As all wonderful things must come to an end, Mr. Gray and I packed up our suitcases and headed for the Barcelona airport. AFRICA BOUND!

Full disclosure: Spain was really awesome, but we were really itching for some Marrakech action at this point in the trip.

Boarding our flight...

After a quick two hour flight we arrived! Thankfully navigating through customs and passport control was slightly easier than when we entered Spain. Mr. Gray tends to have problems with his colorful passport :)


This looks like what I would expect an African airport to look like


Thankfully, the airport is just a few miles from the city itself. Marrakech is divided into two parts, the Medina (or old city) and the Ville Nouvelle (new city). The cool stuff mainly lies in the Medina and our hotel was just inside the Ville Nouvelle and a quick walk to the wall that separates the two. We had a quick glass of tea, dropped off our luggage (upgraded to a suite!!) and headed out for the Medina.


Welcome tea at our hotel Entrance to the Medina

Like most third world countries, crossing the street as a pedestrian is a bit of an art form. Sometimes you need to just go for it and if it means bobbing in and out of traffic and weaving around cars, well that's just what you have to do! I quickly discovered that you are not safe once you cross the street and arrive safely on the sidewalk. As traffic laws seem to be rarely enforced and most people own motorbikes, it was not unusual to dive out of the way in the middle of the square or even in the windy narrow pathways of the souks to escape a motorist.

Once you are inside the Medina, the first thing to catch your eye is the magnificent Koutobia Mosque. Unfortunately there are only two Mosques in Morocco that will allow non-Muslims inside and neither of them are in Marrakech. We had to settle with admiring it from the outside.
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Koutobia Mosque

Next up is the Djemma al Fna. This is really the big draw for tourists visiting Marrakech. The Djemma is a full blown assault on your senses. Its loud, sometimes hot (it's Africa, after all), busy and there are so many things to catch your attention. There were snake charmers (REAL COBRAS!), monkeys on leashes doing backflips and crawling onto tourists shoulders for photo ops, water sellers banging metal cups, women doing henna designs on hands and feet... it literally went on and on. If you're not careful, you can be sucked in by each one of the locals trying to hoc their goods/services and take you for as much as they can. Mr. Gray has spent some time in the Middle East and we read enough on how to navigate the city (Lonely Planet is a must) that we were able to take it all in without too much difficulty or loss of dirham.

It was announced yesterday that the Djemma al Fna in Marrakech was hit with a deadly terrorist attack (possibly suicide bomb) that killed 14. Mr. Gray and I talked extensively about those possibilities when we were there, as most of the North African countries have been in a state of turmoil the last few months. There was some hesitancy regarding our honeymoon plans (mostly from concerned parents), but I'm glad that we still went. There was never a moment we didn't feel safe and although the cafe hit with the bomb was one we passed a few times a day, we never ate there (it was discussed once).

The Argana cafe is a famous one due to its location in the Djemma and the beautiful views it offers from the second and third floors. I don't believe it was a coincidence these were the floors that sustained most of the damage as this is where the seated section of the restaurant is located. The first is primarily an ice cream and tea shop.



Daily Mail


I can't emphasize enough that I do not regret sticking to our travel plans. I know that is easy for me to say, missing the attack by three weeks, but know that even so this will probably give me nightmares. To date, no group has claimed responsibility so I won't bother to speculate. I'm not an expert on the country or even the field. Even though it is clear that Islam is important part of everyday life, the religion is not to blame. Its really disheartening as every experience we had with local Moroccans was positive and this will hurt them significantly in the long run. Tourism is the main industry in Marrakech, and scaring away visitors will devastate the livelihoods of so many.


Nighttime photo of the Djemma al Fna

 More on our trip to come!

Barcelona is wonderful, but four days is more than enough time to take it all in. As Mr. Gray and I are two individuals that constantly crave adventure, we needed something to help break up the days.


Shortly before our trip, stumbled upon the tour company Catalunya Bus Turístic (courtesy of Viator). We signed up for a full day exploring the mountain and monastery of Montserrat and the beach town of Sitges. Neither of us were interested in fully guided (boring) tours and were sold on the "partially guided" section of the description. Sure, we probably miss all sorts of interesting and likely useless information that will be forgotten quickly with out a babysitter typical tour guide, but being able to wander and experience on our own terms is ideal. 


If you find yourself in Barcelona, this is a pretty good way to spend your time. The tour company specializes in Catalonian culture and their customer service was impressive. I understand that, as an American, my standard of customer service falls somewhere in the "high maintenance" category most places outside the states. That being said, I try to have low to no expectations when it comes to travel, because it isn't fair to assume others will adopt American service ideals just for my benefit. From the beginning, our guide was attentive, informative and friendly without being intrusive. He also spoke in both English and Spanish even though only ONE person on the bus was not fully fluent in English. This blew me away. Was it the right thing to do? Of course. Would most people speak twice as much for one person's benefit? I doubt it. He also made a point to quickly chat with everyone on the bus after the day was done on the ride home to gauge what we liked, didn't like, etc. We were so impressed that we bought a second tour for later in the week to explore the Market and Culture of Vic.


Montserrat


These beautiful mountains are the home to the Benedictine abbey, Santa Maria de Montserrat. After a quick orientation following our train ride up the mountain, we were free to explore the museum, Basilica and Holy Grotto.












Vic


A few days later we set out for the Catalonian city of Vic. This town dates back to the 9th Century and is home to an outdoor market that has been held twice a week since the Vic was founded. It is also home to the Episcopal See.

An an American, I'm not all that exceptional. I don't have "traditional" nor and "exotic" heritage. I assume that the fascination I hold in my ethnic background will not interest anyone else. That being said, indulge me for a moment...

I'm something around a quarter Spanish. Basque to be precise. My Great Grandfather came to the US to be a missionary and my Grandfather's generation was the last to speak Castellano. What this has given me (beyond half my mail in the wrong language) is a desire to visit the land of my paternal ancestors. When Mr. Gray and I had to come up with an alternative honeymoon plan when Istanbul and Beirut was starting to look like not the best idea, Spain easily won out.

As I mentioned before, my last international trip (besides visit our friends South of the Border) was 15 years ago. Then as a teen I explored London, Paris, Munich and Interlaken. Despite this I was taken back by how much Barcelona reminded me of the cities I visited so long ago. I suppose it shouldn't be all that suprising in the age of the EU that major European cities would seem so similar.


Mr. Gray and I made good use of our few days in the Catalonian capital. Barcelona is a wonderful walking city and we did a lot of that! We tried to stay away from the typical tourist spots and ate in small pastry shops in the morning and corner cafes at night.




Breakfast of Champions


The first morning, after landing too early to check into the hotel, we walked up to the Olympic village nearby, explored the surrounding gardens of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, and visited the Montjuïc Castle.

Olympic Village

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

Montjuïc Castle

We even made it to La Rambla a few times!

Font de Canaletes

Most importantly, we explored the exquisitely unfinished Goliath that is the Sagrada de Familia. Do not miss this! Its crowded and costs €12.50, buts ist a masterpiece in the making. Mr. Gray and I talked about returning to Barcelona when it is finished (sometime between 2020 and 2040) with our families. Even after the attack on the sacristy yesterday, the Sagrada is simply too magnificent to skip.

Unbelieveable detail



This is going to take another 30 years?





Model of completed project. White sections have yet to be completed.



Honeymooners. Laying on the beach gazing into each others eyes. Catching up on sleep missed during the insanity that is wedding planning. Learning what it means to be married.

Not content with traditional honeymoon itineraries (are you surprised?) Mr. Gray and I did not spend our time doing any of the above. At one point in my life, the idea of relaxing at an exotic resort probably sounded perfect. But then I met Mr. Gray. Let's just say that our lives are more of the adventure vacation variety. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

I fly a lot. No quite Ryan Bingham status, but I feel comfortable saying I travel more than the average person. Between business meetings, conferences and visiting family (and three of the five weddings this year still to go), I'd say I average about 8-10 round trips a year. Add a few transfers, delays and cancellations, that can get as high as 30 flights. Thirty national flights per year. The last time I hopped on an international flight, Clinton was still president and the House of Windsor was finalizing a divorce.

I wasn't sure what to expect when we grabbed our connecting flight from Reagan to JFK. We certainly weren't off to a good start when we sat on the tarmac for an extra 30 minutes waiting for DC air travel to be cleared once Marine One landed at the White House. This is pretty typical for Washington and exactly why I do all my business travel out of BWI. As our transatlantic flight from JFK to Barcelona was leaving shortly after our flight from DCA was scheduled to land, we had a short window of time to navigate an airport neither of us was familiar with.

The fact that JFK is a major airline hub is appalling. Like many airports, JFK has multiple terminals that likely were added as demand increased. Dulles and Dallas, two airports that I am familiar with for international travel, both have efficient ways of connecting travelers to connecting flights in different terminals. Even before Dulles had its new rail system, it's old "people movers" ran on a consistent schedule and locating the next departure time was easy. For a major hub like JFK to lack this basic service is an embarrassment.

After getting to our flight (just in time) despite having to run across one terminal, we quickly settled into our seats. I had very little expectations regarding entertainment on our eight hour flight. With the airline industry charging for everything, I fully expected to read or sleep (ambitious I know). This flight was amazing! We had 10-15 decent movies to choose from (some not even on DVD yet) and multiple shows and music options. The food was surprisingly good. Beer and wine were complimentary. They know how to make a girl's day! This adventure honeymoon was getting off to a pretty good start.

See you in Catalonia!