Fer's Blog

Marrakech or Marakesh (مراكش Murrakush), known as the "Red City or Al Hamra," is a city in southwestern Morocco in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains.

Snake Charmer on the market

Fes is one of the four so-called "imperial cities" (the others are Marrakech, Meknes and Rabat). It is separated into three parts, Fes el Bali (the old, walled city), Fes-Jdid (new Fes, home of the Mellah), and the Ville Nouvelle (the French-created, newest section of Fes). The Medina of Fes el Bali, the largest of the two medinas of Fes, is believed to be the largest contiguous carfree urban area in the world. Fes el Bali is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Dar el-Makhzen, the royal palace

Medina of Fes

Leather dyeing vats in Fes

The Argan (also known as Goat tree) (Argania spinosa, syn. A. sideroxylon Roem. & Schult.) is a species of tree endemic to the calcareous semi-desert Sous valley of southwestern Morocco. It is the sole species in the genus Argania.

In some parts of Morocco, Argan takes the place of the Olive as a source of forage, oil, timber and fuel in Berber society. Especially near Essaouira, the argan tree is frequently climbed by goats

Agadir (Arabic: أكادير, Berber (Amazigh):

) ) is a city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Souss-Massa-Dra region.

B A R C E L O N A

Oliver at the Ramblas in Barcelona

VIVA MEXICO!!!!

VIVA MEXICO indeed!!

Christmas Eve at David and Lorena's

With my bag of necklaces!!

Carving up the turkey,... and the ham.....etc, etc,

After the lovely present from Oliver

Ok.... Some people will like to blame the oysters in the dip, but I think it was the AMOUNT of food that caused such problems on Christmas day.. [check the Alka-Seltzers]

S E V I L L A

The Giralda is the bell tower of the Cathedral of Seville in Seville, Spain, one of the largest churches in the world and an outstanding example of the Gothic and Baroque architectural styles. The tower is a former Almohad minaret which, when built, was the tallest tower in the world at 97.5 m (320 ft) in height. It was one of the most important symbols in the medieval city.

The Giralda has no stairs; instead, 34 ramps are used to ascend the tower. The ramps were sufficiently wide for the muezzin to ride a horse to the top of the tower to yell the Adhan, call to prayer.

Sadly..... we didn't have a horse so we had to walk up all 34 ramps.... wasn't as bad as I imagined.

So here we are al the bells on the top

And a lovely view of the Plaza de Toros from the tower.

Feeling better after that "interesting" christmas day, he was ready to eat again.

Outside the cathedral.

I always wanted to steal [ or rather pick ] an orange, but they wouldn't let me! ;-(

The Alcázar facing the cathedral is the city's old Moorish Palace; construction was begun in 1181, continued for over 500 years, mainly in Mudéjar style, but also in Renaissance. Its gardens are a blend of Moorish, Andalusian, and Christian traditions

Here we are, too bad you can't see the Alcazar too much..... but aren't we nice?

Posing in front of the Guadalquivir River

We were looking for this elusive restaurant that my parents visited 20 years ago.

Plaza de España with a Nice rainbow

C O R D O B A

Inside the Catedral-Mezquita
Used to be a Mosque but after Cordoba bas recaptured from the Moors by King FERNANDO III de Castilla , the mosque was reconsecrated a Christian church.