I have a new blog!

I decided to start a different blog, since this one is my travel blog. =)

Here is the link for the new blog:

http://joyousjoy14.wordpress.com/

Follow along if ya like!

-Joy

Lessons Learned in Italy as a Tourist

During the last week of October, we had a few extra days off for traveling, which was perfect because not only was it Halloween, but we could also spend a little more time in our vacation spot of choice. In Spain, this extended vacation is called a puente, meaning "bridge" in Spanish, which refers to the extra Monday or Friday that people often take off if a holiday falls on a Tuesday or Thursday - it "bridges" the gap and allows for a longer vacation.

Two other girls in my CEA Seville program and I decided that we wanted to spend our puente in Italy, so we chose to explore Venice and Florence! Along the way, we learned some important (and some silly) lessons, so I thought I would share a little of what we discovered!

1. When you are looking for the time that your train departs, it is important to look at the "departure" sign (instead of the "arrival" sign), otherwise you may be very confused and think that your train does not exist. Hannah, my travel buddy, and I were trying to figure out when our train from Milan left for Venice, but of course, we were looking at the wrong side and it took us a while to figure it out.

2. In Italian, peperoni does not mean what you think it means. So, if you order a pizza with peperoni, you will end up with peppers rather than pepperoni - all the same, it was delicious.

Our first meal in Venice: a delicious Italian pizza with "peperoni."

3. If you're in Venice, buying a pass for the water bus is a good idea. You either walk or take the water bus, which costs about 7 euro each time you get on it. The pass was a good investment for us because we were there for several days.

4. Venice is expensive. I had been warned that it was expensive, but I was still surprised by how expensive it was. At restaurants, they always charge for water, somewhere between 3 to 5 euro per bottle (of different sizes, too). On the other hand, pizza is one of the least expensive foods to eat. In the six days that we were in Italy, we ate pizza 5 times.

5. It's a good idea to have some knowledge of the language of the country to which you are travelling. The reason I chose to study in Spain was because I speak Spanish. As I headed out for Italy, I realized that I knew almost zero Italian. Thankfully, Spanish is close enough to Italian that I could pick out words here and there and most people spoke English and Spanish in addition to Italian.

6. Sometimes, you pay 4 euros for a cup of coffee and a place to use the wi-fi. And other times, you randomly discover that you get free wi-fi in the middle of the canal on a gondola ride. Whenever we wanted to use our phones, we had to find a place with wi-fi, which meant finding a restaurant or cafe that had wi-fi. But, we also discovered on our last night in Venice that there's some sort of free wi-fi offered in certain parts of the city. My lovely friend Addie found this out while we were in the middle of our gondola ride.

Left to right: Addie, Me, and Hannah at the end of our gondola ride in Venice.

7. When in Italy, gelato is a must. Because it's gelato and it's delicious. Need I say more?

Left to right: Addie, Me, and Hannah enjoying gelato in Venice.

8. Take pictures of your experiences, but don't forget to live and enjoy the moment, too. When we explored the islands of Venice with a tour group, there was a couple that was so focused on taking pictures that it made me wonder if they were even enjoying the tour at all.

Me on Burano Island, Venice. It is well known for its colorful houses and buildings.

9. If you only have 24 hours in a city, try to plan out where you will go and what you will see as best you can. But you also need to admit that you cannot possibly see and experience the entire city in just one day. Especially one as amazing as Florence. We saw one museum, part of the Duomo (but it closed in the afternoon), and the Ponte Vecchio. Be sure to try and reserve tickets to popular attractions ahead of time if possible so you can avoid standing in line for hours! And definitely try to get an early start to your day to take in as much of the city as possible.

Ponte Vecchio. The shops on the bridge mostly sell expensive gold.

10. Before you get in a taxi, it's a good idea to know generally where you are going. Hannah and I almost took an hour-long taxi ride to our hostel because we did not realize it was so far outside of the city of Milan. Thankfully the taxi driver helped us figure this out before we got too far.

11. Churches are not very good landmarks when getting directions. We tried to figure out how to get to a restaurant in Bergamo (just outside of Milan), but there are so many churches in Italy (and Europe in general) that it was hard to tell which church to "turn right at."

12. No matter what, you will have both good and bad parts of travelling. Just try to focus on all of the positive things that have happened. Out of all six days that we traveled, only one was a little frustrating, but it wasn't too bad because we were not actually sight-seeing that day - we were trying to find our last hostel to stay in before we headed to the airport to fly back "home" to Sevilla. All in all, the trip to Italy was a huge success.

Me in front of the Duomo in Florence

I hope you all enjoyed a few of my travel tips and lessons that I learned. Traveling is quite fun, but is definitely exhausting, too! I think the most important thing is just to enjoy the trip while you can - you make great memories!

NO8DO: Hasta Luego, Sevilla

NO8DO, Seville's motto

NO8DO, "No me ha dejado," she (Sevilla) has not abandoned me. The city's motto, and a fitting way to describe the end of my semester in Sevilla. The time here has absolutely flown by and I now have memories that will last for a lifetime. I do not know when or if I will ever return, but Sevilla will always have a special place in my heart and I will forever remember the things that I have learned.

A few weeks ago, I thought that I was ready to come home, since I was especially missing my family around Thanksgiving and both of my parents' birthdays, but now that I have less than 12 hours left in Sevilla, I would love to just have one more day to walk past the world's third largest cathedral yet again, to enjoy tapas with friends, to hear my Señora Lola call me "Jo-el" for the one-hundredth time. Honestly, despite a few rough spots, I have no regrets from my time here in Sevilla. It has definitely felt like my home away from home here, and I truly hope that some day I will be able to return.

My beautiful Señora, Lola.

Tonight, our Señora brought us our last dinner - fajitas. I'm not sure if she did this on purpose or not, but that was the first meal that she ever made for us when we first arrived to Sevilla. We really have come full circle. I think that each and every one of us is a different person now than when we first arrived, even if only the slightest way.

As I was walking to school for the last time today, I was thinking of all the things I was not going to miss about Sevilla and Spain, because the list is so much shorter than the list of things that I will most definitely miss. I thought it would help me prepare for going home, but to be honest, I will probably miss even the small things that bother me about Sevilla, too.

Sunset view of my beautiful Sevilla from Las Setas (the Mushrooms)

Saying hasta luego to Plaza de España, one of my favorite places in Sevilla (although let's be honest, I probably say that about everything and everywhere in Sevilla).

So, I have decided that I am not saying "goodbye" to Sevilla, the friends I have made here, and Lola, but rather,

¡hasta luego, Sevilla!

La Comida de Sevilla (The Food of Seville)

As of November 20th, I officially only have one month left in Sevilla! It's hard to believe that I've been living here for almost three months, because Sevilla definitely has become a home away from home. So, since I have become more of a "local" in Sevilla, I thought it might be fun to share some of the foods that I have discovered and enjoyed here.

Food

My friend Jill (left) and Me - Joy (the author) doing a field study in a market for one of our classes. Behind us, you can see all different types of meats and jamón (because ham is a category of its own): chorizo, salchichón, jamón, and the list goes on... 

Jamón: I think ham is one of Spain's most prized foods, especially in Sevilla. From day one in my Food & Wine class, I knew that ham was the meat of choice for Spaniards. It comes in all shapes and sizes, ranging from little fat to more than plenty amounts of fat. For anyone who is planning to come to Spain, I will share the "secret" of the best ham to eat here: it's called jamón ibérico de bellota, which means Iberian ham (of acorns, which refers to the Iberian pigs' diet).

Paella: a rice dish often made with mariscos (seafood), but this one is made by my Spanish mother, Lola, and has beef and chicken instead.

Paella: I think that this is one of the most well-known Spanish dishes (although I must admit, I did not hear about it until I was already on the plane and on my way to Spain). A common misunderstanding is that this rice dish is from Andalusia (southern Spain); however, paella actually originally comes from Valencia (eastern Spain). During the dictatorship of Franco, the goal was to unify Spain - so, Franco created an idealized and "unified" version of Spain in which Castilian Spanish was the "official" language of Spain, flamenco and bullfighting were popular Spanish traditions, and paella was a common Spanish dish. While these are still true (Castilian is still one of the official languages of Spain), they have been preserved now because it is the average tourist's expectations of Spanish culture (even though not every region speaks Castilian Spanish, flamenco is from southern Spain, and paella is from Valencia).

Chicken and tortilla de patatas ("Spanish omelette")

Tortilla de Patatas: Okay, so chicken isn't much of a surprise or very different from "American" chicken, but the Spanish omelette is definitely a common Spanish dish. It's a fairly simple recipe and I think it's delicious (although I wouldn't eat it every day). It is essentially an egg and potato omelette, and it's especially good if you pair it with some type of salsa (sauce) to add some more flavor. I have also seen bocadillos de tortilla de patatas, which is a Spanish omelette sandwich - I haven't actually tried it though, because it just seems like too much potatoes and bread in one sitting.

Churros con chocolate

Me - Joy (the author) enjoying churros con chocolate

Churros con Chocolate: Yum. So, these churros are different than any I have tried in the US, because they are not coated in cinnamon sugar, but rather they are plain pieces of fried dough. But, dip them in rich, thick, warm chocolate, and you've got yourself a delicious... breakfast! Yeah, I was kind of surprised to learn that this is something that is more commonly eaten for breakfast. Personally, I'll stick to eating them at my self-declared snack time. Oh, and one serving of these should last you the rest of your life - it's that rich and delicious.

Tapas

Salmorejo is similar to gazpacho but thicker and more totato-y.

Salmorejo: Although I personally am not a fan of tomato soup, I thought that I should give salmorejo a try, because how often are you in Spain? Like gazpacho, it is essentially a cold tomato soup, but this one is actually thicker. One spoonful of it was enough for me, because it was so creamy, thick, and tomato-y, but if you are a fan of tomato soup, I would recommend this dish! (But maybe get a tapa - ie, smaller - version of it; we shared this entire bowl among 8 of us or so.)

Espinacas con Garbanzos: Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of this one, but it is my absolutely favorite tapa! It is cooked spinach with garbanzo beans - and it is quite delicious! I have also heard it is very simple and easy to make at home - healthy, too!

Queso de cabra - warm goat cheese

Queso de Cabra: Ooh, this is another one of my favorite tapas! Warm goat cheese served with crackers or little pieces of toast - it's kind of addictive...

Drinks

Café con leche, ie the best coffee (made of equal parts coffee and milk)

Café manchado means "stained coffee," is made of mostly coffee with a small amount (a"stain") of milk

Café: Coffee! Not only is it popular in the States, but surprise, surprise, it is a very popular drink in Spain, too! There are many different types of coffee drinks here, but I will just explain a few of them. As mentioned in the picture above, café con leche is equal part coffee and milk (and it's my favorite coffee drink here). On the other hand, there is also café manchado, which is mostly coffee with a little "stain" of milk (perfect for anyone who prefers only a little milk with their coffee!). I have also heard (but not personally tried), that there is leche manchada, which is mostly milk with a little "stain" of coffee (so, I've been told it's more like "coffee-flavored milk" than coffee...).

When my friends and I were in Madrid, we took a rest stop to enjoy tinto de verano con limónPhoto credit goes to my wonderful friend Jill! 

Tinto de Verano con Limón: Of course, wine is also a very common drink here in Spain. Now, I personally am not much of a wine drinker, but I must say that this drink has definitely caught my fancy. This is basically red wine mixed with Sprite or 7-Up and a slice of lemon. The name is tinto de verano, which means "summer wine," so I would guess that this is more of a summer drink, as it is served with ice and is quite refreshing. Be careful with these, though - they kind of sneak up on you, since it's harder to taste the wine and you don't necessarily realize how much you are actually drinking.

Miscellaneous Finds

An assortment of flavored chips that you might not find in the US

York Queso, Jamón, and Ghost-Shaped Chips: So I know this isn't exactly typical Spanish cuisine, but I thought this would be fun to share anyways. The bag on the left is "york queso," which I later discovered is a type of ham and cheese sandwich. Honestly, these chips just tasted like some type of cheese... The middle bag is "ham-flavored"! Kind of weird. But strangely, they tasted kind of good. At first, I thought they were just extra salty chips (have I mentioned yet that Spaniards put salt in everything?!), but then there's a subtle jamón aftertaste! And lastly, the ghost-shaped Cheetos, which did not really taste like Cheetos. But they were fun to eat!

Me - Joy (the author) trying castañas - roasted chestnuts!

Castañas: Aw, these made me feel like it's Christmastime. I definitely wasn't singing about "chestnuts roasting over an open fire," though... Who, me? But anyways, I don't think I've ever really had these, despite what the song says about eating them at Christmastime. They were warm and much sweeter than anticipated. The hardest part about eating them was breaking through the shell and the fuzz, but it was fun, too!

"C" is for Cookie... Monster... Donut!

Cookie Monster Donut: And last but not least, the most Spanish of all foods... The Cookie Monster donut! Just kidding, it's not very Spanish - it's from Dunkin' Donuts. But, he's just so cute that I had to share! It's a donut made of blue-colored shredded coconut and icing/frosting - absolutely delicious, though it was a little sad to eat him...

Anyways, I think it's been pretty fun to try all different foods from (or not really from) Seville/Spain. Food is definitely a major part of the culture here, especially tapas, which as I mentioned before are smaller servings of yummy food that are commonly served with una cerveza (a beer) or un vino (wine). Here in Seville, particularly during the hot summer hours, most Spaniards spend their evenings at outdoor cafes, eating tapas and enjoying their friends' and family's company.

An Architectural Tour of Seville

Well, considering I have reached the halfway point of my study here in Seville, Spain, I think it's about time I give a little tour of the wonderful city that I have called home for the last two months.

One of the reasons that I chose to come to Seville was due to the fact that not only could I study Seville's architecture and art, but I can also experience everything that I learn in person.

Seville has several well-known architectural structures, two of which were constructed during the times that the Moors inhabited the city.

In the 12th century, the Almohads (a group of Moors from North Africa), constructed a mosque accompanied by a minaret, which was a tall building used to call the faithful to prayer and worship several times a day.

While the mosque no longer remains, the minaret still stands today. The base was constructed with stone, and the majority of the tower is made of brick. Originally, at the top of the minaret was a yamur - four golden globes of decreasing size; however, after an earthquake in 1356 destroyed them, a bell tower was placed at the top in 1400.

The minaret La Giralda in Seville

Finally, in the 16th century, a weather vane statue of bronze was added at the very top, symbolizing the triumph of Christian over Islamic faith. This statue was called El Giraldillo because girar in Spanish means "to spin" - this gave rise to name that the tower is known by today: La Giralda.

Next to La Giralda, is the Catholic cathedral that was built over the ruins of the Muslim mosque. It was constructed in the 15th century and took over 100 years to complete.

One of the doors of the Catholic Cathedral in Seville. This cathedral is the third largest in the world and the largest Gothic structure in the world.

This cathedral is in the Christian Gothic style, which is characterized by height and verticality utilized to create the feeling of reaching into the heavens.

Stained glass windows are also a main characteristic of Gothic style - they are used all around the outside and inside of the cathedral to create a sense that a person is walking into paradise.

Puerta del Perdón (The Door of Forgiveness): This is one of the last remaining structures left from the Muslim mosque. 

The cathedral has 9 doors in total, all of which are constructed in different styles and designs. Aside from the minaret, the door pictured above - Puerta del Perdón - is one of the last remaining parts of the old Muslim mosque. The door is made of wooden panels and decorated with bronze Arabic inscriptions.

Torre del Oro (The Gold Tower) sits adjacent to the Guadaliquivir River.

Another structure that the Arabs constructed while in Seville was the Torre del Oro - the "Gold Tower." Its name has several potential origins: (1) the tower was close to Casa de La Moneda (the treasury), (2) it stored the treasures brought from the Indies, and/or (3) it was covered in golden tiles that reflected the sun's light. It was built in the 13th century as a watchtower to defend port access of Seville and to serve as a customs point for anything brought from America.

The top part of Torre del Oro with a Spanish flag.

Since the Torre del Oro was constructed as a military watchtower, there were not very many decorations. However, at the very top of the tower, there are a few Islamic decorations. On the far left, we can see a "blind horseshoe arch" (an arch in the shape of a horseshoe that does not serve as a window, archway, or door) as well as a "blind multi-lobed arch" (an arch with several lobules that also does not serve as a window, archway, or door) underneath. At the center of this picture we can see yet another pair of blind horseshoe arches.

Sebka: An Islamic brick motif decoration of interlacing grids of geometric design that gives a little decoration to the otherwise plain Torre del Oro.

One last decoration that is seen at the top of Torre del Oro is "sebka," which is another Islamic decoration of interlacing grids of geometric design.

Another significant structure in Seville is the Alcázar - the royal palace. Originally a Moorish fort in the 10th century, this palace was founded by Abderraman III and extended by his successors. The main style of the Alcázar is Mudéjar - this is a fusion of Christian and Muslim art and architecture.

Me in front of the Lion's Gate at Alcázar.

The entrance to the palace is Puerta del León, which means "Lion's gate," and is appropriately called this because there is a tile of a lion (to represent the Kingdom of León).

Oldest arches in Alcázar.

When you first enter, you encounter three rounded arches - this is the oldest part of the Alcázar - it used to be a part of the Almohad wall.

Pedro I's Palace in the Alcázar.

The main attraction of the Alcázar is Pedro I's Palace. Pictured above, we can see intricate designs of sebka again, along with several blind multi-lobed arches. Not pictured is the kufic (Arabic) inscriptions in addition to Gothic lettering.

Patio de Las Doncellas in the Alcázar.

The first room you come across when you enter is the main courtyard- El Patio de Las Doncellas (The Courtyard of the Maidens). This room was the official center of life - it was where people would wait to see the king.

El Patio de Las Muñecas in the Alcázar.

If you continue walking, you will encounter the second courtyard - El Patio de Las Muñecas (The Courtyard of the Dolls). This area was where domestic and private life took place.

One of the two doll heads in the Patio de Las Muñecas.

The picture above has one of the two dolls that gives the room its name - legend has it that if you can find the two doll heads, you will get married!

To this day, the palace is still a place that the king and queen of Spain can come to stay when they visit.

The two last structures that I want to share were constructed more recently, but I think they are pretty cool and add to Seville's charm, too.

A panoramic view of Plaza de España.

Plaza de España was built for the 1929 Exposition. A scene from Star Wars Episode II was filmed here.

This is one of my favorite places to visit here in Seville. Pictures don't do it justice; it's even more amazing in person!

Plaza de España

Me in front of the fountain at Plaza de España.

A view from the top of Plaza de España.

The last structure is Metropol Parasol, more commonly known as Las Setas - the Mushrooms! Construction was only completed a few years ago. Some think that the structure is not well-fitted to the city, but the view from the top is amazing - you can see almost the entire city!

The entire structure of Las Setas (the Mushrooms)!

View from the top of Las Setas.

Me at the top of Las Setas

Hiking in the Serranía and A Trip to Ronda

This past weekend, we went hiking in the Serranía and then visited the town of Ronda. We were scheduled to leave Seville at 9 in the morning; but as I walked to our meeting place, it began to pour down rain and by the time I arrived at the meeting spot, I my pants and shoes were soaked! I thought to myself as I waited for others to arrive, "Am I in Seattle?" I laughed, shrugged it off, and thought perhaps the trip might be cancelled. However, the two wonderful ladies who planned this excursion for us insisted that we try to go to the mountains in the hopes that the weather was good enough to hike. Thankfully, they were right and when we arrived in Ronda, the skies were clear and it was perfect weather for hiking.

We divided into two groups - one half went with a tour guide who spoke English, and I stayed with the group that wanted the tour given in Spanish.

The "Spanish-speaking" half of the group! From left to right: Emily, Tiffany, Jackie, Hannah, Carli, Addie, Esther, Jill, Me, and in the back is Lyndsey!

As we hiked, I was very content, because I felt like I was back home in the Pacific Northwest - the skies were cloudy, it was somewhere around the mid-60's and a little breezy (absolutely perfect for hiking), and we were surrounded by so much green! As much as I love Seville, I have hardly seen any green/nature. This hike was timed perfectly. They told us it would take about an hour and a half to complete, but it took us two hours - I think part of this was because we were stopping to listen to our guide tell us about various things that we encountered along the way.

Me happy to be out in the nature!

Toward the end of our hike, we came across an old blanket factory! So of course, I had to take a picture in the old doorway. =)

After we finished the two hour hike, we took a quick bathroom/water break and hopped back on the bus for about another hour, where we finally arrived in the white town of Ronda!

I didn't get any pictures of our lunch, but for the most part, the tapas in Ronda were not too different than those in Sevilla. I ate with three other girls - we all shared and enjoyed some typical tapas and good conversation. After lunch, we as a larger group went on a tour around Ronda.

The main sight of Ronda was Puente Nuevo - the "new" bridge. I think what makes it so magnificent is that it was built with the same stone that lines that canyon, so the bridge appears to blend in with the scenery, making it appear grand and natural at the same time.

Puente Nuevo (the New Bridge) in Ronda.

And as I previously mentioned, Ronda is one of the white towns of southern Spain, and the white buildings contrasted well with the cliff, too. It was absolutely beautiful and pictures do not do it justice!

The beautiful white buildings of Ronda!

And here's the token picture of me in front of Puente Nuevo in Ronda!

We saw some other buildings around the town as well, but to be honest, the New Bridge was probably the more unique part of Ronda. There was also a famous bull ring there, but I did not get any pictures of it and we did not go inside it.

Hopefully this blog post did some justice to the wonderful day excursion we took to Ronda - because I thought it was an absolutely wonderful way to start off the weekend!

Thanks for reading! ¡Hasta luego!

The Five Senses of Morocco

Upon my arrival in Tangier, Morocco, my initial thought was, “This doesn't look like Africa.” But then I realized that my expectations of Africa were solely based on images I had seen in the media or things that I had heard from other people’s experiences in Africa. After attempting to disregard any preconceptions I had about Morocco, or Africa in general, I tried to allow myself to observe and learn as much of the culture as I could. 

This is where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic Ocean.

I found that Tangier did not appear too different from Seville with the exception that women were pretty much fully clothed from head to toe and some of the men were dressed in traditional Moroccan garb.

Our tour guide Tahmi, dressed in a kaftan, a traditional Islamic robe.

However, as we disembarked from the bus at our first major stop in Meknes, I became overwhelmed with the amount of sights, smells, and sounds of Morocco. To attempt to describe everything I observed, felt, and experienced would take much longer than a simple blog post. So, I thought I would take you through a brief walk-through of the “five senses of Morocco” that I experienced in the few short days that I spent there.

Sounds

One of the things that our tour guide first told us when we were on the bus in Morocco was that most people there spoke multiple languages, including: Arabic, French, Spanish, English, and possibly even Italian.

Market in Meknes, Morocco.

As we walked through the market in Meknes, I found that there were so many different sounds to take in: different languages being spoken, people having everyday conversations, vendors shouting to get your attention, animals, cars, children playing in the streets, music permeating the air, etc. My senses were on overload, especially after hours of traveling at early hours in the morning, but I actually enjoyed listening to the different sounds of Morocco.

And here's a funny thing that happened, too: In Arabic, balek, means "excuse me," so whenever someone would come down the street with a large cart or donkeys, I'd hear "Balek! Balek!" To me, it sounded like they were saying "Bullock, bullock!!" It's just funny how a name in one country could mean something completely different in another country. =)

Touch (Feel)

While I didn't go around Morocco touching everything in sight, it was still interesting to compare the way the streets felt under your feet to the way it felt when riding on the bus. The main highways were paved, but for the most part, we tended to be in the center of the cities we visited, which meant we were walking on broken cobblestone or simply a dirt road with rocks and bumps and all. Our bus ride back to Tangier was also very windy and bumpy, which meant many people (myself included) felt a little carsick.

Our tour guide in Chefchaouen. Notice the street behind him is made of stones. It's not the smoothest pathway!

Sights

I knew that Morocco is an Islamic country, but it was actually pretty cool to visit after learning more about the history of Seville and the Arabic/Islamic influences that existed there, too. One of the main attractions of Seville is the Cathedral (world’s third largest Catholic cathedral) and La Giralda, the bell tower right next to it.

Minaret in Meknes, Mococco.

La Giralda in Seville, Spain.

As you can see from the two pictures, the bell tower/minaret in Seville is very similar to the minaret in Morocco. The one in Seville stands there today as a remnant of Islamic influences from the 12th century (a mosque used to stand right where the cathedral is today in Seville). A minaret is located right next to the mosque and is used to call Muslims to prayer five times a day.

Smells

The smells were strongest when we walked through the market in the oldest part of Fez, dating back from the 9th and 10th centuries. I think I could smell every type of smell that a person could think of: a mixture of spices, warm bread baking, smoke from cigarettes, tangy smells, sweet smells, bad smells, good smells. It was quite overwhelming for my nose, actually. At any given moment, you didn't really know what you were going to smell.

Oldest Tannery in Fez, Morocco.

At one point, we visited the oldest tannery (leather factory) in Morocco – and it smelled awful. We thought that our tour guide was joking when he said they were going to give us “gas masks.” Turns out he was only half joking, as they handed us fresh mint leaves to help mask the smell of the tannery. It was all worth it, though, because after the tour, we saw the finished products, which were absolutely gorgeous! 

Mint leaves to help mask the smell of the tannery.

The finished products!

Tastes

Of course, we tried some delicious food while we were in Morocco! One night, we went to a dinner and a show, where I tried many types of Moroccan foods.

Our Moroccan appetizers: green beans, cauliflower, beets, lentils, potatoes, carrots, olives, salad, garbanzos - yum!

Cous cous with chicken, lentils, and lots of yummy veggies!

Pastilla - a Moroccan dish that is both sweet and savory. It has crushed nuts, cinnamon, sugar, shredded chicken, and other spices. Each bite you take is unexpected - it could be entirely sweet, entirely savory, or a mix of both. I really enjoyed trying it.

And one last picture for my Mom: Me wrapped in a traditional turban.