Installment 2---

soooo we got up in the morning, had some breakfast and then we were on our way again! we drove down to the dades gorge and saw that and then began our journey to the desert! we stopped for lunch at a roadside place and i had spaghetti (i know, not very moroccan but i just needed SOMETHING that didnt tase like cumin ha) and after we were on our way again.  mind you our guide-ismael, was starting to kind of creep us out haha not a lottt but just sometimes he was kinda weird and he asked me if he could have my email, i said yes of course, but in the end he never received it :) ahmed-our driver-was quiet as always :)

we then went to a town close to the desert and met our coordinator's brother and of course had a cup of tea (mind you this stuff is sweet and they drink it 24/7--aka everyone has terrible teeth--its sad) and then he came with us to the desert hotel.  he also brought along our scarfs/head wraps that we wore when we rode the camels into the desert so that we really felt like berber women in the desert ha, see fb for pictures, so we dropped our stuff off at the hotel and then promptly hopped on some camels and rode off away from the sunset into the vast desert area, with mom and i and ismael and our guide in the desert who's name i can not remember right now, oh wellll--we expected that there would be other people at the camp when we arrived---but no, just the 4 of us....

by the time we arrived to the campsite it was pitch black because the moon hadnt made its way out but the sun was long gone so they lit some candles in one of the huts and our guide and ismael made dinner---we ate by candlelight and the food was pretty good, cumin flavored of course, and mandarin oranges for dessert, as with every other meal.  then they played some drums and other instruments for us and then we went out onto the dunes because all the stars and the moon had finally come out! it was beautiful! hard to describe but just silence all around you for miles and a ton of sand ha, then we rolled down one of the bigger dunes which was pretty fun, got sand EVERYWHERE--but that's to be expected in the middle of the desert right?

then things got slightly uncomfortable with the guys soooooooo mom and i made a quick escape and said we were just plum pooped and we wanted to go to sleep--worked like a charm and we headed to our private sleeping tent that is big enough for probably 20 people haha...we had so many blankets that i could hardly move once i got under them cuz it was pretttty chilly out there once the sun went down--anyway we fell asleep and woke right before sunrise to watch the sun come back to life---only to find mom sleeping in the sand hahahah she had somehow moved her whole body, thinking the bed was up a lot further than it actually was, and ended up sleeping with her head in the sand--she woke up and said "ughhsuhdeiu i have sand in my mouth.." and i looked up and said "well that's probably because you're sleeping in the sand..." hahahahah god it was funny---so we got up and watched the sunrise, of course had yet another cup of tea (which i threw in the sand) and then hopped back on the camels and made our way back to the hotel...

we had breakfast (which i think this is the breakfast that caused some minor stomach problems for me for the next couple days..ugh) and then headed to a small village close by and listened to the people there play some really great music--i bought a CD, only to realize that i do not have a CD drive on my small computer that i brought with me--so mom took it home..im not sure if there's any way that she could send the music to me but oh well--ill get it eventually ha

then we dropped off the coordinators brother back in his hometown and made our way back to one of the town we previously passed through where the oscar studio is which was where we would be staying for the last night of the trip which happened to be Christmas Eve.  we arrived and went to a store and bought some things and then to a spices and lotion store and also bought some things--then we finally got to our riad--which was of course the nicest one (save the best for last) and then we had a wonderful christmas eve dinner (although i couldnt eat most of eat because of the previously mentioned stomach problems) then mom and i decided to play some cards, only to find out that all of the wait staff at the hotel wanted to join us haha they didnt really know how to play much of anything except rummy--but they played with two decks and it was slightly different than our normal rummy ha, but we played anyway! finally it was time for bed-after all we had slept in the desert the night before and didnt get the best night's sleep of our lives ha

then we woke up, had breakfast, and then left to go to the oscar studios and take a short tour which was really cool! so many movies and so much time just for a couple minutes of filming, crazy! then we left and went to an old kazbah which is like a series of buildings all together to form one group of homes and places to work for a small group of people---we climbed to the top and then we went back down and had lunch at a hotel across from the kazbah--then we set off on our journey back to merrekech which took a while because we took a back way through the mountains--but it was beautiful! we made it back to our first riad in the afternoon and my stomach just wasnt cooperating so we layed in bed and slept for a couple hours, mom convinced me to go out to the square for a little bit just to get moving and that was an interesting site ha

the square was packed with locals and tourists alike, storytellers had groups of people surrounding them and if you took pictures of anything you were expected to pay somebody some amount of money--it was crazy! people were selling cigarettes and lighters and who knows what else--after about 20 minutes the crowds and food that did NOT look appetizing got to me and i needed to head back to the riad and get some sleep...there was a large group of people from france that we were sharing the riad with--they had almost every other room and then there was us haha--so we made friends and planned to see them tomorrow and go to a Hamam--public bath house (just the women of course)

so we went to bed and then got up and had some breakfast and then went to an old mosque with tombs of people (honestly im not 100% sure who they were, ill have to ask mom ha) and then we went to the square to look for the souks (sp?) and ended up walking around the square for a little bit--they had snakes (I HATE SNAKES) and mom held one (crazy) and then we both got henna tattoos (supposed to last for a month and mine is almost all gone already, oh well) then we walked around and stumbled right into the backstreets filled with souks--all the little shops that sold everything fomr shoes to huge rugs to spices, it was really cool! finally after walking for a bit and buying presents and just seeing what it was all about, we made our way back to our riad and met up with the french ladies in order to go to the bath house

now..the bath house...hmm haha it was an experience that i will never forget that's for sure. we walked in and from the outside it looks just like someone's apartment, but you move the sheet that is considered a door and find women of all shapes, sizes, and ages there to bathe. we payed and put our stuff in a cubby and then we were lead in by a veryyy old woman haha we brought soap and a scrubby thing and then in turn we each received a full body scrub down hahaha i think she took off more than just the dead skin buttt who really knows haha, it was really steamy and warm in there and after about 45 minutes mom and i needed to get out of there and get something to drink, so we left and went back to the riad--then mom had requested a massage so the lady arrived pretty soon after we got back to the riad and we each got massages for about 45 minutes--all in all we had a very pampered afternoon :) then we had dinner which was good (still had stomach problems so i couldnt eat how i really wanted :( ) and then it was time for bed because our flight was at 8 or something

we arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare and then we boarded the plane (had no trouble with bags this time, of course...in fact they didnt even make us take out our liquids to go through security ha) and headed towards barcelona!!

tbc....

public bath houses and sleeping in the desert---just describing my christmas :)

gah, where to start? oh right--the flight to morocco--wellllllll first of all there were about 25 kids between the ages of 1 month to 7 on the plane...but before we could even get on the plane the stupid ryanair people checked EVERYONE´s bags to make sure that they fit in the dumb little thing--well of course my doesnt sooo i proceed to take clothes out and put them on..in the end i left 3 olddd tshirts, had on 4 tank tops, 2 shirts, 2 jackets, 2 pairs of leggings and 2 pairs of socks...and all of this i did right in front of everyone in the line cuz you know what? i thought it was pretty damn ridiculous that i couldnt just get on the plane, we know the bag is going to fit because its squishy--not like a rolling bag or anything..so anyway finallly i got on the plane and then proceeded to de-robe again haha

sooo arrival in morocco was fine-got a cool stamp in my passport!! then we got picked up at the airport by the guy we booked our 4 day tour with and he took us to our riad, which was soo pretty (pics on fb later) and surprisingly easy to find which was nice :) then we were the only ones in the riad, we had a cup or two of tea and then headed to bed!

the next morning we got up and had breakfast, then headed out for our 4 day desert tour! we met our guide and driver--ismael and ahmed! ismael spoke alright english--enough to answer all 5000 of moms questions and ahmed spoke about 3 words of english and a little spanish, so mostly he didnt speak at all to us haha we stopped at a couple of places and took pictures and drove through some really pretty mountains--stopped for lunch and then went to our first stopping point for the night in the Dades Gorges--the hotel was nice and we had dinner and then went to bed--only to wake up and find that the power was out haha it was FREEEEZING at night but we had a ton of blankets so it worked out fine :)

gah there is sooooo much more but i just dont have time or the patience to sit here and write it all at one time..so it will be in pieces, with this being piece number one!

tbc.....

squishy pillowssss

alright so firstly--squishy pillows suck--why anyone would ever enjoy sleeping on a squishy pillow is a mystery to me, you just wake up with a sore neck and you're basically sleeping directly on the bed-there is no point in even having a pillow--blahhh the reason i have all his knowledge of squishy pillows is because our Bed and Breakfast that we have been stayin at here in VLC has them and well im just over em haha

otherwiseeee--Valencia with mom has been great, went to the aquarium which was REALLLLLY COOOL! lotsss of pics from there but i just dont have time to download them all right now, walked around all the plazas and went to the central market one day which was pretty cool, went to my university and got all my information about where i will be next semester--also found out that there are 45,000 undergrad students at my university--THAT IS RIDICULOUS!

made it to the beach yesterday and it was absolutely gorgeous--i cannot waitttt for it to be nice so i can go there everyday--the sand is soft and the water is calm and there is a LOT of beach to explore!!!

well we are headed to morocco this afternoon, staying in merrekech for 1 night then heading into the desert for 3 nights and then back to merrekech for 2 nights..then its off to barcelona for 5 nights and then ill be heading back here and mom will be heading home on the 1st!

SO--HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE! We love and miss you all :)

out until 7 am, sleeping until 4 pm..i think my schedule is a little backwards..

sooo lets see, i've mostly just been laying low and relaxing for the past couple days, went to the center yesterday and walked around and shopped, got a feel for the city a little more and found where mom and i will be staying--it's in a GREAT location right by the city center without being RIGHT in the center :) good job mom!

last night we went out though ha--went to a piso party (apartment) and didnt know a single person and of course we had a great time :) met some really cool people who i am now facebook friends with--fb is so handy like that...anyway then we left and went to a bar called caribbeans which was a lot of fun, LOTSS of people and good music too! got some free drinks because we came with one of the bartenders so thats always nice..as my friend mark says--"If its free, its for me" then when that shut down around 3 we went to a different club/bar called Murray and they played the BEST MUSIC i have heard since i got to spain! alllll american music classics, like RESPECT and Jackson 5 and just great songs, so of course i sang my heart out and danced a ton and a had a greatttt time until about 6 am

then it was time for bed haha, so of course i have done a whole lot of nothing today recouperating (sp?) because my MOM WILL BE HERE TOMORROW! im soooo excited!!! it really hit me when she sent the email saying..."boarding" gahhhhhhh

well now its time to get some sleep again!

over and out

a party in a cone...

lets see, yesterday was un-eventful for the most part during the day--just got some rest and hung out with mm :) then we went to annettes and made some dinner and drank some wine for a while before heading to a piso party (apartment party) and continuing the party.  we had free entry in to this club/bar called Mya but you had to get there before 2:30 so we left around 2:15 and got there just in time! the place looked like a huge street cone, minus the awful organe and yellow lines haha it was pretty cool outside though--very nice view of a cool party of valencia but i didnt have a chance to take any pics sooo maybe next time! anyway it was pretty small in the club but lotsss of fun...the bathrooms were interesting because you could see in between the two into the other side haha but it was interesting.

after a bit we headed to another piso party and then finally around 5 30 in the morning we made our way back to the apartment and passed outtttt...well i did, apparently mm couldnt sleep and stayed up for another hour haha

today has been equally as uneventful so far haha, a lot of laying around and watching tv and eating--ugh blahh

i think we are going out tonight though, then again who really knows where the night is going to take you!

have a great saturday night everyone!

Day 2

Today was greatttt :) caught up on some sleep and then went to visit my faculty where i will be having my classes next semester so that was nice to see!  we ate at pans and co. which just so happens to have DANK sandwiches and it was delicioussss...then mm, annette, and i of course got some shopping in haha---yet again another beautiful day though, a little chilly this evening but i bought a cute blazer sooo that will go perfectly with chilly nights like these--although they are nothing compared to santander, thank gooooooodness

mm and i went to annette's and made egg and cheese sandwiches and drank fizzy wine that was really good and just had some bonding time as us girls like to call it :) i enjoyed it a ton and i cant wait for tomorrow for a piso party and who knows what else will happen!!

hasta luego!

First Day in Valencia!

So this was my first sight off the bus in Valencia :) I don't think i could have expected anything better, the weather is gorgeous and i can't wait for what is to come!!

After this Mary Margaret, my new best friend in Valencia and the only person i know haha, picked me up and we made our way back to her apartment with my 5000 lb bag haha

We met the german guys that we will be roommates with for the month of january and they are really nice and then we ate at this GREATTT restaurant called 100 Monteditos (sp?) its this REALLLY cool place where you get just little sandwiches and everything is under 2 euros and on Wednesdays everything is 1 euro!! Then we went to meet more friends and I really enjoyed meeting everyone and I cant waitttt to explore the center today when MM gets out of class!

Yay Valencia!