An unabashed tourist and her family explore the world one holiday at a time.
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 the impressive Roman bridge that...
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 blow the budget. But little...
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 my inexperienced taste buds. I...
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 hawkers that much and some...
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 at nondescript white houses that...
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 classically beautiful Moorish buildings. I...
Regular readers may have noticed that there was no blog post last week and, although I know you were all undoubtedly devastated by this silence on my part, rest assured it was for good reason. Gareth and I spent the week in Botswana and Zimbabwe on what I have fondly christened our African Adventure 2011. We were only gone for...
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 needed a break from the...
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 quickly slipped past everyone and...
