"Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?"

Well I was extremely intimidated to write this entry as so much has happened since my last few weeks have truly been extraordinary. I have traveled so much and have seen things that were simply magical. We have been on our "spring break" here and with nothing but a strong spirit of adventure we made the decision that it would be best to go to Morocco. Naturally. Spring break wooo!!

I can't even attempt to document my journey and travels there as I don't even know where to start. Sometimes even I am at a loss for words. But I hear that a picture is worth a thousand words so I think these are enough to make me rich.


February 14th-16th: Fez

Beautiful mosques in Fez that date back to the 12th century.

Labyrinthstreets circled through the Medina.

Moroccan handicrafts.

Moroccan rugs. Sell for about $5,000 in the states.

The ancient Medina. Never mind the satellites.

First meal in Fez. Below is just the appetizers.

In the spirit of St. Valentine.

The tannery where leather is made. Animals skins hang EVERYWHERE.
Grossest thing I've ever seen in my life.

February 16th: Rabat

The Casbah walls outside Rabat.

Rabat Mosque.

February 17th-19th: The Sahara Desert. I know, pretty badass.

Sunrise from our hotel.

Domestic pets.

Our guide, Ahmed, who lead us deep into the Sahara.

On the way to the campsite via camel. We were singing Bohemian Rhapsody.

Camping!

Desert food. DELICIOUS.

Sunrise.

After Morocco, we spent a few days in Spain partying it up in true spring break style. I got to see Fi and Bri and Rachel which was so nice. They definitely showed me an amazing time. So nice to see a familiar face.


That's all folks!

Oh geography is going to get the best of me.

Please pardon this sad sad excuse for an entry, but I've been super busy and there seems to be no signs of slowing down. In the past three weeks, I've been to three countries and will have three more under my belt before I write again. It's a bit ridiculous but I'm not complaining. Last last weekend I enjoyed the comforts of being in my home away from home in Galway again. I spent the weekend doing the things I enjoy most- sharing a glass of wine (or two, three, or four, or maybe even a bottle each) and good company. In my book, nothing in life is better. Esther and I watched our usual trash television with a warm fire while outside a blanket of picture perfect snow covered the country. I was pretty sick the whole weekend, for reasons that would be obvious to some, so it was nice to have a quiet weekend. We even managed a game or two of bowling at City Limits. weekend passed quickly, and I was back in good old Antibes before I knew it.

she comes in colors.

Two days later Felicia and I left for a Parisienne weekend getaway. We were hosted by Pierre and Monique, two of my papa’s friends that he met in Poland a few years back. They were kind enough to let us stay with them and were probably the cutest little old couple I’ve ever seen in my life. Every morning, Pierre, a notable scienist by day and culinary connoisseur by night, made us fresh squeezed jus d’orange. I was worried that I wouldn’t get my strict two-oranges-a-day fix while gone, but this put my worries at ease. As we sat each morning drinking our juice, Pierre shared memories of him and my father enjoying, what seemed to be rather frequently, various types of Polish beer. After our petit dejeuner we maneuvered through the maze of a city in two days flat to frequent every major Parisian tourist attraction known to mankind. Eiffel Tower: check! Arc de Triomphe et Champs Elysées: check and check. Île de la Cité (wine and cheese picnic in hand): check. We did it in style. Notre Dame, Jardins du Luxembourg, Le Louvre: check check check check check check check. Et cetera. My camera died approximately twelve minutes after my arrival in Paris, which really hindered me from taking the 2394830583 pictures I was hoping for. It was all good though. I actually got a chance to see, not worried about whether or not I got a good photograph. I did manage a few of Latin Quartier street art, which was good enough.

The only photos I have of Paris.

So in two days, we covered massive ground space, thanks to the Paris metro system which I definitely had a mad affair with, using and abusing it through all hours of the day and night.

what a beaut.

The metro map now graces my barren white walls next to my bed. Its really really beautiful. Tomorrow marks the start of spring break and our flight to Morocco. We will be there for 5 days. Spain for 4. And then everything else is a big question mark. We don't really have a way home yet, but its cool. We'll see what happens. I won't get to write for a long time, which you are all probably used to so no big deal.

Until next time my friends.

Oh P.S. Happy Valentine's day.

Oh and Natalia if you read this, I can't stop listening to Thao!

A whole generation with a new explanation; people in motion, people in motion.

I've been checking Kim's blog daily to see exactly how much I suck at doing this. And I've reached my limit and am feeling sufficiently awful about myself so its time for an update! January basically passed me by before I even got a chance to get used to writing 08 on my homework, which granted, I am not doing a lot of, but still. School is no joke though. Classes are minimum three hours long and I have basically two a day so that means I'm in school quite a lot. And you're only allowed two absences a semester so that means I actually AM in school a lot. I only have classes Monday-Wednesday though, which is very very conducive for travel. When I'm not hitting the books, exploration is my top most priority.

Since my last post, my travels have closely resembled those of Miss Luong's. Friday a few of us braved what was quite possibly the scariest bus ride of our lives to the small medieval village of Eze for no real reason at all. What happens here is you just plan to meet at the train staions or bus depot and just get on see where it takes you. After a rather lengthy and awkward encounter with the bus driver we discovered we were in for a real treat. Eze was home to an amazing medieval fort and also "Les Jardins Exotiques." I had heard about these gardens in passing and how they are just absolutely beautiful and the plants are amazing and whatnot. The gardens were in fact, absolutely beautiful. But exotic? Meh. The only plants I saw were cacti. I come from the desert, you know? I was more impressed with the sculptures. Absolutely brilliant. The view (as always) was magical.


Saturday we spend the day living the high life in Monaco. Bus driver said to me in very broken English, "Monaco is bling bling!" How could we resist? With the weather on our side, we hurried there the very next morning. We visited the original Monte Carlo casino and enjoyed the real deal while the one across the ocean was aflame.
The place is ridiculous. Monaco in its entirety is 2 square kilometers. The WHOLE country. 2 kilometers. Its super clean and really fancy and absolutely beautiful. Our friend was right; Monaco just screams money. See examples below.


We also saw La Musee de l'Oceanographie which is pretty self explanatory, but it was extremely gnarly and probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen in my life. So cool in fact, that it was under the direction of Jacques Cousteau for like 20 years!

What followed was a nice leisurely and sophisticated lunch at Fredy's. All in all it was a fabulous day and a really great place, but to be completely honest it kind of creeps me out. It's fabulous for vacationing and indulging, but otherwise its really something else. Monaco has a 0% crime rate and a bajillion surveillance cameras EVERYWHERE. Every corner of the country. That's a bit strange, no? I don't know. I suppose I'm just not one for safety.

Other than that, busyness as usual. Hope all is wonderful.

XOXO