Morocco, Africa

Like I mentioned in the last post, when we were in Spain, we took the Ferry Boat from Tarifa, Spain over to Tangier, Morocco. I had organized a guide for us (especially not knowing Arabic, I felt that with children, it would be much easier, and we would be able to see a lot more with a guide). The guide picked us up at the port and showed us a great time! I actually had not heard great reviews about Morocco, but felt like that being so close, it would almost be criminal not to experience it. We were really pleasantly surprised. It is an up and coming city and has so much going for it (The Medina (old city) was just declared a Unesco World Heritage Site. It was a great time!

The view in the morning from Tarifa, Spain (you can see the Mountains of Morocco in the distance)

The Ferry Over is really neat (you cross the line in the water where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic)

Yes - Definitely glad we got a guide - the Arabic would have been just a tad difficult!

This was pretty cool - the light house in the background is the very Northwest tip of Africa!!!!

 It was extremely windy!!!

Such cool photo opportunities!!!!

This was the highlight - the camel ride!!! You can see the camels, just lying around waiting to be ridden (or maybe not??) In the background, you can see the baby camels :-)

Such a fun time! It was funny too because Bryan's Camel didn't like him very much :-) Notice - his Camel is the only one with his teeth showing!

Gorgeous Views too!!!

Mia and I shared a camel - it was so much fun listening to her giggle. (The kids rode camels in Egypt, but it was the first time for Bryan and I - a really fun opportunity!

There were even baby camels that were too young to ride, but had to be around their mom to feed :-) They were soft and really sweet!

The walkway to the Kasbah...

lots of narrow alleyways...

Looking outside the city walls

Ok - this was a true highlight too. We didn't see a snake charmer in Egypt - so this was a first .  A Cobra!

He coaxed us all to put a snake "around our neck". No one was really up for it, until Bryan led the way. Then we realized it wasn't so bad :-) - and it wasn't really around the neck!

Mia wanted nothing to do with it until Bailey said she would go with her :-)

Inside the Medina (Old City) was really neat. Very stereotypical "Moroccan" - you had rugs...

spices...

more spices...

fruits and vegetables...

I love the old stuff near the new (check out this buggy :-)

and more spices...

and more fruits and vegetables...

and cheeses (our guide explained that these ladies were dressed in the typical garb from outside of the city  - in the country)

and bread...

Camden's favorite!!!!

And somehow, we always end up in the expensive carpet store for a hard sell - we didn't buy anything, but enjoyed the local tea and the kids loved a traditional coke!!!!

The license plates were funny

And back to the ship for the journey back to Spain

And 3 exhausted kids on the car ride home! A fantastic Experience!!!

Spain

We just got back from a week in Spain. It seems that we like to make our "crunch time" even "crunchier" with adding too much to our plate. In April, we found a ridiculously good deal on a trip to Spain, but of course it was timed right in the middle of a very chaotic period. It turns out though, it was just what we all needed. It was a fun week with a few day trips, lots of swimming, warm weather, and best of all; no paper work, no phone calls, no errands, no school, and no work! We have been to this region in Spain a couple of times and have always regretted not taking the Ferry boat over to Morocco in Africa, but this time we made it happen and it was a fantastic experience. I will post lots of pictures (of course - just to bore you :-)) but I have to add something funny (or maybe not so funny)... Flying to Spain from Germany is .kind of like flying from Virginia to Florida. The cost was extremely reasonable and we were excited just for Spain. With that said, this is where my 15 year old daughter comes in... Most of her friends here have been to Spain and she has been there a few times (of course she was happy to go, but wasn't "excited"). When we added Morocco to the itinerary, that is when she became excited, because not "everyone" has been to Morocco. I keep trying to tell her that one day she will look back on these experiences and realize that it is not "typical" to get to go to these places (just to go to Spain is pretty cool!). I forget that they have grown up living over here and they really don't "get" that these are opportunities of a lifetime. Treasure them. Keep them in your heart and memories. And appreciate it each and every day. We have several friends over here whose kids have not realized the opportunities that they are given until they go back for college, and then miss them greatly, and want nothing more than to come back!

The flight from Cologne to Malaga was really pretty - we flew over the

Pyrenees mountain range and then as we flew south - this was the view of a lake - Gorgeous!!!

We didn't swim at the beach (only at the pool, because it was quite rocky, but the kids did have fun playing a bit..

Mia loved the Spanish Police Horse....

a family "selfie" on the beach (yes, we are weird!!!)

The view from the Castle in Malaga - gorgeous!!!

This was also from the castle - Camden was super excited to spot the Bull Fighting Ring right in the middle of the city

It looks so unnatural to have such an old Bull Fighting Ring in the middle of a modern city right on the Mediterranean - really cool though!

Family photo!

Marbella, Spain! Flags for the World Cup? Spain didn't fair so well in the World Cup (especially for being the defending Champions). It was cool though, because the Country did get a new King while we were there - definitely a neat thing!!! 

This was really funny... There are churches all throughout Europe - gorgeous churches where there are ALWAYS candles to light, in memory of loved ones. We have only seen real candles up until this particular church.... If you look carefully, they are electric (you put in your money and then one lights up!!!) We joked that Spain must have the same liability problems as the U.S. !!!

Such character around every corner!!!

The kids loved swimming each day ( a rarity for us).

I love the umbrellas made of straw!!!

Mia found a cool shell (had to share, just in case one day the shell goes missing :-)

Fortress in Tarrifa, Spain - so pretty!

Random Photos - some of our last days in Bamberg

Trampoline Game - so much fun!

We went to a little town Festival, and I thought this was funny - if you check out the child, she is just loose in the basket - with liability, I am not sure if we would have a ride like this back in the States :-)

A fun Barbecue - winding down our last Wine Club Evening :-(

Beautiful Clouds

Bikes - are the best way to get around :-)

A little Soccer fun

I love this... we were walking home from the park and saw this family canoeing as a River Boat was going by. It makes me smile to know that people spend huge amounts of money to stop in "our  little city" to tour. As a funny side note too...when we first found out we were moving to Bamberg, little did we know that my parents had already visited Bamberg when they did a River Boat Cruise over here - so funny! 

I love these little boats for kids - so independent!!!

Feeding the ducks on a walk!