New 7 wonders of the world

So they've organized this whole voting
for the New 7 Wonders of the world online.
the deadline for voting is 7 July 2007!
it's been going on for awhile now,
they'd even toured all the nominated monuments
bt now we'r approaching the deadline!!!

The Alhambra's one of the nominees
and I sure will support them!
it's the pride of Alberto's hometown Granada
the Only Moorish castle left in the world,
it's a representation of history and moorish architecture.
and I definitely agree it's one of the most gorgeous
and magnificient historical monument I've witnessed.

VOTE !!!
Im not asking u, im telling u!

Moroccan high~ Part I

An impromptu trip it was
and a fuckin' good one!
Morocco proved to be so different
from everywhere we've been to
it really opened up my eyes..
So first we flew straight to CASABLANCA

our 4 different passports

STOP sign in Arabic!

LUNCH TIME
A simple casual meal by the beach
became a true experience
at least a 'first' for Melinda lol.

Melinda's sheep's brains!!!
we didnt know wat it was when she ordered. heh heh
it was all soft n tofu-like..

my prawn stew..

Off to the pooool
this modern seaside capital of Morocco
amazed us with its modern landscape,
beautiful palm trees lining streets filled with bungalows..

having some gawky fun~

Dinner time
Alberto n Ivar were so distracted
as they were anxiously waiting for their hash.. lol

Moroccan local beer

Next day we took a 3-hr train to
MARRAKECH
we've heard so much abt it
we had to see it for ourselves..

the minute we arrived in our cool hotel
the drunkards didnt hesitate for a beer!
of cos Melinda had to check out their bar lol..

the weather was DESERT KINDA HOT
woooo~

First stop: DJEMMA EL FNA Market!!
one of the biggest mkts in the world
it's a huge square filled with acrobats,
snake charmers, traditional performances..
it was hectic n busting with life.

with the natives,
dressed in their traditional costumes!
Ivar threw them 20cents or sth,
n they refused to accept the tiny offer. lol.

huge assortment of dried nuts/fruits
we tried dates from their typical Palm trees

Ivarr with a monkey!

snake charmers
-it was funny how the minute
they see u snappin a pic,
they run towards u asking for money...

Lost in the SOUK
disarrayed alleys of stalls
making us go dizzy

Sheep's head!
a local delicacy

Us lookin alil puzzled, n intimidated
as the over-helpful Moroccans brought us
ard the dirty alleys looking for their infamous Tanneries..

this was probably one of the most memorable part of our trip
true sight of their city, their way of life, their poverty
it made me marvelled n mystified by the authenticity..
i wld never forget wat i saw along the way...

the livestock kept in a typical home
ready to be fed to its owner

Finally we got to a TANNERY
a local place for processing animal's skin
from raw scraping it off an animal
to fabricating it into a piece of leather.
it all takes place in this here...

we were surrounded by pits n holes
of pigeon's shit, pool of chemicals
and a pungent smell of colorings..

we were given mint leaves to overcome the smell

a donkey at work

the leather products at the end of the process

Moroccan goods amaze me
so much colours, textures n varieties!

Chillin' out at a rooftop cafe
sippin' some Arabic mint tea
ah finally some fresh air
n a good view of the market..

As evening falls over the bustling market..

As night falls,
the food market opens for business
we cld see stalls n stalls of exotic delicacies
one of them Snails...

Most of them..Sheep's head
it was a waste we didnt try it!
we missed out on it the nxt nite

DINNER - COUSCOUS
wheat rice flakes cooked with wintermelon, lamb..
a typical Moroccan dish
that Ive had many times,
bt never in true blue Moroccan style!

these Tajines are stews
made by several hours of cooking

Night falls
drinking time!

BREAKFAST

Menara Gardens
I'd read abt it,
bt it wasnt anything I'd expected..

Alberto n his animal instincts..
he's even patting a camel?!

On a CAMEL RIDE!!!
ok these camels were tiny
as compared to the one i rode in Turkey
so it proved to be much less intimidating..

Summer's here

It's been quite a month
lotsa things goin on in our lives..
travelling, drinking and pure fun.

Weather's been crazy here too,
March was all sunny n bright, a make-believe early Summer
April was filled with gloomy skies n wind
May's been alternating weeks of sun & rain..
how unpredictable..

But looks like good weather's ready to stay for good.
it's been all sunny over the wkend
we hopped down to Valencia for a great beach-ing wkend
the last glimpse of the sun for Ivar
as he saunters back to shivering-cold Iceland.
we'll miss him, esp with all the fun we've had.

Internet has been down at home
feelin crippled n torn
life's been full of activites, laughter n insanity
i need to slow down alil...

Time to think bout the year ahead.
the approach of summer means no work for me,
the mediterranean culture here surely is the most relaxing way of life
Everyone takes a month of two off work,
n spends the entire time on the beach.
I'm looking forward to all the sun-soaking,
n cruising along the mediterranean with Alberto's family
at the same time, Im torned apart
by all the decisions i need to make for this summer.

Ah life o life, it's beautiful, aint it?

Moroccan high~ Part II

MARRAKECH

Riding on the sightseeing bus
'round town n outskirts of Marrakech
superb view of the city
lotsa brown architecture
with palm trees as backdrop.

roadsigns in Arabic & French

typical Moroccan brown mud walls

Driving thru a Palm tree plantation

Jardin Majorelle
an eccentric garden
built n designed by an artist
wide array of plants, esp cactuses
bright-coloured pavillions n verandas to match with it.

us, in the midst of tall, huge cactuses

the signature Palm trees
WOW!

i dunno wat they were up to??!

LUNCH TIME!

Crazily expensive restaurant
that a taxi-driver lured us to.
Fascinating interior
decorated with an authentic touch
extremely exotic
but with some insane prices as well.
at least we got a look at it. haa.

mosaic tiles line the walls of moroccan buildings
pictures of the King of Morocco hang everywhere
they seem to worship him a whole lot
very young to be a king, merely 45yrs of age..

alas, we found an affordable yet authentic restaurant
to rest our feet, n savage our hunger
althou we missed the opportunity to try Sheep's head,
(the open-air markets only start at night)
we had a fuckin good meal here too..

Stewed dishes called 'tajines' are part of typical Morocco cuisine
we had stewed chicken, lamb
and my incredible beef with prunes.
the best ive ever eaten..

a typical platter for making stews Tajines.


Ivar patting his chicken

my best beef stew~!

the array of Moroccan desserts

One last glimpse of the infamous
circus of Moroccan acrobats, musicians, performers
in the marketplace Djemma el Fna..

Royal theatre

CASABLANCA
Got back to the modern city of Casa again
to catch our flight back home
This time round, we had to catch a glimpse
of the World's 2nd largest mosque
Hassan II Mosque.

Real magnificent
the grand Plaza surrounding it
huge dome-shaped gates
intricate islamic carvings
the grandeur of it all
was enough to impress even a non-muslim..
apparently it's 2nd biggest,
right after the Mecca.
it's big enough to hold Pari's Notre Dame,
or Russia's St Petersburg...

we looked tiny against the gigantic backdrop.
Unfortunately we couldnt visit the interior of the mosque
cos the some VIP from Latvia
had just chosen to visit the place
the same day as us.
the same Latvian king or watever
we had seen in Marrakech!

Chillin out at a cafe
before we catch the flight home
look at the posers
with their not-too-manly milkshakes lol.

my chocolate crepe!
we were debating on how to pronounce that word.
damn, these people..

time to say goodbye again
Shukran (thank you in Arabic)
it was such great fun with these frens!!
laughed alot, esp at Ivar's silly jokes
woo-ed & ahh-ed alot,
by this amazing country.

Morocco's been such an interesting adventure ive experienced sights n sounds that nowhere else had ever offered such display of culture, authenticity, original arabic lifestyle. I'll be back!!!