Tapas hopping in Madrid

Our first day out in Madrid was awesome!

After arriving by train from Granada, our friend, MariaD came to pick us up from the Atocha train station. She has kindly offered us to stay with her while we were in Madrid which we gladly accepted.

In the evening, our Madrileño friend, Jaime and Anuska took us Tapas-hopping in Madrid. This was super fun and amazingly yummy.

We are so grateful because without them it would have been pretty difficult to decide what to eat and where!

Hola España! Our first stop - Granada

Hola España! Our first stop - Granada !!

Alhambra at night

12 days in Morocco

So having wrapped up our 12 days in Morocco, here is the itinerary of our trip.

We flew into Casablanca from Istanbul, spent two days exploring the city. We then caught the train to Marrakesh. The train ride was about 4 hours - clean train, even for 2nd class.

Marrakesh was a lot more touristy and had a lot of things to do. Big Medina, lots of restaurants....

After three days in Marrakesh, we took another train to Fes. This was a long train ride - approx. 8 hours.

Moroccan wedding

As we were checking into our riad in Tangier, we were told that there will be a wedding outside the riad this afternoon. Oh great!

The owner apologized and said "it will be noisy, lots of people, music..."
We said "oh, it's no problem at all"
Owner "..and cow killing and some blood, you want to see? :) "

Blue City, Chefchaouen

Chefchaouen - Blue City in Morocco......

Our original itinerary didn't include Chefchaouen but we were glad we stopped by this little town on our way to Tangier (Thanks Aric!). Chefchaouen is kind of half way between Fes and Tangier. There is no train station so we caught the CTM bus from Fes - it's only about 200km north of Fes but took us 5 hours (the bus takes numerous stops and really long toilet breaks). As soon as we arrived in the Medina, we were so excited! It is such a pretty place - everything painted in blue, even the plant pots outside people's houses.

My favorite shop in Chefchaouen - La Botica de la Abuela Aladdin

There are lots of cute souvenir shops in Morocco. Unfortunately, traveling around the world with a backpack means I can't buy much stuff. It can be VERY frustrating at times...so instead I get lots of joy out of buying consumable goods - for example, when I run out of Shampoo or conditioner, I get very excited because it means I can buy a new shampoo from a new country which I have never tried before. Fun. I've already tried shampoo from Thailand, India and Turkey. Olive oil conditioner from Greece. Moroccan Argan oil from Marrakesh (I go through shampoos very quickly!).

Two days in Fes, Morocco

Fes Tanneries

Our third stop in Morocco was Fes. It's the third largest city in Morocco, apparently. It also has a large Medina but not as big as Marrakesh and personally I liked it better!

Our second stop in Morocco - Marrakesh

A Day in the Medina

We started the day with breakfast on the rooftop — a communal table shared with other guests. The food was just okay, but the company made up for it. We chatted for a while and ended up staying until around 10:30 a.m. 

After that, we headed out to explore the souk area in the Medina. It was a fascinating maze of shops and stalls. I picked up some argan oil along the way. 

We then stopped for a traditional Moroccan lunch. It was good, though not entirely to my taste.

We continued wandering and made our way to the main square. It was lively and full of energy. What a fun place!

The next day, I was craving for some Japanese food so we decided to check out a Japanese restaurant called OchaSushi. It was actually ok.

Shopping at the local supermarket :-)

Casablanca to Marrakesh by train

Where's Frody?

So we took the train from Casablanca to Marrakesh - Train goes every two hours so we just showed up and bought the tickets, easy!

Our first time on the continent of Africa

From Istanbul, we flew into Casablanca in Morocco. This was our first time visiting the African continent. We took the train from the airport to Casa Voyageurs. The train goes every one hour and costs 40 MAD each ("Second Class" which was quite acceptable). We then took the "Petit taxi" and probably got ripped off because we paid 50 MAD....(from the hotel to the train station on our way out of Casablanca, we hailed a cab on the street and it was only 16 MAD)... lame. oh well.

Having fun @ Turkish Air Lounge

We arrived back in Istanbul around 10:30pm (from Athens) and we had a flight out of Istanbul at 10am the next morning so we decided to spend the night at the Turkish Airline's lounge to save on a night's accommodation!

A Day in Athens, Greece

We woke up around 8 AM and started the day with breakfast on our little balcony — such a peaceful way to begin the morning. 

Then it was time to explore Athens! I have to say, I really like this city. The apartment we’re staying in is in a fantastic location; we’ve been able to walk pretty much everywhere. 

Our first stop was the Panathenaic Stadium, or “Kalimarmaro.” We snapped a few photos and enjoyed the grand atmosphere. From there, we walked over to the Temple of Olympian Zeus and passed by Hadrian’s Arch. The entrance fee was €16 per person, but it also included access to several other archaeological sites, which made it worth it. 

Next, we made our way to the Acropolis. It was extremely windy and packed with tourists, but still incredible to see in person. 

After that, we had lunch near the Acropolis Museum at a place called Manga Café — a great little spot. Then we visited the museum itself. A taxi driver the night before had told us it was “the greatest museum in the world.” While it was interesting, I have to admit I’ve seen better. 

Later, we wandered through the charming Plaka neighborhood and stumbled upon a small bar where we enjoyed a glass of champagne. 

After that, we checked out the famous Poet Sandal Maker shop — but it was crowded with American housewives chatting endlessly about Hollywood, so we didn’t stay long. 

Moving along....

We continued on to the main shopping area, browsed a few stores, and then had dinner at a Japanese restaurant called Furin Kazan. The portions were huge. 

In the evening, we walked up to the Parliament building just in time to watch the changing of the guards — such a fun and unique experience. From there, we strolled through the National Garden and finally made our way back home. Wish we were staying a little longer!