I guess when your friends start sending you messages asking if you have fallen off the edge of the world, it's time to blog. Time in Europe seems to be passing more quickly than corn, peanuts or asparagus. No matter how much I have seen and done, I have found myself being very travel greedy. Looking at maps, travel pictures, magazines, or watching National Geographic, I find myself saying, "I want to go there/see that" or "It would be awesome to go back there just one more time before we head back to the US." There's only so much time to pack it all in, which is why I haven't blogged much lately.
February had me arriving in Vegas on Super Bowl Sunday for a ten day degenerate bender. I was totally pumped for this poker trip. I got deep several times, but couldn't make it rain. Also, it appears I couldn't take any pictures. I must have been holding out for a beauty with a big old pile of chips. Didn't happen. In fact, I ran so well that my girlfriend texted my at one point, "If you lose it all, I still have a $25 gift card to Olive Garden." I love my friends! I got to see several and even made a few new ones. See, my luck wasn't all bad.
Days later my sista-friend, Professor Sexy came through Ferrara. I wasn't over my jet lag by the time I kissed her goodbye and boarded a boat for Spain.
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Barcelona was pretty wicked fantastic. World architecture has always fascinated me, but getting to go play in a Gaudi's Park Guell was a fairytale. While perhaps not as famous as his Sagrada Familia, the park seemed more congruent and natural. The Cathedral was amazing, but the nativity and passion facades were in sharp contrast. The drippy sand castle effect that oozed from the Gaudi directed areas end abruptly, then morph from natural to stark, oversized, and angular. Generally, the cathedral lacked flow and consistency, something Park Guell with its undulating paths and structures achieved effortlessly. We also got to see Casa Mila and Casa Batllo which were both breathtaking even just from street level.
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| Hassan II Mosque, Morocoo |
We had never been to Africa. We thought that was silly. So we went. We had actually booked a trip to see the Pyramids last year, but that darn Arab Spring and war in Libya thing totally ruined our plan. Drat. This time we went for Morocco. Morocco is dirty. Really dirty. Like I-considered-throwing-away-my-clothes-at-the-end-of-the-day dirty. If I hadn't been wearing such a darn adorable outfit, I would have. Here's a great big mosque. I'm not Muslim, but this mosque sounded pretty cool. Half of this moorish building is on top of the Atlantic and portions of the floor are glass, providing views. It is all in reference to the Qur'an verse saying, "the throne of Allah was built on water". Amazingly, this is one of just two mosques in Morocco that lets non-muslims in...unfortunately the guide we hired sucked major couscous and took us after the last tour left. On the bright side he didn't drive us out to the middle of nowhere...wait, yes he did. Ok, but he didn't leave us there. That was good.
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| Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain |
There are seven Canary Islands and Tenerife is the biggest of these volcanic stunners. It was a gorgeous combination of coast lines and mountain climbs with a winery tour and lunch thrown in. Our tour guide was great...even being from Denmark.
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| Funchal, Portugal |
Husband works with a Portuguese guy and he gave the gouge on the local area. He said we had to have the limpets and the poncha. Sounds like a merry troupe of dancing leprechans. I'm in. Well, limpets are mussles - guess that's a normal islandy thing. Rum drinks...also a normal islandy thing. Poncha is a traditional drink made from cane brandy, lemon juice, and honey. Its taste is somewhat similar to licking the floor of a night club directly after closing. It is served in a largish juice glass without ice. It is roughly as potent as pouring yourself a quadruple. I didn't like the taste so I drank it quickly...ok, I chugged it. This was followed by an almost immediate desire to dance badly and sing karaoke. Luckily it was midday so the worst I could do was order limpets and pass out.
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| Malaga, Spain |
This was a pleasant surprise! Malaga was a clean, condensed, historically preserved, charming city with horse drawn carriages and a bull ring. Everything from ancient Roman ruins, gorgeous cathedrals, to an old castle were within walking distance. The tapas were fabulous, but the wine tasted a bit too much like poncha for me to drink any of it. This town was where Picasso was born and raised. Like so many of us, he left his home town at 19 and never returned. Regardless of his wandering ways, there was an absolutely fantastic Picasso museum with 285 works of art donated by the Picasso family. That was one prolific dude.
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| Rome, Italy The Colosseum |
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| Ivy, Professor Sexy and me :) |
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| In Parma, Italy |
This last weekend we went on a bus trip to Parma. We saw how Parmigiano-Reggiano is made. Saw some Parma ham hanging around and got a lesson on traditional Balsamic vinegar. The tour guide told us that parmigiano is a good food for lactose intolerent people. I probably should have tested that with a bit less cheese. It was delicious, but my poor tummy hurt for two days.
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| Me & Momma T in Venice, Italy |
And maybe just one or two more trips back to the touristy, yet endearing town of Venice. This trip we took time to tour the Doge's Palace, something we hadn't quite gotten around to on prior trips. Otherwise, we spent the day popping in and out of random churches, shops and alleys. Momma T even found a fellow Texan to speak with at lunch. The Americans in Venice likely outnumber the Venetians by tenfold.
Turns out I haven't fallen off the edge of the world, but I have done my part to find it!
