Spanish Reflections

Upon our arrival in Spain it was hard not to compare it to Marrakech, where we have been for 3 months now and where we are seriously missing some westernized standards.

For example at some point Garren and I both noted how quiet the streets of Sevilla are. That's not say that they are silent and devoid of traffic, but they are devoid of constant honking, beeping and a million scooters, bikes, donkeys, carts and god knows what else screaming by as you try to cross the street. Even their light rail is quiet. And with that observation we immediately noticed how CLEAN Sevilla was. No fumes from passing trucks, scooters or cars (The idea of "green" or even smog control has not reached Morocco yet). No trash or construction debris in the street. No cats and dogs wandering around. No people sitting on sidewalks looking for handouts. It is a stark contrast and it was a strange feeling to consider it a luxury for the weekend.

Alternate observations included the number of strollers out and about. Now I know there are a few people who may be thinking, "Her biological clock is going like this!" (insert an image of Marisa Tomei from My Cousin Vinny), but seriously I don't think I've seen so many strollers in all my life. The number of children, babies and pregnant women observed on a typical day was insane. Maybe it's the Catholic culture prevelant in Spain, maybe it's just a city where it is good to raise a family or maybe we're just not used to seeing strollers here in Marrakech, but there were children EVERYWHERE (dressed alike I may add - and I wondered where my mom got that from) and if I knew what was good for me I would invent the new "IT" stroller and sell it in Spain because I would make a fortune. Below was my attempt to show how many strollers there were, however everytime I attempted to take a picture with multiple strollers in it someone got in my way. So I've circled them. They're there I swear. I didn't make it up. And I've got several more pictures of other strollers taken within a 10 minute period to prove it.