Morocco

Alright. Morocco is going to be done in a series also though I'm not sure if I can explain how this trip impacted me. We will see. We started our trip on a bus a 3:30 in the morning. We drove to the ferry, rode on the ferry an hour, and then we were in Cueta - a Spanish territory in Morocco. From Cueta, it was to the border control, which took an exceptionally long time. Luckily, I slept through a lot of this part of the trip. When we crossed the border, the difference was amazing. The tight-fitted skirts and tall boots of fashionable Spain gave way to the long, shapeless dresses and covered hair and faces of an Arab nation. Morocco is 98% Islam.

The green landscape and olive trees disappeared. We saw brown hills patched with little spiky bushes and cactuses. And lots of litter on the side of the roads. Most of the buildings we saw while driving throught the country side were very run down, and livestock were scattered everywhere - cows, donkeys, goats, sheep. There are no fences. I could see many of the cow's ribs even from the bus.

Even stopping at a rest stop was a culture shock. While there were some toilets, there were more porcelian holes in the floor. And right outside the bathrooms was a mosque. Five times a day, no matter where you were, you could here the call for prayer echoing through the town, hills, desert, it didn't matter. You could watch people drop what they were doing, cleanse themselves, and pray.

Porrones

Well we went for porrones again with some different friends, and we got a few pictures! I thought these would help explain better than I did below.

The group (minus Ellen taking the photo) with our porron. Dani (in the middle) was obviously not ready. From left to right (because mother will ask): Jill, Me, Alberto, Dani, Fran, and Melissa.

And this is how you drink them.

New Experiences

This is a bird of paradise. I had never seen one of these before, but apparently they are common in Jill and Ellen's world - San Diego.

Lets see. Last week, I went with my senora, Carmen and her friends to eat at a convent for lucnh. To be honest, I originally thought I was eating at a monestary because the word for nun in Spanish is monja...and it was a bit deceiving. Apparently monje is monk. But anyways, at the convent, I tried for the first and last time..pig's feet. I can't say it was my favorite thing. Lots of bones, lots of fat, and very little meat, but very, very chewy. But the rest of the food was great! Also, we got to drink wine and beer at the convent. Apparently, the nuns supply the beer, but you have to bring your own wine with a limit of 5 bottles. I was surprised because I thought this would be the other way around, wine being in the Bible and all, but I guess since it has less alcohol content, it trumps wine. After lunch, we had coffee while the nuns came around selling lottery tickets. And I'm not sure why, but it happened.

I also tried bull tail with two of my Spanish friends this last weekend. And I will admit, I liked it. It helped that the gravy that was on it was incredible, but it tasted a lot like really, really tender roast beef. Very good. That night, Melissa and I also tried porrones for the first time. I'm not sure how to explain it really except that its a special kind of glass that you drink out of, but it takes lots of practice to perfect the art of drinking out of a porron. In their words, "You have to be one with the porron!" "Believe in the porron!" Such wonderful words of wisdom. By the end of the night, I had it down. I was told by Antonio and Diego that now I am a true Spaniard.

Malaga

Beach Time!

This is the Alcazaba - mother of the Alhambra. They saw this place was built so strategically, it was also impenetrable. But the story goes that the sultan in Granda visited the Alcazaba and fell in love. He returned to Granada and construction on the Alhambra began. While the Alcazaba was beautiful, it doesn't hold a candle to the Alhambra.

This is a Roman theater...and I'll be honest, I don't know much else. I couldn't hear the tour guide.

This is the Cathedral of Malaga. Apparently, it was never finished because Spain gave money to the US to help them fight for freedom from Britian. They didn't think about their colonies in the americas that would soon follow our lead. Bummer.

p.s. It looks finished to me.

Let's see. The night we got into Malaga, we headed for the beach. So beautiful - I'll miss the ocean back in Nebraska. The next day we went on a tour around Malaga. This city has such an interesting history. There isn't a lot left of antique Malaga because during the Spanish Civil War, Republican Malaga was invaded by the sea by Franco's forces while Italian and German forces helped by the air. Much of the city was destroyed. Also, the entire ruins of the wall that used to exist in arab times were destroyed.

Ronda

Ronda is a quaint little town with a lot of history. It is older than Rome. It has this huge, extremely unique bridge connecting the two sides of the city across a huge gorge. It's the only bridge of its kind in the world, and it was handmade. Pretty impressive, huh? Apartment buildings and other buildings are situated right on the edges of cliffs, and the views in this city are fantastic. Ronda was also home to the first round bull ring in Spain although it's not standing anymore.

We also were able to visit ruins of old arab baths. Apparently, the idea of public bathing was orignally Greek; then the arabs adopted the idea, and then the Romans. Many times the baths were located right near the entrance of the city because travellers needed to cleanse themselves after a long journey. The designs of these baths and how they worked are genius. There are four rooms. You start in the luke warm bath room, then move to the hot bath room, then the cold bath, and then the sauna. How the circulated heat and water was incredible. Hot air from coals and hard-working donkeys did it all.

When we got back from Ronda, we decided to try the Arab baths for ourselves. Here in Granada they have a building that they reconstructed like the old arab baths that used to be here. It was the most relaxing day ever. We went through all the rooms and different baths and then got a massage. Totally worth it, and we plan to return when it's a little colder outside. By the way, I'm still alright here walking outside without a jacket. Love it.

Renaissance Fair

Lots of different breads and cheeses!
Cake, cake, and more cake.

This guy was making bread.

Lots and lots of candy!

Well, I am just about in love with all of the different celebrations and festivals they have here in Granada! This was a Renaissance Fair, and it was soo much fun! So many different foods, and lots of neat things to buy - jewelery, toys, candles, decorations, ect. I will admit, I was here three times over the weekend. One day, there were musicians and clowns and the works, but I didn't have my camera on me. When I came back, camera in tow, they were gone. Major bummer.

The Vatican

One of Rafael's paintings.

This is another of Rafael. It is a painting of when Peter was released from prison by an angel. (At least I think it was Peter, wasn't it?)

One of the many painted ceilings.

One of the many sculptures. This one had a neat story that I can't remember - I was on information overload by this time.

A whole hallway of sculptures.

The vatican was a marathon, to say the least. We waited in line for an hour, and the place was so packed I kind of wanted to scream. The vatican is wonderful, but sooo overwhelming. It's hard to know where to look, the roman floor, the ceiling, the walls, the sculptures, the tapestries? And after awhile...you can look no more. And you couldn't pick and choose which rooms you wanted to see. If you wanted to see the Sistine Chapel, you were going to see the rest of the museum too. We endured three hours of "The Sistine Chapel is just around the corner!" But no, I did enjoy it very much. I really like seeing the Rafael rooms, and all of the old maps. And I forgot to write about the really neat quote on Rafael's tomb. It went something like this: "While Rafael lived, nature feared she would be outdone, when he died, she feared that she herself would die." Pretty neat, huh?

Anyways, there are so many incredible things at the Vatican, but the Sistine Chapel blew me away. It wasn't as big as I thought it would be, but still magnificent, nonetheless. It's hard to fathom how much work and time Michelangelo put into this. It has soo much detail and the angles are perfect. He was incredibly talented. The painting of Adam and God reaching out to touch eachother was small but so powerful. And the entire front wall painted as Judgement day is just as powerful, but disturbing. I wasn't allowed to take pictures in the Vatican, but definitely look these two paintings up online. Absolutely beautiful. I still can't believe I have been the things I've seen.