Spain. By picture.

If you haven't noticed, I have made improvements to my blog. Actually, all I did was put up a new template. But it looks much better, no? Maybe a bit boring, but definitely easier on the eyes than my other concoction of colors. Design has never been a forte.

I got back from Spain a couple of weeks ago and I have just found time to post some of my pictures.

It was quite an amazing trip. We were on the move the entire 11 days we were there. We spent two nights in only two cities and every other night, we were sleeping in a different place. It was quite tiring, but oh so worth it to see so much of Spain and to be able to visit Morocco!

Rather than describe details of my trip, I'll share our experience with what limited pictures I can stand to post on my blog. But before I do, just a few items to mention:

• Favorite Place - Barcelona
• Funnest Experience - bike tour through Barcelona
• Weirdest Experience - Massage in Marakech, Morocco
• Best Experience - Cooking class in Morocco
• Worst part - The food (could there be more ham in the cuisine?! Finding ruffage was not easy.)
• Best thing I bought - A leather satchel for $50
• Most amazing - The frescoes of the Palace in Madrid
• Coolest - Gibralter and seeing the African continent
• Most disappointing - Flamenco show in Seville, but still impressive
• Worst "on-the-move" moment - try to get to a McDonalds that was on the other side of the freeway in Madrid in our rental car. For the inexperienced, the freeway system can drive you to insanity!
• Most shocking - poor value of the US dollar
• Most irritating - dealing with cigarette smoke both indoors and outdoors
• Best Impressiongs - Spain is beautiful. Spaniards are beautiful.

Flamenco dancer in Seville in the Andalusia area of Spain

We finally found a place that sold fresh fruits and vegetables at the open market in Barcelona.

I really loved the narrow streets. This one is in Zahara.

We did a lot of this. Looking for stuff. I wasn't often involved in the process, but I was a good supporter.

Heather and Sarah are good at this stuff.

We saw A LOT of this kind of stuff. We took pictures of every moment we happened across. After a while it was just normal to see it. I can send you our collection by request.

The "new" bridge in Ronda. Our hotel is on the right. That thing went deep! Many people were thrown off of the bridge during the civil war in the late 1930s.

In Gibraltar, at the southern tip of Spain and a British territory. We could see Spain and the African continent at the same time! That's a monkey. I wanted to pet him, but Sarah and Heather wouldn't let me. He had cute fuzzy paws!

In Ronda as the sun sets.

In Zahara at a castle tower thing.

We took a Moroccan cuisine cooking class in Marakech. That's our chef in the background. She was sturdy and had a nice smile.

In Madrid the first full day. This was our first and last dry ham and cheese sandwich.

I decided this is Spain's equivelant of a street performer to an westerner. They come up with a concept, find a costume, stand still, and when you throw change at them, they move and do something. This guy's whinny was more like a meep and his meepiing was much better than mine. I was a bit jealous.

In Barcelona we took in the city by bike with Fat Tire Bike Tours.

Seeing the cobra was cool. Watching it rise up was cool. But the dude playing the flute wasn't super interesting or interested. The cobra rose up before he even started playing...ho hum. I pretended the cobra was entranced...

For some reason, Sarah and I like sesame treats. So we bought some from this nice old Moroccan man.

Gaudi was a big architect in Spanish history and culture. His influence is seen all over Barcelona and other parts of Spain. We went to the Gaudi Park and Museum. He used tile in a lot of his art. These benches were pretty amazing to look at in detail. And the benches are ergonomically correct which made it surprisingly very comfy for marble!

Little door. Little bathroom. In Morocco.

More "street performers." These folks were making the most money it seems. You throw in some change and you get blessed AND you get a picture at which time they bless you AGAIN!

We bought some ham. It tasted like prosciutto. It was really good and fresh!


Me leaping at the Palace in Madrid.


Lunch at a cafe after our visit to the Prado Museum. We ate on the patio a lot to avoid smoke-filled restaurants. It was a yummy meal!


This is about all the action I got on this trip.






How many accordians does one band need? Five. Obviously.


An outdoor bookstore in Madrid.

Spain takes great care in preserving its history. The country seems to build around its architecture and does much to preserve the character of the surroundings.

And that was our great trip! I was happy to come home as I was so starving! I was filled up on gelato and pastries and I was craving filling food! I would go to Spain again, and I would make sure to take in a soccer match.