Morocco has been on the top of my travel bucket list for a long time. The geographical and cultural intersection of Africa, Europe and the Middle East, the idea of Morocco has always thrilled me. I was endlessly charmed by imagining the chaotic marketplaces, the flurry of foreign languages being spoken, the call to prayer echoing from the minarets, getting lost in the Sahara desert, and just existing in a culture still so steeped in history, tradition, and superstition.
Adventure
Andalucía Part 2: Málaga to Ronda
The next phase of our two weeks in Andalucía took us down to the Mediterranea Sea on the Costa del Sol, then up into region’s mountainous heart. We explored a new city, spent some quality time with the sea, and got our first taste of the romanticism of small town Spain that exists off the beaten tourist path.
Andalucía Part 1: Granada
The first new Spanish phrase I learned in the first day of our Andalucía trip? Hasta donde alcanza la vista: as far as the eye can see.
We were cruising through the hilly countryside just north of Jaen, en route from Madrid to Granada, and I simply couldn’t wrap my head around how many olive trees covered the surrounding lands. From horizon to horizon — literally as far as the eye could see, nothing but olive trees.
Lisbon: Land of Poets and Adventurers
I’ve been behind leaving pieces of my heart all over the place during the last few months, but the biggest one yet is in Lisbon.
Paris: 36 Hours of Life and Death
It was a warm, pleasant night in Madrid when the Paris terrorist attacks took place. We were spending our evening much like many of the victims: out with friends, enjoying the city.
Paris isn’t exactly in our back yard, but the event still felt near to me in a way I’m not used to as an American. Messages from our more worry-prone family members started to roll in, asking us to take precautions, avoid crowds, stay off the Metro. We remembered the terrorist attacks on Madrid’s subway in 2004 — which we’d only recently learned had taken place at a station we now pass through all the time.
Day Trips from Madrid: Toledo and Patones
Our first month in Madrid, as I mentioned in my last post, was a little rough. While I tried to be as realistic as possible with my expectations, there’s really no way to know what it’s going to feel like to leave everything and everyone you love behind until you do it. Not having a place to live doesn’t help; nor does a rapidly diminishing bank account, or the reality of looking like a fool every time you attempt to speak to any other person for any reason.
Iceland By the Experts: 10 Travel Tips
Having spent one week in Iceland, we’re now experts, obviously!
Okay, we barely scratched the surface of this place in the short time that we were here, but I did learn a lot. To wrap up this section of the blog, I wanted to share these tips: based on things we did wrong, things we did right, things we wished we’d known before we came here, and things I wish everyone knew before they came here.
Here goes!
Iceland Day Six: Heaven, Hell and the Moon on Earth
On Sunday, we left Iceland and planet Earth behind. Perhaps the solar system too.
The landscapes we saw that day were unlike anything we’d experienced along our trip to that point — which is saying a lot, considering that everything we’d seen so far had almost defied belief.
Iceland Days Four & Five: Getting There Is the Fun Part
Our fourth day in Iceland, Haider and I planned to visit the Snæfellsnes peninsula, but we woke up late, ill-prepared and feeling a little off. Rather than stress ourselves out trying to cram the day as full as the last few had been, we decided to take our time.
We picked up some groceries and plotted out a few highlights of Snæfellsnes that we wanted to hit, while keeping our schedule decidedly unambitious. We reasoned that it wasn’t worth trying to maximize every second of daylight if we’d only end up irritable and burnt out.
It was okay, because (to quote countless white girl Facebook memes) the real adventure of the day was the journey, not the destination.
Iceland, Day Three: Everything Is the Best Thing You’ve Ever Seen
On my third day in Iceland, I awoke to the gentle baa-ing of sheep just outside the window. I hadn’t forgotten where I was — in a hotel room in Iceland with Haider and Raz (whom I’d just met still less than 24 hours previously) — but I didn’t remember there being any sheep when I’d fallen asleep.
We woke up, showered and headed out to the main building for the complimentary breakfast (score!), but as soon as we stepped outside, we stopped dead in our tracks. It’d been pitch black the night before except for the aurora, so we had no idea that our hotel was nestled up next to the steep, craggy wall of a glacial mountain. Seagulls were wheeling along it far above our heads, and below was a lush, peaceful field full of grazing sheep.
find me in the air 