TravelStream™ news feed for member lar4290 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/lar4290 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 08 Aug 2009 09:32:13 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lar4290/usa/1160797800/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lar4290/usa/1160797800/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lar4290/usa/1160797800/tpod.html Sat, 08 Aug 2009 09:32:13 -0400 USA - My Lifetime of Travel

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Athens, Georgia, United States

For fall break, I went down to Athens to visit a few friends at UGA (University of Georgia) with my friend from Vandy, Shirley. Friday night, we met up with some friends from Vandy to go to a bonfire at some UGA fratboys' house a short walk from campus. On Saturday, Vandy played UGA and we had tickets to the game - which we actually won. Saturday night, Shirley sayed in and went around with David, exploring both downtown and the campus frat scene. It was a great night - I was definately surprised at how many people I knew whereever I went, both from Vandy and from Charlotte.

Athens is the perfect college town (other than Chapel Hill of course, I am a North Carolinian after all), but I had such a good time in Athens, with its lively bar scene, quaint downtown (we went to a cute olde diner), and big-state-school atmosphere.
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Meknes, Morocco

We woke up and left Fes early in order to drive to Meknes, another imperial capital (this time in the 1600s and 1700s). Our stop here was rather short, only a layover in between Fes and Rabat. It was a smaller but nice city, with another famous gate, Bab Mansour El Aleuj, which was once the entryway to the city. The city is especially neat because it still has walls around the old town, with multiple gates and arched entryways.
Our first stop was te Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail. We went into the entryway, but were not allowed inside the mosque itself. Afterwards, we stopped at a really neat shop where they etch silver and gold onto iron. They had all sorts of things - from animal figurines to plates in iron and they get a tiny piece of silver and hammer it against the iron so traces of it will come off - it was really neat - they had a ton of designs, so I bought a plate and an ornament.
On our way out of Meknes, we stopped at another mirador overlooking the city.
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Fes, Morocco

Fes was the total opposite of Chefchaouen - massive, sprawling, and made completely of whites, tans, and browns. There were no blues here (or very few). The streets were narrow, winding, and with no apparent pattern or logic. Everywhere in the medina (center city) and zoco (market) was bustling with people, action. Craftsmen and vendors were everywhere. People made loud, rude comments to the girls in our group. Apart from the occasional reminder, it really felt like we'd stepped back in time a hundred years.
My introduction to Fes was when we stopped at a lookout point over the huge city on our way inside. The pictures are incredible and the city seems to spread out forever, enveloping the surrounding countryside. Majestic hills rose in the background. No skyscrapers, there was so little inherently modern by the scene that I felt I could have been staring at the city a thousand years ago. To make things even more dramatic, we were at the lookout point just as the sun was beginning to set, which cast a serene glow over the city.
After the lookout point, we went to the hotel in the new town, where we had our first introduction to Moroccan green mint tea, which is very strong and served hot in tiny glasses. It's certainly interesting, and by the end of the trip I even developed somewhat of a taste for it. We ate dinner at the hotel and stayed in for the evening. We were definitely not venturing out alone here.
The next morning, after breakfast at the hotel, we set out on a sightseeing tour of the city, starting with the exterior gate of the Royal Palace, which features seven different doors of various sizes, all ornately decorated and made of solid gold. After a short photo op, we headed towards the Medina, walking through a neighborhood until we walked through one of the gates into the old town.
The medina was truly remarkable, one of the most memorable experiences of my life. It was packed with more shops than I can image. It's full of 9,000 pedestrian (and donkey/horse) streets with no apparent patterns (locals don't even need maps). To make matters even more confusing for foreigners, 5,000 of the streets are dead ends. Another thing that struck me was how there were cats all over Morocco, literally hundreds walking through the medina, presumably to keep the mice away. Seeing some of them was sad, made me want to adopt one and bring it back to the US with me.
There were definite signs of traditional ways of life. Donkeys and horses roamed the streets. Men and women were using the sides of buildings to make thread, wrapping string around and around.
We walked through the various streets and stands, stopping briefly at a building where Maimonides once lived. Around the corner, we stopped at an old Muslim University (of which unfortunately I do not recall the name).
Then we walked to a shop that sells gold and silver plates and decorations. They had impressive collections and were geared to the high end tourist crowds. Afterwards, we stopped in an impressive parlor room (again, we weren't really told what it was/what it is used for).
After that, we got mint leaves to mask the scent as we moved into the tannery district. This was probably the coolest single thing I saw in Morocco. We walked through tiny tunnels and back alleys to a leather shop which sold all sorts of colorful leather goods. We went up onto the shop's roof where we had a great view over the tannery (and the rest of the city for that matter). Below us were hundreds of adobe vats with different colors of dye to treat the leather in, and boys scrambling up and down working at the various stations. Overall, one of the neatest things I've seen (you have to look at the pictures to see what I'm talking about).
Then, stopped at a mosque, walked down another section of the market, and peaked into the Kairaouine Mosque, but non-Muslims aren't allowed to enter mosques in Morocco. Interestingly enough, Morocco is one of the only countries that bans non-Muslims from going inside mosques. It is a law dating back to the time of French colonization when there was worry that Christians going into the Muslim places of worship would cause social unrest and rebellion and that Christians would act out violently against the Muslims.
Our next stop was a carpet shop to look at fine Moroccan rugs. The store was incredible - it probably had ten thousand rugs and carpets of various textures, colors, and sizes. After the carpet store, we headed to a weavers guild that sold scarves. It was neat to actually see the craftsmen working the looms in front of us. Then, we headed to a traditional apothecary who told us about traditional medicine. It was the coolest of the stores we stopped in. It's crazy how everyone in Morocco seems to be selling something (and they're very good salespeople).
After that, we returned to the hotel for a late lunch. Then, we headed out to a ceramics shop/factory. It included a really neat guided tour of the whole process, from molding the clay, to the kilns, to the painting of the pottery, then to the area where workmen chip away small stone blocks to make mosaics, and finally to the shop, where the storekeepers once again tried to get us to buy things.
We ended our tour with a stop at another mirador overlooking the city, this time from the opposite direction, but still incredible.
That evening, we went to a "traditional" (i.e. touristy) Moroccan dinner and show. It was a little pricey, but the food was incredible - just mounds and mounds of great food, a sample so you can try all sorts of traditional dishes for appetizers, salads, main course, and dessert. They were very accommodating of the vegetarians in the group, something we didn't find too often. The show was pretty good, but wouldn't have been near worth it without the dinner. It featured several belly dancers and traditional musicians.

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Chefchaouen, Morocco

Our first stop in Morocco was Chefchaouen, a village high in the mountains. It is known as one of the "Blue Villages", because the walls and doorframes are painted blue in order to keep mosquitoes away. The blueness of the town as well as its perch in the hills, made it unforgettable. Overall, I think that this was my favorite place in Morocco.
I was initially struck by how poor Morocco is in comparison with other places I've been. I knew it wasn't up to European standards, but even compared with many places in Latin America (where they have at least cars instead of horses and donkeys) it seemed poor. And to think that comparatively it is one of the richer countries in Africa. It truly made me want to see more of the non-first world.
We were only here for a few hours, first exchanging out money, then walking through the medina and to the washing area in the mountains before settling down in the middle of town for a late lunch. I'll let the pictures of Chefchaouen speak for themselves about its natural and man-made beauty and simplicity.

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Ceuta, Spain and Canary Islands

Our ferry landed in Ceuta, the small Spanish possession on the Moroccan coast. We disembarked, and headed to our bus, where due to our lost bus driver, we had a mini tour of the town on the way out. It seemed pleasant enough, but much less lively than the similar Gibraltar (Britain's small possession on the Spanish coast). Anyways, soon thereafter, we left on our way to Chefchaouen. On the way out, we had to stop at the Moroccan border crossing, which was somewhat intimidating. We saw people trying to cross the border between Spain and Morocco on foot. The guards at the border were unlike typical border guards who just check and stamp your passport. They actually looked through each of ours carefully and checked the luggage under the bus.
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Algeciras, Andalusia, Spain and Canary Islands

On the morning of Thursday, June 19, we woke up very, very early and caught a bus at 6am down to Algeciras, a Spanish port on the Mediterranean, right next to Gibraltar. That is where our ferry to Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast, departed from at 10 o'clock. The ferry ride was only about 90 minutes and it was a lot of fun - we had great views of the Spanish coast and of the shipyard in Algeciras.
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Granada, Andalusia, Spain and Canary Islands

We arrived in Granada around 12:30, ate lunch at the hotel around 1, and then headed to the Alhambra, within walking distance of our hotel. It was nice to stay so close to the Alhambra, however this meant our hotel was a good walk from the center of the city, as the Alhambra is on a high hill overlooking the city.
The Alhambra was the palace of the Muslim rulers of Granada when it was the capital of Al-Andalus. It contains great examples of Muslim architecture as well as a partial coliseum-type round structure built by Charles V, grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella and first king of a united Spain. The complex is surrounded by a fortress wall.
The Alhambra is the most visited sight in Spain - even more popular than the Prado or the Palace in Madrid or Gaudi's buildings in Barcelona. That fact was obvious as soon as I arrived, for there were lines everywhere - tourist groups form all over the world as well as a ton of groups of Spanish schoolchildren. When you visit, you get a ticket marked with a specific time for your tour (you have to buy it days in advance), and you are only let in within that 30 minute window.
We arrived slightly early, so we went to the Citadel first. It had incredible views of El Albacin, the old Muslim quarter, below, and the rest of the complex. Then our tour began with the Palace that Charles V began but never finished. Afterwards, we toured the extensive Moorish part of the palace, which had incredible architecture, fountains, and decorations. Then, we walked through the gardens until we reached the Generalife (the Architect's Garden), which is also worth a visit.
After our tour of the Alhambra, we walked down the hilly walkways to the downtown area of the city, an eclectic mix of old (i.e. Muslim roots) and newer (i.e.1500-1800 time frame). We went to a quirky area full of street vendors selling jewelry, tea, hookahs, and other random products. It was quaint and we shopped around for a while before stopping at a tea bar, Teteria Alfaguara. We eventually caught a bus up the hill towards the Alhambra and our hotel, where we ate dinner and took a short nap before going out in the trendy downtown area. It was a fun night, as there was a good range of pubs, bars, and clubs all within a short distance - and all promising better deals than the one before. And, the best part was that at many of the traditional bars, you got a free tapas plate with every beer you ordered. After a couple drinks there we had to leave, as we were too stuffed to eat any more!
The next morning, we went on a tour of El Albacin, the old Jewish and Muslim district of the city. We started out high on the mountain, and then walked down through the neighborhood, stopping by a couple of Miradores (look out points) on the way down. We had great views of the Alhambra across the way and the nearby mountains. It was nice to walk through a quiet neighborhood where we could actually see more traditional Spanish culture. I'd highly recommend exploring this area of Granada to any visitor.
After our tour, we ended up downtown, where we walked along the historic district. We visited the Capilla Real de Granada, the chapel where the Catholic Kings, Ferdinand and Isabella, are buried. The inside was magnificent.
Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel, where we hung out at the pool until it was time to head back to Sevilla.
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Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain and Canary Islands

On Thursday, June 12, we went on a day trip to Cordoba, the first capital of Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) - a caliphate was located here from the 8th to the 12th century, at which time the Muslim capital moved to Sevilla, until it fell in 1248 and moved on to Granada, which remained capital of Al-Andalus until the Mores were finally thrown out of Spain by Ferdinand and Isabella in 1492.
Cordoba, a much smaller city than Sevilla, is most famous for its Cathedral, which was the old mosque of the city. Instead of almost completely destroying the Muslim mosque as they did to build the Cathedral in Sevilla, those who reconquered Cordoba converted the space to a church without significantly changing the huge structure. Centuries later, however, a Christian altar and shrine were built in the middle of the structure, destroying part of it. For the most part, it is still intact and one of the best preserved mosques in Spain.
It truly is an impressive sight (on some lists it is one of the "new" wonders of the world, and rightfully so in my opinion). Anyways, the Cathedral/Mosque of Cordoba was our first stop in the ancient city, actually established by Romans, of which one Roman bridge across the river still remains.
Right when entering the city, the Moorish architecture of the mosque startles the visitor. Its minaret, converted to a bell tower by the Christians similar to the Giralda in Sevilla, stands prominent as do the huge outer walls of the mosque. Upon entering the complex, there is a patio full of orange trees. Once one enters the mosque, the sheer size is overwhelming, as is the monotony. Hundreds of red-and-white striped horseshoe arches support the massive building, their columns stretching down into the interior. Interestingly enough, the Mores used old Roman column capitals on their columns for construction, so there is a Roman element to the building as well, which is pretty obvious when one looks closely. On one wall of the building, original Muslim rooms that housed the Koran remain. Also, in the back there is a small chapel built by the Christians but mimicking the architectural style of the original mosque - only instead of geometrical patterns, scenes from the Bible are painted onto the arches and columns. Unfortunately, the light isn't good in there and most pictures don't come out very well.
After finishing up at the mosque, we took a short tour of the old Jewish quarter of the town, which was very picturesque and somewhat similar to the Barrio Santa Cruz in Sevilla. We visited one of the only three surviving synagogues in all of Spain (the other two are in Toledo). There is a Courtyard and a Street of Flowers, in which flower pots cover the walls of all the buildings. From there, there is a good view of the Minaret tower through the alleyway. All over this part of town, the Muslim architectural elements are obvious, from horseshoe arches to narrow, curving streets. However, many of these are mudejar (built during the Christian time period designed to imitate Muslim style because it was preferred aesthetically), as is obvious by the interlay of human figures in the artwork, which is against Muslim tradition.
In the early afternoon, we headed back to Sevilla. On the slightly less than two-hour drive, there are beautiful fields of sunflowers covering the landscape. Just lovely.
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Sagres, Algarve, Portugal

At 7, we headed for Sagres, the tiny town on the very tip of Portugual, to watch the sunset to the west over the Atlantic. It was truly one of the most inspiring places I've ever been. I can imagine how people used to think that this, the corner of the Iberian Peninsula, marked the edge of the earth.
We got there about 45 minutes before sunset, which allowed us to explore the area of Cabo Vicente a bit before settling down on the cliffs over the sea to watch the sunset. It was such a clear night and truly beautiful to watch. The only downside was that it was incredibly, incredibly windy, and thus freezing cold out there on the cliffs.
Anyways, if you are in the area, I'd say that you have to go to see the magnificent cliffs rising out of the Atlantic, and that sunset is a perfect time to go. It's only about 45 minutes by car away from Lagos.
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Lagos, Algarve, Portugal

After our lecture in Lisbon on Friday morning, three of us took the metro to the Sete Rios Bus Station and caught a bus for Lagos, in the Algarve on the southern coast of Portugal. After arriving, some four hours later, we caught a cab and headed to Praia Doña Ana, the beach on which our hotel, Sol e Praia (Sun and Beach) was located. Soon after checking in, the rest of our group, which came straight from Sevilla, arrived.
Lagos was truly an amazing experience. Located on Portugal's southern Atlantic coast, it has some of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen - including spots in Mexico, the Caribbean, Spain, California, and Hawaii. The rock formations coming out of the water made the location so naturally beautiful and majestic. The water was cold, but the weather was perfect - mid-80s - during our stay. Plus, it was sunny and gorgeous - not a cloud in the sky!
Lagos is a small town, overrun with foreigners, both Americans looking to party on vacation, and northern Europeans (lots of Brits, Swedes, and Danes) who move down - either permanently or temporarily - for the sun. Given that, it has a really chill, surfer type mentality. It was very laid back, both in its nightlife and in its overall atmosphere.
Since we didn't get there until 4, we walked down to the beach to check it out, then tanned on the pool by the roof for about an hour before heading inside to shower and get ready to go out.
We ate dinner at a local restaurant, started by an American who visited Lagos and fell in love with the place so he just never left, called Nah Nah Bah, a Jamaican-themed restaurant with a variety of food. At night, it turns into a bar. It was some of the best food I had on the trip. After about a month in Europe, I was definitely craving some American food (not that I don't love tortilla española), and Nah Nah Bah hit the spot. We had local versions of a Long Island iced tea type drink, pasta, and nachos (which were on the house because the manager forgot to put the appetizer order in). Truly amazing. After that we headed to Joe's Garage, a fun local bar that featured all kinds of drink specials, including one where you pay 2 euros to roll the dice and get a drink assigned to your number (it was a good deal considering that included in there were pints of beer and several types of cocktails like sex on the beach). We hung out there until it closed, then we moved on to another bar. Eventually, we walked back to the hotel from the downtown area, about a 15 minute walk, which was rather pleasant.
The following day, we headed out for a bottomless sangria cruise at 10 in the morning. Our boat, unsurprisingly, was the first the company had ever had that actually finished the "bottomless" sangria. Anyways, besides the sangria, the cruise along the Algarve coast was well worth it, the scenery was spectacular. Midway through, we got onto tiny motor boats to go in and out of the various caves and rock formations along the coast. It was just spectacular.
After the cruise docked, we hung out on a beach by the harbor, which was relatively unimpeded by rocks. It was a perfect spot for laying out and reading for the afternoon. Around five, we headed back to the hotel to change and get ready to go to Sagres for the evening (next entry).
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