Jamon in Madrid, Beer in Dublin!

This is it for all our faithful blog readers! We hope you've enjoyed "traveling" with us and will enjoy this final write-up of our time in Madrid.

We arrived in the evening and Steve led Lindsey around Madrid on a massive walking tour. Amazingly, he navigated each alley by memory/luck to arrive precisely at each famous land-mark that he had visited during a rather intoxicated boys-tour of Madrid last year.

We strolled past several plazas, the Plaza Major being the best known, past the cathedral, and the royal palace.



At around 11pm, when the gatos (Madrid locals) head to dinner, we stopped in a tapas restaurant in the La Latina neighborhood. Steve somehow maintained a decent grasp of the Spanish language from college, or at least enough to order plates of jamon and cheese, and great glasses of rioja.

The next morning we hit some of the city's museums, first stopping at the
Museo del Prado. The Prado holds one of the finest collections of European art, most of it portraying religious scenes. Steve's favorite are the black paintings that Goya created directly on the walls of his house after going mentally insane. Summing up the entire collection, Lindsey commented that it was an amazing museum, but there sure was a whole lot of Jesus.



Next we stopped by the Museo Reina Sofia, which houses a large collection of Picassos, including his famous work Guernica. Sadly, it was closed and Lindsey let out a little pout.

While these museums were exceptional, the Museo de Jamon stole the show. This venue dishes out plates of ham and cheese which we devoured on three occasions in our day and a half stay in Madrid.



Here's a closer look at this divine culinary experience.



Our other great stop was at a famous institution that has been serving Churros con Chocolate for over 100 years. Again, Steve discovered this by fantastic luck, having been there last time at around 6am after a long night on the town. These churros don't have the cinnamon that you might expect, but are served with an entire cup of warm chocolate.



With a great tour, fantastic food, and priceless art we finished our trip, both excited to return home. But little did we know, we had one more stop in for us.

Ten minutes into our flight bound for our connection in Dublin, the plane started to make a wide u-turn. Lindsey woke up Steve (who is generally asleep before take-off) to alert him that we were headed back. Steve responded dismissively to a nervous Lindsey: "planes turn"

Within seconds, the captain alerted us on the loudspeaker that there was an "acrid smell" in the cockpit similar to "electronics burning" and that he was headed back to Madrid because the smell was coming from under the dashboard and "he couldn't really know if it was nothing or really serious."

Needless to say, he lacked much of a filter on his communication sending Lindsey into a bit of a panic. A long eight minutes later, we landed and sat on the plane while mechanics investigated the problem. The captain, who must have been about 25, walked through the plane answering our questions! About 30 minutes later he explained that a reservoir, used to hold a type of windshield cleaner, had broken and was spilling all over the avionics electronic boards. He said that the mechanics were fixing it (maybe with a hairdryer we thought) and we'd be good to go in 30 minutes. This seemed serious, but we took off and after a rather uncomfortable flight, safely arrived in Dublin.

The delay made us miss our connection and we were put up in a hotel for the evening. We grouped up with some other young travelers, many returning from semesters abroad, and headed downtown for some pub-hoping. It was a great evening and made us both want to return to Dublin for a longer stay.



The next day we safely made it to the United States of America, touching down in our new home of Chicago. We were both excited to wrap up the trip, although in reality we'll still be traveling around the US for the next month.

We hope everyone has enjoyed the blog and that we'll see each of you in the coming month.

The End

Fes

Depsite the excitement of our engagement, we kept moving and headed north to Fes. Like all the major cities in Morocco that we´ve visited, Fes is divded into both an old walled city (the medina) and a newer French-created Ville Nouvelle. Fes´medina is believed to be the largest contiguous car-free urban area in the world, if you´re into useless facts.

We stayed in the VN and headed to breakfast at a French cafe on our first morning there. We were taken back when our eggs arrived in oceans of olive oil and had to document it!



Next we enter Fes el-Bali, or the old city. We wandered through more souqs and made a final purchase of a sheesha (water-pipe) to keep our African memories alive. Along the way we peaked in the Bou Inania Madrasa, which like all the madrasas we´ve seen consisted of an intricately decorated courtyard.



Here´s a closer look at the different texts and patterns adorning the walls.



We wandered more shops, and especially liked this one selling hand crafted bronze lamps and shades.



We continued past the University of Al-Karaouine, thought to be the world´s oldest university and stopped for lunch at a B´sara stall. Surrounded by locals in a cramped closet of a restaurant, we devoured our bean and olive oil soup with thick pieces of bread. It cost about 40 cents each.

Our last stop in Fes were the doors of the palace. Their scale and details made them a worth-while sight.





Other than these sights, we spent more time in Fes making plans for our return home. We changed our flight and will arrive back in the states on the 17th of June! Our first stop is Chicago to find a place to live, followed by New Orleans to look at wedding venues.

Currently we´re in Madrid and loving the wine and ham. Stay tuned for the last blog post of the trip!

Stop, Pause, and Relax / We're Engaged!

Eight years ago, a Frenchman was horse-riding through the Morocco wilderness outside of Marrakech. As he crested one of the rocky hills, he spotted a small oasis of palm, fig and olive trees. One this site, he dreamed of building a hidden retreat that would become La Pause. Over the years he slowly added different mud and straw adobes, berber tents, a pool, and various natural gardens to create the ultimate private resort.

We heard all this as Frederic drove us from Marrakech to La Pause a few days ago. As we turned down an unmarked dirt road, passing villages of dried-mud, we couldn't wait to see his vision.

Along the way Frederic explained that he'd recently hosted a wedding at the resort and to reward his employees (mostly locals) for their hard work, he was taking them on a one-day beach vacation. We looked at each other wondering if we'd be making our own meals, but were quickly assured we'd be taken care of. He was right. He also explained that because of this we'd be the only guests at the resort and that he would put us in the "big house."

Upon arrival, our bags were carted up a rocky trail to our "room" at the big house.



We were shocked and surprised as we toured the two living rooms, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and kitchen. It was larger than some of the tourist sites we've been to. The rooms are simply decorated with Moroccan rugs, low-lying couches, and enough candles to light the electricity-free hotel.



In awe of the privacy, space, and quiet that we've missed for some time now, we sat on our patio and took it all in. The staff brought us some olives and made arrangements for our evening sunset horse ride.

Around 7, we saddled up and a guide led us up and down the surround hills. We took in views of the Atlas Mountains, wheat-blanketed slopes, and old fortified casbahs. Lindsey galloped ahead up and down hills while Steve tried his hardest to hold on and slow down his horse.



By the end, though, he looked like a cowboy. A young pony followed us for the whole ride.



When we returned after sunset, the stars had come out against a deep purple sky. We cleaned up for dinner and Steve asked Lindsey to change into one of her only dresses. She was a bit curious as to why she needed to, but agreed nonetheless. Steve had wine, olives, and candles set up on the patio where we both sat down for a drink before dinner. It was one of our few glasses of wine in the last four months!

Moments later, Steve asked Lindsey to be his wife. She agreed rather quickly and cried for a very long time.

After we held each other and the tears stopped, we headed down to dinner to celebrate, which like all meals at La Pause, is an endless supply of amazing food. We absolutely gorged ourselves. Steve bragged about having proposed while wearing Patagonia and adventure pants.



When we finished, the trail leading to our house was lit by lanterns and every room within it was lit by candles. It was a very romantic setting for us.

The next morning (hardly even hungry) we enjoyed a massive "petit" dejunier at a new dining location. Each of our meals was set up at a different perfectly chosen site. We were both still excited, but Lindsey was a tad frustrated she couldn't call anyone without electricity. Steve thought it was a perfect way to enjoy it for a day.



We followed our massive carb-intake with a hike down the river bed. We passed some beautiful hillsides and local homes.



After an equally large lunch (this time set in a berber tent), we clenched our stomachs in pain and surrendered to an afternoon nap.



That evening we mounted camels and took a shorter tour of the surrounding area. Our temporary dog, who followed us everywhere and slept on our doorstep, joined us.



Our last morning, we enjoyed breakfast, some pool-time, and lunch before bidding farewell to La Pause. We took some of their self-bottled olive oil as a memento to an amazing and special stay.

Back in Marrakech, we loaded Skype and began the phone calls. We were both excited to call our friends and family to share the good news. For those of you just finding out, we are hoping for a spring 2010 wedding in New Orleans and will be holding an engagement party in New York City on July 11th. We can't wait to celebrate our engagement and wedding with all of you.

[See Entire Album]

White-Washed Essouria

From Marrakech we took a three hour bus to Essaouira, a small town fortified behind tall ramparts built by the French. The town has a bustling fishing industry, soaring seagulls, small souqs, and picturesque doorways. It was also a one-time home to Jimi Hendrix who wrote 'Castles Made of Sand' about one of its off-shore crumbling fortifications.



We wandered the cavernous white-washed alleys and photographed many of the doorways. There a whole set of these in the album.



Wandering past the fish souq we picked up on the strong smell and got a closer look. Here you could buy everything from sardines to sharks to eels and have them cook it up for you right there. The cats in this area were especially fat and lazy.



The town was very picturesque, but had limited sights or attractions to speak of. We basically just took in the views and wander the alleys for a day until we headed back to Marrakech.



The other forte of Essouiria are the restaurants, with Elizir and Cafe Des Alizes delivering some of the best meals we've had in months. Our last treat was a rather hidden bar where we savored some of Morocco's hard-to-find beers.

[See Entire Album]

Snakes, Souqs, Soup & Sausage: Marrakech

Marrakech's center is the D'Jeema el-Fna within it's fortified-walled medina. Formerly used for public executions, the large square now hosts fearless snake-charmers, pushy juice sellers, smokey food stalls, and tribal musicians. People sell everything from teeth to tanjines (pots used for cooking a tajine). We arrived at the square in the evening just before sunset when the action is at its peak.



Lindsey carefully navigated the crowd to avoid snake-holding men and was a bit unnerved whenever she heard the charmer's oboe playing.



We bought some dried fruit, and sat down for the world's best sausages, lentil soup, and fresh bread.



The next day we wandered the city's endless souqs, or marketplaces. Along the way we stopped at Bahia Palace, boasting floor to ceiling painted, tiled, inlaid, and gilded masterpieces that took 15 years to complete. The garden courtyards are a great refuge from the cramped nearby souqs.




Next we stopped by the 14th century Ben Youssef Madrasa, or Islamic theological school. Like the palace, this too showcased beautiful moorish architecture including mashrabiyya (wooden-latice screening) and move zellij (mosiac).



Back in the souqs we began a shopping spree. For most of the trip we've held off on large purchases since we didn't want the obligation of carrying them with us. With the trip's end in sight, we lost this concern.

Each purchase involved a lengthy sit-down discussion with the shop owner over hot tea. To refuse the tea would be rude and by our 4th or 5th shop our hearts were racing from both sugar and caffeine overload.

We bought a handmade leather bag, crafted in the nearby tanneries. Some Moroccan tea glasses to remember our many mandatory glasses of 'Moroccan whiskey' as they call it. Some ceramic tiles to be used as coasters. And finally, a carpet-fabric bag that fits nicely inside the first leather one. We're holding off on a few last purchases to be made in Fes.

We wandered so much that we were eventually lost in the tangled streets of the medina. A few dead-ends and 20 minutes later, we emerged at a gate through the rampart miraculously near the bus station. We bought tickets for our next stop: a white-washed coastal town called Essouria where we headed the next day.

After a few days in Essouria (next blog post) we returned to Marrakech for the morning where we stopped by the Jardin Majorelle, crafted by Yves Saint Laurent. It was a great oasis within a loud city.



Marrakech is an exciting city for all the senses and we loved it. Everyone should come here.

[See Entire Album]

Cafe au Laits, Croissants, & Casablanca

We entered Morocco via Casablanca, and spent half a day here before heading south. Casa has a very European/French feel to it with wide boulevards, cafes, and a distinct lack of third-world chaos. While it does remain a fairly poor city with large slums surrounding it, the city-center doesn't let on to this which was a treat following our last day in Cairo.

Our first stop was to a patisserie where Lindsey was successfully able to order us breakfast in French! English isn't that widely spoken here which is funny given that everywhere else we've been has really catered to English-speaking tourists! Our petit-dejunier was divine, especially the coffee which contrasted sharply with months of instant-java. The chocolate croissants and baguette were other treats of returning to the western world.

The main tourist attraction in Casablanca is the Hassan II Mosque. Built by Morocco's former sovereign, the mosque is the second largest in the world (after Mecca), cost nearly one billion dollars, and was completed in 1993. Unfortunately, the site is closed to visitors on Fridays (their holy day) so we missed out!

To fill our day, we took a long walk past some of the city's best know Moorish/Art-deco architecture. Again, a lot of the city looked French, with some Moorish accents. We liked the French/Arabic street signs.



Our last stop, before catching our train, was the local market. Sardines, horse-meat, and lamb were the most popular items.



So Casablanca wasn't that thrilling (we only took 10 pictures!), but luckily we had planned to just spent a day here! Next stop: Marrakech.

Obama in Cairo, Duck!

We planned to spend a couple of lazy days in Cairo before leaving Egypt and heading to Morocco. Nothing of interest really happened, until our last day, which happened to coincide with Obama's visit to the country. Our biggest goal of the day was to return to the restaurant where we'd enjoyed a fantastic lunch the week before. As we approached the restaurant, our cab driver informed us that Obama had just left the mosque opposite our restaurant. We'd missed him by five minutes!

As we got out of the cab, a woman pulled a large rock (and by large I mean bigger than a softball) out of plastic bag and hurled it in the general direction of Lindsey. Luckily, she had absolutely terrible aim. We looked at eachother as if to confirm that we'd actually just been targeted and Lindsey started to run away. Steve looked at the woman in disbelief long enough to get a rock throw at him as well, which again was way off target. Next, a nearby Canadian couple caught her attention and she threw a few rocks in their direction. The couple shouted "shame & evil" in Arabic which caught the attention of a few slow-to-react secret police who took her away.

Hoping the worst was over, but still very uneasy, we continued walking towards the restaurant. Both our hearts were pumping quickly and our senses were hightened to see if the threat was over. Without warning, however, the woman reappeared waving a shoe violently and headed straight for Lindsey. The police grabbed her again (not sure why the let her go the first time?) and tried to hold back her violent thrashing. Lindsey, however, wanted some revenge and clubbed the woman in the face with her 1.5L full water bottle. It was a pretty solid shot and the police didn't seem to mind.

Next, the police asked us to come to the station, where they offered us tea and tried to take our story. They didn't speak the best English in the world, but genuinely wanted us to feel better about the experience. They told us the woman appeared to be homeless based on her rotting feat and general hygiene and that they suspected she was mentally ill. They tried to tell us she wasn't targeting westerners and was just crazy, but we tend to think that someone who brings a bag of rocks to a mosque where Obama is appearing and throws them at white people sounds well-prepared rather than crazy. Nevertheless, the police called in a doctor, who agreed she was nuts and commited her to a mental hospital for no less than 45 days. After leaving the police station, we continued on to our lunch spot, but the experience made us happy to be leaving Egypt that day. Even though we found Egypt to be extremely welcoming to us as Americans, getting rocks throw at you is enough to make you want to move on!

That evening at the airport, we watched Obama land in a helicopter, run up the stairs of Air Force One, give a wave and take off. It was a rewarding end to a day where we payed for being American!

Sharm El Sheik & the Last Crusade

From Luxor, we headed to Sharm el-Sheik, a popular resort town located on the southern tip of the Sinai Penninsula. We quickly discovered that budget lodging is non-existent here and headed to an internet cafe to search out some last minute specials. We got lucky and landed a room at the massive Sofitel, with a sea view, and for once, a comfortable bed.



Our first morning, Steve surprised Lindsey with a horse ride on the beach, something she's been dying to do. Yasmina kept Lindsey company that morning, while Steve headed for some scuba diving. She was able to ride freely, with a private guide trailing her. It brought back memories of riding Arabian horses as a child.



Steve headed to Ras Mohammed National Park, one of top dive destinations in the world. While he enjoyed the dives, they unfortunately fell short of his expectations (after all he did just swim with a whale shark in Asia), but he may have just had some bad luck. The largest fish was a fat 5+ft tuna, but he missed the rays and sharks he'd expected to see. He did find where all the world's goldfish must come from though.



The rest of our time was spent catching up on planning, specifically a quick jaunt to Petra. We'd planned to head out there on our own, but more trouble at a ticket office made us change our minds. The man at the ticket counter explained to us (with the help of our cab driver translating) that he couldn't sell us a ticket because the bus might show up and be full or be broken down. We rolled our eyes and headed for the tour company.

The tour would take what we figured would take three days to accomplish (due to infrequent transportation options) and cram it into one day. We'd leave at 3:30am aboard a bus, head north near the Israeli border, catch a ferry to Aqaba Jordan, board another bus to Petra and arrive after a total of 7-8 hours. We'd complete the same ride after touring Petra, and arrive back around midnight, 21 hours later. Why not.

The morning's transport went smoothly and with a lot of sleep, we barely noticed the first leg of the trip. The boat ride was enjoyable, as we took in the view of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt. We also spotted a massive American Aircraft Carrier, docked in the Straight of Aqaba.

The real dread of the group tour began once we boarded the bus and met our tour guide, Hassan. As he began his incredibly slow and flatly-delivered speech of useless facts, we kicked ourselves for taking the tour option. Somehow his explanation of the various denominations of the Jordan Dinar or the different ancient names for Jordan failed to excite us. Whenever he got sidetracked he'd throw in a "Welcome my friends to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan"--not that he ever explained what a Hashemite is.

Once we arrived at Petra, we quickly snatched our tickets and headed off away from the group. We wandered down the Siq, a snaking canyon lined with irrigation pipes. Petra's builders, the Nabatians (and later the Romans), survived in the hostile desert by controlling and storing water, which they used to create an artificial oasis. At the end of the Siq, stands Petra's best-known monument, Al Khazneh (The Treasury), built in 100bc and made famous by Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.



And another one...



Other tombs and structures throughout the valley were impressive, but none seemed as well persevered (or restored perhaps?) as The Treasury. The walking was hot and dry, and we couldn't have lasted the whole day even if we'd been on our own without the time limits imposed by the group.



One thing we observed a lot of, and found really amusing, was the heavy use of camcorders. We both figure that these are great for capturing a child's birthday, but can't image watching the videos we saw being recorded. One guy held his video camera to the bus window for over an hour, another got thrilling footage of ancient carvings, and a third did a great job of documenting the seating area on the ferry. Put simply, they chose poorly.

After exploring Petra, we had a buffet lunch at a nearby hotel and began the long voyage back to Sharm el-Sheik. Exhausted from the heat, we slept most of the way back home.

The next morning, we caught a 50 minute flight to Cairo, where we'll rest and plan, before beginning our tour of Morocco. We'd planned to see Mt. Sinai, but given the logistical hassle involved with cheap travel here, we gave up and opted for more time exploring Morocco.

Finally, there seems to be an issue lately with navigating to the entire picture albums, but once you click on an above picture, just click "sedisons albums" to see the entire collection.