4/24/2008Well, we made it - cat and overweight luggage and all. This might very well be the last post since, well, we're home and the only people reading this were here in Seattle (plus one L.A. fan and parents). Hopefully we'll be talking with them live instead of via blogs.
Adjustment has been interesting and relatively easy. Eating at Seattle times is one of the tougher challenges, but I suppose that's saying a lot for how well we're adjusting overall. Kudos to our friends that left our condo so clean and well-kept.
Otus is happier than a clam and purrs everytime we look at him. Whoever said cats don't have a memory didn't own a cat cuz Otus is hap-hap-happy to be back. :)
I think/hope that Barcelona will always be a part of me and I miss the friends we made and the city itself as though part of my soul were missing, but Seattle is one beautiful and easy place to live with a lot of friends here, too. Welcome home. 4/13/2008
In the wee hours of Saturday Eric met me at the main Reykjavik bus terminal and brought me to the friend of a friend's apartment where we're staying here. Iceland has been a pleasant surprise. I'm not sure if my expectations were low or if I didn't really have any expectations (who knows what Iceland is like, other than it's warmer than Greenland?), but our short time here has been fortuitously agreeable. Although incredibly cold (averaging 1 degree Celcius), on Saturday we took advantage of the sunshine and hiked up and around Esja, a mountain that we likened to Mt. Si near Seattle due to its proximity to Reykjavik and its characteristics of not being the highest mountain, but with astonishing views.
Ketill showed us the point at which "those too lazy to go to the top" stop, a hop-skip-and-a-dangerous-jump from the summit.
And, though I scoffed at those that didn't pursue the summit, the way wasn't exactly a walk in the park, either... (Eric's in the white, Ketill's with the orange backpack)
And though tiring for my non-running/non-hiking/non-exercising legs, the hike was pretty extraordinary. (Reykjavik is in the background, along with the ocean).
The views from the top were amazing. No doubt about it. See the steam in the background from a geothermal plant that transforms the underground hot water to make energy?
After our hike, we had enough energy to put the pedal to the metal and take the long-and-slightly-out-of-the-way drive home to visit Þingvellir, the site of the beginning of the world's oldest parliament, started in 930 A.D. Iceland is very rich in history.
Today we visited the Reykjavik Art Museum - which was a great value at free. I'd even consider paying something, if I were into museums. As it is, I've been spoiled by Italy, which always seems to have Free Museum Admission For Bultemeiers Day (both in Rome and Firenze), and, to be honest, museums don't really make the top of my list when visiting new cities (even though they really are obligatory in some cities, like Rome). I'm really glad we did the hike in the sun yesterday, because on top of the Free Museum Sunday (or whatever was the reason behind our free entrance today), we started the morning with a visit to an outdoor Icelandic community pool this morning, quite common in Iceland, *while it was snowing*. No joke. We rented swimsuits (apparently a common occurence here) and enjoyed the geothermal benefits of having hot water underground and swam laps in the pool, tested each of the 3 hot tubs (rated at different degrees, from 36 degrees celcius to 42 degrees), and enjoyed the steambath. What a way to spend a morning! I highly recommend it! :)
Anyways, Iceland and our friends, Ketill and Sigga, have been quite good to us. An ideal ending to a great year abroad. 4/10/2008
This week I’m staying in Barcelona while Eric’s working like a madman in St. Alban’s. The time here this week is quite reminiscent of some of my sentiments in early posts such as Things to do when unemployed and waiting for a visa and Who knew canned carrots exploded in the microwave?. Although things have been relatively quiet around here, I am able to keep busy with errands (cancelling phones, handing over the keys to our apartment, etc) and with The Things I Always Meant to Do. Yesterday I finally visited Casa Batlló (where I had my "aesthetic adventure" according to my audio guide and surprisingly worth the 16.50€) and took a long walk through parts of Montjuïc that I suspected existed but had never quite explored. Then, of course, there was a Barça futbol game, and, well, we just had to watch that… Today I intend to change our postal address at the bank and tonight is dinner and dancing with some friends, using the excuse of a visiting guest.
I’m quite happy spending my last week in a relaxed state of appreciation here in Barcelona. Although it's been a bit meloncholy at times with friends dispersing and the knowledge that I'm leaving, I think this week has helped me come to terms with my imminent departure. And let's face it - I’m also quite excited to see friends in Iceland next week and then, finally, to come home. I hope I don’t miss the sunny weather too much. :) 4/5/2008
Today we returned from Milan after a sunny holiday in Italy, returning to a sunny Barcelona. Who said life was hard? (Obviously they had jobs).
Today I said good-bye that was unexpectedly teary to Mercedes, our local pastisseria owner, who is just about the cutest Spaniard I've ever met.
No complaints, though, despite the tears. I mean, we did benefit from her fresh-baked bread all year, yummiest cheeses ever, and, well, we just got back from Milan! :) Our visit to Milan was inspired by our MBA-made friend, Pat, who lives just outside Milan and is one of the top-10 hosts around. Typical Italian, she also enjoys her quick espresso-based drink while on the phone...
But she's so nice and she takes it all in stride-
Pat was really gracious in allowing us to stay with her in her cozy apartment and showing us around Milan. If I could bottle the feeling of being in her apartment, it would be a cool/kitsch bottle of purple/orange/golden hues with warm undertones (for the poets out there). She took us on all the main streets and we ended up in this neato public garden area that's apparently not as hospitable at night-
After walking around for half a day in Milan, Pat decided we had seen all of Milan and decided we should head to The Lakes for a day. The Lake area north of Milan is fantastic for relaxation and views, though probably a little boring if you're looking for action. For a one-day excursion, I'd say it was about perfect.
The next day we headed to Firenze (known as Florence to English-speakers). I knew nothing about Firenze, but we went there based on the recommendations of 3 Italians. The most surprising and delightful thing about Firenze for me was that the cathedrals are multi-colored on the outside, thanks to a mixture of different colors of stone, granite, etc. They are incredibly beautiful!
We actually saw the original Michelangelo sculpture of David for FREE (Italy loves us and always makes the museums free when we visit) and an outdoor replica-
Even outdoor masterpieces aren't exempt from birds, though...
We also saw amazing random sculptures and beautiful stuff-
Eventually Eric & I got tired, though...
For dinner, we ate at a wonderfully fulfilling and recommended restaurant (Beppa Fioraia, Via dell'Erta Canina 6/r) and, based on suggestion, we ordered the "Il Gran Tagliere Della Beppa" as an appetizer, along with a caprese salad. A word of advice - when an Italian recommends food, be forewarned that it will be a LOT of food, even if it comes under the innocuous title of "appetizer". Ha ha.
We also made it into the main cathedral where we were treated by a view of the dome ceiling. I'm told that access inside the cathedral right below the dome (near the altar) is unusual since it's usually blocked off with a rope, but, given our luck with free museums in Italy, it didn't surprise me that they un-roped the "special area" near the altar while we were there. :) The ceiling was a masterpiece story. This picture doesn't do it justice, but it's a sample of what it's really like.
After Firenze, Eric and I headed up to Madonna di Campiglio (pronounced cam-pee'-yo) via bus for some good ol' fashioned snowboarding in the Alps. Despite the unbearably long haul to the hotel from the final bus stop with our snowboards and gear and some initial issues with a clean bathroom, the Hotel Arnica turned out to be pretty nice. On our last day, the owner's dad even gave us a ride in the family car to the bus stop (about 1/2 a mile away). Here's the view we had from our balcony:
On our second day, it was so sunny that Eric worked on his New Year's resolution on our balcony while we took a lunch break of cheese, ham, Italian toastie biscuits, and wine (ah, the joys of having a hotel room near the gondolas!)-
Then Eric decided that it was shorts and t-shirt weather and we headed back out for our afternoon snowboarding. Lots of fun and no regrets, but Eric did admit later that it was a bit cold at the top of the mountain...
Really, the weather was great. The snow wasn't bad, either - much better than the ice we've had in Andorra this year! A little slushy at the bottom, but I'll take it.
And we just couldn't get enough of the views...
We finished our last run on our last day with the traditional Italian method - with a drink called Bombardino. I can only imagine it means "bombs away!" because it is just about one of the strongest drinks I've had. It's made of an eggy liquor and is served hot with whipped cream on top. I suppose it's intended to make your last run more fun.... We were happy to partake in local traditions, but only one for me, thank-you!
All in all, it was a good time. I really enjoyed seeing Pat and being outside in the mountains for active snowboarding. The only hard part was leaving Pat since I felt like the good-byes were really starting. Oh, sure, I've said good-bye to other classmates in Barcelona, but since Eric and I keep coming back to Barcelona between side-trips, it's easy to tell myself that it's not really good-bye since there's a small chance I could see folks again (yes, I lie to myself like that). But now, well, there's no denying that our time in Europe and with our new friends is really coming to an end. As a friend recently said in an email (crediting a mixture of Churchill and Bogart) - "This is not the end, not even the beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning of a beautiful friendship." MBA-types. :)
And now, unfortunately or not, I really should pack and clean since today's our last day in our apartment and we'll be sleeping at a friend's house tonight. Wow.
hasta la pasta, amigos. And for those of you in Seattle - see you soon! 3/27/2008
I'll confess. Last night and even a bit this morning I was a little travel-fatigued. But good news! I'm over it! After two emails from friends back in Seattle, I feel a new appreciation for opportunity. Tomorrow morning at the crack of dawn we leave to visit a friend in Milan. We'll also be making side-tracks to Florence (hopefully seeing friends there, too) & for some snowboarding in the Italian Dolomites at Madonna di Campiglio. Rockin'! I'm starting to get excited again!
Here's a typical us-story (but mostly Eric) - tomorrow I'll be wearing my snowboarding boots on the plane so we don't have to pay for extra weight. Ha!
hasta la pasta, amigos-
Tina Bultomueve
Update: we've decided to fork out the extra 10 euros to have one more checked piece of luggage (other than our snowboards), so no amusing Angie-in-snowboard-boots-in-the-airport... :)
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Written Monday, March 24, 2008 (posted later due to lack of computer access):
Greetings from Douro Valley! We are now officially in wine country, approximately in the middle of Portugal's width (between the ocean and Spain) and in the northern third of the country - ~100 km from Porto. Although the weather has been disappointing on our vacation, at least every other day has been sunny. We were very fortunate in Porto to stay with MBA friends, Zé Maria & Maria João in Porto. They were extremely generous with their time and showed us all of Porto and the best food and even invited us into their homes to eat and meet their families. Some of the best food we had was Bacalhau a Braz (cod fish casserole, if you ask me), Açorda de Camarão (cod fish soaked in a wonderful broth with bread crumbs and stuff), a fresh sea bass cooked in salt (which was later removed - the salt just flavored it while cooking), baked octopus, Bacalhau baked with "punch potatoes" - little baked potatoes that you literally punch with your hand (even in fancy restaurants) to mash them a bit... And for desserts - well, don't get me started! Okay, I've started. Apparently all well-known Portuguese desserts involve many many eggs... We tried Pasteis de Nata (a tiny cake that's similar to a cross between cheesecake and flan with filo crust), Folar da Páscoa (eaten at breakfast, an Easter bread with *hard boiled eggs* in it!), Ovos Moles (sweetened egg yolk inside a wafery shell - about the size of an egg), Pão do Ló (a cake that resembles angel food cake but with a sweet thick egg-yolk substance in the middle), and Pudim à Abade - a flan-like cake with <brace yourself> almost 18 egg yolks for a small cake. EIGHTEEN EGG YOLKS! The food was absolutely delicious.
Anyways. Today's lack of sunshine has dampened my spirits a smidgen. I must admit, though, it was been wonderful to be alone with Eric on a road trip and talk and see the country-side. We essentially started our vacation with my graduation on Friday, March 14, 2008. The ceremony was nice enough and held in a wonderfully historic building on the waterfront, a stone's throw from the church Santa Maria del Mar. After the ceremony, we were entertained by a parting video accompanied by music and pictures during dinner. Our dinner table was filled with friends - Ketill and Sigga and Ketill's parents, Elena, Monica and Cristian, and the MBA Director of Admissions, Marta. Eric and I did a good job of mingling to say hello to everyone and we never felt isolated. When the music started, I donned my above-the-elbow silver gloves and fuzzy pink tiara and we started dancing the night away. Despite a few teary good-byes, I can honestly claim we partied well and had a lot of fun.
On Saturday afternoon, Paulene and Michael arrived, tired, but happy to see Barcelona.
We postponed Eric's favorite restaurant, Tragaluz, for Sunday night, and instead went to a very nice neighborhood Italian restaurant and were in bed by 11pm (sooner?). Sunday was a tourist day on the Rambla and including pinchos, though Eric spent most of the morning in bed, recuperating from a nasty cold. Sick or not, however, Eric met us in the afternoon at the beach with shorts and flip-flops, determined to take advantage of what may have been his last BCN-beach experience. :) Our evening meal lived up to expectations, including the pulpo (octopus), though memories always add a certain patina. On Monday, P & M were left to their own devices to explore Park Güell while Eric worked and I kept an afternoon appointment with the vet to prepare Otus for the international return home. We finished the Quigley-Sheldon BCN experience, to no surprise, at a crêperies and were in bed early enough to guarantee at least 5 hours of sleep before our early morning flight to Sevilla.
Sevilla is a beautiful mixture of Moorish influence and the Catholicism that prevails, exemplified artistically in the cathedral and nearby palace that's still in use today by the king and queen of Spain.
The Cathedral:
Inside the Moorish-influenced palace:
Tuesday's sunny (though chilly!) weather was the perfect backdrop to see Sevilla. The Semana Santa (Holy Week) processionals were prominent, but the tourists were even more notable. Though lacking in the flowery floats I was hoping for, the processionals were best enjoyed at night when the many candles adorning the floats were highlighted. To be honest, there weren't as many "floats" as I was expecting, but rather the processionals consisted more of devotees dressed in modest Catholic attire that, to me, was reminiscent of the KKK and, therefore, a bit spooky. Oh sure, you can say the Catholic processions of Sevilla came first by hundreds of years, but to me, introduced first to the KKK, the first time I saw a Semana Santa outfit, well, it was downright scary. But Sevilla's parade participants seemed sane enough and it was very interesting to see the devotion combined with tourist participation and fascination. On the rainy day we were in Sevilla (since every-other-day was sunny/rainy), Michael, Eric, and I (un)wisely chose to explore outside the historic center of Sevilla while Paulene nursed her own nasty cold at the hotel (wisely). The most interesting part of our jaunt was the Plaza de España which featured a beautiful architectural mix of brick and elaborately painted tile. On Thursday, the Q-S crew left Spain for Scotland and Eric & I attempted to track down our car reservation for the better part of the morning and afternoon that would transport us from Sevilla, Spain, to Portugal.
Plaza de España
And every major city gets a pretty bench dedicated to it-
In my defense, I received an email response a few days later to my plea for a reservation lookup (since I seemed to have lost my email confirmation), confirming that we did indeed have a car reservation for a car to be picked up in Sevilla, Spain and returned in Porto, Portugal. Unfortunately for us, international car reservations are not allowed and the email response was to let me know that they had cancelled my reservation and had apparently not felt the need to tell me when the reservation was cancelled. Uggh. We eventually caught a bus to Lisboa, effectively cancelling our southern-Portugal tour. At least we got to see a rainbow en route...
Lisboa, as it turns out, is incredibly beautiful and has a lot more to offer than I had given it credit. A little overrun by tourists, maybe, but definitely worth a visit. We arrived rather late on Thursday night, but managed to find a quaint restaurant in Bairro Alto and finished dinner near midnight (I really like late dinners in Europe). We wandered around briefly before heading to the pension we had reservations at (a quick plug for our friends Adriana and Jarrod who donated their Rick Steves' 2007 Portugal book to us!). We were pleasantly surprised by the number of people in the streets and at the bars on a seemingly sleepy Thursday night! Friday we putzed around Lisboa and saw as much as our legs would allow in super-duper sunny weather.
The monastery was particularly beautiful. On the outside-
And on the inside-
On Friday night the Lisboa pensions all appeared to be full, so after a quick phone call to Zé and Maria, we decided to take an evening train to Porto to stay with them. Zé Maria & Maria João were some of the best hosts we've stayed with. Although they had driven from BCN and they themselves had arrived in Porto on Friday, they invited us into their homes without hesitation on Friday night. They picked us up from the train station and spent the next 2 days showing us the best of Porto, including a bike ride through a huge park and along the beach on our sunny day. They are some of the most generous people we have been lucky enough to meet. I've mentioned the food we were able to sample - all in just over 2 days.
After a particularly heavy day of eating on Easter, Maria and Zé decide it's time for a "light" dinner of steaks...
We eventually were able to rent a car and left Porto for the Douro valley to go port-tasting. The port grape vineyards are pretty expansive inland and extend upwards from the Douro river.
The Quinta do Panascal winery (quinta = vineyard) even gave us a free audio tour on an MP3 player and let us wander around on our own. :)
Truly, this vacation has been full of good stuff and wonders. I feel as though I am walking around with my mouth agape all the time - dumbfounded by my luck at living this life, going on this vacation, living in Barcelona for a year, being blessed enough to call Seattle our final home, replete with our amazing friends, mountains, and the best cakes in the world (by Matt Jones). Who is this extraordinarily lucky person? Is this really me? <fade in The Greatest American Hero music /> 3/14/2008
Wow. So we're here. Of course we knew this year would fly by, and it has many times (not always). Today is my graduation day (!) and I'm still a little shocked that it's coming to an end. When I'm not busy with school, it's planning our return and our travels between now and then. So, really, one can't complain. :)
Travel Plans
Since a lot of folks have asked what our plans are, I can finally say that we've booked all the flights and we have a plan:
- March 18-26: First, Sevilla, Spain with P&M (yea!!). Then E & I drive through Portugal, seeing friends in Oporto.
- March 28-April 4: Milan, Italy to see a friend, spend a day in Florence, and snowboard in what little snow is left in the Italian Alps. Afterwards, I'll stay with a friend in BCN for a bit while E works in England.
- April 10-17: Iceland! This MBA has really paid off in meeting friends from all over the world. :)
- April 17: Oxford to see a friend. After that, I'll fly back to BCN to pick up the cat, and then...
- April 19: SEATTLE!
WHEW! Like all good MBA graduates, I have a spreadsheet with our travel plans, color-coded by country. :)
Etc.
I'm so excited to see P&M and to see so many friends during our final travels. We are truly blessed. I sure will miss Barcelona, but I can't tell you how excited I am to see friends in Seattle. I'm trying to spend as much time in the sun here while I can...
Wish me luck in graduation today!
A Joke
As many of you know, E's mom daily sends us a joke. Here's one I found particularly funny. :)
A lawyer and a blonde woman are sitting next to each other on a long flight. The lawyer asks if she would like to play a fun game. The blonde is tired and just wants to take a nap, so she politely declines and tries to catch a few winks. The lawyer persists, that the game is a lot of fun. "I ask you a question, and if you don't know the answer, you pay me only $5; you ask me one, and if I don't know the answer, I will pay you $500." This catches the blonde's attention; and , to keep him quiet, she agrees to play the game.
The lawyer asks the first question. "What's the distance from the earth to the moon?" The blonde doesn't say a word, reaches in to her purse, pulls out a five-dollar bill, and hands it to the lawyer.
Now, it's the blonde's turn. She asks the lawyer, "What goes up a hill with three legs, and comes down with four?" The lawyer uses his laptop, searches all references. He uses the Airphone; he searches the Net and even the Library of Congress. He sends e-mails to all the smart friends he knows, all to no avail. After one hour of searching he finally gives up. He wakes up the blonde and hands her $500.00. The blonde takes the $500 and goes back to sleep.
The lawyer is going nuts not knowing the answer. He wakes her up and asks, "Well, so what goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four?" The blonde reaches into her purse, hands the lawyer $5 and goes back to sleep. 3/4/2008
You know how sometimes something little will happen and you'll get all philosophical and reflect on things? Yeah, well, that happened to me today. See, we were in a team meeting (Jeffrey, Zé, and me), and we had a lickity-split meeting (yea! I love competent people) and we were ready to leave (all walking since there’s a stinking bus strike on in Barcelona yet again), but then Jeffrey stops to comment that he’s got to make some photocopies of something first. Almost simultaneously, Zé says to me, "You don’t have to wait", and I say "Yeah, well, I’m not going to wait". And we all start laughing and kissing good-bye (because that’s what we do in Spain) and Zé comments to me “I knew you would say that!” and it’s adios.
So here’s the funny thing: 9 months ago that wouldn’t have happened. We would have been too polite, see. I would have waited and there’s NO WAY polite/kind/never-wanting-to-offend Zé would have called me on it. And that’s the beauty of it. Apparently, somewhere along the way, we’ve become friends and we can trust each other enough to say what we mean. The whole moment was quite meaningful in an after-you-get-home-and-have-time-to-think-about-it kind of way.
On a related note, here’s a picture of the ever-modest and kind Zé you never would have been able to get 9 months ago:
Turns out he could double as a Formula 1 driver.
This weekend we had a class last-hurrah (reminiscent, to me & Eric only of course, of the Last Hurrah on the Hill) for the One Year MBAs. Not everyone could make it (it’s darn hard to organize 29 people!), but we had a great time over lunch in the country, go-karting, and, for the lucky ones, spending the night in a remote farmhouse-turned-hotel. Below are some pics...
Alex, well, as she is-
And what she looks like when go-karting:
I, of course, was ready for the challenge (I came in 4th, which isn't so bad until you realize there was a EIGHTEEN+ second gap between me and the third place winner...):
Eric and Elena were a little more modest and very happy to be there, too:
Later that night we hung out at the casa. I got swamped with kids (which, after some wine, I didn't mind at all!):
While Eric hung out with the men folk (okay, it wasn't like that, really, but it makes for a nice blog, right?):
The next day we headed into Besalú which was having a festival (just for us, I presume). Pretty neat rural town, if you ask me, with a lot of historical stuff (spoken like a true American). Here's proof we were there (Elena, me and Tomas):
Later we headed back to the hotel/coolest-house-turned-hotel-ever and re-heated our leftovers and basked in the sun. Some of us basked more than others...
And, last but not least, here's a photo of a dear friend. Note that the "hat" is really her 2-year-old daughter's shirt, but since her daughter wasn't using it and Sigga wanted to keep the sun off her head, well, why not make it a hat? :)
2/27/2008
Do you know that I've received THREE reminders that I'm graduating on March 14? On the one hand, I'm grateful for the affirmation, but on the other, I wonder what kind of MBA graduate needs 3 reminders? Okay, fine, they were also reminders for activities on the day of graduation, but still... 2/26/2008
This past weekend I was lucky enough to go to Marrekech, Morocco with 3 of my girlfriends from school. To summarize in one word - wow! Of course, one would expect that kind of reaction, given that it's a completely different culture, etc., wouldn't you? So here's the lowdown and skinny on our journey. :)
We arrived near midnight at the airport with transportation to our hotel arranged via email. So imagine the start of a bad movie or a bad joke: 4 women - a Canadian, a Catalonian, an American, and a Brazilian - all walk off a plane at midnight in the rain in a foreign country and almost willy-nilly hop into a minivan belonging to a man that has a sign with their hotel name on it. Eventually (about 15 minutes, really), he stops the minivan in front of a small alley that looks like it's full of mud due to some construction... Andrea almost opted to take her chances and sleep in the car. After traipsing down a long muddy wet alley, we finally arrived at the door of our hotel. We were actually staying at a riad (a guesthouse or Moroccan-style B&B) that had 4 rooms and a rooftop terrace called the Riad Altair. Though expensive, it ended up being an oasis and was very nice. We were welcomed with offers of tea which we unpolitely declined due to fatigue. Between the 4 of us women, we shared 2 rooms which were beautiful and large.
The next few days we spent wandering around the city, getting lost among the markets and backstreets and alleyways, haggling for deals with the locals over scarves and ironwork, taking a gadzillion photos, indulging on every type of food we could find, and visiting as many historical sites as we could take in. What a whirlwind of noise, smog, color, delightful food, and adventure! :)
General impressions:
- There are cats everywhere! I think we saw 2 dogs, which might account for part of the cat overload. On the other hand, it wasn't as curious and troublesome as when we were in China and we didn't see cats or dogs anywhere and we wondered where they went...
- For the most part, I was not bothered by the call to prayer every couple of hours through the loud speakers placed strategically throughout the city, though the 4a.m. call was not appreciated.
- There's smog and noise *everywhere*.
- Western women get ogled, no matter what they're wearing.
- About 1/2 the people in Marrekech seemed to be locals and about 1/2 were very touristy tourists. If you've ever seen the movie "Babel", it was a similar feeling (we just saw it - I really liked it. I even saw a very white couple drinking coke without ice and shared a giggle with one of my girlfriends that had also seen the movie).
- The food is better on the street, though it was nice to try a fancier restaurant, too. The fancy restaurant cost us about 15 euros each, while the street food was closer to 5. My favorite foods were the tagines (cooked in a special pot - called a tagine - with tumeric and vegetables and often a meat), pastillas (think small pita stuffed with yummy beans and meat with white powdered sugar and cinnamon sprinkled on top), and this wonderful concoction stuffed in a pita consisting of baked potato, hard-boiled egg, oil (olive?), and a tasty onion saucey-thing. YUM.
- The Ben Youssef theological school and the palace we accidentally visited (we thought we were somewhere else on the map...) were both beautiful and incredibly ornate.
- If I ever go back, and I hope I do, I will go for 5 days and spend 3 in the desert.
And now the good stuff - photos!
A typical deranged street cat:
I tried to get pictures of people, but they're pretty anti-photo. Our technique, then, was to turn the camera on and "casually" push the photo button whenever we could. We got a lot of pictures of sky, butts, feet... this is one of my better failures:
Some of the pictures, however, turned out great!
Isn't this photo great?
Apparently we weren't always as subtle as we thought...
And then we'd be walking along an "alley" and we'd see an amazing door. We saw quite a few amazing doors, actually, randomly and often surrounded by decrepit buildings.
We made it to the Ben Youssef Madrassa (an old unused theological school) and it was quite astoundingly beautiful.
It's hard to explain the amount of detail all over the place in this type of building. The Qu'ran is even etched in the borders-
But, of course, being us, we also had lots of fun. :) Here's Elena posing for me:
And Alex hung out the window for me (and I did, too, to take the picture):
Although Andrea hates to be photographed, we did manage to get a snapshot or two. :)
We also made it to the Badi'i Palace, a palace built in the sixteenth century and, at one time, occupied by the French army. It's in a state of disrepair, sure, but pretty neat all the same. Notice that the untouched green spaces in the middle are still overflowing with flora (mostly rose bushes and orange trees).
On our last day, we stumbled into a *very* local market. It was CROWDED and amazing and - well - what an experience! There must have been a couple hundred people on this one section of street alone:
They sold just about everything - non-food items were mostly used, so it was like a flea market - including hooves, just in case you needed any, I suppose.
This is a picture of the mosque near our riad, typical and scattered throughout Marrakech, they're great landmarks when you're lost among alleys (they stand out among the 1-3 story buildings) and are beautiful against a blue sky. :)
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