Mercado de San Miguel in Madrid, Spain

Yep, still here.  I'm busy with life and work.  I'm still traveling when I can and taking tons of photographs.  Not sure if or when I'll ever get around to posting them.  I miss writing so much!  I really need to find a way to make the time in spite of a full-time job and a busy life.  Any suggestions on how you find the time and motivation to write?  In the mean time... I present to you more photos with no context.  Actually...

Weekend in Majorca

It’s a well-known misconception that it rains constantly in London.

It does rain, usually a light, misty drizzle.   But, not nearly as much as popular culture would have you believe.

Admittedly, the nice weather was late in coming this year.  But once spring strolled in,

then summer arrived and slid nicely into autumn, we have had some pretty terrific weather.

Sunny, blue skies with mild temperatures, perfect for getting out and enjoying the outdoors. 

But winter is certainly on her way.  In our pre-emptive efforts to stock pile the Vitamin D,

we took the opportunity of a bank holiday weekend to fly somewhere even warmer,

the beautiful Mediterranean island of Majorca.  

Cocktails are always better with an umbrella, don’t you think?
This photo was a complete accident, but I just love it!

I should be showing you dozens of photos of this lovely island, but I can’t.

In fact this one of the moped is the only one I'll show you.  

We pretty much just parked our backsides at the hotel pool and didn’t venture much further.  It was just what we needed.  

Matthew did leave the pool long enough to swim in the Med for a bit. 

For our weekend getaways, we usually fly out after work on Friday night so arrive after dark.  One of my favorite things is hopping out of bed on Saturday morning and drawing back the curtains on our new destination.   Majorca didn’t disappoint.

I was presented with the most glorious sunrise.  Breathtaking.   

We found a great rate on an EasyJet flight & hotel combo.

I’ll tell you a little more about the hotel in my next post. 

Where do you go for Vitamin D?

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Moorish Spain to Morocco - Group Tours

I'm completely addicted.   To travel, that is.

With nothing on the calendar this month, I'm going a bit stir crazy.

It's one of those periods that we all experience, a time of transition, blah, blah, blah.

I passed my Life in the UK test (yay!) and we have an appointment with Immigration next week.

Hopefully, I'll have my Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK soon.  Fingers crossed.

A few other things are also in the works and should all work out soon.

 Then we can start adding a few more trips to the calendar.

 Patience is not one of my best virtues and I'm chompin' at the bit.

I must go to ALL the places!

Recently I came across a post by Nomadic Matt called

Why Pretentious Travelers Fill Me With Hate.

It really struck a chord. You gotta love a good rant.  Especially one you agree with completely.

Being a fan of cruising, I deal with this often.  (You really should just try it.)

But we travel all sorts of ways.  We cruise, we wing it, we plan, we drive, we fly, we take trains.

As long as we're going, we're happy.

Get this...we even take guided tours!

Gasp.  I know, right?  "And you call yourself a traveler."

There is definitely a trade off when you book a guided tour,

but just maybe it's a trade off in your favor.  Let's discuss, shall we?

Pro and Cons of Group Tours

   
Let's get the Cons out of the way.

•  Loss of Control, spontaneity and flexibility.  Uhm, yeah.  Hard to argue with that.  You certainly do lose a bit of those things when you are on a tight schedule and are responsible to a group of people. 

• Not getting what you expected or would have selected on your own. The group has a reservation for dinner but you just want to stop at this food truck.  Did anyone even look at this hotel on TripAdvisor?   Why are we taking the 4am train for crying out loud? 

• People.  You mean I have to spend 11 days listening to this know-it-all, blowhard?  If I have to hear one more crack about Americans.  Could everyone just please stop talking... and breathing?

• Herd Mentality.  You've all seen them.  Groups of people following the lady with the red umbrella.  Not a chance in hell of blending in and becoming one with your surroundings.  Your main goal is to just keep up. 

So, those are some pretty serious Cons, aren't they?  Let's see if the Pros can outweigh them.

• Money Savings.  Group bookings are usually much cheaper than if you were to book everything by yourself.

• Convenience.  What could be more convenient?  All of the logistics are planned out for you.  Just show up and enjoy the ride.  

• Access.  Reputable tour companies have relationships and connections that get you better access.  Early entry before opening hours.  Behind the scenes tours.  Special experiences.

• Troubleshooting.  If things go wrong, you have someone on your side to take care of the problem.  They've likely dealt with this exact issue and have a ready solution.  They want you to have a wonderful time. 

• People.  Okay, people aren't all that bad.  Sometimes, they're pretty awesome.  You might just make some lifelong friends.  And you have someone to talk to when your spouse has put in their earplugs and checked out for a few hours.

• Safety.  There is no denying there is safety in numbers.  Not to mention the tour company has your safety as their number one priority. 

I'd say those are some pretty solid Pros.

Which is why when we were planning our trip to Morocco we booked a guided tour.  

Matt has traveled with Explore! half a dozen times now.

I was a bit skeptical but wanted to give it a try, since it's something that he really enjoys.

We took their 11 day Moorish Spain to Marrakesh Tour in April of last year
with three days in Spain and eight in Morocco.

Explore has been around since 1981 and offers over 450 small group adventures in 120 countries.

Going through their tour catalog is better than the Sears catalog at Christmas.

They offer walking, trekking, cycling, family, wildlife adventure tours and more,

all at various levels of Style, Comfort, Type and Pace. 

So, how did this tour stand up to those Pros and Cons listed above.

We all know that I have control issues.  So, there were times that I didn't want to go along with the group.  Sometimes I just gritted my teeth and went along, usually happy afterwards that I did.  There were also times, when Matt and I made a command decision and turned left when everyone else was going right.  We were always sure that when we did so, it didn't affect the schedule in any way.  But, sometimes it just had to be done. 

The itinerary was very full and a bit like drinking out of a water hose.  I've already written 18 posts about our trip and there are about 8 more planned.  It was overwhelming.  But, looking back, we were able to do so much that we never would have done had we been on our own.  

We don't obsess too much about safety when we travel, but we always try to be informed and careful.  I felt completely safe throughout our time in Morocco.  In addition to our tour leader, we had local guides wherever we went.  We were led through the Medinas by people who lived there.  We met some wonderful people who were happy to safely show us around their home turf.

Explore offers four Comfort Levels on their tours: Basic, Simple, Standard and Comfort.  This tour was at the Standard level.  Our rooms were okay.  Clean, safe and relatively comfortable.  I did write over and over in my notes "Towels sucked", so that was an issue.  One regret I have is that we didn't stay in a Riad (traditional Moroccan house).  It definitely would have added to our experience of Morocco.  Here are some photos from the various hotels.   You can see some were nicer than others.

With a tour group, obviously the biggest factor is your travel mates.  Our Tour Leader Dee was wonderful.  She is a traveling, yogi, tour guide superstar.  Anyone who can get 16 adults through 11 days of train travel without once losing their cool, is pretty special.  We're friends on Facebook now and I'm sure we'll meet up with her again someday.

We were with a group of mostly Brits that ranged in ages up to their seventies. But, let me tell you, they were experienced travelers, fit, active and ready to go.  I was one of the youngest in the group and struggled to keep up with them some days. They were a great group (with the exception of the know-it-all I eluded to earlier. But he gave us some great stories.)   Compared to other tours Matt has done, it was an older group.  I'm sure that each tour is different depending on when, where and how long the trip will be. 

No matter how flexible and friendly people are, traveling with a group is a challenge.  I often always felt very conspicuous.  A group of 17 white people dressed so obviously as tourists traipsing through the Medina with their cameras clicking must be a very jarring sight.  

I'm also a classic introvert, so being around people all day is draining.  There were times when I would put on my sunglasses and listen to my iPod just to get a moment's peace.  I'll admit that I struggled with this, but because of my personality not because of those around me.  Matt, on the other hand, is an extrovert and thrives on the social interactions.  Some of his closest friends are people he's met on an Explore tour. 

So what's my verdict?  Will I go on another guided tour? 

If you'd have asked me the day we got home, I probably would have said "No."
But, just look at everything that we experienced...

Top Five Reasons to Visit Spain
Ronda, City of my Dreams 
A Moment in Ronda
Museo de Ronda
Church of Santa Maria
Plaza de Toros de Ronda 
The White Villages of Spain 
 Speechless in Morocco
Fes, Morocco
Time Traveling in Morocco
Made in Morocco
Cats of Morocco
Roman Ruins of Volubilis
Rabat, Morocco
"Rabat.  She is a pretty city."
The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca
First Impressions of Marrakesh

(with more still coming.)

Now that I've had time to process everything, the answer is absolutely "Yes!"
In fact, we already have our next one picked out.


Matt has traveled all over the world, but this travel thing is still new to me.
Morocco is the most exotic and different (from-what-I-know) place that I've been to so far.

It was a definite challenge but I'm so proud of myself for doing it and getting so much out of it.
It was an absolutely magical and mind-broadening experience, that I'll never forget.

Going on a guided tour is a great way to see Morocco.
Trips like this are what travel dreams are made of,
even if there are a few travel snobs out there who might disagree.

 
What are your feelings about traveling with a group?  Happily or Hell No?

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A Visit to Gaudi's La Pedrera

I admit that I wasn't very familiar with the work of Gaudi before going to Barcelona.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend the money to tour one of his buildings.

Until I saw La Sagrada Familia and was mesmerized.

So later that day we toured Casa Milà, nicknamed La Pedrera (the quarry).

The building was commissioned by a local family and built by Gaudi between 1906 and 1912.

The family used the ground floor as their personal residence and the upper floors were apartments.

Gaudi's style is inspired by the curves and movement of nature and is unlike anything I've seen.

Originally, this wavy stone and iron facade building wasn't appreciated by some of the locals.

I'm sure they were perplexed.

But, it's now been restored and portions of the building are open to the public.

The building surrounds an open air courtyard and is nines levels of splendor,

Gaudi's touch in every single detail.

The first part of the tour takes you up to the roof which is straight out of Oz.

The fans, chimneys and stairwells are all disguised as crosses, faces and helmet clad sentries.

We walked along the undulating roof struck by the oddity of the architecture.

The views of the city are wonderful but the real view is Gaudi's imagination come to life.

The second part of the tour is the museum area in the attic.

Originally this space was used as a laundry and to ventilate the building.

Walls were then put in and it was divided into apartments. 

With the renovations, the walls were removed and it was stripped back to an open space.

The brick arches that give the roof it's interesting shapes are mesmerizing.

It was like being inside a snail's shell.

Gaudi also designed furniture for the space which is on display.

A fellow tourist hoped up onto the platform and plopped down onto one of these chairs.

I made an audible gasp and scared us both.  She quickly got down.

The third and final part of the tour is an apartment that has been restored to the

art nouveau splendor of its day.

These beautiful ocean motif hexagon tiles were created by Gaudi for another home,

but used in La Pedrera instead.

As you walk around Barcelona, you will notice this same design underfoot on many of the sidewalks in the city.

This was the most beautiful apartment space I've ever seen.

It was so open and light.  Gaudi designed the building with self supporting walls

so that there is no need for load bearing walls within the space.

Walls can be moved or removed as the tenants desire.

As I wandered through the space of constant movement and few right angles,

I could just picture living there. 

Guadi designed every last detail.  Take a look at the embellishments around the window.

It's meant to be touched.  Even the hardware throughout was designed to fit into the human hand.

It's a piece of art and I was completely enchanted.

As we walked around admiring the work of this amazing man

we kept wondering why his style hasn't been more imitated.
He was definitely one of a kind as are all of his creations.

We spent about two hours exploring and purchased tickets at the door for €16.50
and an additional €4 for the audioguide.  You can pre-purchase tickets online.


What do you think of Gaudi?  Have you visited any of his work?

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