Casablanca day 2

This morning we only plan to be out for a little while to visit a couple places we missed the day before but we end up spending the entire day out before meeting our tour in the evening.

Our first stop is at the old Post Office to view the art deco interior.

Our next stop is at food market at the Central Market where you can see fishmonger, butchers, produce markets, and olive sellers try to sell their inventory. Surrounding the area are food stands where I learn will prepare any fish that you purchase at the market.

We walk by a garment like district where black plastic bags of clothes are delivered in the morning to store front after store front. We watch some get unloaded to add to the daily frocks available for sale. We find ourselves dodging bags of clothes that pile on the sidewalk.

We revisit the Church of Notre Dame of Lourdes to view it since there is now no service. The amazing stain glass windows cast beautiful colors along the sides of the church.

I light a candle for my mom as I tend to do.

We then plan to walk back to the old Medina to view all the shops but it has us walk through the expensive neighborhood in town. We see the royal palace off in the distance.

We exit the Medina and end up in the old neighborhood. The streets are alive with action and commerce. We are not in a tourist spot right now.

We are hungry though so we turn back around to get a snack at a cafe on the other side of the Medina. The pizza isn’t the best but it is nice to rest after walking all day. We people watch for while.

The city courthouse is not open to visitors but we try to sneak some pictures as close as we can go and are stopped by the guard. The doors are supposed to be very pretty when they are closed.

We also walk by a district full of the smell of grilled meats, the aroma of rotisserie chicken fills the street air.

We have to meet our tour group in a couple hours so we go back towards our hotel ending up on streets that are new to us. Today we have walked through some many varying parts of town, getting a really good feel of everyday life here even though today is a school holiday.

Our last stop is at the walk around the Arab Nations Park then back to the hotel.

We meet our group and have a nice dinner getting acquainted. The next few days we will travel all around different parts of the country and learning many things. So far the group and tour guide seem really nice.

Casablanca

We have a mostly uneventful flight to Morocco. Flight one is on time and as planned but I slept maybe fifteen minutes the whole time due to a fidgety neighbor that would change positions every couple minutes and startle me out of any sleep I managed. Our second flight was delayed but we were getting to Casablanca so late in the day that it wasn’t going to be a productive sightseeing day anyway.

We have a driver arranged from our tour company so it’s and easy ide to our hotel except he doesn’t have bills to break our larger bills acquired at the airport ATM so he gets a very good tip. We’ve heard it’s often difficult for people to make change for the larger bills (equivalent of a little over $20 USD) so we make it a mission to use grocery stores and such to pawn off big bills as much as possible during our travels.

We checked into our hotel but soon take the elevator to take a quick look at the loud dance club happening on the hotel rooftop. Thinking we’d have a nice view of the city and a nightcap before bed we instead have the elevator open to cigarette smoke, a bouncer, and very loud thumping. We take one look at the crowd and decide sleep is a better option tonight.

Both of us sleep completely through that first night, in fact we could have kept sleeping if we didn’t have a tour scheduled in the morning. That almost never happens. Everything is great about the room except the semi-opaque bathroom walls. I mean there is some privacy but when you are sharing a room with a friend there are bathroom walls that can give you more privacy.

Breakfast at the hotel is satisfying and a great way to start the day. Turns out it is the best breakfast spread of our travels.

We arrive a day early before our scheduled tour in Casablanca because we are so used to having flights delayed or worse that we wanted to make sure we make our official tour that starts in two days. In the morning we book a day tour since our upcoming tour does not include any sightseeing in Casablanca. Casablanca like every city in Morocco started as a nomad city along the trade route that has been governed by many different peoples but became the unique city it is because of the French occupation in the 1900’s. They set out Casablanca to be its crown jewel with all its ornate art deco architecture. It was also a key port city due to its location near the oceans.

Our first stop is at the Hassan II Mosque, a large mosque dedicated to the Moroccan King Hassan II. It is the second largest Mosque in Africa and was completed in 1993. So much detail is given to the interior including the painted parts using natural colorings and cedar wood from the Atlas Mountains. It is built over water as a floating island over the Atlantic Ocean. You can only tour this with a guide and we were luckily because it is quite empty when we toured.

After the tour we drive to Corniche, the waterfront region that usually is happening with poolside fun and outdoor cafes. It is off season so there is not much going on besides families walking along the water. We also stop to get a foggy view of the mosque and watch some fishermen during low tide.

We stop briefly at the Sacred Heart Cathedral which now serves as a function hall and is no longer open to the public.

We stop at the Arab League Park but I realize later we only see a small part of the park. This large oasis in the middle of town was inaugurated in 1919 while the French were still in power.

The we go to the Square of Mohammed V, the place also known as pigeon fountain. The square is surrounded by the opera house, and many French inspired buildings. It is here that I see the art deco post office which I will briefly visit the next day.

We stop at the Church of Notre Dame of Lourdes. There is a service going on so we only look inside quickly and decide to come back tomorrow during our self tour.

We visit the old Medina but we don’t actually shop today but just look around the area. We visit the surrounding neighborhood. Many of the buildings here are run down.

We view the large port under construction. The current king, Mohammed VI, is making an effort to expand the port for tourism and cruise ships and yachts.

Last on our tour we visit a spice place where we learn about spices and some of their other oils and natural remedies. I end up buying a thing or two there. It is before I learn the art of bargaining so I am sure I am getting ripped off.

Our tour is over and our guide recommends a restaurant near our hotel. It isn’t the most amazing meal but at least we are trying some new things. My friend who is mostly vegetarian is finding the vegetarian versions of dishes not as full of flavor as she likes. My chicken dish is bland as well. I am discovering that Moroccan dishes don’t add much salt and leave it to the individual to salt to taste. I am so used to everything everywhere being too salty for me so its definitely a change.

After lunch we visit the old souq. We walk down to the old Medina. We enter in a section that looks like it caters more to locals. Turns out there are very few tourists at all in the market, perhaps because there are no cruise ships in town today. We meet lots of cats along the way.

We stop briefly in an old riad converted into a nice restaurant in the heart of the Medina. It’s where we want to eat later but we never find our way back here on this trip.

We walk down a passage way that is decorated with random items. We watch some kids kick a ball around. It appears to be a pop up art installation in the middle of a residential street.

After our visit to the old Medina we walk under the United Nations Square and do an Art Deco tour of our own. When the French occupied Morocco they wanted to have Casablanca to be its showpiece. There are many cool Art Deco buildings that unfortunately are not all well maintained.

Street snails. I regret not trying them.

We finish the evening with dinner and a visit to a couple of rooftop bars near our hotel where we have nice views of part of the city.

The next morning we only plan to be out for a little while to visit a couple places we missed the day before but we end up spending the entire day out before meeting our tour in the evening. More on that next.

More Copenhagen

It’s supposed to storm today so I am heading out early to the gloriously historic theme park of Copenhagen, Tivoli Gardens.

First I stop at the nearby food hall to try smorrebord and some fresh strawberries. We grow many strawberries where I live and I am embarrassed at what we call a strawberry; I believed I didn’t care for them much because ours are usually tasteless and a large size. This market’s strawberries are the opposite – bite size and full of sweet flavor. I am a fan. I buy a box of them to carry with me today.

Tivoli Gardens, the 19th century amusement park, feels like a walk in a Time Machine with all the splendor of times past. Although most rides and exhibits are actually high tech now, it gives you the feel like you are experiencing something from 150 years ago.

I buy a ticket to just enter the garden, which you can do, but there are also options for passes for rides. There is even an app to buy passes for individual rides if you wish to do so. It is probably more cost effective to buy a ride package but I didn’t really come to do all the rides so I just buy one ticket for one ride I want to try. I spend the rest of my time admiring the decor and eating all the things. I even do a little shopping. I stop at a restaurant on site for a beer and some white asparagus, one of my favorites lately. Not long after my lunch the clouds get thicker and I decide to start heading back to my hotel to wait out the storm.

Before I go back to my room I buy some snacks and gin cocktails to hunker down with. I am being warned about this upcoming storm by locals. I am from Florida and we know how to prepare for a storm (aka Land of Hurricanes) but turns out the storm is actually just a large amount of rain. My local friend tells me a storm like this is a big deal here because they aren’t a car centric city. Everyone has to try to get to their buses or trains or ride their bikes to places in this terrible weather. It is very disruptive. I use it as an excuse to call it a night early and try to see if I now like gin.

The next morning I finally get laundry done. The place close by doesn’t take credit cards but the one ten minutes away does. I start my load and then go out to enjoy a coffee and croissant. The lady who served me asked why I am out so early when it is obvious I am not a local. Yes I get up early no matter what time zone I am in; its my curse: sun is up and so am I. This will explain why I try really hard to go to bed early when I can. My wake time will not change no matter what time I go to bed.

After laundry I go back to Nyhavn to catch one of those canal boat tours, sitting in the back in the open even though it might rain again.. and it does. Luckily I remembered my jacket and it is only a light sprinkle. I get to see other parts of town I have yet to see and probably won’t due to time like Freetown Christiana (an independent hippie squatter part of the city). Today will be another short sightseeing day because I have bought tickets for a concert tonight.

After the boat tour I decide to eat all the foods I’ve had on my list. This leads inevitably to a tummy ache. I go back to my room to briefly recover when I get a message from friends of friends to meet them at a bar before the concert.

I am going to see one of my all time favorite bands tonight – Depeche Mode. When I am traveling I do check to see if any good bands will be in town while I am there and I always just miss bands. This time I am lucky and there are tickets available. After I purchase my seat though I notice I have a warning of it being a possible partially obstructed vision. Darn it! My local friend is going with some other friends. They have tickets in general admission. I avoid floor seats and general admission these days because I’m short and my views are usually very obstructed. It might have been fun to be down below with the crowd and dancing; no one but me is really dancing my section.

I never find the people I am supposed to meet at the Depeche Mode pre-party. I have never met them in person and it is hard to locate them based on the photos I see in the group chat. I decide to go ahead and head down toward the stadium because I have no idea how long it will take me to get there.

I eventually find my seat and the obstruction isn’t the best but I should still be able to enjoy the concert with it. Only unfortunate thing is I am in the center of the row so I need to monitor my fluid consumption. It will be a pain getting past all those people to go to the bathroom.

The show is everything I wanted it to be, the perfect mix of cool new stuff and fan favorites (the last time I saw DM they played majority new music). I am very happy I bought tickets to the show.

Depeche Mode

As expected it takes a while to get back with the crowds thick. However they have non-stop trains arriving to move the crowds out. Copenhagen knows how to plan! I end up sitting in the front and there is a cool view of the tunnels I never noticed before.

Time for bed since I am heading to Berlin tomorrow morning.

Park Güell

One of the appeals of returning to Barcelona once again is to finally make a visit to Park Güell, another place I missed during my last visit to the city.

I schedule my visit at the opening so I can maybe have a visit that isn’t uncomfortably crowded.

My travel instructions have me exit at the metro stop at the bottom of the hill. I am not excited about a morning sweat.

Once at the top of the hill, I am still early and I have views of the city.

Once inside the park you can stay inside as long as you want but to see some of the more fabulous features of the park you must visit in one direction only. I start my visit by heading to the most popular spots. I am not completely alone but I have photos mostly void of people that I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Like anything these days it gets more busy as the day goes on so I visit all the highlights, sometimes multiple times, and then leave. I imagine at one time this might have been a great place for a picnic, when perhaps the crowds were not as bad.

After my visit to Parc Guell I decide to walk back towards my hotel since I want to explore the artsy neighborhood of Gràcia.

I still have half a day left so on the walk back I detour over to another of Gaudì’s works – Casa Vicens. This house is the first important commission he received, said to even begin Modernisme movement in Catalonia and Europe. I am just pleased to view the interesting tile choices and wild ceilings that are in almost all the rooms. Its current layout is different than its original configuration since it is now used as an event and exhibit space.

The classy gal I am, I decided to try a local delicacy. (Well not really since it is worldwide chain and I might have fallen to peer pressure to take a picture “for the gram”.)

Finished the evening at wandering around Las Ramblas. I head back to my hotel with the most confusing lobby. You can only tell the elevator is there because I catch the door partially open in a photo. Tomorrow I visit the inside of another of Gaudì’s great works, La Sagrada Familia.

Alhambra

The main event of today is a visit to the Alhambra, a royal residence in Granada during the Nasrid kingdom (mid 13th century). The fortress like structure sits on a hill and can be viewed from most of Granada.

I have time to take advantage of the included breakfast at the hotel this morning since my reservation for Nasrid’s palaces is not until 11:00 am. To visit Nasrid’s palaces you must book in advance since it is very popular. With the booking you can enter the rest of the complex as early as 8:30 am if you like. Breakfast first then I will head up to begin my visit.

I enjoy the continental-style buffet that includes a torta and meat & cheese slices as well as fruit. I take advantage of the patio and the mild weather in the morning.

The Alhambra compound entrance is about a 30 minute walk by taking the back pedestrian entrance. There are ways to get there by bus but I didn’t bother researching that.

It is a constant walk uphill to get to the entrance. I walk between the area that holds the Generalife and the other side that has the palaces; but down below. In fact we walk under a walkway.

When I finally get to the entrance tour guides approach me. I forgo the tours since I have downloaded tour information on my phone and would rather take things at my leisure. When I approach the entrance gates it is like crossing the border to another country. At Alhambra you need to keep your ticket and passport readily available at all times because they will constantly ask to see it. Alhambra has more passport control than most countries I’ve been to. It gets kind of annoying because each time I take out my passport it is another opportunity for it to get lost or stolen.

Once I am inside I head over near the nasrid palaces because I have not left myself time to do anything else. I pass by a church and walk down a pretty shrub pathway and head down a hill. I line up outside the nasrid palaces waiting for my entrance to be called.

They let us in at batches I believe every 15 minutes. Once you are in you are free to view at your own pace. My strategy is to fall behind the pack in the hope that I can get a few pictures without crowds. I can’t fall too far behind though because the next group will be entering soon after us. Another couple or two has the same idea. I can’t get completely people-free photos because the couples need to do their photoshoots. Everyone is an instagram model these days. I won’t complain about it here because I complained about it enough during my sabbatical posts. One needs to just accept it is part of travel now.

I enjoy Mudéjar and Islamic style architecture so touring the palaces is a treat.

Loving all the textured patterns.

I catch a window area with a colorful stained glass ceiling that shoots rays of color down below. It is beautiful.

The Hall of the Two Sisters – I love how the light reflects a colorful prism

As the tour comes to a close there is a walkway with tremendous views of the city and a nice courtyard.

City views

After my tour of the palaces I head over the Alcazaba or military fortress. The fortress has some good views of Granada and the nearby Sierra Nevada mountains.

I almost never have a sweet tooth but I am hot from being outdoors and this ice cream sounds like the ideal lunch/snack right now. It hits the spot.

Next I visit the Palace of Carlos V next door. The circle architecture is kind of cool and there is a small artifact museum inside as well as an art museum upstairs but otherwise the building is not very exciting and doesn’t need a long visit.

I am finished with this portion of Alhambra so I head over to Generalife. Generalife was the sultan’s summer palace and gardens. The palace is not as impressive as the nasrid palaces but the gardens are very beautiful. I almost wish I brought a picnic lunch with me to enjoy with the flowers and the views.

There is a staircase that has relaxing streams of water pouring down the handrails. At the top of the staircase I find some refreshing cold water to refill my water bottle.

At the top there is a nice breeze. One almost forgets how impossibly hot it is down below. Again more beautiful views of the Nasrid palaces, the city of Granada, and Sacromonte.