Marrakech, Morocco

Hi All

We had a really long trip to Marrakech from Fes. We didn’t go on the toll way as we wanted to see the countryside. Much of the trip was either beautiful or very interesting but there was a lot of very slow,overladen vehicles and donkeys pulling carts etc. Some drivers are lunatics and we were overtaken by two lunatics during the day that almost wiped out cars and in one instance right in the middle of a town with heaps of children walking on the edge of the road.

When we got to Marrakech we finally found the plaza which was huge but we couldn’t find tbe cafe we had to meet at. I spoke to someone at the riad 3 times who spoke virtually no English. She kept saying “cafe de France.. 10 mins” Some little jumped up teenager took Bogdan and I through the backstreets to The Cafe de France, complained about how much I paid him and then went back to the car and hit up Steve for more money. He decined….

Finally we got in the door of the Riad at about 8.00pm. It was very beautiful as you will see. We were tired and a bit cranky but felt better by the morning. There is no alcohol sold at all or drunk cafes and restaurants in the Medina and not much at all in the other parts of the cities except in the big hotels. We had bought some beer and wine from a supermarche in Fes. We faced some quiet resistance from the Muslim manageress when we asked her for ice for the wine and also to put some beer in the freezer. Still we survived and so did she.:-)

The town of Marrakech is very attractive with the main part of the city very clean with very palatial buildings. We took the easy way out and took the double decker touristic bus. We saw a lot and didn’t die from the heat. It was 40 degrees most of the day, The wall around the medina is awesome.The medina however is very ordinary compared to the Fes medina No real arts and crafts stalls but more like the Rocklea sunday markets. A real flee market feel. Marrakesh does have the Plaza Jemaa el fna. It is huge and is full of different food and other stalls especially at night. Entertainers of all types, snakes being charmed, monkeys in clothes and even young boys boxing. I couldn’t look that – made me very uncomfortable. You are hassled every which way to buy or pay to look etc.

Next

from: http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/anneandsteve/1/1337379679/tpod.html

Related posts:

1. Sun Rise In The Sahara — Marrakech, Morocco
   Sun Rise In The Sahara – Marrakech, Morocco Marrakech, Morocco Where I stayed Hotel Central Palace Marrakech (Marrakech hotels) from: http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/mish_brendan/1/1314116318/tpod.html ...
2. Marrakech – The Mystery Unveiled — Marrakech, Morocco
   Marrakech – The Mystery Unveiled – Marrakech, Morocco Marrakech, Morocco Where I stayed Riad Atlas Guest House Marrakech (Marrakech hotels) Mary’s Impressions: Having had...
3. Shades of Crosby, Stills and Nash — Marrakech, Morocco
   Shades of Crosby, Stills and Nash – Marrakech, Morocco Marrakech, Morocco Where I stayed Atlas Asni (Marrakech hotels) We headed out towards Marrakesh after...

Avignon, France

I spent the morning dawdling about checking my arrangements for the next week or so.  This followed a Fabulous breakfast.  A fresh fruit salad, croissant, strawberry preserves, jamon, scrambled eggs, cheese, fresh squeezed orange juice, and coffee.  that will keep me pedaling for awhile!  After breakfast, I extended my reservation for a night, and booked three more nights at th send of Kirsten’s stay with me.  Avignon has plenty to keep us occupied, and if I get fed like this in the morning, it pretty much has to be a good day.  Michaela says since I am staying more than 3 nights, I also qualify for a Provençal supper.  She belongs to an amateur chef society.  Maybe this can be our anniversary dinner! When I finally got going, I headed through town to find a couple of squares Michaela had recommended.  When I finally got on the road and picked up speed, I noticed the wind in my hair…which means I had forgotten my helmet.  I was going to just keep going, but realized I had also forgotten my gloves.  While I have never hit my head falling off a bike, I have messed my hands up pretty good, and had gloves  save them on other occasions.  So I went back and got my missing bits, then headed out all over again.  I found the back road to Isle sur la Sorgues, and then to Fontaine de Vaucluse.  I was having fun flying along the road out of town, when it occurred to me that this was too easy.  Either I had discovered that obscene quantities of goat cheese doubled your red blood cell count, or… I was wind assisted, which, of course, means I will not find it as effortless on the way back…. I stopped for lunch, pain aux figues et chèvre, by the church in Vellaurges.  A small ‘village circulade’.  After the breakfast I had, I really did not need much for lunch.  From there, I meandered down country lanes to Isle-lsur-laSorgue.  This is a touristy town, but it manages to be fairly charming anyway.  I strolled along the canals and river banks, admiring the cafes, but decided not to stop at one.  Instead, I headed for Fontaine, the source of the Sourges, which pops out of the limestone hillside as a proper river.  C’est une belles endroit.  While i eas pedalling around town, i saw a sign for a hostel, and tried to find it.  Many of the hostels in the FUAJ do not seem to be part of the international association.   Something to remember if i ever do this again.  I ended up climbing up the hills from whence the river springs.  I never found the hostel, but I found a family harvesting cherries and selling them by the side of the road.  I took their picture, but decided against trying to carry a punnet of Cherries in my handlebar bag.  That could get messy!  So I coasted back into town.  I strolled about taking pictures, ignored the siren call of the cafe, then headed back out on the road.   On the way out of town, I finally found the voie velo de Vaucluse.  It is not quite as impressive as I had anticipated.  The bits I rode on were just bike lanes marked on a road.  It was an old highway which had been superseded, so it was wide, but not heavily used.  The grassy verge is slowly eating away at the bike lane.   There was a bit of fighting the wind on the way back to town, but it was not too bad.  I was still having fun.   I have decided I love traffic circles on a bike.  Everyone else has to slow down, but on a bike you speed up. The centrifugal force adds to your speed, and you can fly around the circle, canted at an angle close to impossible.  After one traffic circle like this, which I went around twice, just because I could, I headed up into Saint Saturnin les Avignon.  I knew it was going to be up, because it had been down in the morning!  There were a couple of cars following me out of the traffic circle, but I was going faster than them, so i was in the centre of the lane.  Starting up the hill I just leaned into it.  If you can keep the revs up, you can hold the speed, so that’s what I did.  It was about a km or so into the centre of town, and I held speed.  It is exhilarating!  The cars held back, because I was going too fast to pass…uphill!  After that, I had to stop for a beer.  They had “les cigales” on tap, so I had that.  Not bad.  A bit like “grasshopper”. I took my time.  Next was the 15km into town, and I wanted to avoid traffic.  An older gentleman who had been sitting next to me asked where I was from and where I was going.  We chatted for a couple of minutes.  He complemented my French, which always makes me happy. Heading off, I started on the same route I had taken in the morning, but found a smaller road out of the next town.  It was not marked, but it looked good, and I asked a guy standing by the road if it would take me to Avignon.  He told me to prendre la gauche a centre Ville, et tourner a droit a l’ancien route a Avignon.   I thought I was doing OK, but the road looked really local.  There were speed bumps and barriers half-way across on alternating sides.  I stopped and asked  a couple sitting in their front yard, and they said this was the way.  It turned into a marked cycle route through a bit of an industrial area, which brought me right to the old city… with no traffic!  I turned in, and took the first left to follow the wall.  It was a rough cobbled street, lined with trees.  The street was separated from the houses on one aide by a narrow canal, which had several large water wheels turning in it.   The cogs were still mounted in the wall next to the wheels, but the wheels were not attached, so are now just decorative.  There was a bar a vin, with an ‘artistic’ looking crowd out front, seated at tables or on the walls of the canal and the bridge across it.  I felt like I had to stop.   I went in and asked for a rose, and they had options; what fun! I sat on the bridge rail (stone and two feet wide) and read the sign on the gate.  The bar was across the canal from an opera and ballet theatre.  I chatted briefly with a guy who pulled in on a bike just as old as mine, with gears mounted on the frame, and the same brake type as mine.  It has been a looong time since I saw brakes like that on another bike.  While he and his partner had a glass of wine, their two kids played hopscotch on the bridge.  I love that the kids come to the bar.  I think it keeps them more like a village meeting place rather than a drinking establishment.

from: http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/donaldc/1/1337383013/tpod.html

Related posts:

1. Exploring Avignon!! — Avignon, France
   Exploring Avignon!! – Avignon, France Avignon, France Where I stayed Autour Du Petit Paradis Avignon (Avignon hotels) What I did Pope’s Palace (Palais des...
2. The new “flexible metric system” only in France — Avignon, France
   The new "flexible metric system" only in France – Avignon, France Avignon, France Back when we were in Arles, we had asked the tourist...
3. Exploring More of Provence Arles/Avignon — La Bastide Des Jourdans France, France
   Exploring More of Provence Arles/Avignon – La Bastide Des Jourdans France, France La Bastide Des Jourdans France, France September 11, 2011 Our excursion to Anncey...

Ilha Grande, Brazil

Our streak of good weather come to an end once we got to Ilha Grande, every day was rainy and overcast. Ilha Grande is an island just off the coast not too far from Rio and the only cars on the island belonged to the emergency services. The first day the weather wasn’t too bad so a small group of us treaked off in search of the waterfall that was close to town. We first got lost then had to turn back to find it and once we found it we weren’t sure because in place of the waterfall was a tiny stream. After having as much fun as you can at a pond we legged it home for some buffet dinner.

The second day the weather got a little worse but our group set off in search of the bigger waterfall 2hrs away. We persisted through the rain and a pretty strenuous hike but we got there. But after Iguacu this water fall was not impressive at all. Still worth the walk seeming as all we have been doing lately was eating too much meat. Also for future reference garlic prawns over here is not like the garlic prawns mum cooks, Sarah and I found out the hard way it’s just whole unpeeled prawns cooked then fried in a little garlic and oil. Not cool.

On our last day there was the option to hike to a beach a few coves around from town. It was rainy and 6 km away so Sarah chose to stay warm dry and in the hotel room while I legged it out to the track. The hike was pretty *************g the way we stopped at a heap beaches and played some trivia.

There are only five countries in the world that when you spell their names in capitals have no closed letters such as P R A O B and so on. What are the five?

This kept us amused and our minds off the rain. We got to Lopez Mendez beach and it become obvious why it was worth the hike. The beach was beautiful and the waves were massive. We all went for a swim and then come back to find there were heaps of monkeys just in the trees on the beach front. It was awesome! There were heaps and I know it is bad but we fed them. Not our fault the guy that rents out surfboards started it and gave us the biscuits. Luckily our tour guide booked us a boat trip home so we didn’t have to do the hike again. Nice work Craig. That night we had a big BBQ and a few drinks.

from: http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jordan_sarah/1/1336835735/tpod.html

Related posts:

1. ´Albino whale beaches itself on Lopes Mendes…´ — Ilha Grande, Brazil
   ´Albino whale beaches itself on Lopes Mendes…´ – Ilha Grande, Brazil Ilha Grande, Brazil Ilha Grande, ´a place you have to go to´. I´d...
2. Paraty — Paraty, Brazil
   Paraty – Paraty, Brazil Paraty, Brazil Paraty is an old colonial town approximately five hours South of Rio. Paraty for us was more or less...
3. LOST: Brazil — Florianopolis, Brazil
   LOST: Brazil – Florianopolis, Brazil Florianopolis, Brazil Hello! Bonjour! Hola! Tudo Bem! It has been a while. I sincerely apologize for my lack of...

Guilin, China

You fly to the subtropical Guilin and spend a day sailing down the Li River, as
a rich tapestry of limestone hills rise majestically out of the earth in front
of you. This scenery of timeless beauty inspired Chinese poets for thousands of
years. What makes this trip truly unique and exciting is an exclusive hiking
tour to the hidden gem of Longsheng’s Dragon Spine Terraces, inhabited by
minority nationalities. This discovery is rarely available in the conventional
itineraries.

Then continue to Chongqing to visit the Giant Panda before
board your 3-night cruise down the Yangtze

Guilin is renowned for its karst peaks, most under 650 ft (198m) high. Dotted throughout the city, they are particulary concentrated along the Li River to the south of town. Guilin dates back to the Qin era, and by the 6th century AD, its hills were already inspiring poets. Under the Ming, it emerged as a provincial capital, a position lost in 1914 to Nanning. Guilin today is a tidy tourist city, with about ten parks enclosing some fine peaks and limestone caves. Guilin means “Osmanthus Forest” and has an avenue of these sweet scented trees along the riverside Binjiang Lu.

While in Guilin you will enjoy a cruise on the meandering Li River and come to understand why
Guilin is famed for “the best scenery under heaven”

from: http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/chinaspree/3/1338031530/tpod.html

Related posts:

1. Scenic Guilin — Guilin, China
   Scenic Guilin – Guilin, China Guilin, China Where I stayed Wada’s (Guilin hotels) from: http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gearoids/4/1317131671/tpod.html ...
2. land of dr suess mountains — Guilin, China
   land of dr suess mountains – Guilin, China Guilin, China Where I stayed Lijiang Waterfall Hotel Guilin (Guilin hotels) What I did Li River...
3. Guilin, entry number 100! — Guilin, China
   Guilin, entry number 100! – Guilin, China Guilin, China In spite of the heavy night I was up by 11 and in a taxi...

Jedburgh, United Kingdom

Changeover day again, but this time a very special one as we are going home for a few days. We managed a bit of a lay in before breakfast, our normal porridge and banana. Then the jobs! I wrote the blog from yesterday while the girls and the Roadie packed the kit back into the campervan, sorted out washing and put a load through the campsite machine so we have socks for tomorrow. We had a natter and a cuppa before leaving at noon for home. Stewart headed north to Jedburgh with the campervan. I headed south to Hexham with Renate and Eva to get them back to the train station for their onward journey to Ely. It had been wonderful having them both with us and we were sad to see them go. They had achieved so much in the four days, come out of their comfort zone to walk with me and excelled. I had lunch with them in Hexham before dropping them at the station and heading for home. Travelling back to Jedburgh gave me ample time to reflect on this last part of the journey and the distance travelled was confirmed as I re- traced the walk taken through Bellingham, Byrness and over the border. The weather was drizzly with low cloud and the forest looked quite different today. Large swathes were covered in low cloud so we had been very lucky yesterday to get the tremendous views that we did while up on the high hills. Just over an hour later I was in Jedburgh meeting the Roadie and we travelled the last 15 miles home together. It was great to pull into the drive at home to see the garden in bloom and the honeysuckle coming in to flower. I replied to a call from Claire. She was in Galashiels having travelled from Germany this morning. Ollie told me later that they were up at 0400hrs and had travelled on 8 different sets of transport to get to us. Car to Herford station, train to Osnabruck, train to Bremen, tram to Bremen airport, plane to Edinburgh, bus to Waverley, bus to Galashiels and Nanas car to home arriving at 1700hrs. What a huge journey for two children aged 8 and 6. They are really amazing and I am absolutely thrilled that they are with us to share the journey. Thank you so much Claire, James and Ollie for coming across at this very special time and sharing in our journey. It will be wonderful having you walk with us over the next two days. Necessary items were emptied from the campervan, the fire lit and we settled down for a lovely evening. To David MPG-sorry you are unable to walk with us. Hope to catch up with you after the walk. Enjoy the time with your Mum. Would love to see the North American route. To Sue and Chris, hope you have warmed up after your trip to the cold, wet Lake District. David and Edith- will see you over the week while we are home. To John M- thanks for the info. Will catch up with you when the walk is finished. To Hannah and Alan, crossing the border was great, being home is better.To Ron and Pat- see you in the morning. To Helen and Roy, thanks for all your help and support- see you in the morning.ttfn

from: http://blog.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/heather-stewart/1/1337376856/tpod.html

Related posts:

1. First F1 Holiday — Manchester, United Kingdom
   First F1 Holiday – Manchester, United Kingdom Manchester, United Kingdom Where I stayed Travelodge Manchester Airport (Manchester hotels) Myself and two friends, Tony &...
2. Weekend day trips in a car hire from Nice — United Kingdom, United Kingdom
   Weekend day trips in a car hire from Nice – United Kingdom, United Kingdom United Kingdom, United Kingdom Anyone who has travelled in France...
3. London to Paris by high speed train — London, United Kingdom
   London to Paris by high speed train – London, United Kingdom London, United Kingdom We land in London at about 5am. We say our...

from: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/05/16/interview_with_senator_bernie_sanders_114188.html

Related posts:

1. Interview with Senator Bernie Sanders
   BLITZER: Protests against Wall Street are spreading today to a number of major U.S. cities including right here in the nation's capital. President Obama...
2. Sen. Sanders: ‘Excessive Speculation,’ Not Supply and Demand, Responsible for High Gas Prices
   Cybercast News Service, by Christopher Goins Posted By: KarenJ1- Fri, 23 Mar 2012 02:53:09 GMT Excessive speculation ” not the need for more oil drilling...
3. Interview with Senator Rand Paul
   BLITZER: Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky set often an alarm at an airport body scanner today, and then had to leave the security checkpoint...

from: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/05/17/the_tea_is_getting_weaker_114177.html

Related posts:

1. Is the Tea Party Losing Its Grip on the GOP?
   JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Newt Gingrich's fast Florida fade is the latest indication that the Tea Party is losing its grip on the GOP, with...
2. GOP elite holds off the tea partiers
   Politico, by James Hohmann Posted By: mikkins2- Sun, 22 Apr 2012 15:43:25 GMT The Republican Party establishment has withstood the tea’party revolution. The tricorne’hat wearing,...
3. Tea Party Express rallies in Panama City
   News Herald [Panama City FL], by Ali Helgoth Posted By: JoniTx- Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:07:55 GMT PANAMA CITY — Calling the 2012 presidential election...

from: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/05/17/the_only_true_way_to_save_marriage_from_obama_114175.html

Related posts:

1. President Obama’s calculated gamble on gay marriage
   Washington Post, by Chris Cillizza Posted By: Oblio- Wed, 09 May 2012 20:10:51 GMT President Obama’s decision to express support for gay marriage in an...
2. Centenarian’s Marriage Advice to Obama: ‘Compromise!’
   ABC News, by Devin Dwyer Posted By: JoniTx- Sat, 24 Mar 2012 18:22:50 GMT President Obama this week received some well’worn advice on how to...
3. Black Churches Conflicted on Obama’s Gay Marriage Decision
   The pulpits of the nation’s black churches took measure Sunday (May 13) of President Obama’s decision to support gay marriage, and the result was conflicted....

from: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/05/17/will_gay_marriage_force_black_churches_to_reconsider_democratic_party_114176.html

Related posts:

1. Black Churches Conflicted on Obama’s Gay Marriage Decision
   The pulpits of the nation’s black churches took measure Sunday (May 13) of President Obama’s decision to support gay marriage, and the result was conflicted....
2. N.C. Black Pastor Treads Carefully on Gay Marriage
   RALEIGH, N.C. — With only a few days remaining before North Carolinians vote on a state constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, the Rev. Earl...
3. President Obama’s calculated gamble on gay marriage
   Washington Post, by Chris Cillizza Posted By: Oblio- Wed, 09 May 2012 20:10:51 GMT President Obama’s decision to express support for gay marriage in an...

from: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/05/17/o_brave_new_world_that_has_such_romneys_in_it_114182.html

Related posts:

1. In Swing Ohio, Gingrich Gaining the “Not-Romneys”
   WEST CHESTER, Ohio (AP) — For "Anybody but Romney" Republicans in a key conservative region of Ohio, Newt Gingrich has been picking up support...
2. Children’s Foot Health
   The foot is mainly responsible for permitting us to move. The components that allow it to function consists of a myriad of ligaments and muscles....
3. Romney Surrogates Shadow Gingrich Campaign
   KOAT (Albuquerque), by Shawna Shepherd Posted By: mikkins2- Sat, 28 Jan 2012 07:11:40 GMT Newt Gingrich’s campaign spokesman confronted a high’profile Mitt Romney surrogate who...