Dave's Trip to Morocco

Dave spent a little over three days in Morocco with the students.  This was a cultural trip geared toward understanding the Muslim culture.  Their adventures included a camel ride, a trip to a hammam (Moroccan bathhouse), a visit with a women’s center in Tangier (to talk about what it’s like to be Muslim).

They also visited several towns, including the capital of Rabat (where protests were going on) and stayed in the medina (old walled city) with host families.  While there they went to the Kasbah (like "Rock the Kasbah"), which means ‘old fort’.  They also visited a market for shopping and a Mosque. 

Dave was surprised to find Morocco very green with a lot of crops in the ground.  They visited a rural village and had homegrown olives and olive oil. 

He says the Muslim people were great and very welcoming.  They have a strong sense of community and family.

Here are some pics:

Ferry from Tarifa to Tangier

Rooftop view of plaza in Tangier

Camel ride on the beach

Doorway in the coastal town of Asilah

Painting on the walls of Asilah

Ocean wall of the medina (old walled city) of Asilah

Muslim castle ruins in Rabat

Storks nesting on the ruins

Historic mosque in Rabat

Typical breakfast (crepes, rolls, and jam or honey, sometimes with cheese)

Homegrown olives and olive oil in rural village

Surprised donkey in the village

Chefchaouen plaza with Kasbah on the right

Dave haggling in Chefchaouen for the hat and coat

Street in Chefchaouen

View across the strait of Gibraltar to the rock

Normal, Everyday Stuff

Dave is off for four days to Morocco with his students for camel rides and other kinds of fun and new experiences.  The boys and I are staying in Madrid and we look forward to his safe return.

In the meantime, I thought I'd tell about a mashmash of our experiences and things that we notice around the city:
 
1) The women are dressed beautifully, even for a mundane trip to the grocery store.  This time of year nearly all women are wearing gorgeous boots.  The winter sale season has just about ended and spring fashions are on display in store fronts.  I'm inspired to dress better.


2) When we're walking around, we see teams of city workers picking up trash, raking leaves and smoothing gravel (not kidding) in the parks and public areas.  And yet there is graffiti everywhere in this otherwise tidy city.

3) During the week, we see few other children.  It is not unusal for Owen and Sam to be some of the only kids on the metro or at the playground.  On the weekends, it's a different story.  Child care is free for kids three and up.  Childcare facilities are on every block.  I can see two from the bedroom window of our apartment.  Here's one nearby:

4) So far the weather has been good.  We've had a few longer stretches of rain and some cold days, but for the most part it's been sunny and with highs in the low 50s during the day.  Next week it's supposed to be in the 60s!  I'm told that this is an unusually warm winter so far.

5) The language has been a difficulty.  I sometimes feel like I'm walking around in a bubble.  I study a little Spanish nearly everyday, try to read the local paper, and I've begun to practice speaking and listening every week with my new friend Miriam (which I enjoy very much).  So I'm getting there, but it's slow going.  The boys are starting to say a few words and will probably learn more than I will by the time we leave.

6) We often seen older men playing this game.  It's called Pétanque, which is similar to bocce ball.

7) Every street and plaza has these beautiful tiled signs on buildings nearby.  Some of them are quite elaborate.  There are no street signs, only these.

8) Tobacco shops are everywhere.  Besides tobacco, this is where you go for some metro passes and tickets to events happening around the city.   Other things that are common include fruit markets, fish markets, and florists.

9) The city is incredibly pedestrian- and bike-friendly.  Many of the sidewalks are bigger than the roadways.  The shopping is built around the walker rather than the driver.  I like that.

Pictures of Dave's Morroco trip next time....

Owen is 5!

We had a great time celebrating Owen's birthday yesterday. 

Solar System Decorations

Presents First Thing in the Morning (still sleepy)

Riding the new scooter

Another ride on the teleferico

Play

Picnic at the Park (Note Sam's chocolate milka cracker - yum)

Birthday Cake at the end of the Day

(Dave also lost his backpack (containing his wallet and camera lens) in the park.  But the day’s good will continued when we got back to our apartment and there was an email from some people who had found it.  Dave picked it up and nothing was missing!)

High in the Sky

Two weekends ago we took a trip by train to the mountains north of Madrid to a town called Cercedilla.  The town lies in the foot of the Guadarrama Mountains and we saw our first snow there.  Owen and Sam were thrilled. 

From just outside our apartment, we can ride both the metro and what is called the suburban rail line (Owen would say the red and white train).  We took the red and white to Cercedilla.

Here we are having a cafe at the bar. (That's Dave's cafe, not Owens.)

It was too cold to walk around much, but we plan to go back when it warms up.  It's a good spot for wild flowers:)

We found the most wonderful restaurant called Casa Gomez.  The chestnut mushroom soup was divine.

Here's a large cross north of Madrid that is visible from a great distance. 

Last weekend, we took a ride on the teleferico ( a cable car) in Madrid from Parque de Oeste to Casa de Campo (another huge park).  We did some hiking and found a new playground.  We had beautiful weather (60 degrees) and a really fun time.  Here are a couple pictures.