own to see the parks. After a while of walking we went back to our hotel to get dressed for our night at the gypsy caves to watch flamenco dancing. We decided to dress up so a few people went out so I could buy a nice pair of shoes for the occasion. We went to three local stores near our hotel to find a pair of flats and got the same answer from all of them... "Size 42 (9.5) is too big. we don't carry them. "
:/ of course. So just in case you plan to move to Spain... Make sure if you need shoes larger than 9.5 to take enough shoes with you to last a lifetime!
I changed my dressing up plans and we went to go have a beer before the dancing. We got Al Hambra which is brewed locally and was very good. Leaving for the dancing, they took us on a small walking tour past the old town to a lookout over the city at night. We played around with our cameras for a while and spelled out Granada in lights before heading to the show.
The dancing was awesome. All of the dancers were very talented with incredible rhythm. At the end they pulled a few of us up to dance which was a lot of fun. Granada ended up being a lot of fun. The next morning on our way out we headed through the city of Cordoba to see the famous cathedral which was very pretty and to take a small tour through the city before heading on our way to the rest of Spain.

Culture Shock in Fez

Arriving on the ferry in Algeciras, the olive and agave fields lined the roads on the way to Fez. Normally fields at home would be empty in the U.S. with the occasional tractor and a few animals. The first thing we noticed was the lack of mechanical machinery as well as all of the herders and farmers tending to their animals and crops. Horses were used to pull plows and they used buckets to carry water to their homes from the wells.

The nights in Fez have been the most strange and amazing experience on the trip so far. Entering the medina(the old town), would have been terrifying without the help of our guide Momo(short for Mohammad). Momo took us around to see a part of the medina he grew up around. The streets are winding and very narrow. There were times where only one person could fit through at a time and would have to duck down to walk through a hallway. The walls on each side were 20 to 30 or more feet tall with just a few doors here and there which I assume we're the entrances to homes. Mules and donkeys carried loads through the streets. Momo explained to us that artisan trades are still very much a way of life in the medina. Your last name is the trait that your family is known for. Momo's family were candlemakers since moving to Morocco generations ago. Electricity had caused his family's business to become a hobby more than a lifestyle.

Throughout the alleys, Momo introduced us to his friends that worked in different trades. We saw the ceramic makers, the rug makers, the coppersmiths, the carpenters, and the apothecary. People lined the streets at all times selling at their booths. There was everything sold in the booths. Butchers had large pieces of cows and pigs hanging from their booths. Stray animals filled the streets begging for food. People walked fast through the markets, even children ran through the markets on their way to and home from school.

Seeing the artisans working in their trades were some of the most fascinating things I have seen. The first place we visited was the ceramic makers. The ceramic makers mix clay with water and then compact it with their feet and hands before spinning them into bowls and other dishes or making them into tiles. The tile workers would take patterns and break the tiles into the correct shapes for each of the patterns. A worker would then take the pieces and arrange them into the right places for the design they wanted. The pottery that was spun was then painted by hand by the workers that specialized in the design. This job would take 5 years to master.

We also visited the tanneries where all leather products were made. As we walked in, the workers handed us fresh mint leaves to help us cover up the smell of the animal hides and dyes. Giant pools of natural dyes filled the yard outside, and the workers would soak the leather in the preferred color before making it into the item they would be sold as. The most expensive color was the yellow dye made from saffron. They had large rooms filled from floor to ceiling filled with their products in every color imaginable.

We also visited the weavers shop. There they showed us how they sewed each of the fabrics. They made everything from bed covers to scarves. The silk they used was made from the agave plant, which they showed us how they harvested as well. After explaining the process, they decided to give us demonstrations on how to tie the scarves into different style turbans. They picked me as the first person to demonstrate the desert turban on. After finishing mine they continued wrapping turbans on the entire group for a group picture. This was one of the most fun experiences in Morocco, because it gave us another view into how the people of Fez and the rest of Morocco live on a daily basis.

It was amazing to see people living an entirely different lifestyle than what we know. One of the greatest lessons I learned was from how Momo interacted with the people in the medina. Whether he knew them or not, Momo treated everyone as if they were a friend. I watched a homeless blind man finding his way be guided through the crowded streets with several people reaching into their pockets to help the only other way they knew how. While the streets were somewhat scary to our group, it seemed like the people who lived in the Medina were very happy with their way of life and accepted all people as equals... a lesson everyone could learn from.

Sun in Sevilla

Our first night in Sevilla was great! The city is beautiful. It is covered in bitter orange trees. They line every street. Our tour guide Ima was extremely nice, she taught us how to tell the difference between sweet and bitter orange trees, and knew where to point us in the right direction for the best Tapas. We walked for a while through the downtown and to a few important places. We got to see the nautical school building which replaced the building where Christopher Columbus had been taught to sail. We also saw Rubber Banyan trees which were planted by Ponce de Leon in the 1500s. After our walk we got to our hotel and were able to go out on our own time to find dinner. We found a great restaurant a few blocks from our hotel where I got a delicious bowl of fresh tomato soup, fresh goat cheese, bread, and sangria. The food was all amazing! (And no hair) We also shared a piece of Chocolate cake with an orange cream frosting as advised by Ima. She said the oranges are one of Sevillas specialties. At the end of January, Ima said they pick all of the bitter oranges and use them to make their special fresh orange marmalade.
The next day we left our hotel early in the morning after eating our breakfast and headed to the Plaza de Espana. It was one of the prettiest places I have ever seen. A small water canal lines the plaza and is used by small row boats during the day. The plaza is a half circle lined by a gorgeous building (which was also used as the Palace of Naboo in the filming of the second Star Wars movie. The building is covered by intricate carvings and hand made ceramic tiles. Rose bushes lined the railings and ceramic shelves were built into the outdoor seating, which use to hold books when the plaza served as a library. We then walked all the way across town to see the 1926 exposition site and a few famous bridges while receiving a short structures lesson from Rod before walking back to visit the Catedral de Sevilla. It took 500 years to be finished and was so intricate. We climbed up to the 31st floor to see the city from the highest point. After climbing and seeing the church tower we went back to the hotel and got ready for dinner. That night we went to a restaurant our guide had pointed out to us the day before called San Telmo. The food was delicious. I tried spaghetti dyed with squid ink and had a pear, blue cheese, and walnut salad. That night we were told that by 5:00 p.m. GPS said we had walked 24 miles around the town. Sevilla was great and I can only hope the rest of the trip is just as amazing.

Just another Hair in Lisbon

The first night after lunch and a little catch up nap, a few friends and I went out for celebratory drinks. After a walk and some searching we found a little hole-in-the-wall bar called "Old Vics". It was neat and small on the inside but very busy and very packed. Once we'd ounce a booth Jacob quickly ordered the "Old Vic Special" which had the ingredients in in Portuguese. I waited until it showed up to decide if I wanted the same. When it came it was a green smooth drink with little decorations and pink sherbet to top it off. I ordered the same, and after a long wait the waiter brought it out. As he handed it to me I saw a small clump of hair hanging from the bottom of the glass. I pulled on the clump to realize it was hanging out of my glass stuck to the sherbet. It felt like the hair was three feet long, once I finally pulled it all of the way out, my friends kept telling me to just drink it anyway since it had taken so long for it to come. I pulled the glass closer disgusted to look in and see that the entire sherbet scoop was covered in hair and dirt and even the stem of a leaf! I pushed it to the end of the table and told the waiter who apologized profusely and brought me a new clean one quickly. It was extremely hard to get down after seeing the first but I figured it is the beginning of many experiences like that.
The next day we walked all over Lisbon to see the old town and the newest modern park and interactive area along the coast. Twelve miles in total that day It was very pretty and well designed which made it fun to see and experience. The mix of new and old was very unique. That night a group of us climbed to the highest hill in Lisbon to see the Castle St. Jorge, which dates back to the 700's. The view was gorgeous and all of the trees within the castle were filled with tons of peacocks. It was by far my favorite place I visited in Lisbon. After the castle we decided to find some dinner. We had to search for a while to find a place, which wasn't the most authentic Portuguese food, but we were starving having walked so much that day. I ordered a Spanish omelet which tasted okay, but half way through the meal I cut another bite and as I pulled up my knife, I couldn't believe it again. A black hair attached to my knife pulled out of my food. I lost my appetite after that. The next morning we left for Spain with the hope that we were leaving the stray hairs behind us.

Lisbon, Portugal

Today we arrived in Lisbon at 8:00 A.M. their time. We started out on a bus tour through the city with a tour guide where we would get off and on of the buses. The city is gorgeous! It has a mixture of Italian and Spanish looking buildings with the plants and landscape that look like it is a tropical island(minus the temperature...the breeze was prrrreetttttty nippy). Before getting into our hotel we went to a diner for lunch where Hillary and I the vegetarians of the group ate mushrooms and rice in a tomato and vegetable stew. We all plan to go out tonight in a group to celebrate the beginning of our trip and hopefully we will get to see the charm of Lisbon's night life that we have heard about on our day tour. It's finally sinking in that we are now on the trip we have prepared for for years now. So exciting!