We are keeping that promise!!

Wow, sorry it's been over a year since our promise- better late than never huh?
So...Morocco. For starters, we advise you to visit beautiful Morocco during any month other than July- when the heat index is that of...well, unbearable. Similar to India in May, but without breezy McLeod Ganj to seek refuge in. Anyway, go to Morocco- just NOT during July. The sights, smells, culture and action will keep you entertained from sunrise to sunset!
And now, a brief recap of our month in Morocco, where we experienced:
our last visitors of our 10 month journey- M&G!, a chain fight in Casablanca, the exclusive upper class clubs of Casablanca, an impromptu home stay, a non-first class train ride which lacks A/C and the ability to open windows (ugh!), the heat of the edge of the desert in Taroudant & the smells of its tannery in July.
Did I mention scorching heat yet? OK, back to the list:
goats climbing trees! the scenic drive through the Tizi-n-Test pass of the Atlas Mountains, Gail's fear of heights (while driving in a car over the Atlas), the whipping winds of Essaouira, techniques in purchasing a used cell phone off a passerby on the street, souqs & medinas, night life of Djemaa el Fna in Marrakesh, Berber traditions, a beautiful riad stay, getting lost in Marrakesh, getting lost in Fes, taking P to a medical clinic, the cafe culture, camel burgers, mounds of olives, mint tea, couscous, tagine, brouchette, daily fresh bread-avocado & laughing cow cheese sandwiches, taking P to an "English speaking" doctor, an attempted robbery on a 10 hour long night train, beach time in Assilah, women swimming & sunbathing in full jelaba, artists' studios in Assilah, the relaxing hue of Chefchaouen, the not so relaxing game of bargaining, cat calls in Tangier, and last but not least the five times a day call to prayer- what a powerful event!
Our exciting time in Morocco came to an end as our emotions bubbled over the fact that our entire journey was coming to a close.
We hope to return to Morocco one day, just not during July!...Insha' allah.

Our Promise

Hey! Just taking a moment to let you all know that we will be completing the blog with the last month of our trip, we promise! We're back in the States and still trying to settle back into our NYC lifestyles, but we haven't forgotten about our Moroccan adventures & our last few crazy nights in Madrid so stay tuned for more tales from M&P!

hasta luego

Vale!

We arrived in Madrid with a buzzing excitement to touch up on our Spanish...little did we know our "Mexican Spanish" wouldn't cut it in Spain (it's Ecuadorian Spanish, ok). After landing and realizing we didn't need an entry stamp (M was thrilled since she has ONE page left in her passport!) since we were coming from an EU member nation, we made our way over to the neighborhood called La Latina to meet up with our friend, Sheila, whos place we'd be staying at for the week. Upon overcoming the inital shock of the size of the apartment the 3 of us would be sharing for a week, Sheila showed us a proper Madrileno time: a few copas of vino and tinto de verano and a lazy stroll through Plaza Mayor as well us discussing the Madrileno way to say everything we knew how to say "the mexican way" as we were told. Our week in Madrid flew by quickly as we explored each neighborhood of the city, poked into some art museums and of course doing the obligatory tapas bar stops. We visited the famed Prado museum and the more modern Reina Sofia. The Reina Sofia was great and we widdled away many hours there. We spent a good chunk of time staring at some famous Picasso and funky Dali pieces and amazingly, M held up very well. The Prado was interesting as well, but we certainly preferred Reina Sofia since the Prado was filled from floor to ceiling with religious art, some of which was quite interesting no doubt, but the Reina Sofia suited us better. We also happened to be in Madrid for the gay pride parade so, of course, we attended in style. We also had a chance to experience an authentic "Spanish Sunday" as Sheila's Madrileno crowd threw a paella party on our last day in town, which proved to be a great last night as plenty of wine was shared over some great food.

Gracias a todos!! (we're thinking of adopting this Sunday routine)

Ten days flew by faster than ever and we didn't get a satisfying fill of Madrid, but luckily we'll be back for the last 3 nights of our journey!

European Tarantulas...

are really, really scary.

For the past 9+ months (it's actually been for the past 5+ years, but who's counting), M has assumed the role of "taking care" of any scary, gross or otherwise questionable critter situations that we've come across. Usually these situations come and go and barely phase M...this was NOT the case when we encountered a tarantula in the shower of the old home we were staying in! The sight of this beast had us both screaming and shaking for a while before we calmed to decide what to do. Details of this encounter are better off told in person, so do ask when you see us next. Oh and if you're really lucky you can "watch" the video footage* of M "taking care" of this monster.

*= video footage is actually a 3 minute ordeal of M&P screaming obscenities while all you actually see on film is shaky, blurry concrete since P was too shaken up to focus on the subject.

Athens

After tearfilled goodbyes with the fam at the Larnaca airport, a late night flight brought us back to Athens where we were just 3 weeks ago, though it felt like it had been months. Even after 3 weeks in Cyprus, we still felt crazy culture shocked by the developed world. Mainly, people were ultra fashionable and we didn't attract the stares and glares we had become accustomed to. We did a fair job of shopping in Cyprus, but it's rather iffy if Cyprus is really as developed as the west we know. So, when in Rome...We went shopping. We got a little western world happy and stocked up with some none third world clothing and may I say we look mighty fine. We also spent a day or two relaxing at the many western cafes in town, drinking coffee, eating Greek sweets, and doing a mean job of people watching. We had revelled in the west enough and decided it was time to hit the archaeological sites. We eased our way into archaeology by spending the first day at the brand spankin new Acropolis Museum. M held it together very well and even let us check out all of the floors before she got antsy. If you don't know this about M, she has a tough time at museums. Kind of like the beach. Maybe it's the Greek in her, but she seemed thoroughly interested for quite some time before we saw the "It's time to go" face. Wandering the narrow, windy streets of Monastiraki and taking in the countless hours of daylight kept us out and about later than we had expected.

The next day, we really decided it was time to brave the heat and head out to the sites. We made our way up the hill to the Acropolis with loads of other tourists, mainly Americans which struck us as strange after seeing barely any for practically our entire trip. The Acropolis was fantastic and the site of many self timed photos. Even though the Parthenon was entirely covered in scaffolding, (since 1982 it seems according to the signs), the remaining sites made up for it. The theaters built entirely of stone were majestic as they looked both ancient and modern all at once. We didn't have the opportunity to check out a show at one of the theaters, but we hear they are well worth the time so check one out if you find yourself in Athens. Our week in Athens quickly came to an end as we packed our bags for the last of our super early flights.

Off to Spain!