Spain is really like ten different countries under one umbrella, and Rebecca and I are doing our best to hit them all. This past week we spent in Barcelona, where the people are Catalunyan, and Spain is basically considered a foreign country (and not a very popular one, at that!). And indeed, Barcelona feels a lot more like a cosmopolitan European city than a Spanish one: it features a wealth of modern architecture, some cutting edge museums, inventive food and...

Well, we left Marrakech about a week ago.  Two night trains, a day train, a bus, a ferry,  two taxis and 36 hours later, we -finally!- made it to Barcelona, where we meant to be over a month ago.  But before I get to that, I just wanted to leave some parting thoughts on Morocco, now that Ive had a chance to reflect on the whole experience a little bit. Morocco, Morocco, where do I begin?  As Lonely Planet put it, "it will confound and confront y...

Not much to report, just a beautiful beach with more kite surfers than Ive ever seen in my life.  We are as close as it gets to Africa: I believe this is the southernmost point in all of Europe (unless you count Cypress, but lets not get bogged down in details).  Probably the best part of our stay here has been the guests and staff at our hostel, who came from all over Europe and the Americas.  I cant help thinking how boring it will be once Im hom...

(No, they don't really run the bulls here - that's in Pamplona - but it's the best picture I could find in the STA.com archive. If I ever find an internet cafe that lets me haul in my approximately 5 pounds of camera cables and connecting equipment, you'll be able to see my own pictures... I promise! In the meantime, please enjoy this photo of the bull's revenge. I sure do!)Well, we're still in Spain, and moving steadily south towards one ...

We've made it to a new area of Spain: Andalusia, home to sunny beaches, the Sierra Nevada mountains, and the awe inspiring Al-hambra. Our hostel in Granada is a blast. Its in the center of town, its really cheap, and best of all is the rooftop patio, from which we can see all of Granada spread out before us, with towering blue peaks capped with snow as a backdrop. It was especially nice when I was up there at dawn this morning, with the sky all pink and the ci...