Granada We had a sleepy bus ride here a few days ago, entered through the less attractive part of the city and immediately wished ourselves back in beautiful Seville! We walked to the wrong hotel, having gotten confused in our long tripadvisor quest the night before, but found the right one quite quickly. Walking around the neighborhood after checking in gave us a better feel for the city, and we stopped regretting having prepaid for three nights! Morocco in Granada? We are staying in the old Arab quartier, which is now the new Arab/hippie/hipster area. The streets are similiar to those in a Morocco medina, as they were originally built by the Muslim founders of Granada. We are near the Alhambra, with lots of tapas places on our street. It's noisy here until at least 1:00am, ... read more

After a last trip through the medina, a taxi ride to the border of Spanish Ceuta, a walk across the border, including a few minutes of real strangeness (walking through narrow metal cage-like passageways, with a dozen Moroccans waiting for something...they told us to squeeze by them....), a taxi to the ferry, ferry to Algecinas, Spain across the Straits of Gilbraltar, walk to the bus station, three hour bus ride to Seville and a final taxi ride to our hotel, we are settled in Seville for three days! The culture change was most abrupt as we traveled by taxi from the Ceuta border: within minutes, we went from seeing poor Moroccan workers to people jogging and power-walking along the shore, dressed in expensive clothing.... The bus ride from Algecinas to Cadiz was stunning...the coast is known ... read more

We moved into a less-expensive hotel yesterday, one that caters to mostly Moroccans, just outside the Medina. We planned a day of relaxation and some medina-wandering. We sat on our rooftop terrace and read (had it all to ourselves), walked to the more modern part of the city, overpaid for bananas at the bi-weekly market, and bought some (perhaps authentic) Berber jewelry. When we got back to our room last night, we could hear a man singing (or maybe praying) in a beautiful voice, with the sounds echoing up the airshaft outside our window....later we heard what seemed to be a father helping a child with homework. This morning we ate breakfast across the street. The "complete breakfast", eggs, cheese, coffee, fresh oj, bread was about $2.50 each...The owner gave us a tour: he has a ... read more

We hiked up to the second mosque on the hills outisde town today....all alone on a trail with wildflowers, olive trees, and the occasional goat. I will go to a private hammam tonight for a bath and skin rub. I have been told the public ones are often dirty, and this one costs only $20 for an hour....so I took the chicken route.... It's hot here today, but still cooler than Seattle! Later: the hammam was wonderful....I entered and was greeted by Zara, who didn't speak much French or Spanish (many people here speak Spanish rather than French), but had me understand that I should strip down to my panties and come in and lie on the heated tile floor. She proceeded to wash, scrub and massage me for the next 40 minutes, and then rubbed ... read more

We are now in a luxury riad, but still paying 50 euros/night....the staff here is wonderful: much laughter and helpfulness! We spent time on the roof terrace today, then in a rooftop restaurant, and then hiked up to the ruins of the tombs on a hill outside the walls. In between, we walked through the Medina again and visited the largest merdersa, which is one of the few places in the country where non-Muslims can enter a building that is still used for prayer. After our hike up the hill, I returned alone to the Medina, strolling down one of the main passageways, and wandering off into some of smaller side streets and squares. I ended up at the henna square, which we had visited yesterday. It was once the site of the first psychiatric hospital ... read more