Fez Morocco – A riad in the medina
Well, wasn’t yesterday eventful!
It all started out as an ordinary traveling day on our adventure & then something happened. Not sure what, but it manifested like this…
We left in plenty of time to get through customs in Gibraltar, & made our way to Algeciras Spain to drop off the car (that Karsten had so safely driven for the last 10 days). Stress levels did rise when the Avis office could not be found, but we made the ferry bound for Tanger Morocco in plenty of time, as it turned out.
We were aiming for the 11am train to Fez, which Karsten had trouble booking & had still not managed to do despite best efforts. Whilst we gained two hours crossing 21kms of straits, we knew that gave us plenty of time… until the ferry had to tread water away from the port where it needed to dock, for at least 45mins. Suffice to say we missed the train. Welcome to Morocco, and Africa!
5 hours later, after sitting in a freezing new train station, drinking cups of English Tea, we finally boarded that train. Part of the trip was that we changed trains at Siri Kasem, 3 hours into the journey. Once arrived, we not only got out the wrong side of the train, onto the wrong platform, it was dark, dusty, & dirt. Traveling in ‘first class’ meant we were in the last carriage, furthest fromm the driver… go figure!
Anyway, we waited patiently for approx 30mins, & along came the train. We had almost loaded on, when the train started moving, resulting in myself, and three of my new best friends, still on the platform!! Oh my goodness.
As you can imagine, we started screaming & making such a racket, that all the station chaps still on the platform thought someone was under the train! Yes, it did stop & the remaining four managed to get on. By this stage, daughter was in tears, & we were over it, as you can imagine.
One chap who came to our rescue, his name? Abdul. He befriended us & offered to help us with a cab etc once we arrived tn Fez. So we let him as we were all buggered by this stage. After organising taxi’s for us, we got to tne main gate of the medina, & our new best friend got himself into a tiff, which almost culminated into a full scale fight; blimey. By this stage it was 10:30′ish, and we’d been up since 4:30am local time.
So we did what all good freedom fighters do, & slunk away to meet our hosts who were guiding us to the riad in the heart of the medina. We could not get there quick enough and once there we realized why…talk about an oasis in the desert, this place is like nothing else. Dar Safferine http://www.darsafferine.com is a completely restored riad (guesthouse)in traditional style. Very palatial, and oh so inviting. Praise the Lord, we made it!
After a mosquito buzzing filled sleep, and prayer time starting @ 4:20′ish, a fabulous night rest had by all…
Today, one of our conquests was trying to get our ‘smalls’ laundered. Even that was a special experience. As a consequence we did our own washer woman impersonation, on the roof top of the riad, with a bucket for each family. A fun game the whole family can play!!
Tomorrow we’re off exploring the medina with our guide, Hakima. Stay tuned for our next tale in the adventure that is unfolding wonderfully well!
Bonjour
http://www.darsafferine.com
The Rock Hotel Gibraltar
A quick live cross from The Rock Hotel (yes this is what happens when you have easy and constant internet access!)
We’re just going for a swim (well daughter is) after scoffing High Tea on the Wisteria Terrace of The Rock Hotel, having just spent the day arriving from Spain. No stamp in the passport though, so disappointing. I did try to talk them into it!
We been to the top of the Rock, we’ve been to the bottom.
We’ve seen the monkeys, and we’ve walked through the military tunnels.
An action packed, day by all accounts.
Tomorrow we head to Morocco. 10am Ferry in the morning.
Africa, here we come (again)…can’t wait.
ps speaking of Morocco and the internet… there probably won’t be nearly as many blog posts over the next two weeks as I expect access to be very limited, especially in the desert, on camels!
how exciting…
Ronda, help help me…
no not really, couldn´t get the song out of my head though!
We have spent today lunching al fresco, in the delightful sunshine, admiring the view of the oldest bull ring, and then spending time not only in it, but on it.
Whilst I didn´t think the whole bull fighting thing would be remotely interesting… I was wrong, it was fascinating. The tradition, the history, the atmosphere, the colour were all palpable, even though the first bull fight does not start in Ronda until the 10th of April for this year. There is a whole season of bull fighting from then on. As to who lasts and is able to fill pending dates on the calendar depends on the bull, pretty much!
We had also spent time on a guided tour around the bull ring in Seville, however the Ronda one is older by 13 years, but who´s counting when we´re talking centuries! And we were able to walk on the Ronda one, which made it even more tantalising.
The daughter pretended to be a matador! (as you do) and had a wee crowd in the stands shouting “ole!”… rather humorous really
Interestingly enough, this year on the Seville program, there features one female (whoa!) and a non-Spaniard (German/French). Who´d have thought a form of globalisation and affirmative action could effect such a stalwart of tradition. Of course the other begging question is, why would you want to?
We continued to dawdle atop of the Puento Nuevo… no mean feat in bridge building I can assure you.
The other big deal happening both here, and in Seville (in fact I think its happening all over Spain), is the “Semena Santa“. Huge processions and festivities around Palm Sunday (of the Christian persuasion). A very impressive sight, although I don´t get it, but then I didn´t try to hard…click on this link for details http://www.sevillaonline.es/english/seville-city-centre/semana-santa_holy-week.htm
Tomorrow we´re off to Gibraltar, passports at the ready.
One night there, and then onto Morocco. Not sure what the internet access will be like there, we´ll just have to wait and see…
Good red wine!… adios!
Ronda (& red wine), via Seville…
Ola!
We´re currently sitting in a bar (and yes it´s 12:35) in Ronda www.enfrentearte.com typing to my little hearts content, waiting for our rooms to be finished cleaning. We got here a little earlier than planned, from Seville. Pity we weren´t here longer than one night as everything is “gracias”, free, nada, nil cost, including the red wine… blimey! However given that Karsten and Michelle are tea-totallers, it will be party time for me on my pat malone, or in Spanish, on my papaloma!!
Our room is bright red, tomato red… is that good for dreaming? I can´t remember. Or maybe the imaginative dreams come from the red wine instead!
Seville was a great place, we really enjoyed it. It´s almost like the further south we go, the more we are starting to warm to Spain, in general. Whilst the early places are amazing, they haven´t been pushing quite the right buttons as I had imagined. However, that is all shifting…
The hotel we stayed in Seville, “hotel Amadeus” www.hotelamadeussevilla.com, was a rather classy establishment. In our deluxe suite, we had a shower that doubled as a spa and sauna; even though we felt like we were in a space capsule when standing in it. It did have a little dicky seat so that was novel, if nothing else.
As you may have surmised, the hotel does have a musical connection. But only from the viewpoint of the owner family having a strong musical pedigree, which enabled the instruments to not only decorate the hotel, it allowed guests to avail of them, at any time. Suffice to say, daughter did voila practice, and guitar and piano (I have video to prove it), and even the harp… school will be proud!!
Another cathedral (although good for taking aerial shots from), another palace, and more shops visited, although now much is starting to blend into one another, fashion and frescos alike!
Must be time for that first glass of red now surely…
no idea what any of the grape types are, but then I guess that´s half the fun!
salud!!
Cordoba, and the majestic Mezquita…
Ola!
We survived the snow…
We have spent today swanning around Cordoba, and mainly being gobsmacked at the majestic Mezquita. Originally the Basilica of San Vincente, it then became a Mosque, only to be returned to a Cathedral in 1236. Pretty damn impressive really…
After that, it´s been mainly loitering with intent… to shop mainly. We´ve found an amazing label called ¨Desigual¨ from Barcelona we think, really colourful and edgy. www.desigual.com The first I must say, which has been a little surprising, that is after the world famous ¨Zara¨ of course! www.zara.com
Daughter is doing really really well. She is such a seasoned traveller now, it´s wonderful watching her practice and master all the stuff you need to do whilst doing the travelling thing. Today it was about carrying ones smalls to the laundrette, working out the cost and pick up arrangments. She´s also picking up a little Spanish along the way. One of our favourites is ¨una mas¨, meaning ¨one more¨… saves us having to repeat things, especially food orders!!
We have been getting into the Tapas, and really enjoying it. Although daughter does keep reminding us about what we´re eating and how cruel we are ie last night it was lamb chops, and she was in tears over the ordering of such a thing. So she stuck to her croquettes, and spanish meatballs and left the rest of us heathens to handle the rest. The tears at the dinner table are a bit head turning though!
We leave Cordoba tomorrow and head for Seville.
No doubt we´ll have much more to report then.
Adios…
Granada – an historic Spanish offering…
Ola!
It´s bucketing rain, it´s 9oC (yes we´re feeling the cold)
Not only that, we´re living in a cave! www.el-abanico.com/ingles.html… and we´re loving it.
Have spent today swanning around the Alhambra Palace, which is rather impressive. However the highlight was, when standing in the Palace of Carlos V (a colosseum type construction with amazing acoustics), a rather large English tourist steps into the middle and rips out a rendition of a classic operatic number, and completely blew us all away…it brought a tear to your eye, seriously beautiful. And then he and his fat mates moved on and went back to being geysers…who´d have thought!
Daughter has such a story brewing in her head that I can´t wait until she gets it down on paper. She may even share it with you all, we´ll see. This is now a book in progress… stay tuned for publishing details!
Off to the snow tomorrow. Sierra Nevada. Not sure what to expect (other than white stuff of course). The drive itself will be hairy enough given that this is the first time driving has been attempted, on the opposite side of the road, for some time. Couple that with roads unknown, mountains unknown and bends unknown… an adventure it could definitely turn into!!
Until next time, adios!!
p.s. phone is working now, so it´s full textíng ahead!
Ola! from Madrid…
Ola!
After approximately 30 hours, we´ve arrived in Madrid.
All smooth sailing really. Saw a number of movies that had been on the hit list, so not all lost time!
However, slight complication…I´m not able to send and receive text messages!!!
Ah, bloody technology & me.
And then the phone was dropped at the airport.
And then forgot the PIN on the travel card so no Euro.
And then the room we´re in has a busted shower with hot and cold running water, running constantly in the dunny!…
And you know what, we´re soooooo tired that we don´t really care…
Going to bed very soon, even though its only 18:33 here.
Madrid is reminiscent of many a large city, except for the dirty great palace and cathedral in the middle of town. All very European, clearly.
Will report in again soon.
The adventurers
Conspiracy of the Rich…The 8 New Rules of Money by Robert Kiyosaki
Not only is this a very clever may to market one’s wares and be extremely engaging, the chapters are also a most worthwhile read.
I strongly recommend you register yourself at http://conspiracyoftherich.com to not only avail of the process, but also the free chapters. And you never know, you might just want to throw in your two bobs worth too…
The Right Book. The Right Time. The Right Price.
Robert Kiyosaki, author of the #1 bestselling personal finance book of all time, Rich Dad Poor Dad is taking a new approach with his next book. He’s releasing the book, Conspiracy of the Rich: The 8 New Rules of Money, online — for free. And he’s inviting readers to participate in the writing process.
Conspiracy of the Rich: The 8 New Rules of Money, is an interactive project in which Kiyosaki not only offers his written ‘draft’ chapters online, but invites feedback, commentary and questions from readers across the globe via website forums and blogs. Reader feedback is then incorporated into the book as it is written and released, chapter by chapter, on the Internet. This bold and unique approach will enable the millions of people around the world who have put the Rich Dad principles to work in their lives — as well as those who are challenged by today’s harrowing economic times — to engage directly with Kiyosaki and literally help him shape his new book as it is being written.
“We are living in tumultuous, unsettling and frightening economic times,” said Rick Wolff, Vice President and Executive Editor for Hachette Book Group, publisher of Rich Dad Poor Dad and the 26 books in the Rich Dad series, “and Robert believes that people today, perhaps more than ever before, are hungry for information and financial education. The fact that he is committed to writing and distributing a new book to the world for free is amazing to us, and indicative of his genuine concern for the challenging economic times in which we live. Today, more than ever, the world needs a voice they can trust and someone they can rely on to deliver the cold, hard facts about what is really happening in the world.”
“This is the right book, at the right time, at the right price,” says Kiyosaki, in reference to the free and universal access to this book. “This is not the time for traditional answers. The time for this book is now — and the Web will let us do that.”
In Robert’s Words
“When I am interviewed for this book, I am often asked the question, “How did I get the idea to do this book?”Since I was asked so often, I thought I would share it with you. This book began in September 2008. I got the idea for the book as I was in the hospital recovering from open-heart surgery repairing a problem I have had since birth, two leaking valves. Fortunately, my arteries are clear so the operation was limited to just the heart.”
About the Book
Conspiracy of the Rich: The 8 New Rules of Money shares Kiyosaki’s view of global economics and explore why people are now finding themselves challenged by these turbulent times. Kiyosaki not only provides people with solutions to their financial problems, but explains what created today’s economic chaos — and how it can be eased. Conspiracy of the Rich: The 8 New Rules of Money reveals that what appears to be the worst of times is actually an opportunity in the making, and a chance for people to invest in their financial education.Read an excerpt from the book:
Back to the Future
Faced with such an overwhelmingly bad economy, President Bush pushed through a landmark bailout plan aimed at saving the economy, saying, “This legislation will safeguard and stabilize America’s financial system and put in place permanent reforms so these problems will never happen again.”Many people breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, “Finally, the government is going to save us!” The problem is those are not the words of President George W. Bush. Those are the words of his father, George H.W. Bush. In 1989, the first President Bush asked for $66 billion to save the Savings and Loan (S&L) Industry. The $66 billion did not solve the problem. The S&L industry disappeared from sight. On top of that, the estimated $66 billion rescue package eventually cost taxpayers over $150 billion – over twice the amount originally estimated. Where did all that money go?
Like Father Like Son
Twenty years later in September 2008, President W. Bush asked for $700 billion making a similar promise, “We’ll make sure, as time goes on, this doesn’t happen again. In the mean time, we got to solve the problem. And that’s why people sent me to Washington, D.C.”Just as with the first President Bush, the estimated bailout cost was severely undervalued. By November 2008, the total bailout pledge through various Treasury programs was up to $7 trillion and today is expected to go higher. Where is all this money coming from, where is it going… and to whom?
Find out…http://conspiracyoftherich.com
GFC tops clear and present dangers
the latest from Bernard Salt for The Australian, well worth a read. Here is a snippet…
…we now seem to so easily get things out of proportion.
I think there is something deep inside the human psyche that revels in the threat of fear. And the reason is that fear is a galvanising force.
We feel connected with others when we fear something or someone from without.
One of the great legacies of the GFC may be a yearning for the connectedness of family, tribe and community. And why not? After all, it is said that the generation that survived the Great Depression and World War II were forever frugal, and that they were hierarchical and self-disciplined because of the war.
From a business perspective, what this ascendant “market for fear” might mean is a renewed interest in connected residential communities. Read on…
back to a mothering of sorts no less…
something to ponder on
Entrepreneurs Can Change the World…
At its best, entrepreneurship captures the essence of childhood imagination and adult endeavour. This slick video, written and produced by Sonja Jacob and designed by Ben White, reminds us that creation and determination, fused with possibility, can create great success.
Thank you Anthill Magazine for bringing it to our attention… enjoy!
