Mediterranean Adventure

So let's knock this out. haha. I haven't been too motivated to get these photos up, but here they are. Africa. I was stoked. I then went. I have been. That is about how the story goes. We stayed in Tarifa which is between Gibraltar and Cádiz in Spain. It was beautiful. The place we stayed was gorgeous and great. We learned quick that was kind of too far for a backpacker, but we managed. We took a ferry to Tanger, Morocco and went on a tour.

At first it was great. We saw a lot of cool places. We rode camels - if you consider a camel standing up a camel ride. We ate a delicious Moroccan lunch and I had a beer from Casablanca. Later we endured a torturous couple of hours in a timeshare like sell-a-thon. We were separated from the group and hit with a berage of sales tactics because we are Americans. We sat and listened for 30 minutes while our tour guides friend tried to sell us rugs, and then, immediately after, we went next door where his other friend tried to sell us spices. Glad to go. Glad to be back. Awesome. Here's photos:

Sunset in Tarifa, Spain near our hotel

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The beloved carpets. I wish I got the spices guy too.






The hotel



Snake charming. An ancient art with a modern gym-bag flare.



Tanger, Morocco



Tanger, Morocco



Love it.



Tanger, Morcco



Old fort on the beach in Spain



Our Hotel - Hotel Hurricane



I just thought the gas tank on picturesque beach was too ironic.



On the bus in Spain, looking out at Africa


Rope on the beach


So that's it. I've been on another continent. haha. It was great.

Plaza de España in Starwars!

So I've been to a planet in Star Wars. I don't know if I should be excited, it was episode 2. Anyways, I'll take it as a win. Just give it even more of a Spanish feel, it is in Spanish haha.

Here's the clip.

Lisbon, Portugal Part II

And to conclude this journey, we have more photos.



Outside of Monastery of Jerónimos



Monument to the Discoveries



Belém Tower



Pasteis de Belém - fantastic postre from Belém - they try to duplicate them, but only one place in the world has the recipe. They sell 35,000 a day.



Lisbon's most famous square. We stayed less than 5 minutes away from here.



Again at Monastery of Jerónimos, a storm was brewing.



Inside the Monastery



Also in the Monastery



haha also the Monastery



We also went to the aquarium here in Lisbon. We went under the impression that it was the second largest aquarium in the world - false. It was still pretty cool. They had a Pacific Sun Fish though - couldn't get a good picture of it. Anyways, Lisbon was awesome. I really enjoyed my stay there. I'm now in Tarifa (near Gibraltar) with my friend David Balmer. We're going to Morocco tomorrow! I'll post again soon.

Lisbon, Portugal Part I

So I went to Lisbon. It is the most beautiful city I've ever seen (so far). It's packed and gorgeous and over 3000 years old. I had a blast.
Stayed at Yes! Hostel - I highly recommend it. We went on a couple of cool walking tours / pub crawls and it was very cool. So I took some pictures. I didn't feel like putting them all up at once because it takes a while. They're all kind of mixed about.

So here's part I:






That dog was mean.



Fado is a type of Portuguese music. What I gathered is that it's like jazz or emo music where they try and make you cry. Atleast that's what the tour guide said.






Little section of the city that was destroyed by the earthquake in the 1700's.



Public restroom - no plumbing, just a wall. It's a classier way to use the bathroom on the side of a building - it even has a sign.






Cat.



Thought this was cool. The vandal of this particular property was throwing down life lessons.










To be continued...

Pig vs. Caveman

By popular demand - I have posted the pictures on facebook.
This is a public link to the album. Check it!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=346318&id=617066132&l=42268b5c51

Carnival in Cádiz

Carnival in Cádiz was crazy. It wasn't your normal traveling experience. Most of my photos were of an altercation that took place between two highly intoxicated Spanish guys. It was a battle of the ages as they were both in full costume - Pig vs. Caveman. Keep in mind this is about 3 PM. I took about 70 photos, but I'll put the highlights on here - maybe it deserves its own post. I think so. Anyways. After thousands of drunk Spaniards and foreigners pilled into this small city, all that was left was a trash pile and urine (not kidding). But I got a few pictures before the distruction.



Courthouse?







So there's a cat living on a cardboard box next to the water. It didn't like me.







4 AM trying to capture some lightning.



Glad this is over... 24 hours of walking around in a crazy city and sleeping on the floor of a train station next to what I'm pretty sure was throw up - yeah. But hey. I'll try and get a post up here of the valiant battle between man and beast.

Flamenco

So I went to a Flamenco show. It was kind of a cool coincidence. I ended up tagging along with a group of students and professors from Presbyterian College. We went to the museum of flamenco in Seville. It was founded by Cristina Hoyos who is one of the most famous flamenco dancers. You're not supposed to record the show, but somebody else on youtube did. If by extension I'm at a fault here, sorry. This guy is so awesome. It makes me want to learn!



So I tried to get a good photo without flash - fail

Granada

Alright so Granada is a cool place. After a late arrival, a late night, an early rise, 16 hours of walking to catch a 3 AM bus, I saw Granada and survived. I took some photos.

This is where Granada is (if you're like me and you don't know geography)

View Larger Map


Most of these photos are of the Alhambra. The Alhambra, from what I've been told, is a huge castle that some prince built for his girlfriend. It's huge, beautiful, and elaborate.




Catedral



Alhambra



Door. I find it funny how they cement in buildings for sale.



The rest are of the Alhambra (except the last).

Balloon!

The view off the terrace of our hostel. The Oasis hostel in Spain is superb - no joke. We had home-made Paella (cost a little extra) and a monstrous breakfast in a beautiful building all for 20 euro a night.

Travel with French people - they know how to enjoy themselves (smile).

Also! I met some people from SC the other day and saw some flamenco - always good times being a guiri.

Anyways. I am going to Cadíz this weekend (beach).
Blog - I'll talk to you real soon.