THE ROCK OF GIBRALTER IN THE BACKGROUND

 

GIBRALTER, MOROCCO AND PORTUGAL

From Costa del Sol, we took a ferry over to Spanish Morocco at Tetouan. Our guide got us through the passport hassle and then we were in African Morocco. What a difference! No wonder hundreds of African Moroccans sit up on a hill at the border looking for a chance to get through. I have read newspaper accounts of them rushing the border as a group and some getting shot.

We were guided carefully through the market area and Casbah. We got a glimpse of the shops and the myriad of items for sale before being hurried on. We went to a former palace and had a lunch to the piping of Moroccan musicians. The meal was a glutinous vegetable soup, tahini meat with vegetables, couscous with beef and mint tea with shortbread cookies. Then we were ushered to a rug factory where a Technicolor display of rugs were brought out for our perusal and some of our members bought. Then it was off to the bus once more. Having haggled in markets all over the world, I was disappointed that we didn’t get a chance there.

Then we went on to the British colony of Gibraltar. For such a small (but strategic) spot, it is a busy place. We got to see some of the Barberry Apes that live in the hills and are supposed to be a guarantee that the rock will always belong to Great Britain. We were at the main square for lunch. Spotting a fish and chips restaurant, I settled for that and was not sorry. A huge screen hung in the main square for the World Cup action.

We passed acres of almond and cork trees as we entered Portugal. I saw parts of it I didn’t see when I visited Ted here in ’83: the medieval section; the tomb of Vasco de Gama in the Hieronymite Monastery; dinner with Fado music and folk dances. We took the optional trip through Sintra, Cascais and Estoril with a lunch stop at Cascais. It was good to get out of the city and by the sea. This area is beginning to get popular with foreign retirees. Let’s hope it never gets as packed as Costa del Sol.

A STREET IN MOROCCO

 

OUR HOUSE IN DORDOGNE TAKEN WHILE CANOING ON THE RIVER

 

OUR TWO WEEKS IN DORDOGNE, FRANCE

The house that we rented in the Dordogne area of France for two weeks exceeded our expectations. Built in 1640, it was thoroughly remodeled in 2002. Wonderful views of the Dordogne River were from nearly every room. With four bedrooms to choose from, it wasn’t hard to grab on to the master suite. It took up all of one side of the house and was very spacious. The Jacuzzi tub was nice but what I really enjoyed was the shower that had water that hit you from every direction.

The gourmet kitchen was a treat to cook in with a six-burner range with a large and a small oven, side-by-side frig/freezer, wonderful cooking pans and a huge sink. A bar separated the kitchen table where we ate all of our meals. Enclosed with glass windows all around it, we could see the trees and the river as well as flowers in the garden. There were flowers everywhere, from which the gardener supplied us fresh bouquets. There was a myriad of eating places: the kitchen; a long antique table in the living room area; on a small patio outside the kitchen door; a patio next to the house; a patio table next to the barbecue; a table poolside. There was also a reading room and a TV room. I especially appreciated the excellent US-style washer and dryer.

Our friends, Fran and Janey joined us for the first week and we showed them some of our favorite places (Beynac castle, Roc de Gageac, Lascaux II cave) and then shared new places with them (Rocamadour, Les Eyzies cave and prehistoric museum, the automated toy museum in Souillac). We also introduced them to some of the pleasures of Dordogne---foie gras, French bread, good wines. It was such a pleasure to have them along. They left to go on a cruise the second week and we mostly relaxed around the infinity edge pool. The weather was unseasonably hot the two weeks so the pool was a godsend. We did get up enough energy to go to Bergerac and take the boat trip on the river (of course) and to drive to the town of Domme with its fantastic view over the valley and another interesting cave.

It was a long air trip home (made longer by flight delays) but it was a welcome sight to see my nephew Tom and his wife Leah patiently waiting for us at the Boston airport. We spent four more days at Tom’s lakeside home with more gracious hospitality on his part and a chance to see my brother Art and his wife Jo come up from Connecticut. Now we are back on the road once more.

OUR POOL IN DORDOGNE

 

LE ROQUE GAGEAC (MY FAVORITE VILLAGE)

 

WE ARE BACK IN THE GOOD OLD US FROM SPAIN

We feared that a two-week tour of Spain, Portugal and Morocco at the height of summer would be too hot but the weather and the tour turned out perfectly. We wanted to experience everything, so we signed up for the optional tours as well and totally exhausted ourselves.

Highlight of the tour for us was the 8th century Mosque of the Caliphs in Cordoba with its 850 pillars of porphyry, marble, onyx and jasper. The mosque was first built in 785 over a Visigoth church that, in turn, had been built over a Roman temple. It is again a cathedral in the center. It is almost as big as St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Other fascinating places were: the Alhambra with its “lace in stone”; flamenco dancing in Seville; an opera singer that entertained us at dinner in Madrid; the wonderful collection of art in the Prado in Madrid; the Toledo steel shop with its gold and silver inlay work; the quaint town of Mijas above the Costa del Sol; lunch with an Andalusian family in a small village; a visit to an olive oil farm.

According to the Spanish, their olive oil is now the best in the world and you can see the results of that as every hillside is covered with olive trees. Our guide was very knowledgeable and gave us a wealth of information on cultural, political, economic and historical perspectives. The influence of the Moorish occupation was all about us as we traveled.

The next blog will be on the travels in Gibraltar, Morocco and Portugal.

MOSQUE OF THE CALIPHS, CORDOBA

DOWNTOWN MADRID

 

THE ALHAMBRA IN GRANADA

 

ROMAN AQUADUCT IN SEGOVIA