December 28th - Summersaulting with a Sea Lion = Beth's dream come true!!!

After sleeping a full night as we traveled to Santa Cruz and Baltra Islands we woke up to eat a tasty breakfast of fresh fruits, granola, and made to order eggs/omlettes/French toast.  From there we sat down  on the middle deck for our dive briefing which didn’t just describe the dive we would be taking at Punta Carrion, but also received the full gamut of all of the dive rules and procedures for the boat.  The dive was an okay one – much chillier than the one yesterday and the thermoclines were distinctive both physically and visably (in the water when you hit a major difference in temperature you can actually see almost an oily pattern in the water).  Highlights of the dive included a red lipped batfish, a sea lion chasing a school of fish, several mobula rays, nudibranchs, a stone fish, a tiger snake eel, and more!  By the end of the dive I was pretty close to shivering, and I am sure as the day progresses if it is equally as cold I will definitely be shivering.  We went down about 73 feet, made the dive last about 50 minutes.   We were greeted with hot chocolate and pastries and are now spending the hour in between enjoying the views and doing our own thing.  Just a few minutes ago I saw a baby hammerhead cruising around along the surface!  Just before lunch a flock of frigate birds came up and cruised all around the sun deck as we took dozens of pictures – so cool!  Lunch was delicious and ended with a pod of dolphins breaching outside our window – when I got outside the dolphins were gone but Daniel had seen a manta ray and I saw a Mola mola just cruising by!  Again – the wildlife abounds and is so exciting!  

Four of the passengers had a major mishap in their attempts to fly to Ecuador and then the Galapagos which all stemmed from their flight out of Houston being cancelled.  So, while some of us dove Punta Carrion some of the crew went to port and picked them up.  The boat crew made the executive decision to skip the second dive at Punta Carrion (the visability really was terrible) and to instead focus our efforts on diving Cousins Rock – which is a rock jutting up out of the water just past Bartholome Island (a place we will be hiking next week during our land days).  This dive was surprisingly cold – a chilly 63* - but the dive was much more pleasant and we saw turtles, stone fish, schools of sturgeon fish and black striped salemas and a sea lion!  But this wasn’t just any sea lion encounter – this sea lion really liked to play!  It was probably a female, decently sized, but not huge, and when she came up to me I did a summersault to try to mimic her playful turns – evidently this was a bit hit, because I then spent the next ten minutes doing barrel roles, summersaults, and swimming in tight circles while she did the same!  Daniel watched from a distance and two other guys (Bob and Bobby) were there to watch as well and even tried batting a rock playfully with the sea lion.  We swam around for quite a while, and I felt bad because our guide was physically shivering – but even on this dive I managed to make it out without a shiver!  Playing with the sea lion the last ten minutes probably helped – it really was awesome!  I was so excited I was happily laughing into my regulator as I swam in circles with the sea lion that kept swimming up for air and coming back for more.  SO awesome!  It was a Galapagos = magic moment for sure! 

We warmed up in the jacuzzi when we got back and then proceeded to clean up for the evening – each showering, shampooing, etc.  I even dried my hair and put on real clothes!  To end our day, now that all the passengers were on board, the crew gave us full welcome and introduced the crew.  Dinner was a yummy shrimp skewer with some other sides. 

December 26th & 27th – Trekking it to the Galapagos and meeting some Sea Lions!!!

*Back-blogging from December 26th...

We woke up early, showered, and were off to Charlotte airport where we cleared security with ease and were soon bound for Miami.  We had a tight connection in Miami which was made even tighter by plane delays on Charlottte’s end and a really strong (and bumpy) headwind.  But, after walked a good 1-1.5 miles through the Miami airport and clearing security…again…we were bound for Quito!  This was a LAN flight and was MUCH nicer.  In four hours time we found ourselves in Ecuador facing an interminable line at immigration that took us an hour and a half to survive – it was rough because we had landed in Quito – a city up about 9,200 feet.  We were already dehydrated from the plane ride, add altitude to that and no access to liquids when we stepped off the plane and one can begin to imagine how miserable we were for that first hour and a half.  As soon as we made it through we were ecstatic to see that our bags had arrived (dive gear, check!), and we were immediately greeted by our pre-arranged hotel pickup.  The decisive moment of the night was when I spotted a little shop that sold beverages.  I handed all my stuff to the hotel rep, told Daniel and Gary to hold the van, and ran and bought SIX Gatorades.  We were all soooo happy – Gary called it sweet nectar, and we all felt significantly better after guzzling one and then sipping on the second.

Flying into Quito reminded me of our flight into Cuzco, only the city lacked the same terracotta uniformity that I noticed in Cuzco.  As our van drove us in it reminded me a great deal of Lima, but not quite as big.  Since it was after dark much of the city was already boarded up for the night and we could tell it Once we checked into our hotel we ordered dinner at the hotel restaurant (which was really delicious) and from there we cashed in our welcome drinks and headed to bed.  It was after nine, we knew the next day would really be a big one, and we were all exhausted.

The next morning we grabbed breakfast, packed up, and headed back to the airport – bound for San Cristobal!  At the airport there is a special wing for Galapagos bound passengers – we had to first have our bags x-rayed for potential species or specimen threats.  They sealed all big suitcases with a special tag certified by them and we were given customs forms to fill out and present in the Galapagos.  After that we had to check out bags, buy our “Ingala” card for 10 US dollars each which we would have to fill out and present in the Galapagos.  Then we cleared security and entered a room that was full of 200-300 tourists who were all Galapagos bound and waiting for their flight – which wasn’t exactly announced, you just had to sense  that it was close to time and that the line forming was the one you should be in.

This flight was also quite nice.  We flew to Guayaquil but did not disembark and then we were officially off to San Cristobal!  Before we landed they actually came through and sprayed everything in the overhead compartment with “World Health Organization approved pesticide” in case we were carrying anything that could be dangerous to the endemic species of the Galapagos.  Definitely have never had that happen before!  It was pretty crazy!  And then we were there!  The islands appeared as we flew down and out of the clouds and suddenly we were on land again.  We were greeted by signs that welcomed us to the Galapagos and a saying that “To us, the Galapagos means peace, ***, and evolution, we hope it means the same to you.”  The airport was small – an open air space, but definitely not as small as the one in Yap or Lizard Island, Australia.  We waited in line and each paid 100 US dollars to officially enter Galapagos National Park!  We were in!  Our passports currently contain exit papers, an Ingala card, and a Galapagos Park entry card – they are looking really thick!

And our luggage made it!!!  We were immediately greeted by Aggressor crew who ushered us onto a bus and took us directly to the port.  As we walked out towards the dock we were all so excited – there were sea lions everywhere!!!   The two women from the other family and I were all grins – I looked at them and said – “okay! It has already been worth the trek!” and they whole-heartedly agreed.    There were sea lions under most of the benches, in the water, on the rocks lazing in the sun reminding us of Chance, one in the water barking, they really were all over!  We boarded a little skiff with our handluggage and were off to our ship!  We had the traditional “fill in” about how everything works on the boat, daily schedule, procedures, etc.  Then we ate lunch and set out to unpack, set up dive gear, provide the obligatory paperwork/dive cards/passports, etc. and we were ready to start diving!  While we were doing all of that Daniel grabbed the camera because 20 meters away on the rocks of the island there were blue footed boobies hanging out!

As you can imagine the first time you don a two piece 7mm wetsuit with socks, boots, gloves, and hood, and all of the weight required to make it sink (over 10 kilos) it takes a while to get yourself sorted out.  Our first check dive really was exactly that – a check dive in which we swam around a sandy bottom looking for turtles and sea lions and got acclimated.  It was not the prettiest dive and we were definitely slowly working through adjustments to our gear, but!...seeing a sea lion that was bigger than us come zipping around was all it took for me to be hooked!  We saw several turtles, several sting rays, and when we surfaced we found ourselves eye level with the shore less than ten meters away from a sea lion beach.  Several of the sea lions were getting in and we got to see more of them swimming around us – Daniel even saw a baby do a corkscrew swim straight at him before it changed directions.  I saw an adolescent rolling in the surf on a rock who was showing off his ability to do rolls.  We also saw a sea turtle whose shell was bigger than my torso.  Just as we were finishing our dive I looked to the right an saw an eagle ray!  YAY!  I have always wanted to see one and he just came cruising by with less than five feet between us!  I couldn’t help but to think that this might be how many of our dives go – they may seem fairly fruitless for the majority of the time but in ten minutes we saw awesome things!

Dinner was quite yummy and I really enjoyed not feeling sea sick!  The patch works so well for me!  We ended our day with a conversation with the other family on the boat and went to sleep as the boat gently rocked us.  We made it!  We are in the Galapagos so far they seem like magic!

Ourika Valley and our last day in Marrakech

Marrakech, Morocco (Day 3) and the Ourika Valley (Click on the photo to view the album)

On our third day we set out for an excursion in Ourika Valley in which we got to ride out of the busy city into the peaceful Atlas Mountains.  We drove past many little Berber villages (the local people of the area, of non-Arab descent) and hiked up into the mountains to see several waterfalls.  It was a nice hike – it was nice to get exercise and breath the crisp, clear mountain air.  As Morocco is heading into winter, the water levels were very low so we were hiking a lot through the river beds, but we could definitely see where the water levels would reach by late spring and it was impressive – it would be an entirely different river then.

We enjoyed a tasty lunch, probably our best simple meal, along the water and then headed on a peaceful drive through the neighboring valley, stopping along the way to take pictures and seeing a number of pastures and beautiful plains with snow-capped mountains, flocks of sheep, …just beautifully simple and serene.  We stopped to see Lake Lalla Takerkoust which also had incredibly low water levels and then headed back to Marrakech.  Once back in the city, we were dropped off at our “taxi stop” – basically where automobile traffic could go no further and we doubled back towards the square on foot on a Beth scarf mission.  The previous day I had seen a fantastically beautiful (and upon feeling it I determined high quality) scarf that I was not ready to negotiate for at the time – but I returned with negotiation skills at the ready.  Chris and I both did a little more shopping and as Chris bargained and became more comfortable with how to do so realized how addictive it was.  Chris has now leveled up in his bargaining skills!  The funny moment of the night however was when Chris and I both bargained in the same shop with separate shopkeepers.  We both walked out feeling triumphant and then compared notes.  Chris announced how the price had started at 120 dirhams and he had bargained down to 80.  At which point Daniel caught my eye and I grinned.  I had bargained from 150 to 70.   I don’t think Chris was as happy after that…

We enjoyed our last dinner in the new city at a fairly “swanky” restaurant that had a pretty impressive belly dancing show and absolutely delicious food. 

Final thoughts about Morocco?  I loved the historical sites, the bustle of the street, the challenge of immersing myself in such a different culture, and we all really loved being on “Moroccan Time” – which means everything just slows down, you stop checking your watch, and you go with the flow.  Ahh, so nice.

The mixture of cultures here is fascinating.  Students in Morocco do all of their coursework in the French language, can elect to take English (which can be useful for tourism), may speak a local dialect like Berber, and use Arabic for things pertaining to their faith.  Walking the streets around tourist sites we honestly heard a mix of Arabic, English, Spanish, French, German, and Berber at every turn – it was amazing! 

The Medina has a special place in my heart – so unique and bustling!  To me it was a mix of the extensiveness of the shopping streets in Seoul, Korea, the types of goods found in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul and in Cairo, and the bargaining expectations of Cairo and Luxor.  Compared to Egypt – Egyptians still win for aggressive sales and bargaining.    The main square in the medina of Marrakech was remarkable – it made me think of what Cairo used to be like twenty years ago or perhaps Istanbul thirty or forty years ago.  Food – we had similar challenges here as we did in Egypt, although we did get to try a lot more of the local cuisines.  We had a few good meals, but Marrakech was not a city to “eat your way through” like some of the cities in Europe, we tended to eat out of functionality and if it tasted good it was a bonus.  Eating clean, safe food was a concern and even the really expensive food was not as healthful or delicious as anticipated.  Ultimately we found ourselves looking forward to the food back in Spain.  Overall though, we really did love Marrakech – I would definitely consider returning to Morocco to explore other cities although I can certainly understand how this destination might not be for everyone, our adventurous nature loved it!

Exploring Marrakech – Monday 19 November 2012

Marrakech, Morocco (Day 2) - Around the Medina (Click on the image above to view a whole album of pictures!)

We slept in, ate a yummy breakfast, finalized our “game plan” and set out to explore the city.  Our first big historical stop was the Medersa Ben Youssef, which was once a dormitory and school for Muslim scholars – we walked in and immediately all thought, wow.  Even the hallway heading to the main courtyard was lined with beautiful  tiles and ornate arabesque woodwork and plaster work.  We stepped into the courtyard and our jaws all dropped – it was a beautifully decorative courtyard in which nearly every inch was ornate word or plaster work – really it was absolutely stunning.  The pictures will do a better job that I ever will.  We spent our time exploring the different dorm rooms, some of the side roods from the main courtyard – which were also stunning, and just trying to soak in the intricate details and magic of this place.  The detail and beauty of Muslim architecture that abounded in this place instantly made up for not visiting the Alhambra – that was my first thought as my jaw dropped as I entered the courtyard for the first time.

 Nearby we were also able to see one of the last remaining examples of Almoravid architecture (which my AP World students will hopefully know was the group of Moroccans that tried on several occasions to take over the West African trading kingdoms – they would successfully take over but were never able to maintain control across the Sahara). 

After that we were off to a different section of the Medina to walk past the beautiful Koutubia mosque just past the main square (we really weren’t able to go inside the mosques) and wandered the gardens for a while, appreciating how these too provided a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of the city streets.  From here we headed down to see the Saadian Tombs, which were another prominent ruling group in Moroccan history – and these too were stunning.  There were two main buildings (which were actually quite small) in which the floor was full of the different tombs and the interior of the building was breathtakingly beautiful – my favorite was the room of the 12 columns (yes, very creative).  After that we tried to make it to the Bahia palace before close and hurriedly walked through a chaotic section of the city only to arrive at exactly closing time.  More frustrated with having rushed so hurriedly than disappointed, we switched gears and decided to go ahead and head to the Djeema al Fna for sunset and people watching.  Morocco currently is only 5 hours different from the East Coast US time because they did or didn’t (not sure) do daylight savings – believe it or not, it gets dark quite early.  So, we headed up to the terrace I had scoped out the day before and enjoyed an obligatory beverage (you have to buy something to enjoy the terrace) and enjoyed a wonderful hour or two of people watching, sunset watching, and camera play time – we got some great photos too!  It was wonderful to be able to take in all of the different things going on in the square from above and to really observe things without being harassed or assaulted by street vendors.  Often times at street level when you take a picture of a performer, even from a distance someone will appear out of nowhere to demand payment. 

We headed to another terrace restaurant for a quick dinner and then set out to finally do some scarf shopping.  Let’s just say that Beth had a wonderful time, Chris struck up conversations with different merchants, and Daniel abandoned us for the solace of the hotel.  We wrapped up our night relaxing at our hotel – planned an excursion to the Ourika Valley for the following day, and crashed pretty hard – wiped out from a day on the streets of Marrakech which takes more mental energy that I think I can really convey.  We had a wonderful day gaping in awe at the intricate panel work and tile work at the different sites, bargaining with vendors for treasures, and soaking in the atmosphere from the terrace above the square. 

Marrakech, Morocco – 18 November 2012 Continued

I don’t even know where to start!  The past two days have been awesome!
 

First, I really don’t know how to truly describe the experience of walking through the Medina.  The perimeter is 18 kilometers, so the interior is pretty extensive.  To walk to the “taxi stop” from our Riad is an experience of winding alleyways, lots of residences and small shops, and various motorbikes, bicycles, and people.  Once we pass that point we are inundated with the challenged of weaving between cars, people, donkey carts, motorbikes, bicycles, and vendors….and “two lanes” of traffic.  Some streets are moderate size, some are downright tiny and we have all had our fair share of “close calls” – I have decided that young boys are the worst bicycle drivers are those are the only ones that have either clipped me (yes, I have the bruise to prove it) or have come close to taking me out.  If you look at a shop for too long you make a “friend,” merchants often try to call out to get our attention, I tend to look upwards and while glancing down to keep an eye on what I may step in and avoid looking side to side.  Wearing sunglasses also helps.  If we pause for even a few seconds to discuss where we are going or hesitate about where to turn, people flock to us to try to offer us their opinion or where we should go or provide us with directions.  We actually found it to be not uncommon for someone to step in and tell us we were going the wrong way fairly convincingly and aggressively while trying to point us down a different alley (while in fact, we did have the right way).  Walking around is chaotic, takes skill, and is an assault of all of your senses (from smells, to sounds, to what we see, you name it!), but it is also incredibly fascinating and exciting! 

On our first evening in Marrakech we set out to explore and walked through many of the Souks (shopping areas) – really nearly everywhere has shops, but there are certainly streets that are full of goods and are often themed – like touristy items, garments, metalwares, jewelry, etc.  Several streets often lead to a square like spokes on a wagon week, and ultimately if you wander far enough you can reach the main square – Djeema al Fna which is a large square full of various shops – some of the garden and plant variety, rows of juice vendors (who sell delicious citrus juices made on the spot with bottled water), dried fruit stands, and then more meal oriented stands that cook things like sausages, meats, snails, etc.  Towards one end of the square there are various performers – including snake charmers with cobras and rattlesnakes, men walking with leashed monkeys, and other ethnically dressed performers hoping to pose for photographs.  It is an amazingly busy square, lined with more shops and cafes – many with terraces that serve as an escape from the hustle and bustle. I made a mental note the first night that I would love to be a people watcher at sunset and put my camera to good use (which we did!)

Later on that evening we also went to a restaurant called Dar Zellij which was a bit of a splurge, but already we were realizing that there was street food and very nice restaurant food and very little in between.  This restaurant was another situation in which the exterior facade looked like nothing, but once we crossed the threshold there was an amazing interior that revealed a beautiful several hundred year old Riad that had been turned into a restaurant.  This restaurant had a set multi-course menu, so there were only a few simple either or choices to be made when trying to order.  The first course was Moroccan salad – which was an array of cooked, seasoned vegetables – many of which were almost pureed.  For the three of us they brought about ten or twelve different plates full of differently seasoned cauliflower, spinach, red pepper, carrot, eggplant, zucchini, pumpkin, and a number of others – it was absolutely delicious!  We had fun passing around the plates and trying all of the many flavors.  A crowd favorite?  Cauliflower, spinach, and pumpkin were probably my top three -  all very uniquely seasoned.  The next course was pastilles – which are pastry cakes with various components.  Mine was a chicken pastille which was almost like a croquette – it had a crunchy exterior and a softer interior and was minced chicken, pastry, almond, honey – very unique, but tasty!  Daniel had a vegetable one that had an entirely different taste to it.

The next course was our main meal which came with a dish of couscous and veggies for all of us to share and then our entrées – mine was a beef shank tagine/tajine, which is beef cooked in a terracotta pot-like container that makes it very tender and Daniel and Chris each got pigeon pie.  Yes.  Not kidding, they ate pigeon – but had to pick the poor birdies bones out of the dish as they ate.  Daniel laughingly said he basically had an entire ribcage in his pie.  Yikes.

Next up was a round of dessert which was an orange flavored cream with more pastry like pieces – it was perfectly light and tasty.  We also enjoyed some other cookies and tea or coffee and practically rolled home we were so stuffed.  After so many days of weird eating schedules it was nice to finally feel full.

(I had trouble loading photos, so they are in multiple albums - the first is just parts of our Riad, the other is more of our adventure that day - the rest are in a much larger album to be featured under Day 2)

Please click here for Morocco Day 1 Part 1

Please click here for Morocco Day 1 Part 2

Making it in Marrakech!

Marrakech - inside the Medina

We have arrived in Marrakech and were immediately transported into a mesmerizing culture!  Marrakech itself is made up of two portions - the new and old city.  The old city is enclosed within the old city walls and is called the Medina.  I had arranged for us to stay at a Riad (kinda like a Moroccan bed and breakfast) in the Medina.  We were greeted at the airport and whisked away in a taxi into the city walls.  Our taxi drove until it could drive no further, then our bags were loaded into a modern day (made of metal with heavy duty tires) rick-saw and we followed our "bell hops" of sorts into a crazy labyrinth of alleyway after alleyway after alleyway - seriously we walked for ten or fifteen minutes turning left and then right and then left again!  

 

And then all of a sudden we had arrived!  Magically transported from alleyways full of mud and brick and hustle and bustle to a sanctuary of calm.  Our room is beautiful and comes with complimentary teas, coffees, water, and fruit from the trees in the courtyard whenever we like and the service is amazing.  They actually sent us out with a guide to teach us how to figure out how to get back - it's things like look this building, turn right here, okay now see this sign?  turn left here.  They escorted us to a scrumptious lunch - again in a restaurant that was an absolutely serene blissfully peaceful place away from the craziness in the streets below.  The hotel also arranged dinner and helped us score reservations in an amazing restaurant just down the street.  We have felt so welcome!  Oh!  And to help you when you get lost (which we did once - although we are proud to say we re-navigated back on track) each room's guests are provided a complimentary cell phone already loaded with all the numbers we need to call the Riad and its staff for help!  Amazing!  

 

We also made it out on a long walk through many of the souks and into the main square in the Medina - which was again an amazing mix of people, goods, foods, every kind of transport - from donkeys, horses, bikes, mopeds, motorcycles, and cars whizzing all around!  We heard the call to prayer lilting over the rooftops as well as the drum groups (that are off beat children that make Daniel start to twitch) which "performed" off and on throughout the alleyways until about 11 pm tonight!  It has been an amazing day so far - we are very excited to explore and bargain our way through Marrakech tomorrow!  But for now?  I am really excited to get a nice solid night's sleep in our sanctuary!  
 

The courtyard of the Riad (from above)

Our beautiful room!

Rooftop terrace overlooking the Medina - holy satellite dish(es)!

One of the many, many, many alleyways preceeding the Riad.  Things look very very different on the inside - it is amazing how many buildings we have been in where we feel magically transported the moment we cross the threshhold!

Chris enjoying a refreshing fruit juice blend at the Jardin - a garden restaurant that was an absolute sanctuary!

Toasting with our pineapple, pear, apple, and strawberry juice blend - we have made it to Marrakech!

Evening at the Djemaa el Fna

 

Granada! 11/16 y 11/17

So our flights worked out quite nicely.  We flew from Orlando to Miami to Madrid to Granada.  For the transcontinental flight we were originally scattered across the plane, but we talked to the ticket counter in Miami and were moved to much better seats, together, which was awesome!  The flights were nice and smooth, Iberia Airlines was nice, the plane was nice, the Madrid airport was an architectural beauty, everything was great until we arrived in Granada to discover our luggage had not. 

Since then all kinds of things have gone wrong.  We are in great spirits and have laughed a lot, but here goes:

1.  This first thing happened over the course of the week before departure (which is already a plenty stressful week). Pre-trip departure I went online to pre-purchase our Alhambra tickets only to discover they were all sold out while we are here (I was crushed)...  Upon further investigation I found a company to sell us tickets (I was elated)...then they emailed me to say they were mistaken and the Alhambra was actually closed during those days for restoration (I was crushed even more).  When we flew into Granada we inquired at the info for tourist booth in the airport and they said the Alhambra was actually open (I was skeptical, but hopeful), then at our hotel the concierge said no it was actually closed for a government event (though far more prepared for it, I was still feeling crushed).  We walked up to the Alhambra just to be sure and it was official.  No Alhambra while in Granada.  The perk?  We did get to walk through the free sections of it.  It was something, right?

Worth noting - we arrived in Granada Friday night, had all day Saturday here and are flying out Sunday morning.  The reason we chose to visit Granada first is because the Alhambra is lit up at night on Friday and Saturday nights only in the off season.  The times booked for the government event?  Friday afternoon/evening and all of Saturday.  We were really not meant to visit this place.  :(

2.  Missing luggage.  Without our luggage none of us had appropriate walking shoes - especially for hills, stairs, and cobblestone, and cold weather.  The boys didn't have their jackets.  None of us had rain gear.

3.  The luggage arrived...only Daniel's didn't.  We have "Frankensteined" his outfit together and he looks fantastically metrosexual / European chic.  It is hilarious.

4.  Saturday we woke up to find rain and lots of it in our forecast. 

5.  We ventured out but got completely soaked, sought refuge in the nearest restaurant but the food was terrible.  Really terrible.

6.  We ditched the lunch place to visit the Cathedral only to discover it had just closed and was not going to open for several more hours.

Cold, wet, okay try soaked, we retreated back to the hotel. 

Okay...now for the highlights, otherwise we just sound like whiners. 

Positive things -

1.  The city is beautiful, our hotel is amazing, the views are spectacular, Granada is charming!

2.  We love the concept of each a big lunch, graze on tapas over dinner....our jet-lagged bodies haven't quite meshed with this plan, but they are trying and realize its brilliance! 

3.  The foodies in us are in heaven!  Between the food and wine...OMG it has been amazing!  We have had all kinds of delicious combos, but among the favorite are good ole ensalada caprese (tomatoes + buffalo mozzarella, tomatoes + queso de cabra, pork tenderloin with red wine sauce, pine nuts, and raisins, a "pio pio tower" - two foot skewer of tender chicken and veggies, and a number of other delicious discoveries - overall - mmmm! 

4.  Today after getting completely soaked and being cold, wet, and miserable, we retreated and returned to visit the Granada Catedral where we saw Spanish Catholicism at its finest and visited Isabelle & Ferdinand's mausoleums and saw their lead-lined caskets!  So awesome!  The layering of Renaissance style + added counter-reformation guild was pretty awesome!  And then in other areas there is such distinctive Moorish influence - such fun layers of history!

5.  For those vino lovers out their - Granada reds are dry, crisp, aromatic, and smooth as can be - totally our style and totally amazzzzing!  :)

Nor our simplest or smoothest European city - but we made the most of it and in the end enjoyed ourselves!  :)

Click this link for our photos!!!