An unabashed tourist and her family explore the world one holiday at a time.
And so the Spain 2010 trip finally comes to and end, which means it’s time to reflect on what we did right, where we went wrong and what we should never mention again! Although Gareth’s parents joined us for most of the trip, the exercise is really to determine what the two of us thought Continue Reading
On the last day of our Andalucían holiday, Gareth and I visited Córdoba, which turned out to be the city we liked best. We managed to find a free parking spot on the banks of the Guadalquivir river and set out on foot towards the old town. Our first view of the city was of Continue Reading
Our next stop was Ali Baba’s Cave of Wonders. Or so it seemed to me. I gawked at all the wonderful items for sale: the beautiful Moroccan lamps, the copper and leather goods, the silver jewellery sparkling from every corner. As soon as we’d set foot in the shop I knew I was going to Continue Reading
The next stop on our whirlwind tour of Tangier was lunch at a restaurant that turned out to be surprisingly nice. Once again, I think this experience was created specifically for tourists, because the restaurant itself had normal Western toilets (to my great relief!) and the food, although very tasty, wasn’t all that strange to Continue Reading
After our camel ride, the tour bus dropped us off just outside the walls of the old city of Tangiers. We walked through the twisting alleyways, trying to fend off the almost aggressive touts flogging copper ornaments, bangles and postcards. Although it seemed like the other members of our group, all Americans, didn’t mind the Continue Reading
Our day trip of Tangier in Morocco started with a bus tour through the newer parts of the city. As a port city so close to Europe, it consists of various regions in which expats from that continent flock together. We drove past the British section, peering through the mist rolling in from the ocean Continue Reading
Morocco was one of those places that I had always wanted to visit. I listened enviously to the stories of others who had already travelled there, my mind conjuring up exotic images of colourful spices, markets where you can buy everything from copperware to magic carpets to intricately-worked silverware, and dimly-lit alleyways between rundown yet Continue Reading
Along with the Alhambra, the Generalife gardens and its palace is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The name is derived from the Arabic Jannat al’Arif, which means “Architect’s Garden” and refers to Muhammed III, the sultan of Granada (1302 – 1309). It was used as a summer estate, a place of refuge, when the sultan Continue Reading
When the time had finally arrived for us to enter the Alhambra’s Nasrid Palaces, a group of people were mulling around the entrance. We were all herded into the first room of the first palace, where everyone stopped dead and listened attentively to their handheld guides. The room was crowded and gloomy and Gareth and I Continue Reading
There isn’t much to see inside the Alhambra’s alcazaba, but we had fun nonetheless walking along its walls and exploring the foundations of what used to be the military barracks. The soldier’s quarters seem very small to me, but if you look carefully you’ll see one of them, probably the commanding officer’s house, was large Continue Reading