Morocco in 20 pictures

Sometimes, a picture is definitely worth a thousand words...

tagines, a specialty

Mint tea, very delicious end to every meal

A few snakes

Spice market

Sunset from the rooftop terrace

fried seafood platter

the daily night market

tons of nut kiosks

jardin majorelle

more spices

palais bahia

pigments

fruit stand

atlas mountains

ait ben haddou

night market food stands

the souks

 

 

A more detailed update is in progress folks :D

I´m leaving for Morocco!

My friends,

I had lofty goals of catching up on my Portugal posts before I leave for Morocco, but it looks like I won´t be able to do so.

If these directions to my hostel are any indication of my adventures in Morocco, I´m sure I will have plenty of hilarious stories to share next week.

The easiest way to get to the hostel is from the famous Djemaa el-Fnaa square. Ask your cab driver to leave you at what is popularly known as “Café Argana” although the canopy reads “Restaurant Argana”. The name “Argana” is written in large letters on the roof of the premises. If you arrive by bus, or the square is closed to cars, look for this cafe, or ask someone to show you the way to it. It’s located on one of the corners of the square.
Facing the cafe, take the street immediately to the left. Very soon you willget to an open space. Cross this taking the street on your left under the archway. Pass through the arch and you'll be in Mouassine street. This is a fairly wide street (for the Medina standards), with shops left and right. Walk straight down this street. Soon on your right you'll see a small corner shop called 'Fnaque Berber' followed by another arch, walk directly through it. After approximately 100 meters you'll get to a small open space (or a place where the street widens), once you enter this area you will find a small arch behind and to your right. This is a slight u-turn but do not worry as our street starts there! You can read its name at the top of the arch: 'Derb Laghnaiz Lamouassine'. Pass through the arch and walk down three steps. You're almost there. This street has no shops and in most parts is roofed. Walk and don't leave the wall on your left. After 50-60 meters of walking down this winding street, you'll find a door with our name on it: 'Equity Point'. Welcome!!

This is apparently, the EASIEST way to get to the hostel.

Wish me luck,
Pris

City Spotlight :: Lisboa - Part Two

I woke up bright and early to a rainy day.

Mornings must always start with coffee and something sweet.

I don´t know the name of this pastry, but it was good. Not too heavy or too sweet.

The rest of the day was a mixture of sightseeing and eating.

The sights -

A brief photo op in front of an elevator tower, one of Lisboa´s attractions.

In front of Jerónimos Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Lisboa rooftops

Belém Tower, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I like taking photos of ships

The food - Portugal has GREAT seafood. And it´s really cheap. I had seafood for all three meals, every single day! This country is a seafood lover´s dream come true.

Lunch - Tasca de Sé

Pork and clams. This was an entre dish that we ordered as our appetizer :D

My grilled sea bass. This was delicious. Really, really good. And only 8,50 euros!

J´s grilled bacalhau

A very happy pris

afternoon coffee break to avoid the pouring rain

Dinner - for dinner, we were looking for a place that included a fado performace. Fado is a music genre in Portugal that goes back to the 1820s. Fado usually consists of one singer, accompanied by a Portugues guitar player and a classical guitar player. The restaurant we chose had several fado singers and they took turns singing throughout the evening. They were all very good, but one singer really stood out. He really had a swoon worthy voice.

The singer with an incredible voice

Arros de mariscos - a seafood rice dish

J´s amazing grilled sea bass

We became instant groupies and took pictures with our favorite singer

J and L

roommate photo number ...

Our picture with the entire music crew!

My first full day in Lisboa left me feeling like L in the photo below.

You really can´t tell from the photo, but we saw a DOUBLE rainbow! (If you don´t find that funny, please youtube it now. And listen to the remix version after.)

OMG, so intense!

City Spotlight :: Lisboa - Day One

We arrived in Lisboa at 5:30 in the evening. The first thing I wanted to do was to walk to the beach. According to the weather forecast, we were due for some heavy rain the next few days, so I wanted to see the beach while it was still dry outside.

I was a bit disappointed with the beach actually. Perhaps I've been spoiled by all the beautiful beaches I've seen already. The water was murky and reminded me of the bay area.

It took a while to find our dinner spot because we were avoiding restaurants plastered with menus in 10 different languages. There was this one street where waiters were standing outside soliciting and throwing out greetings in all different kinds of Asian languages. It was annoying.

We wandered about, walked up several flights of stairs and found ourselves in a quieter area with several promising restaurants.

Our choice - Solar do Duque

If anyone is planning a trip to Portugal in the future, bear in mind that every restaurant serves a bread basket, a plate of cheese, and a plate with some kind of meat. These small dishes are NOT on the house. Everything you eat will be charged, including the individual packets of butter and jam.

We politely sent the dishes back. Good thing I did my food research :D

We started with sopa alentejana - a soup with bread, garlic and coriander. It had great potential but it was way too salty!

Our first taste of Portuguese wine - a vino blanco from the Dao region.

I look so tired in this picture.

Pulvo - grilled octopus with boiled potatoes - the best boiled potatoes I´ve tasted!

Bacalhau - grilled codfish with boiled potatoes. Apologies for the blurry photos, the lighting was bad.

My lovely roommate J

Happy after a satisfying meal :D

Our fellow law school friend L joined us later that evening. We went out for some small bites, dessert and drinks. And that sums up my first evening in Lisboa, Portugal.