The square at night
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Djemma el-Fna
Djemma el-Fna
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Food stalls are crowded and smoky with grilled meats and noisy with touts trying to veer you over to their stall.
Orange stands
Orange stands
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Only 3 Dirham a glass, or about 40 cents. The main square in Marrakesh, a seemingly unpronouceable Djemma el-Fna, is filled with snake charmers and orange juice stands by day and food stalls in the evening.
Another night journey
Another night journey
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
After spending a night in Fes, we took the night train from to Marrakesh, some ten light-years away, it seemed.
A tannery
A tannery
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
For a small tip, we were led to a tannery to witness and smell the process of tanning hides. We were given mint leaves to hold under our noses to cover the stench or animal skins in the sun. Of course, we had to browse the goods and pretend to be interested afterwards.
Passing horsecart in the medina
Passing horsecart in the medina
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Fes el-Bali, the old city in Fes, is one of the largest living medieval cities in the world, or so says the LP guide.
The Swiss and the American
The Swiss and the American
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
We met Tim, an American, and Valerie and Nadia, two Swiss, while disembarking in Tangier. We shared a taxi to the train station and then a cabin down to Fes, six hours away.
The Swiss girls were just starting their four month overland trip down west Africa. Tim, a chemistry graduate student at USC, was trying to get down to Morocco from Grenoble and make it back to Paris in time for his flight back home.
Ferry terminal for Morocco
Ferry terminal for Morocco
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Ferries are scheduled to leave the Spanish port of Algeciras every 30 minutes, but they actually don't leave on time, rather they wait until they fill up with passengers.
The week of overnight travelling begins
From Guadassuar, I headed on an overnight bus down to Algeciras, in southern Spain, where I could catch a ferry to Morocco. It began a week of overnight travelling every other night. It was like being on call back in residency again.
Massive gin and tonic nightcaps
Massive gin and tonic nightcaps
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
You finish your evening with a nightcap with or without ice cream around midnight in Spain, and you are never alone. What a great country!
Loads of tourists not far away
Loads of tourists not far away
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Cullera, a beach town not far from Guaduassar, has all the tourism that you would want in the area. Beach parking is free, and then you can escape back to Guadassuar for cheap eats.
A hearty breakfast
A hearty breakfast
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
For breakfast, the males head off to L'Alter, a local eatery for beer, tapas, sandwiches, followed by coffee with scotch. This happens at 10am and then they head to work. Wow.
Too big for the table
Too big for the table
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
No room for serving dishes here, diners scoop mouthfuls of rice and meat from the pan.
Drinking without touching the lips
Drinking without touching the lips
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Emily's father, Richard, shows off his drinking skills with this bottle of lemonade and beer.
Frying up peppers
Frying up peppers
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Emily's grandfather cooked up some of his festival-winning paella over a woodfire at his campo.
Evening reception
Evening reception
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
The Spanish are great eaters, and the anniversary celebration was just another excuse for a great meal. They eat quite late in Spain, and our meal did not start until past 9pm and ended after midnight. The restaurant was still packed when we left. As usual, the dishes can be seen at my flickr site if you click on this photo and then explore the rest of the photos.
Chinese dinner in Spain
Chinese dinner in Spain
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I had arrived in Guadassuar to meet up with Emily and her family. Her grandparents were also celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary and retaking their vows. It was great hanging out in a small Spanish village devoid of tourists and tourist prices. Spain is remarkably inexpensive even with being part of the EU.
Ironically, we went to a Chinese restaurant in the nearby town of Alzira, where I ordered some of the dishes and asked the waiters to prepare the dishes in a more authentic way.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Euromed, the fast train
Euromed, the fast train
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
From Bern, I took the overnight train to Barcelona. I enjoyed a luxrious couchette, a sleeping car, and awoke refreshed in Barcelona's morning heat. I have been travelling without a Eurail pass, which has turned out to be fine since I never spend enough on my train travel to warrant a pass. It is interesting, however, that if you can book them earlier enough, travelling by air can be a cheaper way to get around Europe.
Tree-lined Guadassuar
Tree-lined Guadassuar
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I arrived in this small village near Valencia. It is hot but less humid than in central Europe.
Shopping arcades
Shopping arcades
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Bern's old quarter is filled with shopping arcades that all seem to be Coop and Migros stores, McDonald's and Burger King, and branches of H&M.
Fountain in Bern
Fountain in Bern
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
These kids were running around screaming and playing in the public fountain. One kid was trying to give himself an enema.
Jungfrau (4158 m)
Jungfrau (4158 m)
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
This can be seen from a park in Interlaken. It also happens to be the landing spot for the hundred paragliders that take off from the cliffs above.
Water troughs
Water troughs
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
Fountains and water troughs are abound in Switzerland. They offer refreshing and clean drinking water -- a much appreciated relief during the summer heat.
Fields on steep slopes
Fields on steep slopes
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I saw farmers cut these fields of fallow with sickles and rake them by hand. Switzerland is country with one foot in the modern world and one foot in the last century.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Somebody milk this cow!
Somebody milk this cow!
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
All over the Gimmelwald region are cows with udders that are about to burst.
Sage advice
Sage advice
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
I descended the summit down the ski trail, which was muddy with snow.
Schlithorn summit
Schlithorn summit
Originally uploaded by bastchild.
It took me four hours to get to the summit of Schlithorn (2970 m) via my trail. The summit has a revolving restaurant and a theater showing clips from "Her Majesty's Secret Service". The movie is terribly cheesy, and the restaurant blows up in the end. It's a shame because there is actually pretty good food at the restaurant, which takes about an hour to revolve 360 degrees.
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