Salaam Alaikum from Marrakech - Semana Santa Vacation

So Semana Sancta was fast approaching and I had decided on the idea of trying to get out of town for a few days during this time. I was informed on several occasions that it is one of Sevilla's busiest tourist weeks. A city of just under a million is told to swell to more than double its population for one week kinda made me want to get out for a bit. Although, I did manage to get back to see some of the processions that went on all week, but more of that in the next post. 

For a few weeks now I had really been looking forward to travelling back to Morocco, and going even more south towards Marrakech. This trip however, I took another familiar face along. A colleague, turned friend, that I worked at Parliament with last year, Brooke, decided to pay me a visit. Her study break studying in England coincided well with Semana Sancta, and we made our way off towards Tarifa to catch the ferry across to Morocco. Dominic, at the last minute, decided that he wanted to join. My good friend, and also local english teacher, made this adventure a party! Things were already shaping up to be a great experience. 

Before even getting to Tarifa, and the ferry, we made our way to Gibraltar to play a Gaelic football tournament. Yes, you heard that right. While living in Seville, I managed to join a Gaelic football team full of Irish blokes. It also was as fun as you think it was. I managed to play a purely Irish sport on a British Overseas Territory, in southern Spain. 

The team under the rock of Gibraltar (I'm third from the right, second row).

The actual tournament was also a lot of fun. We played two games. One against Marbella, and the other against Gibraltar. We gave Gibraltar their only loss of the season, but also lost against Marbella, so it was a pretty successful afternoon!

After getting to the ferry in the late afternoon, we were off and headed towards Tangier. Once arriving we quickly made our way to the train station to pick up our night train tickets to Marrakech. This was an 8 hour train, although we did buy tickets in the sleeper car. The bunk bed allowed us some comfort, but it was really deceiving because there was no way I was getting any sleep on a train sleeper car headed towards Marrakech.

After getting a good 2 hours of total sleep, we were dropped off at the newly renovated train station and made our way towards the hostel the we stayed in for a few nights. 

The pool deck of the hostel I stayed at (and only 12euro a night!!!)

After arriving, we wasted no time getting out in public and experiencing everything this bustling city had to offer. After stepping out in the mayhem, that is Marrakech, you can really notice how some people really love Marrakech, and some people hate it. I think I fall more on the love spectrum of the city, but in small doses. It was unreal feeling part of the bustle of the souks (outdoor markets) and the main square (Jemaa el-Fna Square). The colours really were overwhelming. Seeing brightly coloured clothing hanging from everywhere, and the smell of fresh fruits and tajine made my senses work in overdrive.

An olive, and spice stand in the maze of souks. 

I did really enjoy just walking around the markets and seeing everything that was being sold in the stands. However, I not the kind of person who responds to pressure sales, so that part did really go down for me. If I am looking at something, it is not a given that I will buy it, so stop shoving it in my face. I respect the fact that this is how business is done in Morocco, so I went along with a bit, but not my favourite thing in the world for sure. If I had more of a budget, the shop owners would have a lot more of my money, but I managed to stick with it and get away with mainly just food purchases. Always smart investments I think.

As night was beginning to fall upon us, the main square started turning in something completely different. The orange stands cleared out and the tent restaurants started setting up shop and yelling at people to come and eat their couscous and chicken, in every language you can think of. It actually greatly surprised me in how many languages these savvy Moroccan guys could lead you into their particular restaurant. We were however treated to a fantastic meal of beef tajine, and freshly BBQd kebabs. Some people tell you to stay away, but we as a group were adventurous and decided that street food was the best way to taste the real Moroccan food.  It was extremely filling, and very cheap as well. We were eating like kings on a student budget, success!!

The hustle of Jemaa el-Fna Square never stops!

Brooke excited for her tajine at the market restaurant. 

After walking around in the square that doesn't seem to slow down, we made our way back to the hostel to try and get some sleep to catch up for the sleep we had missed on the train.

A stunning picture of the size of the Ben Youssef Medrasa. 

Don't mind Dominic and I, I really just like the tile in this picture. 

The next morning we made our way towards the leather tanneries to take in the refreshing smells and more sales pitches. All smells and pressure tactics aside, it was interesting learning about hands on the leather process is. Afterwards we made our way towards the Ben Youssef Madrasa, to see some traditional architecture. This age old learning facility was hidden right in the middle of the market, but we managed to make it there and take in the amazing tile and plaster work that was adorning the Medrasa. Very similar in style to the Real Alcazar in Seville, but still really interesting to visit and wander for a few hours. There were a lot of doors that we decided to explore, and it was really fun seeing where it all lead to. We also managed to visit one of the most amazing gardens I have seen in my life (Jardin Majorelle). The diversity of plants, and massive cacti was just amazing.

The gorgeous blue house in Jardin Majorelle. 

After getting sufficiently lost in the narrow streets, we decided to head home to get an early night. The next day we were to start our Sahara Desert adventure. We told to be ready for a 7am pick-up. Fun stuff lay ahead of us for sure.

A shot of the action at the leather tanneries. 

Brooke, Dominic, and I in Ait Benhaddou

The initial day of our 3 day desert adventure was to take a 10 hour drive, with various stops along the way. Most of the stops were views from the top of the Atlas mountains. Don't get me wrong, I will never forget the splendour of these views, but it didn't fully make up for the cramped space I had to endure all day at the back of a small bus/van.  My favourite stop was in Ait Benhaddou, which was a small town made completely out of mud houses built into the side of a mountain. It has recently just become a movie shooting location (Gladiator), with just a few families still living there maintaining the historical significance of the town.
We reached our accommodations for the night later in the evening. After settling in, it was time for dinner and listening to traditional Berber drumming. Pretty interesting, but just happy to be out of the cramped van.

One of the many view stops we made. Tourist picture taking 101. 

The following day proved to be another long day of travelling broken up by stops along the way. I was extremely content however, when we started to see sand dunes off in the distance. Pretty exhilarating feeling as you start driving towards these massive mountains of sand.

Upon arrival it was time to pick up out camels and make our way towards the desert camp for the night. It was quite an experience riding on a camel in the desert. With the sun beating down on me, and nothing but sand in sight, I was experiencing something entirely new.

Camel riding with my awesome sun protection!

My favourite part of that night was making our way up the massive sand dune (only stopped once to take in the view) to take in the sunset. Taking this sunset in was something pretty unforgettable. Especially taking it in with good friends, and the new friends I had made on the trip. 

Not a bad sunset at all. 

The shadows that the end of the sunset made were made for a cool picture. 

After making out way down the sand mountain, we ate our tajine that was prepared for us and made our way to bed. A few of us even decided to get some sleep in outside around the camp fire and look up at the stars before falling asleep. This was a completely surreal moment. The fatigue that had come over me was making it really hard to take in the moment however.

Fitting in real well after arriving at the desert camp. 

As fast as it began, it was already time to wake up from a night under the stars and make our way back to the party bus. The ride back from the desert camp was as amazing as the the night before, however this time the sun was rising with a fresh breeze coming over the sand dunes. Other than grumbling in my stomach for breakfast, I felt like I was experiencing one of those, "I won't forget this moment," moments.

A bit of what the sunrise looked like heading back to the van.

After successfully docking the camels at the base just outside of the dunes it was breakfast time and then back onto the bus. Moroccan tea is 100x better than the coffee they serve. Just thought that was an important point to include.

The bus, once again, was really long. This time it was direct from the desert camp in south eastern Morocco all the way back to Marrakech. Travelling through the mountains again provided some amazing views, but still didn't quite make up for the 7 hour bus ride.

After some restless naps and countless pee stops we finally arrived back in Marrakech. Unfortunately this trip was just the first stop on our massive voyage back to Seville.

The bus dropped us off right at the train station and we had planned to take the night train back to Tangier in order to catch the ferry back to Spain. This all worked out, however, there were no more bunk beds left and we were forced to sleep in second class, where there was no A/C and the seats were worse than plastic bus benches. Needless to say I got no sleep. I also had a Moroccan man try to intimate me by flexing his stick-like arms while I was trying to sleep. He was wearing a very cheesy muscle shirt and looked like he had perfected his flexing look for some time now. Other than a bit of a laugh, it did nothing for me.

Upon arriving in Tangier we took a taxi straight to the ferry port and made our way back to the land of the Spanish. The plans from this point went very smoothly and we got home safe and sound. Once we got home we were immediately welcomed what was the last few days of Semana Sancta. I will tell you all about it and share some photos in the next post.

That's all for now folks. Before I go, enjoy some of my favourite photos below from my adventures in Morocco.

Who says shopping in Marrakech can't be fun. 

My travelling buddy who bought the jalabiya in Marrakech. To bad I forgot to bring the one I bought on my first trip to Morocco. 

The artistic side in Brooke. Just shows how much fun one can have in the utter chaos of the night market in Marrakech

A view of the Dade's Gorge that we visited on the way to the desert. 

Dia duit ó Éirinn! - Hello from Ireland!

After the excitement of the holidays had died down, and my sleeping routine restored, it was already time to prepare for the arrival of Jessica, and the adventure I have been preparing in anxious anticipation to put into action.

The first part of the trip was getting to Madrid and awaiting the arrival of my youngest sister and her highly touted boyfriend, who among other promising qualities, was said to have similar hair length to Jessica. In any case, I decided to take the overnight bus to meet them at the airport upon their red-eye flight arrivals. I figured it would be fun to take a 6 hour bus ride and get some good well deserved rest on the bus. Nope. 

Upon arriving at the airport, I now had about 3 hours to kill until JP's flight arrived. Got some good reading done between resting my eyelids every fifteen minutes. Once JP arrived we started the painful task of the preliminary interrogation. I made sure to keep my barber scissors close incase the rumours were true. After sitting down and getting to know JP, I was refreshed by how normal he seemed. He did have an unnecessary fixation to this ring he kept saying was the one to rule them all. After winning the argument with JP about the number of uppercase Xs on the 'Lord of the Rings' ring, Jessica's flight was landing and we dropped the subject in order to greet Jessica properly. 

With the group now at three we were discussing our plans for the week ahead, while heading towards the hostel in Madrid. The plan was to spend a night in Madrid and make our way back to Seville. 

Now normally after taking a transatlantic flight for 8 hours it is normal to take a night nap to try and adjust for the time change. That isn't how we did it. 

Enjoying this foreign thing called sunlight, in Retiro Park (Madrid)

Promptly after arriving to the hostel we changed our things and got out and saw as much of the city as possible. Speed sightseeing is now an art that we have perfected. 

Me too! 

After Retiro Parka and several other sights, we made our way towards the Athletico Madrid game we had tickets to. A trip to Spain is never complete without seeing a display of the beautiful game. I'm certain that it is just Spanish brainwashing, but I really enjoy being part of the craziness that calls itself the Spanish Football League. What a game. We saw lots of goals and enjoyed the game thoroughly.

The following day,  we were on the train back towards Sevilla to get some work done before heading to Dublin. Work passed surprisingly quickly. Getting to Wednesday felt like nothing. It must be because of my diligent and proactive planning.... or that my sister was in town. During this time however, JP and Jessica took in the sun while seeing the sights and history of Sevilla. After class I showed them around and made them stand in front of cool things around the city.

After completing my school day on Wednesday, we packed up and made haste towards the train station to catch the afternoon train to Madrid. A kid kept looking at me while I was trying to nap. Trains are a lot of fun though.

Plaza España from a different angle.

Plaza España. These two wouldn't get out of my awesome picture. 

The plane trip was quite cramped, but at least we were going to Dublin. So I was able to live with my knees touching my face for two hours.

The next morning we decided that taking things slow just wasn't going to happen, and made our way towards Kilmainham Gaol (jail) first thing after breakfast (meh on the free breakfast). I can't confirm how Jessica and JP felt, but I had an amazing time touring this historic place while taking in a guided tour. It was however difficult not to ask questions at every stop. I miss being a guide and I know how much a good question can be fun to answer, if you know your stuff, and this guide knew his stuff back and front. I really did enjoy learning about this part of important Irish Independence history. 

The front facade of Kilmainham Jail. 

Mandatory St. James Gate picture. 

After sufficiently reading all the displays the museum had to offer, it was time to hit one of the stops I had really been looking forward too. We had our Guinness checkup scheduled for noon and made it just in time. I really didn't want to be late for this appointment. The brewery tour was a lot of fun and I think just being in the building made it worth it to me. At the end of the tour we were treated to a tasting tutorial, which seemed a little cheesy, but it actually was a lot of fun feeling snobby with Guinness. Then came the tutorial on how to properly pour a pint of the black stuff. I can now say I am a certified Guinness pouring expert. Yes, it is already on my CV.

The new experts!

Just outside the Guinness factory as well!!

Next was to the Jameson distillery to enjoy another rich and well made tour. Fun all around and the Jameson tasting was also a treat. I'm an expert at that now too.

Jameson tasting room.

Temple bar was the next stop. Fun place, although packed with people all day. The 8euro Irish coffee was pricey, but tasted fantastic.

The famous Temple Bar. 

"This is how Coffee should be." -JP
"I like turtles." -Jessica

The following day we decided it would be nice to see what the Irish countryside looked like. Took the train about an hour outside of Dublin, and it actually wasn't raining! It turned out to be a gorgeous day, and made the hike that much nicer. Walking down the beach was amazing as well. A little colder than I was used to while walking on a beach, but still memorable. It was great just being able to walk all three of us together with little to no one else on the beach with us. It was the small and simple moments, like picking up shells and rocks on the beach, that made this trip so memorable for me. These little parts that seem insignificant, really help put a smile on my face when asked if I enjoyed the time with my sister.

I told her not to swim on the rocks, but she didn't listen. 

After we returned back to our hostel, we decided to head out and have a pub night in order to enjoy some good food and great irish music. We stopped in at a pub called the Celt. To make a long story short, it was really the highlight of my trip. Being able to sit in a pub, eat irish stew, and listen to classic irish songs was something I dreamed about. Being able to experience it with Jessica and JP made it even better. There were really no better people to share that moment with. The food was great, and just before leaving I was able to request Finnegan's wake. It was the perfect way to finish my Guinness and head to bed for my last night in Dublin. 

I really don't want to make my sister's ego grow bigger than it already is, but she really was the difference maker for me on this trip. I was hesitant about having my sister and her boyfriend come down and spend a week travelling with me, but it really worked out better than I thought. After returning back to Madrid and sending my sister off to Canada at 4am, I had a hard time looking back and saying goodbye. I knew it wasn't goodbye for long, but after a trip like this I really didn't want to have to say goodbye at all. It was truly a privilege to have someone I love come with me to a place I have been dreaming about for years. Without her, I don't think what I was dreaming about would have come true.

And that's all folks!