Today the group headed out to the Belem district of Lisbon. Our first stop was the Belem Tower. Rising out of the Tagus River, the Belem Tower is one of the greatest symbols of Portugal’s Age of Discovery. Apparently there is a statue of a rhinoceros coming out of the Belem tower, commemorating the Rhinoceros given as a gift to the King of Portugal. The rhinoceros was used for entertainment and when the King got bored with it he tried to ship it to Pope Leo X as a gift. Unfortunately, the ship carrying the rhinoceros sunk off the coast of northern Italy. The rhinoceros and crew died in the wreckage. After the Belem tower, we headed over to the nearby Discoveries Monument. The monument romanticizes the Portuguese exploration movement. On either side of the ramp ... read more

Today, we headed out to explore the great Andalusian city of Seville. Our first stop was the Plaza de Espana. The Plaza de Espana, a semicircular plaza with a large central fountain was built as the central office for the Ibero-American Exposition, a world fair held in Seville in 1929. Designed by the Spanish architect Anibal Gonzalez, the complex is decorated with azulejos, painted ceramic tiles that are popular in Seville. The most interesting artwork is the series of fifty-eight benches that line the façade of the main structure. The benches represent each of the provinces of Spain The plaza is surrounded by a canal and beautiful bridges decorated with ceramic tiles. It was used as an important film location, including scenes from Lawrence of Arabia, and Star Wars Episode II –Attack of the Clones as ... read more

We woke early that morning to continue our journey to Tangier. The day was perfect for a bus journey as it was rainy and cold. Unfortunately, one of our group members woke up late and did not make the bus. She had to come by train and meet us later at the hotel in Tangier. We made a quick stopover in Casablanca, where we had an early lunch at McDonalds. It was the only restaurant open at that time on Sunday. Then we stopped at the Hassan 2nd Mosque, where we took some pictures of the Mosque from across the street before boarding back on the bus. Then it was off to Rabat, the capital of Morocco. When we arrived in Rabat we headed to the Mausoleum of Mohammed V. The Mausoleum of Mohammed V is ... read more

Today started off with our guide, Momo, taking us to Dar el-Makhzen, the Royal Palace of Fez. Unfortunately, visitors are not allowed inside the palace but we did get to admire the colourful outer brass doors and blue décor. The next stop was the Jewish cemetery. The Jewish cemetery is a reminder of the once thriving Jewish community in Fez. It was interesting to see the difference between this cemetery and the ones we have back home. The Jewish cemetery unlike anything I have ever seen was all in white with round tombstones and Jewish inscriptions on the graves. After paying our respects, we headed off to the old medina of Fez. The medina of Fez is listed as a UNESCO world heritage site and is believed to be one of the world’s largest car-free urban ... read more

After breakfast, we headed out for our morning tour of the Albaicin and the La Cartuja Monastery with an official guide from Granada. The Albaicin, is the old Moorish quarter of Granada. We visited the church of San Nicolas, where we got a great view of the Alhambra from the top of the hill. Then we headed off to La Cartuja monastery. The monastery once housed Carthusian monks. It is one of the most decorated monasteries in Spain. There was an entire room full of paintings painted by one of the monks that stayed at the monastery. After the tour, we had a little free time before we headed off to the Alhambra. We had a quick bite to eat at a nearby shawarma place near the hotel. We also had time to go to a ... read more