Food, Glorious Food!

I’ve decided that a perfect first day in a new country is a market tour with tastings. That’s what I did today and it WAS perfect. We met at the […]

Of Palaces and Pedicures

I’ve initiated a tradition of having a flag themed mani-pedi of the country I’m visiting. As George Bernard Shaw said, “You see things; and you say “Why?” But I dream […]

Ephesus

When our tour guide, Umut, said we were visiting one of the best preserved Roman cities I said, “Umut, EVERY country has ‘one of the best preserved Roman cities.'” He […]

TURKEY: Food, Glorious Food!

My cousin mentioned she loved Germany. I asked her what she loved about it. She loved the public transportation, the cleanliness, their accommodations, the people. I said “and the food?” […]

Pamukkale

“Cotton castles” is what Pamukkale means in Turkish. I was mesmerized by the scale of these geologic formations and felt like my eyes lacked the ability to absorb the beauty! […]

Turkish Q&A

What is the meaning of the sediment from this Turkish coffee? Umut, our tour guide, spotted three rings which represent roads and traveling. This was Bree’s coffee cup, and she’s […]

Cappadocia, Land of Fairy Chimneys

I’ve rarely had an experience as exhilarating as the balloon ride in Cappadocia! Arriving at the departure site I felt like we were at a balloon festival. So many balloons […]

Istanbul: The Gateway to Europe and Asia

As we disembarked from the ferry, our tour guide said “and just like that, we are in Asia! Some people actually work in Asia and live in Europe!” Istanbul is […]

Marrakech

The last stop on our camel caravan route through Morocco, sans camels. Marrakech embodies all the romance Americans yearn for when visiting Morocco. The sumptuous riads, the diverse streets of […]

Marrakech Part II

Well, now I understand why staying in a Moroccan “riad” in Marrakech is such a big deal! Whitney and I entered Riad & Spa le Secret de Zoraida, and our […]

Essaouira

What is going on with those goats?!? How do they get up there? And it looks like they’ll fall getting down!! Well it has to do with argon nuts–the nut […]

The Atlas Mountains

Climbing high into the Atlas Mountains, we passed traditional Berber homes built of stones and mud. The dwellings cling to the side of the mountains, and it’s hard to imagine […]

Todra Gorge and Ksar of Ait-Ben-Addou

What an adventure I’m having! I love ogling maps and wishing they could transform into a viewfinder so I could SEE what’s there. This week I feel like I’ve jumped […]

The Sahara Desert

I love road trips! So I woke with anticipation even though we’d be in the car around 8 hours. Because this is the first G Adventures tour in Morocco since […]

Fez

Negotiating for a mosaic piece, the man asked where I would be shipping the piece. I said “Idaho.” He said “you don’t know?!?” Whenever anyone asks where we’re from, the […]

The Blue Pearl of Morocco

The blue city is heavenly, which makes sense. There was a large influx of Jews as the Second World War started. For the Jews, the color represents the sky, which […]

Tangier

Tangier’s old Medina couldn’t be more different than Casablanca’s Medina. In fact, Casablanca in general seems grimy, if I’m honest. And Tangier seems spit-shined and ready for church. I didn’t […]

Food, Glorious Food!

Our introduction to dining in Casablanca couldn’t have been more spectacular. Here is a peek at the restaurant, Dar Da Da: It was our first tagine. The vegetables are artfully […]

Casablanca

Casablanca is the business capital of Morocco. A quarter of the population live here–10,000,000 people! So it’s not romantically inclined, as you might assume from the movie of the same […]

First Pest, Then Buda

Probably the first thing you learn when you’re traveling to Hungary is that Buda and Pest were two cities, divided by the Danube River, and became a single city in […]