Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Wrapping Up our Trip: Saying Goodbye, Tuesday, Nov 9th



GCT Airport Sendoff!
  We've enjoyed our journey through Spain with Grand Circle.  The best part of the trip was making friendships with bright, enthusiastic fellow travelers.  So many life experiences were shared during these last two weeks- it makes the trip more valuable to both of us.   We've learned a great deal about Spain in the most enjoyable way!

Grand Circle Travelers enjoying Churros and Hot Chocolate!
We meandered through the streets of Torremolinos today and said goodbye to favorite places and beautiful weather.   We met at midday for one last Spanish taste treat:  churros and hot chocolate- wow!  The chocolate was like hot pudding (before it jells) and the churros were unsweetened long donuts!  Ok- serious dieting on our return. 


Rose digging in!
 

Phil Bock, fellow traveler



At the end of today, our entire group met in a beautiful restaurant in the Bajondillos hotel.  We toasted our guide, Eugenio, and Irene presented a poem as a tribute to him.  Our new friend, Phil, entertained us with old favorites on the piano.
  We hope to see one another again on another Grand Circle tour - maybe even returning to Costa del Sol to enjoy the beautful sights and wonderful new friends.  We hope a few of our old friends might join us on the next trip!


Eugenio Buys, our Program Director!
  

 




Monday, November 8, 2010

Last trip: Day Trip to Dine with Spanish Family, Monday, Nov.8th

Our last full day trip with our fellow travelers!  Boarded the bus leisurely at 9:30am and headed to high country to soak in more knowledge about Spain.
 
We learned about the olive industry:  the Spanish olive industry is one of the biggest in the world.  43% is exported to USA, almost 30% to Russian and the rest to other countries around the world.  Regarding olive oil, since Italy has the market on much of the export to the United States, Spain has bought into some Italian companies to send their own olive oil to the U.S through these Italian distributors.  It takes 4 liters of olives to make one liter of olive oil!
 We stopped at an olive oil processing cooperative that is becoming one of the fastest growing producers: Hojiblanca- a company promoted by its most recent investor/owner, Antonio Banderas!  The Hojiblanca Cooperative employs lab technicians to test each batch of olives that are processed by the local farmers.  If the harvest is an exceptional product, the farmer is paid very well.  The olives are harvested in late fall through March depending on whether the olives will be picked green, purple or black.  There are no chemicals used in the production of either the olives or oil and all olives must be healthy and fresh.

We visited an olive oil museum that held an ancient oil press that was 12.5 meters in length (approx 36 feet).
The long press was operated using animal traction. The olives were placed in woven baskets stacked on top of one another, and then crushed by the press.  Other olive oil presses were round giant mill stones that squeezed the precious oil into troughs and containers.

Hojiblanca Olive Company
 Nowadays, huge mechanical presses crush the pit, flesh and oil and sift out unused parts that are saved for either fertilizer for the fields or for ecological fuel for wood burning stoves.  There is no waste or carbon emission.  Huges storage tanks underground hold the olive oil until ready to ship in containers.

During the olive harvest, big companies use special mechanical "arms" to grab the trunk and large branches to shake the olives into canvas
drop cloths to insure a soft landing.  Bruised olives are not accepted.

Smaller farm owners shake the branches with smaller mechanical tools, but either way, care must be taken not to snap the branches, especially the older, more brittle trees.  Some of the olive trees are over 300 years old!

We continued our journey through the high country to see some old towns and beautiful landscapes- olive trees covered all the hillside as far as one could see.  We stopped to take a photo in Archidona near the Olive Mill Company.

Spanish Olive Tree
 


The Town of Archidona
 


Strange blossoming trees in the Mediterranean climate


 
We then stopped at a artisan workshop in Salinas, Spain that made inlaid wood and Olivewood crafts.  Boxes, trays, bowls, and many other items were a delight to shop for!  A few of these purchases will make great souvenirs for some of our friends and family!
The last leg of today's journey was one of the highlights of the trip.  Grand Circle values inter-cultural connections and the best way to do it, is to meet a real Spanish family and share a meal with them.  Grand Circle arranged for our travelers to divide into groups of six.  Our group met our hostess, Nati, who led us to her home for a delicious sit down meal.  We met her husband, Juan, a former construction contractor.  Their home was small but very modernized in its furnishing and fixtures.  Nati remained in the kitchen and brought out course after course:  a huge salad with fresh rolls, lentil vegetable soup, a pork ragout in tomato sauce accompanied by thin crisp slices of fried eggplant.  Tasty red wine accompanied the meal.  For most of us who requested coffee, we received wonderful expresso from a coffee press.  The host offered us liqueur in small shot glasses- a choice of Peach and Anisette- fantastic!   The host family knew no English and most of us were inept in Spanish.  One of our travelers dredged up her high school vocabulary and did remarkably well in communicating who we were, how many children and grandchildren we had and where we came from.  Our hosts had three adult children whose early commmunion photos were on the wall.  Charades and sign language also came in handy, as Marcia explained that her husband was a dentist!   Both host husband and wife became very animated as they pointed to their teeth to tell us all about their dental work!  It was a great experience.


Nati, our hostess, left rear

During our time together with our fellow travelers, we learned that  the Grand Circle Foundation promotes education and cultural enrichment in their host countries.  Our Grand Circle friends shared stories with us about the many times they had received rewarding, shared experiences through Grand Circle's financial contributions to needy school programs- equipment, facility improvement, school supplies, etc.  Schools were toured and students interacted with enthusiasm to visits by our Grand Circle travelers.   It's definitely a worthwhile organization!

We returned home after a great day.  The interior country was windy and colder but grew warmer again as we reached the coast.  We are fortunate that the weather has been so mild up to now.  Back to the room to work on our blog and relax for the evening!  We get English CNN on TV and we are keeping up with the Asian -European news!

Mountain Village of Mijas- Sunday, November 7, 2010

Enjoyed sleeping late on this day and spent a longer breakfast in the hotel with our Grand Circle friends. 
All our traveling group is well educated and interested in learning about other cultures.  Many of our new friends have traveled numerous Grand Circle adventures all over the world- European River Cruises, South and Central American exploration, India, Greek Isles and many more.  It makes us feel more confident that people we have grown to trust have enjoyed other Grand Circle trips. 

Sleepy Donkeys in Mijas
Today, we took a short bus ride to Mijas- an ancient town in the higher elevation.  Donkey carts lined the streets and restaurants and shops surrounded the little town square.  A beautiful chapel sat high on the point overlooking the town.  We returned to our hotel early and worked on our travel blog, since we were so far behind!  Staying busy and enjoying every minute!


Mijas town square


                                                  
Ate this evening at Don Pablo- a huge luxury hotel that offers a great buffet.  Our Grand Circle dining coupon paid for it!  We ate sensibly of great salads, fish, chicken and fruit.  Just a little dessert with dried figs!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

2nd Day in Morocco!

We woke up to another beautiful 70 degree sunny day (low about 58 degrees).  The hotel continental breakfast buffet was overflowing with rolls, muffins and flat bread.  Honey, cheese and jam toppings, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, fresh squeezed orange juice and good Moroccan coffee.  One didn't need to eat it all to start the day off right!  

We walked out of the hotel into the waiting arms of some camel drivers!  Actually dromedaries- but amazing creatures.  Of course,  Ellen had to jump on for a few Euros- how could she pass it up!  The camel rocked with each step- their gait is like a rocking ship as they move each front and back leg in unison- if you don't hold on to the bridle and rear saddle strap, you don't stay on long!  Getting down was the hardest- front end down LONG before the back end- it was like a hydraulic car- finally settling even on the ground!


 Tangier is in Africa, but it's view is entirely of Europe-the stretch from Gibralter to Cape Trafalgar.  One side of town was built by the French, with boulevards, embassies and banks, bars and nightclubs.   The other side is Moorish, a walled maze of alleys sprawled over a steep hill above the harbour on the Mediterranean side, with Atlantic cliffs on the other!  The Medina, or Old Town has five required things to be a district:  a bakery, a fountain, a hammam (public bath), a mosque and a school.  
   We again met our guides, Ali and Mohammed, on the 2nd day. On the bus ride around Tangier, we discovered all the famous folks who lived and worked here.  Matisse, Barbara Hutton (Woolworth heiress), Truman Capote, Allen Ginsberg and more.  Famous movies were shot on location: (Bourne Ultimatum-Matt Damon)  and Alexander (Brad Pitt). We drove by the royal palace of King Mohammed VI and the beautiful Princess Sophia.  Private villas for the visiting royalty of Saudi Arabia were impressive.  People visit Morocco because it is liberal in its Arabian customs- sunbathing and nightclubs permitted! 


Tangier City  Circle
 

Morocco Royal Palace



Spice Shop
 We stopped at the town circle where the ancient Medina (original walled city) met the modern Tangier.  The arched gate is the entrance to the Medina.  This is where the fun began!  What great winding alleys and interesting shops along the way.  We learned a lot that morning:  starting with the spice shop, we learned all about the Moroccan spices that had flavored our meals - cumin, ginger, saffron, cinammon, cardomon, and nutmeg.  We also sampled hand creams made from the Argane plant and musk that can be used as perfume or sachet.
  We passed by other vendors selling olives, fresh fish, fruit and colorful silk threads for the popular garments worn by the Moroccan including the hooded jaballa and the ladies' caftan.  



Olive Vendor
 
The most exciting (and surprising) place was the Moroccan rug dealer- a huge Grand Circle approved Arbian rug store.  Our group was given a demonstration on the various types, sizes and colors of rugs and then we explored on our own- we both purchased some very special rugs for the floor and a wall hanging.  The rest of the time we were swatting away street vendors like flies!  They were not aggressive but wouldn't take "no" for an answer!  Our assistant guide, Mohammed, ducked away for a few minutes and became our personal shopper-he brought us back a large quantity of brass bracelets for future gifts without the hassle! 


Marcia's entrance into the Rug
Market!

                                                                                                                 



Silk Thread Shop
 



Fish Market




Fruit Market
 
                                                                                                                                                                               
We broke for lunch at a fabulous hotel in the center of Tangier.  Our group had a private dining room and once again ate the traditional meal of sweet appetizer and soup.  We then were offered seasoned beef kabobs and a pork ragout with fresh olives, wine and water.  For dessert, our favorite cinammon sprinkled oranges were a real treat.    We headed back on our bus to the Express Ferry back to Spain and home to  Torremolinos.  What a trip!  Grand Circle is the best.  We ate once again with our Grand Circle coupon for dinner- a new restaurant with a new menu to sample.  We only had to leave a tip and the rest was included in our trip fee! 

                                                                                                                     
                                                              


Meet us at the Kazbah! Off to Morocco for a two day excursion!

This trip was a marvelous lesson in cultural diversity- how exciting to learn about the Arabic way of life!  We traveled by bus on this day to Tarifa, Spain and went through customs to catch the Express Ferry- the boat trip took less than one hour to arrive in Tangier, Morocco.  We got our passports stamped coming and going.
Grand Circle made going through customs easy- our group got through very fast.


Ferry landing at Tangier, Morocco
  We didn't have to worry about purchasing tickets or knowing what to do.  Our Program Director, Eugenio, was always with our group, and walked us through it all.  When we were all ready to exit the port, he would say, "Come, come, Family!" We grew close to all our fellow Grand Circle Travelers on this trip.  About 16 folks traveled together for this excursion.   Eugenio commented with historical facts and colorful descriptions along the way.

We checked into Hotel Ahlen, a 4 start hotel in Tangier- it was old but a beautiful facility with Moroccan rugs and decor.  We had a bowl of fruit and water waiting for us.  The sliding door opened to the patio and pool.    There was a small prayer room nearby for Muslim worship (prayer five times a day) and there was a host who welcomed us to the hotel and entertained us for lunch.  
The Moroccan meals that we encountered on this excursion usually consisted of a dish of nuts and dates encased by a light honey- coated crust.  Delicious Moroccan vegetable soup was often included   accompanied by rolls of all shapes and sizes.  Wine and water were always offered.  The main course on the first day was a huge communal bowl of saffron tinted couscous with a center of lamb and vegetables- very tasty!  Other meals we had featured baked chicken and candied quince as a side dish.  Our dessert was sweet, juicy orange slices powdered with fresh ground cinnamon!  Hot green mint tea was a welcome finish.  Our waiter took our photo at our first Moroccan lunch at our hotel.  Our hotel host, Abdul,  danced, sang and clapped with musicians playing violins and  lutes of olivewood while we ate!   


Hotel Ahlen  Tangier Morocco

 Abdul gave our group travelers an interesting demonstration on preparing hot green tea with fresh spearmint leaves and sugar.  This is the customary way to drink it- in small glasses with spearmint leaves keeping the fresh tea leaves from slipping into the glasses.  Arabs drink tea all the time: for welcoming guests, for a nice work break, or a quick pick me up after dinner.  It's great for the digestion- and we really needed it!  We ate so much! 



Abdul, our host


We boarded the bus to meet our Moroccan guide, assistant and security guard.  Grand Circle never has a crime problem, but also believes in providing a safe and secure learning experience on every trip!  We met our guide, Ali.  He often hosts the tours in Morocco for Grand Circle.  He knows the history and the cultural features that helped us enjoy our new experience.  Mohammed, his assistant, helped anyone with physical limits on climbing steps.  A security agent strolled with us for our trip into a small town of Asilah.  We visited the Kazbah (ancient fortress within walls) in this town and watched the sun set on our first Moroccan evening.
                                                         

Ali, our Moroccan guide
 

the Kazbah of Asilah
 But the day was not over.  Grand Circle wanted us to experience real Moroccan life by dining with a home-hosted family in Asilah who offered their home and hospitality to us.  Our host was a Finance Minister in Tangier with three lovely children and wife.  We bundled into cabs and trusted our guides and Grand Circle to deliver us to the right place!  Our small group introduced ourselves and then were offered the chance to ask our host, Rashid, multiple questions about his family and way of life.  He wanted to learn about us as well, and we enjoyed our evening.  He hoped that by breaking bread with another culture, that we could overcome our stereotypes of one another's cultures.  Rashid topped our meal of sweet meats, soup, chicken and side dishes with hot green tea and fresh spearmint leaves!  Rashid was a young waiter before his finance career and he enjoyed desmonstrating his agility in pouring our tea!

Home hosted dinner with Rashid (center right)

 We bundled back into the waiting cabs that returned us to our guides and waiting bus.  We gratefully relaxed
 in our hotel rooms before setting our alarm and retiring early for a 2nd big day in Morocco!




            
                                       

             


Thursday, November 4, 2010

Leisure Day in Torremolinos

We decided to relax on our FREE day today!  Marcia slept extra long and after breakfast, we packed some cold cut sandwiches from the breakfast buffet for our beach lunch and headed to the shore across the street.  The bar/restaurant on the Promenade owned the cabanas at the beach.  For only 4.50 Euros we rented a cabana with a cushioned beach chair for the entire day!  (A Euro equals $1.60)
Bathrooms and extra water bottles were only a few feet away.  We were visited by several vendors- selling purses, cheap watches and tempting massages.  A firm "no" became our mantra!


We brought our electronic books (IPad and Walkman) and relaxed in the sun for 5 hours.  What a life.   In the photo below, you can see Marcia with her trusty IPad.  Our hotel is in the background- our end room is visible behind Marcia's head. We wake up every morning with that view!  How great is that?!

 The sun was gentle and gave us only a nice tan- no burn.  The temperature was around 70 degrees- didn't break a sweat.  The water was tooooo cold- dipped our toes into it- but didn't want to go any further!

We joined some Grand Circle friends for dinner at the Guadelupe- ate gazpacho soup, avocado salad, canneloni and spinach crepes!  Desserts of chocolate mousse and fresh melon were our choices!

Note: we took a few minutes before dinner to pick up our clean and folded laundry in the lobby- an added service for the hotel guests. only a few Euros and we avoided the laundromat!  Every hour counts!

Got back from dinner early to pack for our next great excursion- off to Morocco!  (Africa.  We are going to Africa!!!!)  We will spend the night at a 4 star hotel there- all safe and very exciting.  We are looking forward to trying Moroccan food.  A trip to the Bazaar is on our "to do" list!  Hope to take some great pictures! If we don't get enough time to shop, we may have to venture off on our own safari.  Talk to you soon if we don't get captured!

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

A Day in Granada- Visiting the Alhambra

Several hours from our home base, we arrived 2,300 feet up on top of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range.  There we encountered one of the historic marvels of ancient civilization.  Spain had many residents over the centuries- Phoenicians, Greeks, Celts, Romans and Visigoths before the Moors conquered all of Spain in the 8th century.  It had been a Christian land since the 1st century A.D. but was suddenly forced to adopt a Muslim culture.  During this time, the Moors made enormous contributions to architecture, the arts, medicine, science and higher learning, but battled the Christians for the next centuries to hold the land.

In the midst of this Moorish influence, the Sultan built a wonderful fortress and palace in the 12th century to care for his family and the village of workers who supported the land.  Over 2,000 people were protected within its walls.  Gardening and hunting made the area self-sufficient especially with the aqueducts that brought fresh mountain water to the Palace and villagers for drinking and irrigation.

The Sultan built three structures- the Palace of Justice, the Palace of Politics and the Palace where his wives (up to four) and his concubines resided.   The walls were inlaid with stucco plaster wall designs, ceramic tile and cedar carved ceilings.  All were painted with beautiful bright colors of blue, green, ochre and gold leaf.
Fountains were everywhere with flowing water from the aqueducts.


  Beyond the Palace was the summer home- where the Sultan's family stayed during the days but returned to sleep in the Palace.  Gardens surrounded the summer structure and to this day, is well maintained by an army of gardeners.  The gardens are more formal that they were in the Moorish days, but still magnificent!
The Christians returned to power in the 15th century and changed much of the Palace into church structures.

In the Garden of the Alhambra
 The Sultan gave up the Alhambra without a struggle.  Much of the magnificence was lost through the changes. Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand united all Spain under their authority and Roman Catholicism was the official religion. 


Our group ate lunch in a large hotel in Granada near the Palace.  Bowls of steamed mussels, calamari, roast meat, fresh salads delicious pasta, fresh cheese, rolls and fruit.  Wonderful food!   And we were serenaded by a group of wandering minstrels from the local Granada University!


Serenade during Lunch!


Taking a break on Thursday!  Hoping to rest the brain cells and soothe our feet under a cabana by the Mediterranean!  Good book, sun and no where to be except there!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

2nd Day: Jerez de la Frontera

The second day of our overnight trip started with a breakfast buffet to die for!  Cereals, fruit, yogurts, fresh rolls, fish, meat, Iberian ham, potatoes, pastry and fresh black or cafe au lait coffee!!   Tried to refrain from taste testing everything- trying to be more sensible!

We jumped back on the bus for a short trip to Jerez de la Frontera, a town notable for its famous Sherry (only place that can actually be called "Sherry").   We had a tour of the distillery and found that all barrels were imported oak slats from the good ole USA- constucted on the grounds and painted flat black to help in detecting any leaks.  The original founder was a Scottsman- Sandeman back in the 18th century.  His distillery has expanded but his reputation for fine sherry is unparalleled. 
We then received tickets (all included on our tour) to the Adalucian Equestrian Exhibtion- Spanish horsemanship that was entertaining and awesome!   Couldn't take indoor photos during the performance, but was able to snap a pic of a showman outdoors!  (Makes up for not seeing the World Equestrian Event in Lexington this past fall! 
We must note that we paid in advance for our "optional trips" including the overnight excursions.  Everything else is included in our original cost of the trip- we receive vouchers for 27 meals during our stay- in some amazing restaurants with a variety of menus!  It's a tough job, but we'll make it to all of them if it takes the whole trip!   Wednesday:  Off to the Alhambra Castle in Granada!


Overnight to Seville and Jerez- First Day: Monday

On Monday (All Soul's Day) we packed an overnight bag and jumped on the bus with 15 of our Grand Circle Travelers.  Our destination:  Seville and Jerez de la Frontera in the Andalucian area of Spain.  Our regular tour director hooked us up with a University connected tour guide for an indepth look through the Ancient Jewish Quarter of Seville and on to the Alcazar Palace, where the King Juan Carlos and Queen Sophia stay when they visit Seville.  The palace holds memorabilia of the contract between Queen Isabella and Christopher Columbus when he convinced them to finance his trip to the West.  The Palace itself is a beautiful blend of Moorish construction since the 11th century and the Christian architectural additions over the next 4 centuries.  Back then, it was cool to get along.  Everyone believed that their own God was one in the same.  No need to fight!
We then checked into the Seville Center Hotel- fantastic accomodations and an even better buffet of everything imaginable for lunch!  We had cold melon soup, fish tostosdas, all kinds of meats and vegetables and pastries for dessert!   We all had a little Siesta of our own and then on for more sightseeing!
One magnificent Seville landmark is the Exposition Center completely refubished in 1929 to allow the public to view the history and enjoy the market plaza.

We could not believe how fantastic our next treat would be:  Authentic, professional Flamenco dancers.  Their grace and beauty was a combination of fine ballet and opera.  Singing, guitar and much hand clapping accompanied the performance.   We then had a private dinner for our group- we've eaten so much on this day, that we aren't sure if we'll be hungry again!  NOT!!!






Sunday, October 31, 2010

Two Thousand feet up- visiting Ronda today!

Ronda- an ancient town high up on a plateau on top of a mountain range!  Dizzy drive up to the town.  Windy today- almost blew off the edge!  It was supposed to rain today, but the wind  blew the clouds away.
We spent the day touring Ronda and ate at the Escudor Hotel- the dining establishment that Michelle Obama visited recently!  Visited a shop for cheese and salami treats!


 We visited the haunts of Hemingway and the like.  This was the writer's dream home away from home.  He was close friends with a local, famous matador and stayed here much of the time and wrote some of his most famous works (The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls).  The view from the famous "New Bridge" of Ronda was worth it- new as compared to the one they were using in the 16th century!  Tomorrow we're off to Seville including Flamenco Dancing and horse dressage exhibition - most of our horses were descendants of Spanish horses.  We'll spend the night in Seville and return to Torremolinos in two days!  Will learn more tomorrow!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Malaga Day Trip

Very busy day today. Great breakfast at hotel got us going!  Short bus ride to Malaga in Cadillac bus. 
Overlooked Malaga surrrounded by lemon trees
Back on the bus to town center:  great treat:  Malaga Bull Fighting Arena- met a young troubador who would be in the next bull fight.  He said his Mom thinks he's crazy.  But he loves to learn the bullfight ballet!
Met Picasso- Malaga is his birthplace and he's everywhere!  Checked out his museum and his influence can be seen in even the architecture!
Tomorrow:  Off to Ronda!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Torremolinas Trip Orientation and FREE day!


This morning, we learned during orientation all the neat trips we want to take over the next 10 days.  Signed up for almost all of them.  Late morning, we roamed the little town of Torremolinos and shopped!  Beautiful Lladro nativity figurines, leather purse and wallet, earrings - and that's just Marcia!   Ellen- 30 Euro curling iron!  We ate a great lunch at a Bodega- crispy eggplant tapas with honey! And Vino Blanco- good house wine so far!  Tonight we eat Chinese with our friends we met on the tour!  Checking out the sea from our balcony- sunbathers and windsurfers- all enjoying this marvelous seaside town.
Tomorrow-touring the town of Malaga.  Weather gorgeous- breezy, 70 degrees and sunny.  No sweat, no pain!  Marcia handled all the steps to the top of the town with only her cane!  What a trooper!