The decisiotn to take a ferry to Tangier led us to a jumping-off spot not previously on our radar - Tarifa, Spain. What a stroke of luck we decided to have a pre-Morocco rest stop here, as it's a beautiful small town on the coast just perfect for relaxing. It's small enough that there is no train station or car rental office, so we wound up taking a bus here from Granada. I was not overjoyed at the prospect, as I haven't travelled by bus since high school, but l...

We had a beautiful train trip down from Madrid on a fast train. Virtually the whole bottom half of Spain seems to be covered in olive groves! We settled in a lovely old (circa 1600) hotel called Casa del Capitel Nazari and went for a walk around town. We stopped for a tapas lunch at Plaza Narzari and to keep folks cool, all the outdoor umbrellas spray mist over you every 30 seconds - very nice! The old part of Granada is very beautiful - many lovely squares, fo...

I didn't know what to expect from Madrid, but we loved the city! It was beautiful, 30-degree weather, with fewer crowds than Barcelona, and it has palaces and art museums that rival better-know counterparts in France, methinks. We caught a high-speed train (285 km/hr) from Barcelona which cuts the travel time from 9 to 3 hours. It was interesting to watch the scenery change from lush green in Catalunya to the high, dry plains as you get closer to Madrid. We got...

Erp! A week has blown by without a chance to update the blog. I blame late nights in Barcelona, along with wifi glitches in our unit, so here goes. We left Paris reluctantly last Monday, but it was raining buckets, so that made leaving a bit easier. Fortunately, Stephan, our Paris landlord gave us a ride to the train station so we didn't get drenched. The rain started to ease as we left the city, and the train trip ended up being a beautiful way to see the Frenc...

Last day in Paris and we had to decide what to cover, and what we would miss on this trip. We had not been to Le Marais, and the shops there are open on Sundays, so.... We took the Metro to the Bastille - or the area where it once was. There is a statue dedicated to liberty (with lots of gold leaf, of course). We then walked the neighbourhood looking for the Carnavalet Museum as it focuses on Paris' history. It took a bit of finding, but we got there and roared ...