I am here in Innsbruck to not only enjoy the sites but to visit with my nephew who lives here this time of year. It is pretty luxurious to have a tour guide handy, and the first order of business after arrival was to hit a laundromat. Never ever underestimate the complete joy of clean laundry. That housekeeping done, I was taken for schnitzel and beer in a traditional Austrian hall. Heaven indeed, and the first meat I had eaten in awhile. The following day we headed out to the countryside for the afternoon, driving through the village of Patsch and to northern Italy via the Brenner Pass on rural and secondary roads. The weather in Innsbruck was overcast but warm-ish, but by the time we hit Italy it was a very snowy day! The food ... read more

Travel is not all R&R and sometimes the most challenging thing can be getting where you are headed, still talking in complete sentences. This is especially true if your travel involves something other than a one destination, all-inclusive visit. You need to arrange and coordinate your transportation, your accommodation, the things you want to see and do there, all in a safe (physically as well as cybersafe) manner. Now my travel was booked at the last minute, and planned accordingy. As a result, some of my travel has not been the most straight-forward. For instance, I decided to book a return ticket to Europe since I knew I would be here at some point, and ended up confirming to Frankfurt at the last possible minute of the seat sale. After that, I explored what I wanted ... read more

So we arrived back in Marrakech about 7:30 PM on the 30th and Ibrahim helped me find the hotel I had booked for the night (it was near the bus that I had booked for the next day). It was over my usual budget but a bit of heaven with central heat and hot water! I have discovered that my limit for roughing it these days is pretty much 3 days! and was very happy for the shower. Weather has been tshirt warm during the day but down to freezing or below at night. No heat and lack of warm water makes it uncomfortable, but as you can see the countryside has been worth it. Early on the 31st, having showered twice :), I boarded a bus to Essaouira (pronounced Ess - weara) which is on ... read more

Just before sunset we were instructed to get off of our rides, and head up this huge dune in order to watch the sun set. It was a very high dune, but I was determined to make it and enjoy the serenity and view. I took a video of the 360 degree view from my vantage point and am attaching it here for you to see.... read more

An 8AM departure for my highly anticipated trip to the desert. I am travelling with a join-in group, which in this case consists of 4 other young women and myself. Our driver is Ibrahim, and our chariot is a Land Cruiser. The rear driver door does not open from the inside; the front passenger door does not open from the outside. There seems to be an inordinate amount of duct tape holding on the side mirrors. But how bad can this trip be, right? Morocco is about the size of the district I live in back home... Ibrahim immediately tells me that he used to be a truck driver, and knows this road like the back of his hand (a phrase he finds very very funny). I am not at all concerned, so wonder why he ... read more