Marrakech, Morocco

The trouble of getting to Marrakech, Morocco was worth it.  I fell in love with everything about this city.  For starters, the food:

If you are in Marrakech, visit the Djamma El Fna square at night.  The square is bustling at all times of the day, but it becomes a literal circus after the sun goes down.

There are snake charmers, there are monkeys, there are lanterns.  There are people playing sports.  There are sing-a-longs.  A slew of vendors set up food tents in the square at dusk, and the smoke from kebabs and other Moroccan delicacies drifts into the night air.

It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my life.  Here are some pictures from one night in the Djamma El Fna:

It is nearing dusk in the Djamma El Fna.  A mosque is visible in the background.

Nearby, a snake charmer is setting up shop.

I observe my first "sing-a-long."

The men in this circle are playing a game reminiscent of bowling.

Food vendors set up special stalls for dinner and smoke from grilling fills the air.

 A Muslim woman sells balloons to children.

These men will sell you a cup of fresh squeezed orange juice for 10 dirham.

Did you play the Gone Fishing game at carnivals as a kids?  I did. 

Another vendor is selling dates.

I've developed a date obsession.

Lots of night owls in Marrakech.

After a night in the square, I walked back through the souks (Arab marketplace or bazaar) to my hostel.  This was the same road where I met Dumbass.

 

 My hostel.  This is what 17 Euros per night can buy you in Marrakech.

I also took a day trip to the countyside.  Here are some pictures:

Traditional Berber (indigenous people of north Africa) home. 

A sheep peaking it's head around a corner of the house.

Looks like a bedroom.

A hamam, or steam bath, in the house.

The lady of the house served us traditional mint tea.

There was also a sweet waterfall outside of town.

My Rough Guides book described a trip to Morocco as "intense and challenging" and parts of it was.  But it was also incredibly eye-opening and loads of fun.

Barcelona, Spain

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”

-Saint Augustine

I am sad to say that I took no pictures during the one night I spent in Barcelona.

Here is one picture of Barcelona from http://www.barcelonatraveller.info

Wish I had more time in Barcelona, as the architecture was stunning and the city seemed more arty than Madrid.

I met Franz # 79 on the train from Montpellier to Barcelona, and we spent the evening in Barcelona eating tapas and drinking sangria at a charming hole-in-the-wall.

While I prefer neighboring France, one thing I love about Spain is the tapas.  (Tapas are Spanish snacks or appetizers.  It is traditional to order and combine several tapas to make a full meal that everyone shares.)

 A picture of tapas.  Again from http://www.barcelonatraveller.info

There is little I love more than going out to dinner with close friends and family, ordering several different dishes, and eating off of each others' plates.  It is intimate and, IMO, more fun and filling than when everyone orders and sticks to their separate entrees (as so often happens in America).

I love the tapas concept so much, in fact, that if you are my close friend or boyfriend you better get used to sharing a lot of saliva and backwash with me around the dinner table.

After an abbreviated stay in Barcelona, I left the next morning to Madrid.  On June 10th, I took a short flight from Madrid to Marrakech, Morocco...

Montpellier, France

“I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.”

-Lillian Smith

After leaving Venice, my plan was to take a train to Geneva and another train from Geneva to Barcelona.  Upon arrival in Geneva, I discovered that the overnight train to Barcelona was fully booked.  If I wanted to make my flight to Marrakech, Morocco, the only option was to take a train from Geneva to Montpellier.

The train dropped me off in Montpellier at 10 p.m.  Another train to Barcelona left Montpellier at 7 a.m.

Montpellier is beautiful by night.

I tried to find a hostel in Montpellier, but everything was booked.  After eating Chinese food, I resigned myself to another night in the train station.

After an hour in the Montpellier train station, the police arrived and kicked everyone out.  Many train stations in Europe close in the wee morning hours because there are no inbound or outbound trains.

I explained to the policeman that I had tried to find lodging unsuccessfully and had no where else to go, but he assured me that a few policemen stand outside the train station at night, so I would be safe sitting (or sleeping) out front.

I walked outside the train station and started to play my 44th game of Klondike of the day...on the curb. 

IPOD Klondike is the shit, even though I suck at it.

Then I just sat, and sat, and stared at the pigeons flocking around my feet, and stared at the pigeons flocking around my feet, and stared at the pigeons flocking around my feet, and sat some more...

It was nearing 2 a.m. and I was getting tired, and the more tired I got the more fantastic the pigeons started to look.  Some strange thoughts started running through my head.  This is an actual transcript:

Oh...beautiful pigeons...look at the pigeons swirl and spin, swirl and spin...  They are swirling.  They are spinning.  Oh, I love pigeons.  L-O-V-E them.  Their feathers look so soft.  So soft...  Like a feather pillow.  I wish pigeons were as big as me so that I could crawl on their back and wrap my arms around their fat neck and bury my face in their soft feathers...  Soft, soft pigeon feather pillow...  And take a nap on the back of a pigeon... For hours... 

Right as I was fantasizing about a pigeon piggyback ride through the streets of Montpellier, a voice said, "Hey girl, would you like to sleep at our apartment?  We have an extra mattress."

I came to, and saw three 20-something females standing above me.  They told me that they were Swiss students studying in France, and that they shared an apartment five minutes from the train station.  

Traveling has made me more street smart.  Obviously, if this had been Franz, the answer would have been an emphatic "no."  But I figured three, well-dressed ladies of my own age could not be too dangerous.  Plus, a mattress was preferable to a pigeon piggyback ride. 

I followed the Swiss girls to their apartment.  They made me tea.  We exchanged life stories.  They asked me if I'd ever considered couchsurfing.  They explained that couchsurfing, like hostelworld, has a way for guests to rate and comment on their hosts (so you can screen out the losers).  They said they've all used couchsurfing extensively, and safely.

Then I fell to sleep on their mattress, still wearing my street clothes.

The next morning I left Montpellier at the ass crack of dawn and headed to Barcelona.

Venice, Italy

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” 

-Maya Angelou

I've spent the last few days living on trains.  Since there are no direct trains from Croatia to Spain, I rode from Dubrovnik to Zagreb to Venice to Geneva to Lyon to Montpellier to Barcelona to Madrid...whew.  Transit is exhausting.

Stopping for one day in Venice was a welcome treat and a welcome rest during this period.

The tourist portion of Venice is actually an island.  Or a series of islands (117 to be exact).  A bus took me from my campsite on the mainland across a bridge to Venice Island, the largest and most visited island.  In addition to being a tourist hot spot, Venice Island is also home to about 60,000 people (another 176,000 people live on the mainland, and 31,000 live on the other 116 islands).

Like New Orleans, Venice Island is currently below sea level, making it particularly susceptible to the ravages of climate change.

Venice Island is crisscrossed by canals.  The canals are actually natural waterways that were enhanced by the Venetians with pilings and dredging to make them navigable.  The largest canal is the Grand Canal (pictured below).  I did not take a gondola ride on the Grand Canal because the price was exorbitant.

  Bridge over the Grand Canal.

Here are some more Venice pictures with captions:

 The streets of Venice are a maze.  Navigation is a challenge, especially on a cloudy day when the sun is not visible.  Bring along a map.

 Venetian masks are everywhere for sale.

Venetian breakfast.  Yum.

Venice Naval History Museum.

If you walk long enough on Venice Island you will reach the Adriatic Sea.

 There are some beautiful buildings on the strip along the Adriatic Sea.

 And more.

Oh, I wanted to tell you that I stayed at a campsite in Venice.  I have seen campsites advertised on hostelworld.com before, but I always assumed that you needed your own tent to take advantage of the facilities.  Not the case.  The campsite in Venice (there are several on the mainland) had its own tents set up on concrete slabs.  Here is what they looked like:

Camping village.

The tents.

 Set on a concrete slab, you do not get wet or dirty in these tents.

 There are bathroom and shower facilities on the premises.  And even a mini market that sold alcohol.

The campsite was clean, secure, and comfortable.  And for only 11 Euros per night, camping is certainly something worth checking out for the budget-conscious traveler.  

I would recommend going the hostelworld.com route for booking since campsites, hostels, and other accommodation are customer-rated on the website.  Since ratings are everything, I've noticed that the staff at these places usually go out of their way to cater to guests.

If you see lodging with bad reviews and ratings it is easy to stay clear.  (As a rule of thumb, I usually pick lodging with an 80% or better rating, though lodging with lower ratings is sometimes cheaper.)  I have had no problems with any of the accommodations I booked off of hostelworld.

Art in front of a Venetian gallery.

Rocking the Army PT cap for the first time since I slept on a park bench in Prague.

After Venice it was more train travel for this girl.  Check back soon for updates from Montpellier, Barcelona and Marrakech.