shrek the halls

We watched Shrek's premiere holiday feature on tv tonight. The perfect little dose of christmas cheer. A must see.

a tradition of our own

When I was growing up we had many traditions. They have been a source of joy for me, and stir fond memories of childhood.

One Christmas tradition we had was placing two furry boots out for the holidays. The boots sat empty until Christmas Eve when Santa filled them with M & M's. For some reason this little ritual has always held a special place in my heart.

This year, I saw a wonderful idea in Blueprint magazine. The Yule Clog. Since those furry boots are hard to come by, Josh and I have decided to combine this tradition with his Dutch heritage and have Yule Clogs instead. Josh began painting them this evening.

The things we do for chocolate.

Image from Blueprint Magazine.

we've been elfed

Check it out...we've been elfed! Now go elf yourself.

p.s. We don't know the elf on the far right.

bird is the word

Well, the time has come for the bird. Poor little guy. He's in the garage defrosting right now, awaiting his big show tomorrow, he doesn't even have a name...maybe we should give him one.

We are gearing up for a lovely Thanksgiving at home tomorrow with family and our formerly feathered friend. I can't think of a better way to spend it.

Image from Rubberball.

homeward bound

A long journey northward saw us out of Africa and back to Madrid. It seemed as though we would never get there and it showed in our faces. We opted for the fastest boat we could get and even though it only took 40 minutes it seemed like an eternity.





We spent a leisurely day shopping in Madrid just outside of our hotel.



And we finally cracked the mystery of the clementines... Order them up from the produce matron and she'll bag them, weigh them, and tag them for the register. But you still can't touch.



We are happy to be home and have time to reflect on our trip and the things we had seen. After a full 20 hours of trains planes and automobiles we finally arrived at our beautiful door step. Thank you for taking the time follow along on our journey and for your comments. It was indeed wonderful to hear from you and get your perspectives.

And of course, Henri is happy to have his humans back in the pack.

cascades and lemonades

A three hour ride by mini bus brought us to the cascades at the bottom of the Atlas Mountains. Although it wasn’t a spectacular sight by rocky mountain standards it was interesting to realize what the presence of water would mean to a landscape such as Morocco. We had an interesting walk down with a guide and stopped for lunch at one of the make shift cafes near the middle of the falls. Yes, it’s a bit of a tourist trap, not much nature to be found… except for the monkeys and goats of course.





The next couple of days were a bit on the busy side. There was much exploring to do through the souqs of Marrakech (the shopping markets). Of course we weren't really in shopping mode but the sites we had seen were so wonderfully interesting. We also seem to have found ourselves quite addicted to the fresh squeezed juice you can get on the plaza. For 3 dirham (about 30 cents euro) you get a glass of the freshest concoction of citrus goodness one could imagine.



The next day brought us to cooking class at the satellite facility for Le Maison Rabe where we made a traditional Moroccan salad and a wonderful tagine of chicken with preserved lemon and olives. If it sounds good then you’ll have to come to our home so we can make it for you. It was a wonderful experience to learn about the traditional spices of Morocco and the simple methods for cooking that create such wonderful flavors.





As the day moved on, Buckaroo Bree began feeling a bit ill and barely made it back to our hotel before spending a good three hours asleep. Later we ventured upstairs for a mild dinner of vegetable couscous and of course a short walk for more citrus juice.





Saturday was our last night at the Jnane Mogador. Sunday we looked for spices to bring home with us and headed back to Tangiers on the overnight train. The trip is beginning to wind down and we are starting to feel the call to come home. We’re looking forward to seeing friends and family again and of course to spend some time with little Henri.

the compass points south

It’s been a few days since we’ve been able to post so we’ll try to get you caught up on what we’ve been up to.

Monday was the day we made our way to the southern tip of Spain. We began at the train station in Barcelona and (because of the broken rail lines) proceeded to Tarragona by bus. From there we began the four and a half hour ride to Madrid where a three and a half hour layover awaited us. There were some beautiful hill towns next the rail lines along the way. After Madrid we head took our train to Algeciras near the straights of Gibraltar. The lovely Hotel Reina Christina awaited us and we were desperate for some rest after 11 hours on the trains.







The next day took us to the ports where we caught a slow boat to Tangiers. It was kind of a strange experience as we basically went through customs on the boat. Once in Tangiers we scurried to the train station (again) to make sure we could catch train to Marrakech. Luckily, we were able to get tickets on a sleeper car (couchette, to those of you who speak Moroccan French) and off we went into the night on an 11 hour ride southward into North Africa.



After a restful night on the train, we were awoken to a most beautiful sunrise along the sparse landscape not to mention the anticipation of a thrilling time in bustling Marrakech.





From the train station we made our way by taxi to the plaza Djemm al Fna where our hotel is located only to find that the reservation we had made was never confirmed. Note to those traveling to Marrakech, booking your stay on the internet works about as well as the sewer system here. In other words, it stinks! Not to worry, Hotel Jnane Mogador found us a room for the four nights we needed and we are thrilled to be staying here. It’s one of the most peaceful places next to one of the least peaceful places we’ve ever been. It has a great rooftop patio and really friendly staff. They also have a spa! Bree went to the ‘spa’ tonight for a massage that turned out to be a really aggressive body cleansing. Picture laying naked on a stone floor being scrubbed down with an exfoliator glove by a stranger that doesn’t speak english, oh, and while you’re having this done don't forget to wave to the person next to you who’s also having this done. It may sound strange, but it’s not all together bad. Bree has very soft skin now, and would go back again if she thought she had any skin left to shed.



Dinner came to us in the form of a delicious mint tabouleh salad, bastilla poulet (chicken) and a lamb tagine at a wonderful rooftop restaurant overlooking the hustle on the plaza below. Mint tea finished off the meal before we headed down to take our place in the flow of bodies around the square.





Off to a night of rest before we head out on an adventure to the cascades of Morocco at the foot of the Atlas Mountains and a tour of the Berber villages below.