Morocco has not disappointed - well once we left Casablanca that is. It is an amazing country, in some ways the landscape reminds us of Australia- big wide open spaces, heaps of native Australian plants growing wild - gum trees, wattle, grevillea robusta- thanks mum ( silky oak). In most other ways it is so different. We have learnt a lot of history - particularly Islamic history as Islam is not only a religion but an identity of most Moroccans- as one guide sa...

Casablanca, why is it such a magical name? Mystery and beauty is what I have always associated with the name, the mystery is why that is so. It is a very dirty, messy, ugly city. The medina( old city/market) was interesting and we found a few good things- a couple of pairs of typical moroccan shoes cheap and quite good quality. There were some very friendly people in there too. But overall it isn't a nice city at all. Tonight we meet our tour guide and the res...

Valencia, known internationally for.. Oranges! Yes you guessed it. We have had a lovely time here in Valencia, we are in a great little ground floor apartment near the park that once was a river that goes around the city. There are 2 bikes at this apartment which has been great. Once again we found this spot via airbnb which has proven to be great. We have ventured out and ridden along the bike path that goes along this river bed. We needed a rest from looking ...

Barcelona a city that doesn't seem to sleep and so many people. Beneath our apartment block there are several bars that really get pumping from around 2 pm and keep going ( unless the police arrive or it is raining) until dawn. My earplugs have been useful here. Large numbers of people stand around leaning against posts for hours on end.... I'm not assuming I know what they are waiting for..... We have done 2 really good guided walks with a company called runne...

Madrid for the day! Why not? We have a eurail pass and we realized that we wouldn't use all our trips if we don't do a few short trips so we decided to go to Madrid for the day. We are traveling first class in a very fast train through Spain. Currently going 299km/hr Spanish first class is pretty posh, They give you earphones, offer you a paper - if only we could read Spanish, and wait for it.. We had breakfast served. We are a plane on the ground! So cool. If...