Marrakech

18 January

Words cannot describe this incredible place...
WOW!

The airport was quiet...none of the expected throng.  Into the taxi and next thing we knew we were driving amongst donkeys and carts, the craziest of motorbike riders, passing camels awaiting riders...
The taxi pulled up and we were at the edge of the Medina (the old part of town) being whisked away by a boy with a dodgy-looking trolley who scooped up our bags and virtually ran us through the crazy streets, banging the trolley as he went to clear the way.  Motorbikes raced past, more donkeys, people scurrying along the narrow streets, zig-zag left...right there...left...left again...

Finally, when we seemed to be in the back streets of nowhere, we arrived at an unmarked door; our riad, Reves de l'Orient...
our tranquil haven in the midst of the madness for the next three nights...

So here is a slice; a sliver of my Marrakech...

Incredible, wonderful, at times overwhelming...absolutely amazing.

Salamanca

17 January...feels like another a long time ago...
An added bonus extra beautiful place to visit in Spain was a day trip to Salamanca en route to Madrid.
We rose and shone early to travel into the golden city with Tito, who works there.
Bus tickets direct to Madrid airport were booked (in Spanish of course!) and we set off to discover a few treasure of this vibrant home of one of the oldest universities in the world.
Tito met us in between classes to give us a whistle-stop tour of some of Salamanca´s hidden treasures, and we were on the bus and off to Africa...well nearly...

                                ...a re-enactment of the Spanish Inquisition...especially for us!

Hervas again

So tomorrow morning we leave early for Salamanca with Tito.
We've really had the most wonderful time here...it's hard to put into words the warmth and hospitality we've been shown by total strangers who now feel like friends.

Today we re-organised the bags...again...dried the washing (...oh the joys of travellong for such a long time!) and spent a lovely afternoon visiting some interesting Roman ruins at Caparra, before heading to Plasencia for lunch in the town-in-Spain/city.in.NZ.



 ...this is not our washing by the way...
                      they are NOT my undies !!!




Tomorrow we'll spend the day exploring some of Salamanca before boarding a bus which will take us to Madrid Barajas...the airport.  We stay tomorrow night in a hotel nearby and then it's off to Marrakech on Tuesday.

Depending on the availability of time and a computer, this could well be the last post until we see you all again, safe and sound, poorer but richer, in New Zealand.
Hasta luego...

...to Toledo

January 13
After a fantastic stay in Granada we made our longest journey of the trip so far (apart from the flight over aaargh) to Toledo; Don Quixote country.
Passing through Jaen, we decided we´d never seen so many olive trees in our lives.  The countryside was beautiful...an ever-changing landscape and a brilliant day on which to view it.

First pit-stop was in a lovely little village-in-Spain/town-in-NZ called Baeza, which Brent had read about in a book at the hotel.
A bocadillo filled with squid, a few photos and a walk around, and we then went to another nearby town/village Ubeda. Both very pretty and a noticeable change in the colour of the stone buildings to a soft ochre/gold...

We arrived in Toledo just before the sun set and headed for the Cathedral, as our hotel was only a block from it...only problem was that it was the wrong cathedral...
Once again, providence ruled, and we found our way through the old part of town, to Santa Isabel (not de Real) and a room with a view...

Yes, we were very close to the Cathedral...
Luckily, I took photos that night because the next day Toledo was covered in a thick blanket of niebla...fog.
We spent the morning visiting a synagogue for a change, and another cathedral.
Sadly the El Greco Museum was closed for building work, although I managed to see many of his portraits in the incredible art collection inside the cathedral, which also starred Caravaggio, Rubens, Titian and Raphael. The streets of Toledo were captivating.
It's a beautiful place I´d like to see more of one day,as soon as I get that song out of my head...

Alhambra

January 12 (time travel)
An earlyish start as we were booked ( they limit the numbers able to enter at any one time...great idea) to go into the Nasrid Palaces of the Alhambra at 10am and it was advised to arrive there an hour beforehand so as not to miss your slot. Brilliantly efficient online-booking system and we were inside the grounds with time to spare.  On arrival, I discovered there was an extra treat in store for me, a Matisse exhibition...one of my favourite artists of whose work I´ve managed to see little of in my travels...

What a fabulous exhibition!...Matisse had visited this beautiful place a hundred years ago, and his work was displayed alongside images and objects that had inspired him...
So here you are...no more words...

Jed even lasted four hours on the bribe of a trip to McDonalds afterwards...

Hervas

I´m planning to return to Granada and the Alhambra in the next blog, but couldn´t resist sharing this exclusive live footage of Brent and Tito, our host with the most (and the best All Black boxers we´ve seen in Spain!) partaking in a lively bit of haka here in Hervas, Extramadura...

We´ve just passed a wonderful day in the company of such nice people....sitting in the sun, partaking in a glass of the best Spanish wine (thanks Paco!) eating delicious pork cooked on a real barbecue...bliss!

We´re currently staying in a delightful little town called Hervas, nestled near some of Spain´s many mountains.
This morning we breakfasted in freshly-made churros; sort of Spanish donuts, and walked them off through the local 'forest' before our splendid alfresco lunch.

Tito & Blanca´s house, designed by Tito

Tito el toro

After lunch we walked to the 'House of Paco', about 2km including a death-defying (for me) railway bridge, from the village.  It looked so beautiful in the setting sun...

.
..and of course a visit to the house would not have been complete without a pat and an apple or two for Lisa...
She seemed to be very happy to see us (in a nonchalant, donkey sort of way) and is looking happy and well.  By the way she muttered something in Spanish which sounded like ¨"Hola y besos para Vera y Javier en Nueve Zelanda???"




Back to Tito and Blanca's lovely house, which is where the haka was performed, as well as impressive cider-pouring demonstrations and much laughter...
It´s hard to imagine we only have several days left in this wonderful country.
We've seen so many beautiful places and met so many nice, gracious people.
The Spanish people seem to genuinely like children, and show a real interest in them.
The food,wine and coffee are very good...always an indication of culture.
We´ve seen so much and yet there are still many more places to visit...maybe we´ll have to come again...

Grazalema to Ronda to Granada...

January 11...a most auspicious day...
We left the lovely town of Arcos and travelled through some mountain roads to stop off at a beautiful little village...another one...called Grazalema.  The rain and fog lifted to order as we arrived...

Eeny meeny miney mo and it was off on a slight detour to Ronda, which was well worth the effort.
Another Plaza de Toros (bull-fighting arena)...one of the oldest in Spain.  Picasso sat on one of these seats...

...Ernest Hemingway extolled the virtues of the town in his writings. The view from the bridge was incredible, and not for the faint-hearted.  More narrow, cobbled streets...more photos...

From Ronda it was on to Granada, where miraculously in this big bustling city we found our way to the Albayzin/Albaicin (oldest part of the town) by following Alhambra signs, asking at a hotel where we were told "it´s very far from here", and more than a dash of the good luck that seems to have surrounded us on this trip...Once in the heart of the Albayzin, a phone call to our (fabulous, highly recommended)hotel; Santa Isabel La Real, was required to pin-point our exact destination, which ended up to be about half a kilometre away. Incredible!

En route to Granada, we couldn´t believe how many olive trees we saw...millions upon millions...all about to be harvested/already harvested/in the process of ... more photos, as I found a new fascination akin to my fixation for grapevines...

That night we dined like kings, queens and princes at the Mirador de Aixa, complete with stunning views of the Alhambra no less.  Great way to whet the appetite for our planned visit the next morning.  We ate the best food (including the tail of the toro!) and drank the best wine (from the region of Paco) ...the perfect end to a magnificent day.