Yesterday I drove here from Gibraltar. I have to say that one of the best skills I picked up in life is how to drive a stick shift. I did forget, however, to use the clutch to start the car. Heck, in my car I put my foot on the brake and push a button. My first thought was that the battery was dead, and then I remembered the clutch. Oops. Driving out of Gibraltar was easy enough. Since I was a bit more familiar with where I was going, I was able to take pictures while driving and have some great shots of driving over the runway. Silly as it may sound, I really am intrigued by the whole runway/road thing. The Passport Control line was so long. It took at least a half hour ... read more

Just a quick disclaimer. My laptop died a quick and hopefully painless death last night. Blue screen of death and nothing I can do. At least there is a hotel computer tonight, but not really holding my breath for the rest of the trip. Today was such a waste. I had arranged a taxi to meet me at the hotel at 6 so I could make my 7:30 ferry to Spain. True enough, he was there at 6, we were at the Port Med by 6:45, but the ferry office wasn't open. The weather had stopped ferries from going, or Life was just messing with me yet again. The ferry finally left at 10:30. Easy peasey. Was in Spain by 1:30, made it through passport control and headed off to find the car rental. Ok, so ... read more

There are two types of taxis here in Casablanca. The larger ones that haul several people and head off to other cities are called Grand Taxis. The smaller ones for around town are called Petit Taxis. I finally discovered what the translation means: Deathtrap. Well, perhaps it isn't the literal translation, but hey, if the shoe fits. The ones I rode in were falling apart, burning oil and driven as if we were in an amusement park bumper car ride. At first I thought the white lines down the street were to indicate lanes, but it seems that the Petit Taxis use them as a guide rail or something, so the cab is driven down the center of the line. Pedestrians are just as bad, darting in and out of traffic, walking down the center of ... read more

As I wrote yesterday, I lost a day in Casablanca, but gained a day in Barcelona due to air schedules. At home I have a plaque that says " When life hands you lemons, smile politely and throw them away when life isn't looking." I took that to heart today and threw those lemons away. After checking out of the hotel, which was a very nice place and in the best location I could imagine, I took the Metro to Plaza Espana. I had wanted to go to this Spanish village with shops and craftspeople making their wares. I don't remember Dearborn Village that well, but that is what it reminded me of while I was there. Originally it was for an Exposition and has all the different regions of Spain represented. I bought some small ... read more

Usually I try to take at least one organized tour while I am on vacation. For one day it is nice to sit back and be driven around, told when to eat, what to see and so on. True, I would go bonkers if I had to do it throughout the whole vacation, but today was such an incredible day trip. We went to Montserrat, about an hour outside of Barcelona. There is an old monastery there, which was nice, but what I wanted to see were the mountains of Montserrat. They are serrated and jagged, standing so tall over the area. We lucked out with a warm sunny day with deep blue sky and white clouds. It was a perfect day for hiking up in the mountain. Most of the group headed up the trail ... read more