Morocco, Spain & France Trip Diary April - June 2023
Paris
10 Apr 2023 Monday
Arrived 8pm CDG after an unrefreshing flight. Delayed 1 hr out of Melb -> Dubai, so we were very rushed to transit to onward flight. Emirates food and entertainment not as good as Qantas.
Missed trying the Emirates lounge. Amazingly our luggage arrived on the same plane in Paris - we were expecting it to join us a day or two later.
Taxi to Artus Hotel. Great place – very comfortable, with very good staff, and all-encompassing breakfast. Great attention to detail – a well run business.
11 Apr Tuesday
Walking trip to look at Art Nouveau buildings in the 16th. The walking tour was developed by asking ChatGPT to provide a walking itinerary of interesting Art Nouveau buildings, and provide a KML script to plot on google maps.
Amazingly, it provided a list, and did the script (minus the closing tags). The co-ordinates were a little off in a few places – AI not perfect yet. As I didn’t double check, we went to a few wrong spots.
No lunch after a big breakfast.
Café at Coutume, at Grand Epicerie. Coffee quite good – almost Melbourne standard. The Epicerie it was part of was unbelievable – full of foodie treasures, from Petrossian caviar to First Growths.
Museum Marmottan Monet – fantastic! No queues, really good art, fabulous building. Lots of Monet. Not sure I like Monet that much – just pretty scenes of gardens, mostly.
I pondered whether impressionism was just lazy art – couldn’t be bothered painting a scene properly, or whether Monet had poor eyesight, or a bad optometrist, and it was realism from his perspective. On looking at Wikipedia afterwards, I discovered he did indeed have bad eyesight! So maybe Impressionism was restricted to the myopic. His later art was very impressionistic – more like vague smears – but eventually he had eye surgery and his paintings got better again.
The other art there highlighted the Neo-Romantic movement, which I liked much better than impressionist smears.
Dinner at Le Comptoir de Relais – fantastic very authentic bistro, nice wine list. We were there in 2010 – nothing had changed. That is both good and bad. I had onion soup, rich with superb, aged Comte. V was aghast at the entrée – ordered a terrine, expecting a slice about a centimetre thick. What arrived was a large container with nearly a kilo in it. I have a horrible suspicion that after we took a slice out of it, it was then passed on to the next diner who ordered it. Not hard to see an infection control issue here, but I won’t think about it for long. It was delicious. I had a beef daube, V a seared tuna. Just walking around Paris is very pleasant, although it was freezing.
12 Apr Wed
Army Museum visit in the morning – it’s huge. WW2 was a big deal for the French – they will not forget it. Saw an exhibition on religious internal wars in the late 1500’s – it was very complicated politically, and I didn’t have several months to read all the material to remotely understand it. I know there was a lot of blood.
Went to look at some covered Galleries of Paris. Started with Vero-Dodat, because we were close. Then Galerie Vivienne, because…. Visited Samaritaine – just like an airport duty free – full of very expensive stuff that no-one was buying, and it wasn’t duty free. Dinner at Kitchen Galerie Bis (KGB). Incredible degustation. The rabbit was a ‘death bed meal’ candidate.
13 Apr Thu
Looked at Notre Dame, but couldn’t see how far they have gone in repairs. I suspect their estimate of time to complete and money will be wrong.
Saw amazing Art Nouveau house at 29 Ave Rapp.
Had quite superb coffee at Terres de Café Saint-Germain-des-Prés – a Kenya single origin. They mostly sell roasted beans there. Only two seats inside.
Saw Eiffel Tower, missed the riots, then went to Palais de Tokyo and the Museum of Modern Art. Saw the World’s Largest Painting!
Dinner at Gaya by Pierre Gagnaire. Sea foody restaurant. One star Michelin. Fabulous staff. Had white asparagus, lobster bisque with gnocchi, monkfish & john dory. Sommelier suggested a lightweight Crozes-Hermitage rouge, which went surprisingly well with the fish.
14 Apr Fri
Breakfast of excellent rolls at Gare Montparnasse, with pretty shit coffee. Even more freezing. Very grumpy taxi to station as it was a short trip. Wanted cash.
TGV 320kph to Bordeaux.
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Bordeaux – too short a visit
https://photos.app.goo.gl/79yvkMkrbhTyGbY4A
14/4/23
Got here very fast on TGV.
Bought a 3 day Bx pass online before arrival enabling unlimited use of all transport. Discovered we needed to buy a Metro ticket to get to the office to pick up the pass, which was not retrospective.
All of Bx is absolutely lovely – very clean, elegant, and charming. One of the nicest cities I have been in.
Wandered the streets for a bit, then went to the Customs Museum. Despite sounding like it would be tedious, it was actually fascinating, and in a beautiful space as well. Learned a lot about tax, and how difficult enforcing customs was – nobody wanted to pay tax. A King (can’t remember which – Louis the something?) privatised tax collection in regions, allowing some locals to collect tax on govt behalf, and pay themselves a cut from the takings. It ensured the odium went to the collectors, and not the King. No possibility of corruption, of course….
Tobacco smugglers used dogs with backpacks of tobacco to run past border guards.\
After big eating in Paris, we had a quiet snack at a wine bar.\
15/4/23
Found awesome coffee at KURO – as good as Melbourne.
Spent much of the day at La Cite du Vin – a spectacular modern museum all about wine, globally, noit just Bordeaux. Highly recommended.
Caught the BAT3 boat on the Gironde for some views from the river. Wandered around Bx some more, then went to dinner at the invitation of Alex Rychlewski (https://bordeauxwineblog.com) who was a gracious host. We ate and drank just the right amount, of course.
16/4/23
KURO shut today, so went to Goutu – not quite as good, but extremely good pastries. Wandered some markets, drooling.
Saw amazing Lumiere show at https://www.bassins-lumieres.com/
It was at a decommissioned submarine hanger. I was tempted to write graffiti on it: “I don’t think, I know”. Went to Musee D’Aquitaine – another gem.
Another small dinner of charcuterie at Le Metropolitain wine bar. Next morning back to KURO for coffee before flight to Morocco.
Bordeaux is fantastic – could easily spend a lot of time there. Next flew from Bordeaux to Casablanca
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Casablanca, Marrakech, Anima Garden
Photos:
Casablanca: https://photos.app.goo.gl/EWf4FTtKbSobxpnj8
Marrakech: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Lz1Be1ZTpPuNWZqD7
Anima Garden: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hKAVsVDRTXyFHf4g9
17/4/23
Casablanca
Landed, and bags arrived as well. Very efficient service from Maroc Telecom gave us data sims 20G for 20eu. Airport is a long way out – took an hour to get to hotel. Casablanca was not quite as expected – very new, modern, affluent – more Mercs & Audis than Toorak, and lots of flash highrise. Traffic worse than Melbourne, not as bad as Cairo. Genuine Brownian Motion (well, less collisions but certainly not laminar flow). Hotel Gauthier pleasant, but staff seemed somewhat robotic. Went wandering looking for an ATM. It worked. Delicious buffet dinner with lots of different tagines, and a live oud player and drummer, who were excellent.
In Casablanca everyone speaks French – not much English. Saw almost zero tourists.
18/4/23
Wandered a little to see the Villa des Artes (spectacularly clean and well maintained), and some Art Deco architecture near the medina, the Arab League Park, Mohammed V square. Found truly excellent coffee at a place called Bondi Coffee Kitchen (yes, started by an Aussie).
Dinner at hotel again as it was so good. Tonight, the restaurant was packed – it was a holy day – the 26th day of Ramadan, and people were there to have a feast. At sunset at the instant they could eat, it was a frenzied pack at the buffet – we went in after the first wave – there was enough left.
Don’t stand between Muslims and a buffet at sunset during Ramadan. Music again – same guys.
19/4/23
Met our guide Asaad, and driver Mustafa. Drive to Marrakech. Scenery at the start was like a trip from Melbourne to Adelaide via the boring route. It got better closer to Marrakech. Staying in fabulous Riad Adore. Wandered around in the afternoon in the Medina, and only got slightly lost once. Dinner at the riad – again fabulous. A beaut selection of creative salads, then a chicken tagine with green olives and preserved lemon, on the rooftop on a balmy evening, serenaded by the calls to prayer. It was spectacular – equal top chicken dish ever (with Coq au Vin at ‘A La Biche au Bois’ in Paris). Asaad is a devout Muslim – I will be converted by the time I leave.
Everyone in Marrakech speaks English. Heaps of tourists.
20/4/23
Marrakech sites with Asaad. Marrakech is very beautiful, and remarkably well kempt and clean. Warm day – 26.
Bahia Palace, Madrassa Ben Youssef, markets, Menara Garden, Koutoubia Minaret, the Saadien Tombs, quick lunch at Al Baraka (nice pigeon bastille, passable couscous – OK but wouldn’t go back), a carpet shop where the proprietor was unsuccessful with us, although the carpets were very nice, apothecary where they did sell Argan Oil to us, the Jardin Secrete, Jemaa el-Fnaa, Souk Semmarine.
Dinner at Riad – Harira soup, beef tagine and vegetable tagine – again delicious!
21/4/23
Anima Garden – exceptionally beautiful garden with many interesting sculptures. I don’t think Ive ever seen a garden where everything looked so healthy, well tended and perfect. Sheer delight.
Afternoon wandering around Marrakech. Bought some fancy sweets for our driver and guide for Eid Mubarak gift. Due to Eid, many museums, etc closed early, so we stayed at the Riad, which is pretty nice and relaxing. After the weekend, life back to normal for them all.
Having dinner again at Riad. Leave tomorrow for Ait Ben Haddou, going over the Atlas mountains.
The town featured in the third season of Game of Thrones, as the cities of “Yunkai” and “Pentos” where most of the scenes with Daenerys Targaryen were shot.
The fortified historical city provided a setting for Daenerys’ battle with the Second Sons to liberate slaves.
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Ait Benhaddou, Agdz
The bandwidth on wifi here is about 1mbit down, 0.5 mbit up. I can’t upload the photos to google today. The mobile data is fast, but I have limited GB, so I don’t want to burn it early in the trip. Will follow hopefully in a few days.
22/4/2023
Eid (end of Ramadan). Wishing everyone Eid Mubarak. Left Marrakech at 10am after a nice breakfast at Riad Adore. Roads were very quiet. Long drive to Maison d’hotes Irocha via Telouet and Ait Benhaddou.
This was probably the most spectacular drive I have been on. The scenery was incredible as we headed into the Atlas moutains and over the top. Very windy (as in curved) roads. Morocco is incredibly scenic.
Went to Telouet to see the palace of the Glaoui dynasty, which is steadily crumbling. Glaoui were collaborators in the war and viewed as traitors, hence the current king seems happy for their historic palace to dissolve.
It was very impressive, nonetheless.
We drove within sight of the Noor Solar Farm near Ourzazate – very impressive tech on a large scale. The largest solar field in the world, 580 MW, over 300ha.
Has some conventional solar panels, and also molten salt heat storage. You can see the glow of the sun rays being reflected onto the top of the 250m tall tower.
Then, Ait Benhaddou – more impressive ruins, and a site for many films (including scenes from Game of Thrones). The scenes today were filled with such amazing sights I don’t think it was photons entering my eyes – they were a new particle called ‘beautons’ and ‘spectaculons’ – only these are capable of transmitting the sights and doing adequate justice. My photos do not do the beutons justice - I will blame the iPhone not having beuton/spectaculon receptors.
Interestingly, the coffee in Morocco is quite pleasant everywhere, whether espresso or drip. Totally unlike Italy or France where it is pretty hit and miss. We were at a truck stop café, and the espresso was quite delicious. I think some Yemen coffee culture is strong here. We have not had a bad coffee yet.
Maison Irocha was full of charm and character. Spectacularly located on a hill with great views. They offer a walk to view ancient rock carvings many thousands of years old, which we were unable to do due to late arrival. The owner was very pleasant (he was a geologist previously). The shower became pleasant about 30 minutes after I turned it on. The initial flow rate was about 1-2ml/minute.
The day was quite warm – high 20s. More tasty tagine – turkey this time.
23/4/2023
Getting hotter – about 32 (not what we were expecting based on typical climate averages). Shorter drive to Agdz, and to Tamnougalt where Kasbah Caid is. It’s a Kasbah of enormous character. Our room is comfortable, but no air-con, and the day is mid 30s.
We had a cooking demo of how to do tagine, then had too much lunch trying to eat it all – delicious.
A freak heat wave is hitting Morocco just as we are here – up to 38 in all the places we are going this week. This pleases me not. I have Lithuanian genes which operate in a range between -15 to +20. 38 is well into my red zone. Being born in Australia does not alter genetic composition. Did a tour of the Kasbah and garden area, then more tagine.
Some Berber music was played in the Kasbah – it was quite a hoot – very lively. Four drummers, a castanet like instrument with player atached, and a guitar (it looked like a four string banjo, but sounded a bit like a National Steel Resonator) connected to an amp. They sang as well, loudly, with gusto, and mostly in tune. Night ended perfectly with a cold shower (by choice, not due to vagaries of Moroccan plumbing), as it was so f…n hot. Discussed the prayer calls with our guide, Asaad. I asked if it was compulsory for all the mosques to have worn out, lo-fi crackly speakers. He advised some newer ones were actually reasonable fidelity. We hypothesised about whether soon it would be compulsorily blasted into everyones airpods.
24/4/2023
Best moroccan breakfast yet – a variety of breads, one stuffed with a delicious spicy veg concoction, olives, omelette, spicy coffee. On the road again to Zagora and beyond. Had lunch with a Tamegroute local – beef tagine, turkey kebabs (perfect!!). We saw local bread ovens, a Madrassa, and local ceramics being made. Got slightly taken for a ride buying a few bowls, but we didn’t mind as they need the money more than us. Slavery only ended here in 1956!!! The drive there and back was also filled with beautons. Much cooler at 7:30 pm – balmy now. About to have dinner. Will send photo links after I have uploaded.
Links:
To Ait Benhaddou, Telouet - 22/4/23
https://photos.app.goo.gl/n5wSKXmdgGtjC9G17
To Agdz, Kasbah Caids 22-23/4/23
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2jaY15CLo87nqsEF6
To Roses Valley, Kasbah Chems 24-25/4/23
https://photos.app.goo.gl/xnGH1TmCsYZuJ9bS7
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Roses Valley, Erfoud, Sahara, Midelt
To Erfoud 26/4/23
https://photos.app.goo.gl/EfmHWArxKtWBEHaZA
Rissani, Desert sculptures 26/4/23
https://photos.app.goo.gl/dhimzKirTt7w3TAbA
Sahara 27-28/4/23
https://photos.app.goo.gl/rNXktCpc5cMgP7ny7
25/4/23 Tue
Another spectacular drive, to the Roses Valley – at this time of year the Damascus Rose is in bloom, and forms an important part of the economy – all sorts of rose products.
I had better stop putting ultimate superlatives onto a drive, as each one upstages the last. Stopped at a roadside petrol station, with café. It was spotlessly clean and modern. They were doing a roaring trade in tagines as well. Had a coffee which was pretty good. The local closest equivalent to Melbourne ‘magic’ coffee is to ask for a ‘nous-nous’ – half-half long espresso shot and foamed milk. I’m amazed at the coffees here – reliably good.
The wifi at the station was 100MB symmetrical. Uploaded photos here very quickly.
Went to an old movie studio featuring sets from some very old movies. It was great being in a museum where everything was fake. Arrived at Kasbah Chems – spectacular location, very beautiful accommodation. The floor in the internal patio was strewn with rose buds and petals. The aroma was incredible.
26/4/23 Wed
Drive to Erfoud, to La Rose du Desert hotel. More amazing scenery. Decent coffee again at petrol station.
27/4/23 Thu
Morning trip to some amazing sculptures in the desert. On the way visited some underground canals (qanats or khettara) built in 14th century or earlier, to channel water into the desert from the mountains. Access points were regularly excavated. See https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/89133/ancient-waterways-in-morocco
The huge sculpture constructions were by a German artist Hannsjorg Voth, on cosmic themes. They were incredible. First questions I asked were “WTF & Why?”. https://www.sensesatlas.com/territory/hannsjorg-voth-connecting-the-earth-to-the-stars/
In the arvo drove from Erfoud to the Sahara.
Had a Berber ‘pizza’ at Rissani, where we saw the markets – ingredients were camel meat, onion, egg, almonds, and spices, stuffed inside dough and baked. Kind of like a calzone (a ‘camelzone’?). It was delicious. At a sidewalk café. 38 degrees – didn’t really feel like eating, but it was great. I even had a coffee – also very good, from a pretty daggy looking place.
Our guide said the camel pizza was only in summer – “That’s when they murder the camels”. I think he meant ‘slaughter’. The details of how they are murdered was also described - type of knife and where in the neck, and that there was a lot of blood.
Next stop ‘Luxury’ desert camp at the base of sand dunes at the start of the Sahara. It was crazy hot. It cooled a little by about 8pm. Dinner didn’t happen until nearly 10 pm.
‘Luxury’ means there was a bathroom inside the tent.\
Usually, water problems when travelling generally involve having no hot water. Here, we couldn’t find a cold tap, and the toilet flushes with boiling water. At least it cooled a lot at night, so sleep was possible, and the morning was beautiful. The tent door and all flaps were wide open – fortunately no scorpions visited.
Conversations about dinnertime go like this everywhere in Morocco:
“What time is dinner?”
“Any time you like, from 7:30 to 10pm”
“Great – 7:30 then?”
“Certainly, sir – 7:30, Inshallah” (Inshallah=God Willing)
Nothing ever appeared much before 9.
Same story for breakfast. Lunch seems to occur about 3pm.
God in Morocco is not willing for us to eat early. We have learned it is pointless to ask about time.
28/4/23 Fri
Up before sunrise, climbing dunes for the views. So many tracks from insects and animals on the dunes. They are very active at night. 4WD trip through dunes with a driver with rudimentary English. We asked him how many languages he speaks with all the tourists – he said, “Language salad – chopped up everything”.
There is an incredible amount of fossil material readily visible on the desert surface in many rocky outcrops - trilobites, ammonites and other things clearly visible. Saw water wells in the desert, spectacular scenery, visited a nomad camp, where the very friendly Fatima gave us a nice mint tea. She had nice teeth. Nomad activity has been curtailed somewhat by border closure between Morocco and Algeria, so the nomadic camps here are not so nomadic. I wondered about their quality of life. While the camps are very basic infrastructure wise, they are not squalid. I wonder how tourism has changed things – is it now a human zoo?
Every tent we passed in the desert had a 4WD parked next to it, with tourists visiting, and leaving a ‘donation’. I think our driver was struggling to find a parking spot for a while. If a tent had 3-4 visits a day (seems very possible given the tourist numbers), then the income would be quite reasonable. A cynical part of me briefly wondered if they don their Nikes and go home to town to watch Netflix when the tourists are done for the day? For them to live well, is it a necessary condition to live badly?
Return to Erfoud in a hot 4WD Toyota with windows wide open. Driver asked if we wanted to stop for camel milk - unpasteurised, warm and fresh, on a 38 degree day, we politely declined.
29/4/23 Sat
Erfoud -> Midelt. Trip to Fez begins. It’s a long way, so the trip is broken up with a stay at Midelt – a fairly nondescript waypoint town, that even the official Moroccan tourism website struggled to enthuse over:
“Want to discover Midelt? There are a thousand and one ways to do so. If Midelt does not have a vast historical heritage and possesses few museums, the city nevertheless deserves more than the simple role of staging post which is generally its lot in life.Located at the foot of Mount Ayachi, Midelt is a small town at medium altitude.”
The drive was yet again spectacular. Stopped at a servo for coffee, and grilled kebabs with bread and harissa. Bought Mehjool dates. Accommodation is again delightful (Maison Pomme d’Or). The landscape around Midelt started to have trees appear, and is an apple growing area. Midelt slightly cooler. Dinner was yet again delicious.
Erfoud to Midelt 29/4/23:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1g4sodHs59i48Nsr6
Midelt to Fez
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zrc7syQr15VgsduY8
Fes
https://photos.app.goo.gl/y1FQiC9KdkGPoYXFA
30/4/23 Sun
Middle -> Fez via Ifran
A group of Spanish motorcyclists were staying at the hotel, along with their heavily laden adventure BMWs and Yamaha Teneres. One had lost his spectacles, and was gesticulating wildly to the staff like Manuel in Fawlty Towers, who looked uncomprehending. Vivienne found his glasses, and he was utterly ecstatic, bowing deeply in appreciation, like she was an apparition of the Virgin Mary.
I envisaged a blind Manuel on a motorbike heading into the Saharan dunes.
Usual story of a lovely drive. On a high plain, enormous numbers of sheep and goats. Shortly before Ifran we stopped to see Macaque monkeys by the side of the road, in a forest. These are being fed by tourists, which is not to their long term benefit. We saw large forests of cedar. Ifran is very unusual - the buildings have sloped roofs, European style. It has a university, and seems very affluent (lots of Merc, Audi, Range Rover). There are ski fields nearby.
More delicious roadside cafe tagine and nous-nous. Arrived in Fes, Riad Toyour - stunning! Great dinner here - Moroccan salads, tagine (again!) & pastilla in their very beautiful green courtyard with many caged songbirds. They have Moroccan wine here, but am maintaining an alcohol free Morocco (I will break the drought after 21 days, on arrival in Spain).
Monkeys:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/yJd359vTkdGkXVFb7
1/5/23 Mon
Fez. Morning walk in the Medina with a guide. Crazy place. Saw the Royal Palace, a synagogue with one of the oldest Toras surviving. There was a well below the main level where brides were washed before the wedding - it looked terrifying - it was quite deep - to be thrown into this before the ceremony would not have been pleasant. Saw a craft museum, madrassa, mosque, numerous shops, narrow alleys, the famous tannery (smelly, but nowhere near as bad as expected), a communal oven (people make their own dough, then cart it to the oven to get it baked) - the full medina experience.
Went for another stroll through Fes in the arvo.Walking back to the Riad, after having an unplanned GPS detour, arrived at an empty intersection, with a lone Moroccan sitting on the kerb. As I looked puzzled at Google Maps, he asked:
“Looking for something?”
I replied, jokingly: “Eternal happiness”.
He said: “Take your time”.
That’s exactly what they do here.
2/5/23 Tue
Borj Nord Armament museum
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Eue9zBTMK4TszLLF8
Photos are not interesting unless you like guns.
Quiet day - small drive into the countryside to see Seffrou & Bhalil, but things seemed to be shut, quiet arvo in Fez. Went to the Arms Museum - it was extremely well done. A history of armaments from spears to machine guns. One of the better organised museums I have experienced. It was lovely and cool on a 36 degree day.
3/5/23 Wed
Fes to Chefchaouen 3/5/23
https://photos.app.goo.gl/bQkY45QhCbiRtHXj9
Fez to Chefchaouen, the blue city. Stopped at Volubilis for a tour of the ancient Roman settlement. Very interesting. Another lovely drive. Chefchauoen is very hilly, very pretty, mostly pretty clean, but there are a lot of cats, and attendant shit.
Navigation is tricky. We thought that having survived the Medinas of Fez & Marrakech, this should be a doddle. We had a very unambitious target of a restaurant 120 metres from the Riad. My finest sense of direction and Google Maps on the latest iPhone resulted in a journey of about 1-1.5km to find the place. I could have asked any child on the street for directions (for as little as 1 Dirham, about 12 cents) but I was too stubborn and proud to admit I couldn’t find something 120m away.
For comparison, a 2km trip in Marrakech Medina took about 2.3km, and a 2km trip in Fez was about 2.5k.
4/5/23 Thu
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ggGUUwALV284ZEko9
Day in Chefchaouen. Asaad gave us a nice tour, and predictably deposited us in a carpet shop, where predictably we were fleeced, but not too badly (after a few weeks you learn to bargain a tiny bit).
Our guide was born in Chefchaouen. He said when he was a child it was white. The blue came when a few blue painted buildings got instagram famous, and tourists started coming, so everybody started painting more blue, and the rest is history. So maybe the other stories about the blue are bullshit?
5/5/23 Fri
Tangier & American Legation Museum 5/5/23
https://photos.app.goo.gl/DL8BFK6P1KfNQ2Nv5
Drove Chefchaouen to Tangier.
Said goodbye to Asaad and Mustafa. Had a little wander around Tangier. Saw the American Legation Museum, which was fascinating. I learned a lot. A very strong bond exists between Morocco and USA. Morocco buys USA armaments, whereas Algeria has Russian junk. There are tensions between these countries over the Sahara -
I suspect Morocco would win a war.
Tired of tagines, we had a Japanese dinner at a slightly strange restaurant in the Medina. No sushi, just ramen, rice and okonomiyaki. Probably should have stuck with tagine, although the owner was nice.
6/5/23
Asilah 6-7/5/23
https://photos.app.goo.gl/FqRWk4WaTYQhvQgh6
Drove down the coast for a night in Asilah, a sleepy town not far from Tangier. Atlantic Ocean views.
7/5/23
Tangier 7/5/23 and ‘Aux 3 Portes’
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2QzMS5sYmEgdhNN87
Driving from Asilah to Tangier, for a final night in Morocco before Spain.
Our driver Karim engaged in a stunning manoeuvre en route, as V described ‘Worthy of James Bond’.
He spoke on the phone numerous times during the trip.
We were driving along a 4 lane expressway (80k limit), when he slowed to a near halt in the centre of the road, to match another car approaching from the other direction, also in the middle of the road.
The two cars drivers windows were open, and our driver handed a sheaf of documents to the other driver as the cars passed each other, without stopping, and both then accelerated away.
Were we in the middle of an espionage event?
We arrived uneventfully at the hotel without being stopped by anyone with guns.
We asked Karim why he did that.
He said it was easier than pulling over and crossing the road.
We stayed at an utterly amazing hotel - Aux 3 Portes. Never been anywhere so amazingly decorated. Like being invited into an art collectors home. A balcony
high up with views over the Gibraltar Strait, and Spain was visible on the horizon.
Superb finish to the trip, despite being crook.
8/5/23
Ferry to Morocco - everything on time, no crowds at all at the Gare Maritime - breezed through.
Spain arrival also very fast, taxi to Algeciras for a car (VW).
Forgot to activate the local sim while I had internet this morning - they don’t self-boot…. Noob tech fail.
Drove to Jerez. Pleasant scenery, but very like Aus. Stopped at Medina for a good (but strong) Cortado. Very hot day.
Walked around Jerez, late arvo tapas & sherry. First booze in 3 weeks - tasted pretty damn good (compared local Fino with Manzanilla).
9/5/23
Jerez, Andalusian Horses
https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qa3tzDaGzWQ31pvN7
Morocco bug strikes back - was just hiding…
Still managed to see the ‘Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre’ horse performance. It was amazing. If you can teach horses to do the things they did, why can’t we teach children to tidy their rooms?
Spanish horses were highly prized by the aristocracy centuries ago - they were the Ferraris of the era. No horsewomen today….
Very hot arvo - stayed inside. Didn’t eat or drink today - trying to starve the bugs.
10/5/23
Visited Alcazar of Jerez - interesting.
Morocco - the memories will linger forever in our minds, hearts, and immune system.
We have left Morocco, but it hasn’t completely left us (however the killer T & B cells are winning).
Drove to Ronda. Views over the chasm are breathtaking. Our apartment is spectacularly located, with probably better views than the Parador. Jerez was quiet.
Ronda is awash with tourists - so many bus day-trippers, and corresponding shit restaurants to match.
Breaking the drought - bottle of Samsara ‘Samsara’ 2016 (Petite Verdot) - a Ronda area wine. Extremely good! Very Bordeaux-like. Had a few grams of super expensive Bellota Jamon - 140eu/kilo, with local goat cheese. Meal fit for a King. The Jamon was utterly incredible - intense, sweet, nutty, with phenomenal length. The fat melted away. Equivalent of top Wagyu. Cannot ever be vegetarian. There is a Bullring here.
Went to a classical guitar concert - Spanish musician, Spanish guitar, Spanish composers - was great.
11/5/23
Ronda 10-11/5/23, Bullring
https://photos.app.goo.gl/P6hJiAveZYkKCTis8
Ronda in the morning. Saw the Bullring - fascinating, and brought home how brutal the spectacle was. Good museum, showing the history of bull killing over millennia. It was a single purpose arena originally. The sand in it was a special variety that ‘drained blood well’. Hard to reconcile ‘macho’ status of bullfighters with their Liberace outfits.
Drove to Seville. Got lost 3 times trying to find the car park near the apartment. Had a GREAT coffee at Syra (finding the ‘Coffee Trip’ app dead reliable). They even have ‘flat white’ on the menu. Quiet night in with a nice local bottle and cheeses, courtesy of the very nice and knowledgable fellow at ‘Botellas y Latas’.
12/5/23
https://photos.app.goo.gl/4ZVxREoqui7HbhPs7
Seville full day. I got sick again - had to pull out of Cathedral visit & flamenco show. Not driving the porcelain bus, just Bristol Scale 7.
13/5/23 Seville - still crook. Did Alcazar visit in arvo. No food, just water - very fatigued.
14/5/23
https://photos.app.goo.gl/BN7VgDXuR4ch9JYe9
Drove to Cordoba. Walked around a little. Still crook - very fatigued. Ate a few crackers.
15/5/23 Still crook.
Visit to Mezquita in the morning. Stunning. Feeling better in the arvo, took a punt on Syrian chicken kebabs - no issues :) Cured?? Shokran Allah!
16/5/23
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Drove to Granada on N-432 via Zuheros, a pretty mountain village high on a slope, Interesting small museum of daily items used in village life over the last century or more. A particular Google review described it as ‘A guy spent his life collecting his neighbours junk’. Cruel, but essentially correct. It was very well laid out and interesting nonetheless. Very pretty drive through rich agricultural land.
Staying in the Alhambra complex at the Parador - accommodation whose foundations are a thousand years old. Fortunately, the wifi was more recent, as was the bathroom. Had dinner at the Parador - finally well enough to eat. Food was good, but not exceptional. Wine list small, mostly local, inexpensive, but tasty. You don’t need to spend a lot to drink well here. Grumpy, efficient, officious waitress.
17/5/23
Tour of Alhambra, Palace of Charles V (unfinished). Truly one of the world’s great buildings. Downloaded ‘Tales of the Alhambra’ to my iPhone. Dinner at Parador again. Suckling pig was outstanding. Grumpy waitress was smiley and friendly today. Treated us like family. Tut-tutted that we only ate 6 of 10 large Jamon croquettes in the entree (they weren’t small). The suckling pig tonight was exceptional. We ate a smaller percentage of main & dessert (serves were non-trivial). Only Americans could complain about serve size.
18/5/23
Moved to apartment in central Granada, in another ancient building, owned and renovated by an architect who lives in it. Taxi to the apartment (high on a hill in Granada, with great views) dropped us at the bottom of a long flight of steps (stairway to heaven?) - no cars could go near the apartment in the ‘old town’. We had 2 heavy bags.
I thought ‘Fuck, I didn’t research this bit very well…’.
Saw the Cathedral, Royal Chapel, and then the most extravagant church in the universe - Franco Cozzo gone mad at Basilica de San Juan de Dios. There was a skull of a saint there - a Catholic ‘relic’. One of the teeth was fake, not the original (see photo - the upper left incisor is not an upper left incisor). Has no dentist ever noticed this here before? Does this invalidate the relic? Should I inform the Vatican? Would they care? Have I uncovered a scandal? Fake relics??? Fabulous dinner at ‘Manigua Bar’ - best food in Spain so far. Michelin level cooking. Utterly outstanding, very cheap for what it was.
19/5/23
Croissants at Malamiga, which has arguably the best croissants in Spain, and better than most I have had in France - big call, but true. Went to Abadia del Sacromonte, a short bus trip from the city. Beautiful Abbey, with some interesting history, dating back to 1500s. Saw the famous ‘Lead (as in the metal) Books’, inscribed in Arabic, which have an interesting story. Viewed the Alhambra from the Mirador St Nicolas. Quiet dinner in apartment with sandwiches, salad, and J. Palacios ‘Petalos’ Bierzo 2021.
20/5/23
https://photos.app.goo.gl/B8pLFytTKCNtm7Wy5
Big day - train Granada to Barcelona, then pick up car (a manual Golf) & drive to Ca L’Amagat, high in the Pyrenees. Last day in Spain (but we will be briefly back soon). Alpine town, quite cool, weather pretty ordinary, rainy - can’t see the hills (: . Dinner at Ca L’Amagat. Simple, tasty local food. Had pig’s trotter - not quite like Donovan Cook does it….. Wine list very local. Regions I didn’t know existed.
21/5/23 Sun
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Drove into France, Chateau de Riell, a Relais & Chateau hotel - very nice, a bit of lux after some simple days. Six course degustation at the restaurant there, which is in the Michelin Guide. Rainy miserable day, couldn’t see the mountain peaks.
22/5/23 Mon
Very rainy miserable day - stayed inside mostly. Went to the village Mosset (‘un de les plus beaux villages de France’), where horses wandered the main road. Pleasant diversion.
23/5/23 Tues
https://photos.app.goo.gl/LD7NXqbEFdhiw86FA
Off to Tarascon sur Ariège - only chose here because of proximity to Cave Niaux, and my CBF research skills at the planning stage of the trip. This day was one of the highlights of the trip - saw the 16,000 year old cave paintings deep in the Cave Niaux. No photos allowed, alas. It was spectacular. Long walk into a totally non-touristy cave - no walkways, no lights, nothing. We had to carry a torch, guided by a young French archaeologist. Tarascon was a bit meh, just chosen as it was close to the caves. Another rainy crappy day. One of those towns where everything was shut on Tuesday. Had takeaway empanadas and arepas from a Venezuelan cafe (delicious), chatted with the daughter (with perfect American English) about how deadly Australia is (spiders, snakes, etc). Enjoyed with some local wine (bought from a small but very select wine shop run by a nice lady with no English, despite which we communicated perfectly about wine) at the very basic B&B, with great views from the 2nd floor window in the 5 minutes it wasn’t raining (and had a fabulous breakfast with homemade cakes and yoghurt).
24/5/23 Wed
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Off to Ausson. Visited Foix. Had a great coffee at Cafe Lihue. Toured the Foix castle (walk to the top of a steep hill…) and museum. Stayed at the large B&B of a Dutch couple in Ausson. They recommended a restaurant in Spain, 45 minutes drive away - we didn’t bother. Best wifi of anywhere I have ever stayed - nearly 500MB symmetrical. Spectacular view from our window would have happened if the rain stopped and clouds lifted, which it didn’t. Were almost overrun by very tiny red spiders in the garden where we ate takeaway (from the town, not Spain). We should have stayed in Foix last night, or tonight - you don’t have to drive to Spain for a good dinner if in Foix).
My rental Golf is a great car, but is annoying me a lot. It keeps telling me the key battery is nearly flat. I could just buy a new battery for a few euros, but I have drawn a stupid, senseless line in the sand that tells me it is Avis’ responsibility, not mine, so I will probably get stuck somewhere when it dies, and it will be my fault.
25/5/23 Thu
https://photos.app.goo.gl/9ZBqxBuUN78ruEGx6
Off to Argeles-Gazost - high in the Pyrenees. Very twisty roads, went over the Col d’Aspin. Gloomy day, rain, but occasional sun. Visited Bagneres de Bigorre - a pleasant spa town. Scenery on the road was great, but nowhere to stop for pics - a common problem on very narrow twisty mountain roads. Great drive, loved it, but some people don’t like corners. Dinner at the excellent ‘Au Fond du Gosier’ (does that translate as ‘down the throat’?). Superb 3 courses for 38euro. Had a local 100% Tannat wine - first time ever for that grape (might be the last - it was nice, but ‘Tannat’ is very ‘Tannic’).
26/5/23 Fri
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Drove to Cirque du Gavarnie, and did a long walk. Lot of uphill. Spectacular. Weather turned out reasonably OK. Well earned dinner at ‘Les Petits Pois Sont Rouges’ - another superb 3 courses for 38euro. Had a local white - 100% Petit Courbu - Chateau Bouscasse ‘Les Jardins Philosophiques’, another first. It was pretty good - I would buy it again.
The car is annoying me again - messages appear on the dash saying ‘take your foot off the accelerator’, and ‘stay in the middle of the lane’ (as I ignore the lane assist using all the road to increase the radius of the turn, to decrease G force and make the drive smoother…). I’m not joking - it really does that.
It’s almost like a passenger that doesn’t like narrow, windy roads has possessed the brain of the car…
27/5/23 Sat
https://photos.app.goo.gl/PxZFmthEQDaF8wu28
Drove to Pont d’Espagne, to see Lake Gaube. Weather good this morning as well (despite forecast of torrential rain and thunderstorms). It’s a strenuous, rocky, uphill hike (elevation gain of nearly 2 Rialto Towers) to get there, over a distance of nearly 3 k, which is just what I need, so I caught a chairlift up to a spot 20 minutes from the lake, and did a long steep downhill walk back - tough on knees and quads. Gravity is your friend to a point. Ate at the Gite - fabulous local unpasteurised cheeses, quiche, a Basque inspired veg & viande bake, and more local wine.
28/5/23 Sun
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Long drive over the Pyrenees to Spain -> Vielha. Lots of rain, very twisty mountain roads. Wanted to go over the Col de Tourmalet, but the weather there was very bad. Staying at Vielha Parador, with the best view from the restaurant that can be imagined in the Pyrenees (the rain cleared enough we could see mountains for a few minutes).
Dinner was authentic Valle d’Argan. Spectacularly delicious Jamon Bellota, then melting ‘Veal Jaw with Mushrooms’ stew, and Boar with Green Peppers. Waiter asked ‘Is all eating good?’.
My reply included words from Spanish, French, English, and a language that doesn’t exist, and I have no idea what I actually said, but I think he got the idea from the very clean plates he collected. It’s hard having spent time in France to switch from ‘bonjour’ to ‘hola’, and ‘deux noisettes’ to ‘dos cortados’, etc.
29/5/23 Mon
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Vielha to La Seu d’Urgell
Long, windy drive. Pyrenees are spectacular. Staying at the Parador. Has 8th century foundations. Wandered around town a bit.
30/5/23 Tue
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Enjoyed the market. Drove east to look at more mountains and villages. Drove into Andorra. Spectacular hills, but Andorra itself looks more like a heavily policed tax haven than anything else. Saw a HUGE Mercedes dealership, and lots of high end German cars. The locals don’t pay much tax. Had spectacular lunch at Restaurant Arbeletxe. Chef had spent a little time at El Bulli, and it rubbed off. This place should be mentioned in Michelin. Sleeping off lunch for the rest of the day.
31/5/23 Wed
Long drive from La Seu d’Urgell to Masia Can Canyes, near Montserrat, which we had a little look at. Seemed a bit Catholic Disneyland-ish. The Masia was beautiful accommodation - set in vineyards, with great views in every direction, including Montserrat. Atmospheric dining room, and delicious simple dinner, with a great local Grenache. Nice bookend to Spain part of the trip.
1/6/23 Thu
Drove from Masia Can Canyes to Barcelona - very heavy traffic. Train from Barcelona to Lyon. Nearly missed the connection at Montpellier, as lots of doors at the station were closed, and it took a long time to change platforms. Barely got on board in time!
Arrived late arvo, walked around a bit, then had best dinner of the trip at L’Etabli - mentioned in Michelin, and truly worthy of a star. Seven course degustation, with 4 amuse bouche before the start, and an extra one at the end - total of 12!!!
2/6/23 Fri
Busy day in Lyon. Funicular to the Basilica, enjoyed views, numerous museums. The Roman Lugdunum one was good, with many beautiful tiled floors. Art installation by broken glass artist at Fourviere. Saw the Cinema and Miniature museum. Lots of actual props from movies, and spectacular miniatures (see photos - they are all about a foot wide!). Surprisingly interesting.
Simple dinner at Cave Terroir - nice wine list, good terrine, very tiny serve of fromage. Found an interesting wine shop with zillions of wines I’d never heard of, and a very friendly lady running it.
3/6/23 Sat
Boat trip on Saone. 27 degrees - feels hotter than that - humid.
4/6/23 Sun
TGV to Paris again. Galleries Lafayette. Dinner at Freddy’s wine bar.
5/6/23 Mon
Canal St Martin. Shops.
Dinner at Ambos
6/6/23 Tue
Final walk in Paris. Flight to Melb via Dubai. Delayed on the plane by over 2 hrs due to traffic controllers strike. Missed connection in Dubai, so Emirates put us up for 5 hrs at the Marriott.
“Open your eyes wider” said the immigration policeman in Dubai (which is a country I hadn’t planned to enter, particularly when it was 36 degrees at 2am).
The facial scanner at the airport refused to accept that I was the person in my passport.
I thought ‘This could be a problem…’.
UAE was not a destination in this holiday, just meant to be a stopover of 2 hrs.