The Adventure Begins!

I am sitting in the breakfast room of the Renaissance Marriott in Long Beach, CA -- not where I expected to be this morning! I am off to New Zealand again, this time traveling with my Aussie pal, Chris, and I expected to be on the plane, sleeping, right now. There was a tech crew member who got sick and my flight has been delayed for about 12 hours. Now, instead of getting in to Auckland on Monday morning, I will be arriving Monday night. The adventure begins!!

mj
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Morocco!!

Onto Morocco. We boarded the most futuristic train I'd ever seen (it was electric, quiet, fast, brand new and we were the only passengers in our car), passing the Gibraltar Rock on our way to Algeciras to catch the ferry to Tangiers. (I was a little disappointed not to get closer to the Rock) Once on the ferry, you must get in line for the official to stamp your passport to enter Morocco. There was one customs guy for a couple of hundred passengers. I stood in line for the whole 2 hours with my group, and got not a little seasick. (I did NOT throw up!) The ferry docked and was unloading before I got my passport stamped. Nuts.
We got to the hotel and met our new tour leader, Mohammad. What a charming guy! Farewell to David, who headed home to be with his family for the holidays.
Tangiers is a big city, full of cars, buses and donkey carts. We got to the souk -- an open air marketplace, common in North Africa, set up during the caravan days. They are now permanent shopping areas, selling everything from clothing and food to souvenirs and jewelry, crammed next to houses, cafes and bakeries. We were warned, as we approached the souk, to listen for the call "Balak!". Through the narrow passageways, delivery men with donkey carts, large hand carts and motor scooters rush by loaded with goods and call "Balak!" or "get out of the way!!". You must move off to the side, if you can, or you have the possibility of getting bumped or worse.

We got a little lost and ended up in some very quiet neighborhoods.



There were some beautiful graffiti drawings of cats and the colors of the walls and doorways were subtle and gorgeous. We got to the coast and saw where the Atlantic and Mediterranean meet. Wow.

I had my first tangine -- a kind of stew baked in a traditional conical shaped pot. Everyone got their own little pot -- mine was a meatball tangine, cooked with potatoes, squash, carrots and onion. The vegetables were fresh, the meat tender and the sauce divine. I felt I am going to happy here.

Ronda

Today we left for Ronda. On the way, we stopped at a beautiful little town, Setenil de la Bodegas. It is known as the "white village" and the buildings extend right into the mountainside. We stopped for a coffee and, in the bathroom in the cafe/bar, the walls were rock, like the bathroom had been hewn out of the mountain, which, I guess, it was.

After a stroll through the town (it was a ghost town -- I saw maybe 3 or 4 locals the whole time we were there. It was Christmas Eve.), we left for Ronda.


Ronda is a lovely city, much loved by Ernest Hemmingway and Orson Welles. The bullring here is famous. Bullfighting was traditionally done on horseback until, here in Ronda, the first toreador on foot faced the bulls.
It was cold and rainy, but my new pals, Shayna and Jeannie, and I decided to take a walk. The city is also known for the "new bridge" built in the 1800's to span the deep gorge separating the old town from the new. The bridge is stunning and is featured in all the postcards.

There wasn't much open (like I said, it was Christmas Eve), but we did need to shop for some food for the picnic tomorrow, as no restaurants would be open on Christmas Day. We went to the Supermercado across from the hotel, got wine, cheese, crackers, cookies and some chorizo. That evening, David got us into one of the only restaurants open on Christmas Eve. It was rather fancy, but the food was delicious. It started to pour rain as we walked back to the hotel and didn't let up all night.
Christmas Day was very gloomy and the rain was still coming. We were scheduled to take a hike through the Grazalema National Park. Most of us opted out, but a few decided to do it. Left in the hotel (we were the only people staying there), we congregated in the TV room. Some read, I knitted. When the group returned, we had a little party. Someone bought champagne, someone bought typical Spanish Christmas cakes.

That night, the restaurants opened up and we went for a typical Spanish meal -- paella, pork roast and wine -- as it would be our last night in Spain.

Off to Granada

It was not possible for me to get a ticket for the Alhambra. David, the tour leader, tried many times on the phone while we were on the bus this morning, but it was a no go. I was disappointed, but not in despair. I'll just have to return.

We took a short walk around town as a group upon arriving. Granada is very hilly, surrounded by mountains, so David suggested taking the bus if we wanted to go up to see the view. We split up after the walk (3 of us were not going to the Alhambra) and David asked if we wanted to join him for some tapas. Granada is the home of tapas. According to legend, it came from a time when bodegas and tavernas were small, dark and full of bugs. The owner would serve you your drink covered by a little dish (tapa means "cover") to keep the bugs out. As an enticement, some owners would put little bites on the plate and, bingo, tapas was born. We went to one his favorite places, where, if you order a drink, you get a dish of tapas for free. The only catch is you cannot choose which dish you get. We started with a huge plate of fried fresh anchovies, then got fried shrimp. We also ordered a plate of mixed fried fish, which included monkfish, dogfish(!), prawns and more anchovies. It was really delicious!

It is a bit more chilly here -- it is a higher altitude -- but I decided to walk about. I went to the chapel were King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella are buried, along with their daughter, known as the crazy Queen Juana and her husband, King Filipe. They aren't really buried -- there is a huge monument for each couple and their coffins, just plain wooden boxes, are laid below in a crypt. It seemed a bit sad. I also took a tour around the Basilica, which was huge, dark and very cold.
This was home to the King and Queen and it is where Christopher Columbus returned after "discovering the New World". There is a large statue commemorating this in the Plaza Isabel La Catolica.

One of the best views of the Alhambra is from the terrace of St. Nicholas Church. I took the #31 bus up there and it was spectacular. I could see snow on the mountains. The bus is quite small, holding around a dozen people, because the streets are so narrow and winding. I'm glad I didn't choose to walk up -- it was pretty steep and very curvy, as well as being cobblestone. It was also nice to see some more of the town from the bus.

I treated myself to a plate of churros before returning to the hotel. The place was packed with people buying ice cream and pastries.

Saturday in Spain

Saturday in Spain -- it's obviously the day to walk your dog and/or your baby. Saw TONS of dogs and babies today; you could not turn around without bumping into one or the other.

I strolled over the the City Hall today. There were a few weddings going on -- lots of very well dressed folks and the steps up to the front door were covered with rice and paper confetti. I was there, however, to see the large Nativity scene display. It is a tradition in Spain to create a huge "Belén" (Bethlehem) scene. Many churches, businesses and families do it. This one had working fountains, waterfalls and was at least 20 feet long. It not only shows the nativity scene, but many aspects from Christ's life. There are musicians, fruit sellers, butchers -- whatever you can think of that you would find in a village. There was one in the Museum of Glass, too, filled with Lladro figures.

There are many small stalls along the main road (Alhambra Principal) and, besides the usual souvenir stuff, several were selling all the things needed to create your own Belén -- trees, bridges, carts of fruit and baskets of bread.

Back in the old town, there were several musicians, magicians and balloon sellers entertaining the crowds. Very festive. There was an elf helping kids make enormous soap bubbles and a pseudo Mickey Mouse making balloon animals and swords. Most of the day was spent just watching. And walking. And listening. The Spanish here in Spain is a bit different than I'm used to -- gracias is pronounced gra-the-as and the ba˜no is the servecio (pronounced ser-vee-thee-o). A bit of a lisp that, I think, dates back to a king who had a lisp. It's unusual to hear, but I like it.

Huge department store

Huge department store, a photo by mjl4952 on Flickr.

Today was very cold and blustery. I thought it would be a good day to check out the huge department store up the Main Street. It is Corte Ingles and is as big as a mall inside. The store is 5 stories and includes a cafeteria, a hairdresser's, a travel agency, a pilates studio, a podiatrist, an optometrist and a dentist. I wandered about for a few hours, then braved the outdoors again. It had warmed up a bit, so I sat on a bench in the old town and looked at fashion. You can usually tell the residents from the visitors, especially with the women. I am guilty, also, of wearing sneakers and a crappy raincoat that no Spanish woman would be caught dead in.

I went on a search for the Antigua Biblioteca de Mujeres, a ceramic bench and sculpture in the park. It is said that books would be placed on a bench for the mothers to read and borrow while their children played in the park and became a way for uneducated women to learn. The original bench wore out and a sculpture artist created this monument. The sculptures on either side of the bench look like bookshelves full of books by famous Spanish writers. I liked it.

Glass, wine and sandwiches

Sitting at an outdoor cafe this morning, I was listening to all the lottery ticket vendors. I think they test them for the loudest voices -- they are everywhere, coming up to everyone. They aren't obnoxious, they move on if you don't buy, but, boy, are they LOUD!

On Trip Advisor, the most popular place to see in Malaga is the Museum of Glass and Crystal. I had to look on Google maps to find the place and, after I started the tour, I found out why. It is housed in 18th century home of an Italian ship builder, a huge 3 story building with a central patio with a skylight on the second level. It is privately owned by 2 Englishmen and a Spaniard and, besides the beautiful displays of glass from the Phoenician times until today, it is filled with the ancestral furniture, paintings and rugs from the 3 owners. Not very interesting, you think?? Think again. It is fascinating and, when you are given a tour by one of the owners, very intimate. The reason it's so difficult to find is, according to our tour guide, that it is privately owned and operated with no money or interference from the city government. In retribution, the city has not put any direction signs up, as it has for many other sites and museums.

After a delicious lunch of an Iberian ham and cheese sandwich with a glass of house white wine, I headed to the Museum of Wine. Malaga used to have quite the reputation for its wine -- not so much anymore. They are trying to rectify that, but, in the meanwhile, they have established this museum and wine store. It's very small, only 2 stories. The ground level has the wine store and displays of the many different wine labels used throughout the history of Malaga wine. From the Muslim times (they seemed to make an exception to alcohol here!) through the sacramental wine made for the church to the present, the labels are artwork. Upstairs is a history of the making of wine in Malaga and an illustrated
demonstration of how wine is made. The tickets included a tasting of two wines. The woman behind the counter was charming. Her name is Sara and, after talking a bit, told me she and her fiancé will be coming to Pasadena sometime in the next 2 years. Her boyfriend is studying car design and wants to go the Art Center. I gave her my email, so I'll see!

Back to the wine -- we got a glass of naturally sweet wine and a glass of fortified wine. Very tasty! It was pouring rain when I left, so I hustled back to the hotel. It is supposed to be clear tomorrow.