Month: December 2015

Holiday Cheer in Brussels

Tiara

We’re flying home today…all day.  Our route is Brussels –> Stockholm –> Oakland.  This last pass through Brussels has been such a fun way to wrap up our trip.  Brussels is quiet since its lockdown, but the city is full of good tidings and Christmas cheer.  It is très charmant.

IMG_4782

Scene from the holiday lights and music show at the Grand Place.

IMG_4785

Even the Manneken Pis got in on the action:

IMG_4766

Happy holidays, dear readers.  Thanks for following along and for all the love and comments.  See you in the States.

Madrid

Tiara

Madrid is exceedingly hip.  We spent a few days there with our friends Pam and Josh before our week in Morocco, and we returned for a few more days on our own.  We stayed near the Malasaña and Chueca neighborhoods, which are full of vintage shops and great restaurants.

IMG_4763 (more…)

Volubilis

Tiara

We hired a driver to take us to Volubilis, a partially excavated Roman city about an hour outside of Fez.  For us, the main attraction was getting out into the countryside, but Volubilis is very old and Roman and notable so we thought we should go see it.

Mohammed, the driver who took us to Volubilis, was really friendly and very excited to talk with us because he will be moving to San Francisco next year to start an internship at Goldman Sachs.

The landscapes outside of Fez are beautiful and we stopped a couple of times to take photos.

IMG_4680 (more…)

Supermarket Fun

Tiara

The Carrefour in Fez is much more fun than any other Carrefour we’ve been to in Europe.  For one thing, look at all these beautiful bulk spices:

IMG_4656

Also, there is lots of loose pasta that really calls to you to rake your hands through it:

IMG_4657

But the thing we loved the most was the idea that someone could take home this whole shark:

IMG_4659

Imagine that fish tail peeking out of your shopping bag!

Moroccan Cooking Class

Tiara

Our riad has consistently served the best food we’ve had in Fez, so we were excited to have the opportunity to take a cooking class here.  We started the day by going to the market to shop for ingredients, although the staff didn’t really need anything so they mostly just showed us around.

Buying cilantro

Buying cilantro

(more…)

First Days in Fez

Tiara

All of a sudden it’s December and we have less than two weeks of our trip left.  We thought we’d finish out the remainder of our vacation in Spain, but a cheap weekly Ryan Air flight to Fez caught my eye.  So, here we are in Morocco!

I hear the drums echoing tonight....

I hear the drums echoing tonight….

(more…)

Rainy Basque Country

Tiara

We took some day trips from San Sebastián to see more of the countryside.  It rained everywhere we went, but the towns we visited were all really picturesque and once we gave in and purchased umbrellas we were up for exploring.  The northern countryside is dramatic and home to lots of cute fishing villages.

IMG_4474 (more…)