The soccer match was awesome! Although Valladolid was no match for FC Barcelona. The fans are so passionate you can't help but cheer along with them. Barca won the game and clutched the Spanish championship. Needless to say the city was celebrating all night! We got some Chinese food for dinner and called it a night.
We woke at 4:30am yesterday to catch our flight back to Madrid. We were supposed to return home yesterday, but ended up staying another night because someone made a mistake *ahem* Tim! But it was a good last day. We stayed in a hotel close to the airport and laid around watching movies most of the day. In the evening we ventured into the city to visit some "old haunts" including a Museo del Jamon and then the Mercado de San Miguel for dinner and drinks. It was the perfect "last supper" and we finished it off with a hard cider at an Irish pub.
All-in-all a fantastic trip! I've got over 400 photos to sort through and I'll post the best on Facebook. Thanks for reading along. I hope you enjoyed yourself!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Ibiza
Whew... What an experience! We had a great time in Ibiza and we're still recovering.
We arrived late in the evening on our first day so we had a quick dinner and went to bed. The next morning we woke up "early" for breakfast and were pleasantly surprised to find eggs and bacon at the hotel's buffet! After breakfast we laid by the pool then went to the beach. The water was an amazing aqua-blue color, but it was too cold to get in. While at the beach we ran into a couple guys selling passes to Pacha which is the ginormous nightclub here. It was 110€ for both us and included a 3-hour open bar all you can drink pre-party, bus ride to the club, entry to the club and one free drink at the club. It was a sick deal because it costs 35€ each to get into the club and drinks are around 18€ each. Ha! Ridiculous!
After the transaction we grabbed some fruity-ass drinks and lunch at te beach bar then went to the spa. The spa was nice. It had a large warm pool with all kinds of faucets that feel like a massage. There were several different showers and a sauna. After a while in there we went back to the beach and fell asleep for a bit. When we woke up we went back to the room and got ready for a quiet evening. We went to the western side of the island to enjoy the sunset with a pitcher of cava sangria and some nachos. (haha, yes, nachos!) After the sunset we went back to the hotel for dinner then hit the sack early.
The next day we got up early to catch the ferry to Formentera - a smaller island just south of Ibiza. Once there we rented a scooter and explored the island. It was my first time on a scooter and I was terrified, but it was a lot of fun! We found a nice quiet beach to lay on and relaxed before lunch. We got some delicious paella at a restaurant with an amazing view. Overall it was a good day-trip except that it kept raining off and on. We caught the ferry back to Ibiza and had just enough time for a quick nap before our night full of fun began.
After dinner at the hotel we headed to the pre-party location and started boozing. It was a chill place, and we liked that, and the people were cool. Around midnight we all hopped on buses and headed to Pacha. The music was loud and the place was gorgeous. We danced for a while and I got a nice bruise on my ass after falling on some stairs. Stairs in a nightclub = worst idea ever! Most of the night is a blur and around 3:30 we threw the towel in and headed back to the hotel.
We got a few hours of sleep before heading to the airport to go back to Barcelona. We did absolutely nothing yesterday, but we're feeling better today. Going out for brunch in a few minutes, then to the FC Barcelona futbol game tonight!
We arrived late in the evening on our first day so we had a quick dinner and went to bed. The next morning we woke up "early" for breakfast and were pleasantly surprised to find eggs and bacon at the hotel's buffet! After breakfast we laid by the pool then went to the beach. The water was an amazing aqua-blue color, but it was too cold to get in. While at the beach we ran into a couple guys selling passes to Pacha which is the ginormous nightclub here. It was 110€ for both us and included a 3-hour open bar all you can drink pre-party, bus ride to the club, entry to the club and one free drink at the club. It was a sick deal because it costs 35€ each to get into the club and drinks are around 18€ each. Ha! Ridiculous!
After the transaction we grabbed some fruity-ass drinks and lunch at te beach bar then went to the spa. The spa was nice. It had a large warm pool with all kinds of faucets that feel like a massage. There were several different showers and a sauna. After a while in there we went back to the beach and fell asleep for a bit. When we woke up we went back to the room and got ready for a quiet evening. We went to the western side of the island to enjoy the sunset with a pitcher of cava sangria and some nachos. (haha, yes, nachos!) After the sunset we went back to the hotel for dinner then hit the sack early.
The next day we got up early to catch the ferry to Formentera - a smaller island just south of Ibiza. Once there we rented a scooter and explored the island. It was my first time on a scooter and I was terrified, but it was a lot of fun! We found a nice quiet beach to lay on and relaxed before lunch. We got some delicious paella at a restaurant with an amazing view. Overall it was a good day-trip except that it kept raining off and on. We caught the ferry back to Ibiza and had just enough time for a quick nap before our night full of fun began.
After dinner at the hotel we headed to the pre-party location and started boozing. It was a chill place, and we liked that, and the people were cool. Around midnight we all hopped on buses and headed to Pacha. The music was loud and the place was gorgeous. We danced for a while and I got a nice bruise on my ass after falling on some stairs. Stairs in a nightclub = worst idea ever! Most of the night is a blur and around 3:30 we threw the towel in and headed back to the hotel.
We got a few hours of sleep before heading to the airport to go back to Barcelona. We did absolutely nothing yesterday, but we're feeling better today. Going out for brunch in a few minutes, then to the FC Barcelona futbol game tonight!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Granada and Barcelona
Granada was great! It's very small and quiet, but we enjoyed the change of pace. Our first evening we watched the soccer match between Barcelona and Sevilla at a tiny bar off the beaten path. It was great to be around the locals and cheering with them made me very excited for the game we're going to on Sunday. While in Grananda we saw the Alhambra - basically the only attraction in the city. It's an old palace heavily influenced by Moroccan styles. The grounds are expansive and it's a popular destination. We found out last minute that we should have booked early, but we were able to get tickets. It was gorgeous!
We left the next morning for Barcelona. We've been here two nights and we love it! It's definitely the most beautiful city we've visited in Spain. Our first night we went to a bar at the top of this "hill" and watched the sunset. Afterwards we had dinner by the beach at Agua and the we got a nightcap at Icebarcelona. It's a bar made entirely of ice. Even our drinks were served in ice glasses! It was f*cling freezing, but well worth the experience!
Yesterday we saw most of the Gaudi architecture yesterday. Antoni Gaudi as a Spanish-Catalan architect who I think was way ahead of his time. His stuctures are very modern and were built nearly 100 years ago. After sight-seeing we did a little shopping on Las Ramblas and had lunch at the La Boqueria Mercat. We had a lazy evening and went to see Iron Man 2 and had spaghetti for dinner.
Today we went to see Gaudi's life's work: the Sagrada Familia. I can't say whether I like it or not, but I like that it's different. So different fro
anything I have ever seen. We also visited Park Guell which Gaudi also designed. We're hanging out at the hotel now having a cocktail. We leave for Ibiza in a few hours!!! Can't wait to lay by the pool and attempt to get a tan!
We left the next morning for Barcelona. We've been here two nights and we love it! It's definitely the most beautiful city we've visited in Spain. Our first night we went to a bar at the top of this "hill" and watched the sunset. Afterwards we had dinner by the beach at Agua and the we got a nightcap at Icebarcelona. It's a bar made entirely of ice. Even our drinks were served in ice glasses! It was f*cling freezing, but well worth the experience!
Yesterday we saw most of the Gaudi architecture yesterday. Antoni Gaudi as a Spanish-Catalan architect who I think was way ahead of his time. His stuctures are very modern and were built nearly 100 years ago. After sight-seeing we did a little shopping on Las Ramblas and had lunch at the La Boqueria Mercat. We had a lazy evening and went to see Iron Man 2 and had spaghetti for dinner.
Today we went to see Gaudi's life's work: the Sagrada Familia. I can't say whether I like it or not, but I like that it's different. So different fro
anything I have ever seen. We also visited Park Guell which Gaudi also designed. We're hanging out at the hotel now having a cocktail. We leave for Ibiza in a few hours!!! Can't wait to lay by the pool and attempt to get a tan!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Hammam and Return to Spain
We made the best of our last day in Morocco. We did some more shopping in the souks and got a traditional Moroccan Hammam.
Now here's a little background on hammam. Hammams were originally public bathhouses and relative to a sauna. It's originally Turkish and is more closely related to Greek and Roman bathing practices. The process consists of alternating warm and cold water, hot rooms and cool relaxing rooms, massage with oils and scrubs. It's the cleanest and most relaxed you'll ever feel in your life.
Now here's our experience: we are told by the owner of our riad to wear bathing suits because there is a pool where we can wait between the hammam and the massage. We arrive at Le Bains de Marrakech and are shown to the "locker rooms" where we strip down to our swimsuits and cover ourselves with robes. After waiting a few minutes by the pool we're taken into a dark, cave-like room where an attractive young woman insists I take my top off. I do so and then we are asked to lay on elevated mats as the woman dumped warm water over us. She then covered us with savon noir (black soap), left the room and shut the door without a word.
We heard a strange noise and then the room started to fill with steam to the point of no visibility. We both felt as if we couldn't breathe and it was quite nerve-wracking waiting for the woman to return. When she did she asked me to step under a shower of cold water. Next we were scrubbed raw and covered with some kind of scrub and then rose water facials. The woman left again and I feared the room would steam up again, but she returned after a moment and asked me to go under the shower again. This time she ripped my bottoms off and left me standing there naked. I didn't even protest! I just stood there naked as she washed me. It was strange but at the same time it felt like the right thing to do!
This concluded the hammam part of the ordeal and after we put our robes back on (Tim got to keep his swim trunks on) I went to get an amazing pedicure and Tim slept by the pool. Next we had very nice massages. Again, I was completely naked and only embarassed at first, but slowly relaxed about it as the massage ensued. All-in-all a great experience!
We had an amazing dinner at Dar Essalaam where we watched a traditional belly dancing show. Can't wait to post the video of Tim dancing with the pretty lady! After dinner we hit the sack early. Packing and leaving Morocco was really hard. The staff at the riad really made us feel like family. We definitely plan to return again in the near future!
We arrived in Sevilla yesterday afternoon and had a nice dinner followed by flamenco dancing and a late bed-time. We woke early to see the sites including the Real Alcazar (Royal Palace), the Catedral de Sevilla (where we saw Christopher Columbus' tomb!!!) and the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza (the bullring). We had a late lunch and caught the train to Granada. We've just arrived and are trying to figure out what to do tonight!
Now here's a little background on hammam. Hammams were originally public bathhouses and relative to a sauna. It's originally Turkish and is more closely related to Greek and Roman bathing practices. The process consists of alternating warm and cold water, hot rooms and cool relaxing rooms, massage with oils and scrubs. It's the cleanest and most relaxed you'll ever feel in your life.
Now here's our experience: we are told by the owner of our riad to wear bathing suits because there is a pool where we can wait between the hammam and the massage. We arrive at Le Bains de Marrakech and are shown to the "locker rooms" where we strip down to our swimsuits and cover ourselves with robes. After waiting a few minutes by the pool we're taken into a dark, cave-like room where an attractive young woman insists I take my top off. I do so and then we are asked to lay on elevated mats as the woman dumped warm water over us. She then covered us with savon noir (black soap), left the room and shut the door without a word.
We heard a strange noise and then the room started to fill with steam to the point of no visibility. We both felt as if we couldn't breathe and it was quite nerve-wracking waiting for the woman to return. When she did she asked me to step under a shower of cold water. Next we were scrubbed raw and covered with some kind of scrub and then rose water facials. The woman left again and I feared the room would steam up again, but she returned after a moment and asked me to go under the shower again. This time she ripped my bottoms off and left me standing there naked. I didn't even protest! I just stood there naked as she washed me. It was strange but at the same time it felt like the right thing to do!
This concluded the hammam part of the ordeal and after we put our robes back on (Tim got to keep his swim trunks on) I went to get an amazing pedicure and Tim slept by the pool. Next we had very nice massages. Again, I was completely naked and only embarassed at first, but slowly relaxed about it as the massage ensued. All-in-all a great experience!
We had an amazing dinner at Dar Essalaam where we watched a traditional belly dancing show. Can't wait to post the video of Tim dancing with the pretty lady! After dinner we hit the sack early. Packing and leaving Morocco was really hard. The staff at the riad really made us feel like family. We definitely plan to return again in the near future!
We arrived in Sevilla yesterday afternoon and had a nice dinner followed by flamenco dancing and a late bed-time. We woke early to see the sites including the Real Alcazar (Royal Palace), the Catedral de Sevilla (where we saw Christopher Columbus' tomb!!!) and the Plaza de Toros de la Maestranza (the bullring). We had a late lunch and caught the train to Granada. We've just arrived and are trying to figure out what to do tonight!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Touring with Ali
"Holy f*ck balls!" part deux.
We just arrived back in Marrakech after our 4 day tour through southern Morocco. We hired a guide, Ali, and a driver, Youssef - nickname "Crazy Couscous" - he's a professional driver for movie sets - for the trip. It was outrageous! I've never seen so many beautiful things in my life.
Day 1
Lots and lots of driving with a few stops including one at Ait Ben Haddou where many movies were filmed including Gladiator, Jesus of Nazareth and Kingdom of Heaven. It's a very beautiful place with green grass and palm trees surrounded by desert rock and mountains. A real-life oasis.
We stopped several more times for photos and arrived at Ouarzazate - aka The Gateway to the Sahara - where we stayed the night at Dar Chamaa - a lovely riad located in the 'burbs. Tim swam in the frigid pool while I watched. We had an interesting dinner consisting of fried egg rolls and spaghetti - strange, but good.
Day 2
More driving through the Draa Valley where we saw more kasbahs and made our way to Auberge L'Oasis. Thus began our journey into the Sahara. We, along with a Dutch family, mounted camels and headed straight into nothingness. The desert was unbelievable. Sand for miles and not a cloud in the sky. Unfortunately, I am still unable to post photos, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Ceville or Granada will give me an opportunity to do so.
We rode for about 2 hours - ouch - and arrived at our camping grounds. We watched the sunset, then prepared for dinner. The food was delicious and the family from Holland was very nice. We talked a lot about the differences between our countries and made jokes. After dinner we sat under the stars and played the drums with our guides, Youssef and Sahid. They gave us all nicknames - Tim and I were Mohammed and Fatima. We sang songs and laughed until close to midnight when we all retired to our Berber tents for the night.
Day 3
Youssef woke us at 6am to watch the sunrise and then we began the journey back to the auberge. My bottom was not happy to be back on a camel! After showering we took off with Crazy Couscous and Ali for some more driving. We made our way through the Dades Valley and stopped at the Todra Gorge - Morocco's Grand Canyon.
We arrived at La Perle du Dades - a bed and breakfast if you will - in the early evening. After relaxing by the pool we prepared for dinner and after our bellies were full and we were feeling a bit drunk, we watched Kingdom of Heaven in the chambre de cinema. Bad choice in movies, but it was cool to see Ait Ben Haddou on the big screen.
Day 4
Today we woke up late and had a leisurely breakfast. We took off again for some more driving and made one stop at another kasbah in Ouarzazate. We invited Ali and Youssef to have lunch with us before making our way back to Marrakech.
Tonight we're going to visit the new city and check out the nightlife outside the city walls. Wish us luck!
We just arrived back in Marrakech after our 4 day tour through southern Morocco. We hired a guide, Ali, and a driver, Youssef - nickname "Crazy Couscous" - he's a professional driver for movie sets - for the trip. It was outrageous! I've never seen so many beautiful things in my life.
Day 1
Lots and lots of driving with a few stops including one at Ait Ben Haddou where many movies were filmed including Gladiator, Jesus of Nazareth and Kingdom of Heaven. It's a very beautiful place with green grass and palm trees surrounded by desert rock and mountains. A real-life oasis.
We stopped several more times for photos and arrived at Ouarzazate - aka The Gateway to the Sahara - where we stayed the night at Dar Chamaa - a lovely riad located in the 'burbs. Tim swam in the frigid pool while I watched. We had an interesting dinner consisting of fried egg rolls and spaghetti - strange, but good.
Day 2
More driving through the Draa Valley where we saw more kasbahs and made our way to Auberge L'Oasis. Thus began our journey into the Sahara. We, along with a Dutch family, mounted camels and headed straight into nothingness. The desert was unbelievable. Sand for miles and not a cloud in the sky. Unfortunately, I am still unable to post photos, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Ceville or Granada will give me an opportunity to do so.
We rode for about 2 hours - ouch - and arrived at our camping grounds. We watched the sunset, then prepared for dinner. The food was delicious and the family from Holland was very nice. We talked a lot about the differences between our countries and made jokes. After dinner we sat under the stars and played the drums with our guides, Youssef and Sahid. They gave us all nicknames - Tim and I were Mohammed and Fatima. We sang songs and laughed until close to midnight when we all retired to our Berber tents for the night.
Day 3
Youssef woke us at 6am to watch the sunrise and then we began the journey back to the auberge. My bottom was not happy to be back on a camel! After showering we took off with Crazy Couscous and Ali for some more driving. We made our way through the Dades Valley and stopped at the Todra Gorge - Morocco's Grand Canyon.
We arrived at La Perle du Dades - a bed and breakfast if you will - in the early evening. After relaxing by the pool we prepared for dinner and after our bellies were full and we were feeling a bit drunk, we watched Kingdom of Heaven in the chambre de cinema. Bad choice in movies, but it was cool to see Ait Ben Haddou on the big screen.
Day 4
Today we woke up late and had a leisurely breakfast. We took off again for some more driving and made one stop at another kasbah in Ouarzazate. We invited Ali and Youssef to have lunch with us before making our way back to Marrakech.
Tonight we're going to visit the new city and check out the nightlife outside the city walls. Wish us luck!
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Marrakech
As Tim would say: "Holy f*ck balls!" Marrakech is a city full of winding alleys, overconfident merchants and chaos - complete chaos. Death by vehicular manslaughter awaits you at every corner. Making eye-contact with the merchants is a bad idea because they take it as an invitation to harrass you until you buy something from them. Luckily things here are dirt cheap.
We are staying at Riad Andalla - a traditional guesthouse. The people there are amazing! Many of them speak several languages including French, English and Arabic. Upon arrival yesterday morning we were served sweet mint tea and cookies. Our room is quaint and the entire place is open air. There are no locks on the doors and there aren't even doors on the bathrooms. The building has a terrace where breakfast and dinner are served. The riad is located just near the Jemaa El Fna - the city's main square where you can find snake charmers, henna artists and monkey trainers. At night it turns into an open air market with al fresco dining. We are planning to have dinner there which will include a local specialty: snail soup!
We've visited several ruins including a few palaces and tombs. Today we took a ride in a horse-drawn carriage around the walls of The Red City (nickname for Marrakech because of the red tint the structures have). Morocco is a Muslim country and as such there are sacred mosques in most towns including the Koutoubia located at the southern edge of Marrakech. A call for prayers is heard throughout the city 5 times a day: pre-dawn, noon, late afternoon, sunset and late evening. It is only slightly annoying, but mostly intriguing. Many people will stop in the streets, crouch down on a mat facing Mecca and pray for up to an hour. It is during those times that I feel I am interrupting something sacred.
We leave on our desert tour early tomorrow morning. Eek!
On a side note - even though I am using a desktop computer, there is no hook-up for a usb cord or memory card, so I cannot share any pictures yet!
We are staying at Riad Andalla - a traditional guesthouse. The people there are amazing! Many of them speak several languages including French, English and Arabic. Upon arrival yesterday morning we were served sweet mint tea and cookies. Our room is quaint and the entire place is open air. There are no locks on the doors and there aren't even doors on the bathrooms. The building has a terrace where breakfast and dinner are served. The riad is located just near the Jemaa El Fna - the city's main square where you can find snake charmers, henna artists and monkey trainers. At night it turns into an open air market with al fresco dining. We are planning to have dinner there which will include a local specialty: snail soup!
We've visited several ruins including a few palaces and tombs. Today we took a ride in a horse-drawn carriage around the walls of The Red City (nickname for Marrakech because of the red tint the structures have). Morocco is a Muslim country and as such there are sacred mosques in most towns including the Koutoubia located at the southern edge of Marrakech. A call for prayers is heard throughout the city 5 times a day: pre-dawn, noon, late afternoon, sunset and late evening. It is only slightly annoying, but mostly intriguing. Many people will stop in the streets, crouch down on a mat facing Mecca and pray for up to an hour. It is during those times that I feel I am interrupting something sacred.
We leave on our desert tour early tomorrow morning. Eek!
On a side note - even though I am using a desktop computer, there is no hook-up for a usb cord or memory card, so I cannot share any pictures yet!
Friday, April 30, 2010
April 28-29, 2010
First thing's first: I love Madrid! There are restaurants and bars on every corner, the people are really friendly and the city is a great mix of old and new. Wednesday morning we started with breakfast in bed and then we went to Plaza Mayor where everything is overpriced due to the high volume of tourists. After a cerveza on the plaza we had lunch at Botin, the oldest restaurant in the world (established 1725). We had suckling pig, the restaurant's specialty. It's definitely an acquired taste, but well worth it. After lunch we took a siesta in Parque Retiro before visiting Museo del Prado - one of the world's great art museums. It houses the largest collection of Spanish art including some interesting pieces by Francisco de Goya.
Late in the evening we had dinner at Turf on Plaza de Santa Ana. After a bottle of wine and some delicios tapas we started bar hopping. We had cider at an Irish pub (go figure) and went dancing at Joy Madrid where I met some students from Alabama. I knew they were American when one guy started a country line dance! Around 4am we decided to call it a night.
Today was an interesting day. Tim bought train tickets online to go to Segovia, but unfortunately he chose the 8:35am train. Needless to say, after the night we had we did not wake up in time. We went ahead to the train station with the hopes of catching the 11:20am train, but the gods were against us. The train actually left at 11:15am and we missed it. I was completely over the situation and wanted to go back to Madrid, but Tim could not be beat. We salvaged the day by getting tickets to El Escorial where we had a late lunch in one of the
sleepiest towns I've ever visited. After lunch we went to the Casita de Principe, a castle set near the mountains. It's been converted into a museum where we saw many more paintings along with artifacts and my favorite part, the tomb chambers. In the chambers were marble tombs where past royals are buried. Freaky!
After the castle we had some cerveza con limon before catching the train back. We planned to have dinner at the Mercado de San Miguel but I realized I was too damn tired and way too hungry to fight the crowd so we decided to go somewhere else. We happened upon a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria where we enjoyed some spaghetti y bolognese and a huevos y jamon pizza. Totally unexpected, but it hit the spot. This is our last night in Madrid we leave early tomorrow for Morocco. I have mixed feelings about the next leg of our trip, but I'm hoping for the best!
Late in the evening we had dinner at Turf on Plaza de Santa Ana. After a bottle of wine and some delicios tapas we started bar hopping. We had cider at an Irish pub (go figure) and went dancing at Joy Madrid where I met some students from Alabama. I knew they were American when one guy started a country line dance! Around 4am we decided to call it a night.
Today was an interesting day. Tim bought train tickets online to go to Segovia, but unfortunately he chose the 8:35am train. Needless to say, after the night we had we did not wake up in time. We went ahead to the train station with the hopes of catching the 11:20am train, but the gods were against us. The train actually left at 11:15am and we missed it. I was completely over the situation and wanted to go back to Madrid, but Tim could not be beat. We salvaged the day by getting tickets to El Escorial where we had a late lunch in one of the
sleepiest towns I've ever visited. After lunch we went to the Casita de Principe, a castle set near the mountains. It's been converted into a museum where we saw many more paintings along with artifacts and my favorite part, the tomb chambers. In the chambers were marble tombs where past royals are buried. Freaky!
After the castle we had some cerveza con limon before catching the train back. We planned to have dinner at the Mercado de San Miguel but I realized I was too damn tired and way too hungry to fight the crowd so we decided to go somewhere else. We happened upon a hole-in-the-wall pizzeria where we enjoyed some spaghetti y bolognese and a huevos y jamon pizza. Totally unexpected, but it hit the spot. This is our last night in Madrid we leave early tomorrow for Morocco. I have mixed feelings about the next leg of our trip, but I'm hoping for the best!
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