Destroyed

A weekend in Barcelona equals good food, decent weather, great friends, mini reunion with my husband of one year, amazing gelato and painful feet.

Either I didn't expect to walk so much or my flip flops really just hate me. Blisters and a possible streched tendon were my prize. Don't worry Christine, I don't think it's actually streched or skewed or really hurt it at all. I'm ok. Not even limping anymore. I swear. My feet are only starting to forgive me for abusing them, and only because I have avoided the blister loving shoes since returning to Prague, but the weekend was worth it.

Want recommendations? I've got them!

Amorino Gelato - They shape the gelato into a flower people. And you can have as many flavors as you want. Genius!
Ciutat Comtal- mmmm Razor Clams and Champagne based Sangria
La Bouqueria - I love you Spanish Iberico Jamon. LOVE YOU
Park Guell - Gaudi is not boring

And as usual I need a vacation from my vacation. One of these days it will be a lay on the beach and only roll over for booze or food kind of vacation. One of these days....

Hopefully Kept Man will provide you all with photos. He has the camera.

Layover Check

We're about to leave Madrid for a 16 hour travel day to California. Thanks for the day Madrid, it was great. You made our lives much less stressful with no possible missed connections and you had space for us at the bullfight. Good day.

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.

Irish Girl Found Some New Potatoes

So I'm back in the land of the living. Or should I say the land of the computer with internet connectivity?

I flew back to Marrakech from Sevilla this morning, sans husband. He's still trekking around Spain enjoying the countryside and their fabulous beer. I unfortunately am back to reality tomorrow morning and am off to work. I have however enjoyed my return to Marrakech being lazy and watching as many TV shows as my computer will download while eating in bed. (Hubby will yell at me later for this which is why I did it while he is off traveling. Hah-Hah! Have to find the silver lining somewhere!)

Right so Sevilla. Awesome town. Totally my speed. Very young, very hip (I felt so unfashionable) and lots of great food. On our first day we discovered a tapas dish by the name of Patatas Bravas which on the English menu we were provided translated to Brave Potatoes. What girl of Irish descent wouldn't try potatoes by that name? I ask you! Basically it's home fries covered in aioli and hot sauce. There is of course room for interpretation on this and it's prepared differently in different bars (yes we tried it more than once) as well as different cities (I believe), but I give Sevilla's Patatas Bravas in particular two thumbs up. Garren and I will be attempting them on his return to Marrakech. Because well why not. Seriously yum.

We we also be attempting to make a passable sangria. We've tried before with not much luck. (It sat in the fridge for 2 weeks because it was that "good") But oh my, our first taste of Sangria in Sevilla in the picturesque area of Santa Cruz was lip smacking. Delicioso. (Hence the above picture, although as you can see, Garren was having beer and totally in his happy place.)

Basically what I'm saying here is that Sevilla and its laid back culture is on the retirement list. Seriously all anyone seems to do is eat, drink, take a siesta and then repeat. I'm sure there is work being done somewhere. Right? The retirement list also currently includes Santa Barbara and the Loire Valley. In case you were wondering.

We're not picky just a little place for us to lay our head and enjoy the rest of our lives. Where's the winning lottery number when you need it? Oh that's right in Spain. They sell lotto tickets everywhere. Little old men walking around asking everyone if they want one. And then actual lotto windows where you can buy more. Freaky gaming Catholics (Bingo anyone?) how I love your beautiful Spanish city.

Mini Break

Garren and I are going to Spain next week. It’s a holiday here in Morocco on the 6th (Fête de la marche verte) and I’m taking advantage of the long weekend and even taking an extra day to boot! Garren the lucky duck is taking a whole week to explore Spain or wherever he decides his travels will take him.

While I’m excited to spend some time with my husband somewhere else besides our apartment is it weird that I’m not really that excited about going to Spain? Specifically Seville for any of you wondering.

I think I would be more excited if I wasn’t worried more about the hassle.

1. I don’t speak Spanish which makes me uncomfortable
2. I’m returning to Morocco on my own, which means
   a. I have to go through customs on my own
   b. I have to deal with the thieving taxi drivers on my own at the airport and probably get screwed on the cab fare home
3. I know nothing about Seville and have had no time to do any research

I know all of you back home are going Spain! For the weekend! Quit complaining. So on the brighter side:

1. The cost of the ticket was $43 round trip
2. I’m going to eat Tapas until I burst
3. Tapas + Beer is even better!
4. Flamenco show
5. Roman Ruins
6. Exploring a new city with my hubby

And if any of you are screaming at your computers at my lack of enthusiasm and have some ideas about what we should do, let me know. I’d love to hear it.