April Update

We have lots to share, but it will all come in small posts.

Coming attractions . . .

• We bought a house in Santa Cruz!
• Personal thanks to Mr. Ritter of the Rezidor Hotel Group
• A Venetian vacation (prolonged due to volcanic ash)
• A Moroccan vacation
• Flat Koa visits from Santa Cruz
  

I promise to have something new & exciting (well, exciting to us) up on the blog soon.

Love to all!!

Carnaval!

Saturday, Bouziguads celebrated Carnaval - in a big way! Last year's Carnaval celebration was fun, but this year's was even more elaborate.

The parade had lovely floats . . .



And sexy nuns . . .

And there was a band . . .


And there were girls on ponies (although I can't say I enjoyed the "treats" the ponies left in their wake!) . . .

And there were hundreds of Bouziguads - both in and out of costumes . . . Here are some of my favorites, including Josey's friend Mathilde.

And there was the burning effigy . . . Remember, this is supposed to signify a cleansing of all the year's sins as a precursor to Lent.

Check out the action shots. No problem lighting him this year!

Max and Josey made great use of their new Moroccan attire! Alize (the kids' best friend) joined us for the day.
And there was a ton of confetti & silly string! Here are Max and Marie in a confetti war. Marie is one of our other favorite Bouziguad children.


Love to all!!

Better Late than Never

Last weekend, poor little Max Man had a 24-hour flu. While he was laying miserably upon the couch, I asked him if he wanted to look at some pictures to cheer himself up. He said yes, and he wanted to see happy pictures of himself with Grandma & Dude.

That's when I realized: Oh no! I never blogged about our last day in Paris with my parents. Quelle horreur!

Our last day in Paris was almost a bust! Why? Well, Dado had done quite a bit of research before our arrival, to ensure that the entertainment level was high. In his research, he learned about Chinatown in Paris. Our little family had so much fun in San Francisco's Chinatown that we decided it would be a fun thing to visit in Paris, too. Alas, that last morning in Paris, which was a Monday, while doing further research, Dado learned that Monday is the only day that is not a good choice for a visit to Chinatown because most stores are closed. Oops.

We went for it anyway! We plotted out our Metro trip, boarded, and traveled on. When we arrived in Chinatown, it was indeed shut up for the day. However, all was not lost. We found a terrific Vietnamese restaurant, and we enjoyed a fabulous lunch.

Thus fortified, we decided that we would try to visit the famous catacombs in Paris. Again, we plotted our Metro trip, boarded, and traveled on. Unfortunately, many of Paris' touristy sights are also closed on Monday. Darn! No catacombs.

Now it was about 2:00 in the afternoon, and we still wanted to find something fun to do on our last day! Grandma to the rescue. On the train, on their way into Paris, she told the kids that she really wanted to see Sacre Couer, the famous church on the hill overlooking the city. Mike and I had visited Sacre Couer on our first day in Paris, but now it was time for us all to go together.

Again with the Metro . . . and we arrived (very successfully, I might add) at Sacre Couer! Here are some great pictures from outside.

When we were finished touring Sacre Couer, we started our walk back down the hill to the Metro station. Along the way, we all wanted a rest and something warm to drink. Check out the hot chocolate at the cafe Dude selected!

And Grom was also successful because she found the hat she had been looking for since arriving in France! Of course, this is Josey wearing it, not my mom.

Sidebar: There is an awesome iPhone app for the Metro! I think it was 2.99 US, and it was well worth the cost.

We took the Metro home, tired from the day. We arrived gratefully back at Debb & Reed's apartment, and Dado whipped up our last meal in Paris.

Then, I had one more store I wanted to visit. I simply had to go to Fauchon, where they sell small tins of chocolate (and an amazing selection of gourmet foods and wines of all sorts!). I wanted one of those little tins to use as a knitting notions box. What a perfect souvenir, right? I wanted to get one for Sharlene, too.

We plugged the address into Dado's iPhone, and it looked to be about a 30 minute walk. Ha! We were gone about 90 minutes. However, I was successful.

The next day, Grom & Dude left around 6:30am. I thought they were overestimating the time it would take to go through security at CDG airport. However, due to the attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day, they are lucky to have left that early! After lots of extra security lines and delays, they made it home safely.

We had a quick hop on the Metro to get to our train station. Then, the train ride back to Bouzigues was simple - with hardly anyone on the train. Our friend Sabrina picked us up in Montpellier, and thus ended our Parisian adventure.

Love to all!

Tarragona & The Pyrenees

When we returned from Marrakesh, we flew into Reus, Spain - the airport from which we were able to catch the 24 euro roundtrip/each plane to Morocco. We arrived around 10:00pm, so we spent the night in Reus. And, since we were already so far from home, we decided to profit from our location and spend a day in Spain and some time skiing in the Pyrenees (which were on our way home from Reus).

Tarragona is a city about 15 minutes from Reus, and it has an amazing number of Roman ruins. That is where we spent our day in Spain.

Tarragona is right on the coast of the Med, which is probably why the Romans built a city there. Here is a view of the coast from atop the Roman Circus ruins.

The Roman city was immense! There was a Circus (home of chariot races), a Colosseum, and a Forum.

The Circus was so massive during it's era (based on the descriptions we read) that it would outsize an American football stadium. Now, the ruins are but a mere portion of that size. That's where we started our tour of Tarragona, and it was fascinating.

A lot of the Circus ruins are below ground now. It was unclear to us if they always were underground, or if they were buried over time. There were over 50 enormous arches that supported some of the structure (the entryway, I believe), and we walked through the remaining part of this section of the building. The scale is incredible, especially considering that this was built over 2000 years ago!

This underground portion was used for many purposes once the Romans were toppled from power. It was a dump, and then it was a munitions storage facility. Now, the Spanish are trying to preserve what is left.

In the picture above, you can see one of the arches from the entryway. I took this picture standing atop the circus building. Unfortunately, we were never in a place where I could take a complete picture of the Circus (because it is enormous).

Below are several photos of the Colosseum. The first picture is a view of the Colosseum from the Circus.

This is a picture of the center of the Colosseum, where you can see a bit of the underground area, which is where the animals and gladiators were often raised from below the stage via pulleys & trapdoors.

And here is a closeup of the underground portion of the Colosseum stage.

Below is a picture of remaining columns in the Forum. The Forum was quite spread out. Now it is completely surrounded by huge (and not pretty) Spanish buildings. You can see an apartment building in the background. The unattractive background scenery did not encourage me to take additional pictures.

Tarragona's city centre is on a hill, which overlooks the ocean and many of the Roman ruins. Here is a view of the city centre from atop the Roman Circus ruins.


There is also a very nice pedestrian area from the Roman ruins, along the coast a bit, and through the commercial part of the city - much like the pedestrian area in Barcelona. There were even interesting & slightly bizarre statues along the pedestrian area here (as in Barcelona). The only things missing were the humans posing as statues. Of course, it was rainy, and that may have kept the human statues indoors.

As for our time in the Pyrenees, I do not have any photos to share. We were so busy skiing that the camera remained in our little hotel/apartment. However, we had an excellent time! The kids are quite the accomplished skiers already.

Love to all!!

Gratitude

There are many things for which I am grateful. However, spending a week in Morocco has made me more aware of how lucky I am to have been born in America.

By the standards of many in this world, I am spoiled, pampered, and incredibly rich.

As an American, I take many material things for granted.

• Shelter: I have a home that would be considered a palace by billions of people in this world. A home with bathrooms, that does not leak in the rain, has windows to provide light, has beds for sleeping, has chairs for sitting, has a table for eating . . .
  
• Running water: At the turn of a faucet, I have clean water to drink, to bathe in, to cook with, to wash my clothes in, to flush toilets with, and so many other things that I cannot even imagine.
• Electricty: At the flick of a switch, I can turn a dark room bright, turn a cold room warm, heat my water, refrigerate and cook my food, wash my clothes, wash my dishes, and so many other things that I take for granted.
• Food: I have grocery stores everywhere, all with more food than I can possibly eat, including fresh, healthy produce; safe and sanitary meat, poultry, and fish; fresh dairy products of all sorts; and anything else my taste buds could want.
• A Job & Money: I have a great job, one that provides me with enough money so I can afford to pay for the things for which I am grateful.
• Transportation: I have two cars that take me where I need to go, and they are safe and reliable, with heat, air conditioning, a radio, seat belts, and room to hold anything I need to transport.
• Clothes: I have far more than I can wear and everything that I need to be warm and dry from head to toe.
• Doctors & Medicine: I can go to the doctor for whatever ails me. I can also go to one of those aforementioned grocery stores or a drug store and buy medicine for almost anything that ails me.
• Equal Rights: As a woman, I can expect to live, work, and be treated as fairly as a man.
• Education: I received an excellent education as both a child and an adult. For this, I am grateful both to my country, which provides free education to every child, and to my parents, who financed most of my college education. How fortunate I was to be able to educate myself well enough to be gainfully employed!
• Freedom of Religion: I can practice any religion I choose.
  

I know there is more, so much more, that I cannot even think of because I expect it - things that I take for granted that others may never experience in a full lifetime.

I am also thoroughly grateful for the ability to travel. Without the ability, desire, and interest in traveling, I would not have the wonderful opportunity to see that which I have seen, and I would also not be reminded to appreciate that which I have.

And, of course, I am grateful for my friends and family. Without them, where would I be?

Love to all!!

Our Last Days

Our last full day in Marrakesh was truly one of leisure. After another yummy breakfast of fresh yogurt, Moroccan bread and fresh-squeezed OJ, we went hotel crashing. You may remember that we crashed the Sheraton when we were in Tenerife. Well, Dado decided that we should crash Le Meridien, one of the Sheraton hotels, here in Marrakesh.

We set off with our map and managed to walk almost directly to Le Meridien, which was about 20 minutes away. We didn't even need a guide!

Le Meridien is nothing at all exciting. We are even more grateful now that we chose a Riad! Here at Dar Silsila we have personal attention from Mohammed and the other employees round-the-clock, we have opulent rooms, and we have the most amazing dinners!

Our visit to Le Meridien lasted a mere few minutes: long enough to scope out the pool (not heated), see that there weren't any restaurants open for lunch, and use the bathrooms. That's it.

We walked out to the main street and caught ourselves a horse-drawn carriage ride back to the square.

Along the way, we had some great views of the minaret.

And the wall of the Medina.

At the square, we were hoping to eat shish kebab as we did our first night. However, all of the restaurant stalls were gone! Either they are not there during the day, or - this being Friday, which is a holy day - they were closed for the day.

Instead we settled for what turned out to be a completely boring lunch except for the call to prayer. There was a small mosque in front of the restaurant, and Dado loved the opportunity to see the real thing.

Josey also decided that she was going to confront her fear of snakes and snake charmers. Wow!

Here are some other strange sights we wanted to capture. Some are self-explanatory.

The square with the snowy Atlas Mountains in the background.

These are the nut vendors who populate the center of the square.

And the olive vendors at the start of the souk.


Dado and I later indulged in a local tradition: hammam baths.

Sidebar: According to Mohammed, we learned that every neighborhood in the Medina (there are many!!) has its own mosque, bakery, fountain (although most of these are no longer in operation), and hammam bath. The hammam baths are public (one for women and one for men). In the hammam, you coat your body with the Moroccan black soap, and you sit in the dry heat for several minutes. Next, you rinse the black soap off with water. Then, you use a coarse glove to scrub your skin. It is a very, very old tradition in Morocco, so the black soap is very significant.

At Dar Silsila, you can have a couple's hammam with a massage. Wow! Talk about indulgence. Sorry, though, no pictures. This was completely in the nude. Woohoo!


Our very last day was spent completely browsing . . . and it provided a last, fantastic shopping adventure for me and Josey.

Did I mention the silk vendors? I had noticed them on our first day. Apparently it is "cactus silk", which is rayon. It is in the most vivid colors imaginable. I love it!! However, I don't know what to do with it. Thus, the crafter in me wanted to go back and buy some "just in case" I ever have a need for it.

I had seen the silk vendors during our wanderings, but I had not yet seen any yarn. Imagine, a country that grows sheep but nary a yarn store to be seen! Well, luck was with me. Max stopped at a stall in the souk to admire some beads, and I happened to notice an entire wall of yarn in the background. You would think that with my love of knitting, the yarn would have been calling to me. However, the visual cacophony of the souk makes it nearly impossible for me to focus.







So, thanks, Max, for doddling!

Josey and I each bought a ball of yarn with a matching hank of silk, and I also bought some for my friend Sharlene. Sharlene, when you read this, pretend you didn't notice this part. I also bought some extra silk . . . for some future project.

Of course we also had to make a final stop at the pharmacy/spice shop to drop off our bags of clothes. They were so happy. Max stocked up on henna, so he can give us his own henna tattoos. Great idea!

At last, it was time to take the van to the airport. Sigh. The kids did not want to leave. Thus is the sign of a successful vacation!

The airport was stressful because one has to wait in the same "passport control" line to leave as you do when you arrive. Luckily it moved faster this time - only about 30 minutes. However, prior to that we had a real thrill.

In the US (and everywhere else we have traveled in the last year and a half), you are not allowed to bring more than a bit of liquid through security. Not so in Morocco! We carried through water and wine! Can you believe that?!

And even better?! Dado's 2-foot, 40 pound fossil had to go as a carry on, disguised by a jacket draped over the top of the suitcase. Well, right as we were leaving Dar Silsila, I moved the suitcase in front of the fossil suitcase, and it tipped over - breaking the tips off of the fossil! I was so terribly sad! However, Dado handled it very well . . . Until the security guard said it was too dangerous to take onboard, so we had to check it.

Well, we did not have the option to check it because we had no room in our single checked bag - plus it was well, well over the weight limit. So, Dado paused a moment, the security man walked away, and we just continued on to our gate. No one stopped us. No one made us check the fossil. Dado hauled it right onto the plane! Lucky for us, but not so safe. Wow!

Our flight was quick, the landing in Reus, Spain was uneventful, and we were checked into our hotel by 10:00ish PM.

Many, many thanks to the staff at Dar Silsila. Mohammed was the best. The food was to die for. The atmosphere was perfect. It was an amazing gem in the heart of a chaotic place.

Many, many thanks to the other wonderful people we met during the week. They were welcoming, kind, and considerate.

And so many wonderful souvenirs! Luckily, the damage to Dado's massive fossil is almost unnoticeable.

We were fortunate to have had such a perfect, wonderful vacation.

Love to all!!