I Love This Place!

Question: What do you think this is a symbol for?

Here's a hint - it's not a different version of Pac-Man!

The Answer: Dragon's Den

Something you should know about me: I love dragons! It was my excitement and obsession that got Mum to hike down a 135 step spiral staircase just a few months after her bunyan surgery. She's a trooper!

It was well worth it. We spent a little bit of time exploring the Dragon's Den. There's something about a dark cave that thrills me.

Here's the story of the Dragon's Den, taken from our trusty Rick Steves' Eastern Europe book.

Once upon a time, a prince named Krak founded a town on Wawel Hill. It was the perfect location - except for the fire-breathing dragon who lived in the caves under the hill and terrorized the town. Prince Krak had to feed the dragon all of the town's livestock to keep the monster from going after the townspeople. But Krak, with the help of a clever shoemaker, came up with a plan. They stuffed a sheep's skin with sulfur and left it outside the dragon's cabe. The dragon swallowed it, and before long, developed a terrible case of heartburn. To put the fire out, the dragon started drinking water from the Vistula. He kept drinking and drinking until he finally exploded. The town was saved, and Krakow thrived.

I would love to marry the Prince and become Princess Krak. I doubt that will happen so in the meantime, I'll just pose for photos under the belly of a dragon.

ROBBED!

I had a blast in Barcelona with my 3 favorite people to get robbed with - Julie, Krista, and Scott. We were really careful about not getting pickpocketed, but the apartment we rented ended up getting robbed. After a delightful shopping expedition, Julie and Krista came back to an apartment that was kind of a mess and missing valuable items. Scott and I were sipping sangria on the beach when we got the call. After finishing off the pitcher, we headed back to survey the damage. There were no signs of forced entry and the door wouldn't open without a key, so we're pretty sure it was just a giant scam.

We called the police and I was able to use my Spanish skills to get them to the apartment to investigate and then finish filing the report the next morning at the police station. They pretty much told us there's no way we'll get anything back, but it didn't feel right to not report it. Because of our morning flight time, we ended up at the police station by 7:30 a.m. Can't think of a better way to spend our last morning in Barcelona! Julie was ecstatic about it.

Lessons Learned About Barcelona Robbers

1. Timing is everything. - We were scheduled to check out of our apartment pretty early Monday morning, so of course we got robbed Sunday afternoon. When we called the guy we rented the apartment from (Francisco), he informed us that the police station is closed on Sundays and that he'd help us get in contact with them when he came to check us out in the morning. He showed up to check us out 20 minutes late - I don't think he was planning on actually helping us report a robbery. Also, the cops who came to survey the place on Sunday night informed us that the police station is open 24 hours a day, every day. Luckily, we didn't believe Francisco and were able to call the cops without his help.

2. Thieves like new clothes! - Krista bought a blouse that was a great fit for a decent price at H&M the day before we were robbed. Apparently, it was a perfect fit for our thief - the bag with blouse and receipt was taken. On second thought, maybe they just returned it and made some extra Euros.

3. Thieves search for valuables everywhere. - Through clothes, in wallets, makeup bags or tampon bags, even in Bibles - just in case you use your Bible as a wallet. Everything in the apartment that belonged to us was rifled through.

4. Thieves don't have time to distinguish between valuable and worthless. - This is why Krista and I ended up missing Moroccan dirhams. If the thief isn't planning a trip to Morocco any time soon, there is absolutely no reason for her/him to have taken my awesome change purse full of dirham coins and the dirham notes in Krista's wallet. The Moroccan dirham is not an exportable currency and is not easily exchanged. Maybe I'll see our thief walking around the medina trying to figure out what to spend that money on.
All in all, no one got hurt and none of us are going to starve. We just all learned that we need to be more careful and less trusting when we travel. It was pretty easy to get careless about certain things, due to the sheer amount of travelling that we've been doing lately. This was a good wake up call - now I know to always ask for a safe, no matter how secure the lodging seems. It also reminded me how nice it is to travel with people who are flexible and will still genuinely smile for a picture taken at a police station early in the morning. Can't beat that!

Add This to My Wish List

If every lady in the world had a Man Filter, we'd all have much happier dating histories. Filter out the jerks, keep the Prince Charmings!

Sunscreen Lessons

Look closely at this hot leg! It belongs to my darling sister, Katie. She is in dire need of Sunscreen Application Lessons.

We did not allow her to apply her sunscreen the next day without supervision. We didn't want her to end up with another crazy streaky sunburn!

A Hodgepodge of Style

Krakow's Wawel Castle is the most visited site in the country (which I think is a bit ridiculous seeing as though Auschwitz is an hour's bus ride away). There has been a castle on this spot in Krakow for as long as history has been recorded. Needless to say, the grounds and buildings of Wawel Castle have changed over the years.
Note the various architectural styles of the Wawel Cathedral. The white base of the nearest tower is the original Romanesque limestone from the 12th century.

The 20 chapels that range in styles: 14th century Gothic, 12th century Romanesque, 17th century Baroque, 16th century Renaissance, and 18th -19th century Neoclassical. Surprisingly, the diffferent styles go together quite well. Bonus: there's something for everyone's varied architectural tastes!

Cheapest Beer in Town

While in Essaouira, we went to Casa Vera for 1 liter beers. A liter of Flag Especiale costs 90 dirhams.

Here's Amanda shocked at the prices, yet enjoying the ice cold beverage while overlooking the beautiful ocean.

Later that night, we met up with some people from our hostel at a little hole in the wall place simply called "BAR". Whoever thought up that name should win an award for creativity!

"Bar" was pretty much just a porch right on the ocean with a few plastic tables and a single menu item. The only beverage they served was small bottles of Flag Especiale for 13 dirhams a bottle. Definitely the best deal in town.

Alkohole

I thought Restauracja was the best Polish word ever until I ran across this sign. It made me laugh. What better place to get a few drinks than the Alkohole store?

Camel Rights

I've lived in Africa for over 9 months now and I have not yet ridden a camel. I'm saving that for a trip to the desert that I'll be taking sometime next year. It's not like I haven't been given plenty of opportunity. On both trips to Essaouria, I ran into this pack of camels with people offering camel rides on the beach.

Here's another pic of the camels hanging out. They pretty much just hang out all day waiting for tourists to pop on for a short ride. They get this gorgeous view every day. What a life!

Unfortunately, this guy isn't living the good life. His legs are tied together so he can't get up and run away. Amanda, Katie and I were very saddened to see how poorly he was being cared for. Nobody else was really paying attention to him at all - I wish there was some Camel Rescue or Camel Old Folks Home that he could go to for a better life of Bingo and Bridge. At the very least, someone should be held accountable for the abuse of tying his legs together. That's unacceptable!

Special Treat: Homemade Lard

While Mum, Katie and I were in Krakow, we were able to experience to some awesome traditional cuisine. Apparently, homemade lard is a pretty common appetizer in Poland, because we saw it on pretty much every menu that served traditional cuisine.
At one Restauracja, we were served bread, cheese, and lard to start our meal. What better way to serve homemade lard than in a cup. (Side note: check out the gorgeous sheets that were the backdrop of our booth - remind me to decorate with floral sheets if I ever own a restaurant!)

Here's the closeup! I must say that I didn't sample this delightful looking treat.

My mum got stuck having a bite when she was posing for this picture and the waiter came by and asked how she liked it. She then had to take a bite in order to be respectful. Judging from the look on her face, I don't think she was a big fan...

Efficiency

Oh, how I wish I had gotten a better picture of this! On the way to Chefchaouen, we stopped at a gas station where we were able to witness this picture of Moroccan efficiency. Since it's taken out of the back window of the van, I'll clarify what you're seeing here. Three men are working cooperatively to plant a small tree. This area probably wouldn't take so long to plant if the men each planted their own tree, but it seemed necessary for one many to do the planting while the others watched. Maybe they were in training...
What you can't see in this picture is the best part. These three men were obviously not capable of doing this work independently. Standing off to the side is a supervisor, dressed in a suit and tie making sure that these men work efficiently. I wonder why it takes so long to get things done around here... :)

Bunnies: Keep Your Paws Clear!

Here's a sign from the Paris Metro.

It's pretty easy to understand if you speak one of the 5 languages the warning is in. If you don't, the picture of the cute bunny with his paws in the door should give you a hint. I have no idea why they're more worried about bunnies having their paws trapped than they are about humans getting their hands stuck.

Saving Bread

Here's some fascinating information about garbage pickup in Casablanca. Although some garbage is strewn throughout the streets and the unofficial garbage field by my house, some people throw their garbage away in garbage cans.


Garbage trucks, like this one, pick up the garbage from the garbage cans and carry it off to the official garbage dumps. So far, this probably sounds like what happens all over the world in terms of garbage.

The interesting thing about garbage pick up here is that bread is kept separate. Plastic bags full of bread are left next to the garbage cans and the garbage truck drivers place them on top of the gas tank. They are then distributed to people in need, who often sell them to others to feed animals. It is against Islam to waste bread, so it's a pretty important part of life here.

Free Entertainment

The Sacre Cour in Paris is one of my favorite churches in the world. I love its location on a hilltop and the view once you climb up the million steps to the church itself.
Even on a foggy day, it's wonderful to look out over Paris.

More than the view, I love the people watching. There's always something exciting going on on the steps of the Sacre Cour.

I can't imagine waking up one day and thinking to myself, "I think I'll paint myself gold and wear that stunning outfit that matches the paint, so that I can stand by some steps and pose for pictures." That is exactly what this lady did.

These guys were real treat - they attracted quite a large audience of people. They performed a variety of interpretive dances, including a dance with a crystal ball that was quite phenomenal. To avoid payment and crowds, we watched the whole show with a view of their back ends.

Not only did they have great dances in their partnership, but they also did a few solo numbers. I was a big fan of this move, though I look like a total idiot when I try to demonstrate it myself. That's what photos are for!

Pizza Night

When Kris, Emily and I were in London, my parents treated us to a yummy Pizza Night. We all chipped in and did our part to create our lovely meal. Mom stole some pages out of a magazine at the doctor's office that gave an awesome recipe for pizza dough and sauce. She also chopped up all sorts of toppings to put on the various pizzas we made.

Dad and Kris manned the barbecue. Luckily, they had some Guinness to keep them company while they warmed up the grill.

Dad was in charge of keeping his pizza stone covered in semolina flour to prevent the pizza from sticking.

He and Kris teamed up to transfer the pizza from the pan to the stone.

Once the pizza was cooked, Emily cut them into pieces and we all ate them.

Here's Kris with the after pizza and the before pizza. Go Team!

You may be wondering what I was doing to help with this endeavor. Well, I was the photographer, which is of course the most important job. I was also a bit of a jack of all trades as I spent time chopping with mom, dictating toppings, and making sure everyone had cold beverages. I guess that was probably my most important duty. :)

Mary Jane

Chefchaouen is located in the Rif Mountains, which is where the term "reefer" was originated. It is highly likely that while walking through Chefchaouen, you will be offered hashish multiple times. We didn't get offered any while we there, which may be due to the fact that the King is cracking down on marijuana in the Rif Mountains.
That doesn't mean that it's not easy to find. As we were walking to the village where we had lunch, we stopped to check out some marijuana growing on the side of the path.

Our guide pointed it out to us, which was a good thing because my powers of observation aren't very sharp. I surely would have missed this.

After snapping a few photos, we decided to leave it as it was, rather than bringing it home as a souvenir.

Mountain Retreat

Thanks to International Labor Day last Friday, I had yet another 3 day weekend. I couldn't just sit around in Casablanca chewing my fingernails, so off I went on another adventure. Thursday after school, we left for Chefchaouen, an awesome town in the Rif mountains in northern Morocco.

This door is one of two identical doors located on either side of Chefchaouen and its image is all over the tacky tourist souvenir items.

On Saturday, we went on a hike to God's Bridge, a natural rock formation over the river. Our guide then took us to a village where he cooked a delightful vegetable tagine at the village mosque. Here's Julie, Krista, me, and Johnna after a couple of hours of hiking.

Chefchaouen's medina is the cleanest that I've seen in Morocco. It is known for its beautiful blue and white painted walls - they used to be green, but the influence of Jews expelled from Spain at the end of the 15th century changed the theme. Supposedly, the color also helps ward off mosquitoes and flies. Whatever the reason, I think it's pretty.

This is the view from our balcony overlooking the beautiful mountain city. Up until 1920 when the Spanish came, only 3 Westerners had ever entered the city. Prior to that, it was illegal to enter if you were Christian - the consequence was death. Two of the men - Vicomte Charles de Foucald from France & Walter Harris from England - dressed as rabbis on separate occasions to enter the city. William Summers, an American, was caught and poisoned in 1892.

Chefchaouen's location in the Rif Mountains make it an awesome start point for various hikes through spectacular scenery. I took a ton of pictures of the gorgeous landscapes - this sure does beat the views in Casablanca.

Super Mom - Happy Mother's Day!

For those of you who haven't had the joy of my mother's cooking, you're really missing out. The woman can take a hodgepodge of ingredients, add a ton of garlic & other spices and presto - AMAZING FOOD!
Mum's pretty well known for her use of copious amounts of garlic, so she's constantly getting garlic presses and other garlic cutting instruments as gifts. However, her old stand by is the Pampered Chef paring knives that cost $2.50 for two knives. She actually prefers to cut garlic like this! Just one of the many things I love about my SUPER MOM! Happy Mother's Day!

Gunpowder Tea

While shopping in Chefchaouen, I came across this box of tea for sale - "The Vert de Chine Gunpowder". Interesting advertising strategy. Desert, gunpowder, camels and tea - what's not to love?

Restauracjas and Tipsy Pedicures

I love the word "Restauracja", Polish for "Restaurant". It gave me great joy to see these signs all over Krakow. I think I would like to use the word "Restauracja" in place of the word restaurant from now on. Gotta practice my language skills.

I also enjoyed this sign near the Main Square in Krakow. Apparently, you get to be tipsy while getting your mani/pedis! I'm pretty sure "masaze" means massage - tipsy massage, anyone?