Places I’ve Been: Fes, Morocco.

Bab Bou Jeloud, The Blue Gate

Morocco was probably one of the most overwhelming places I have been, I mostly remember it as a whirlwind of color, sound, smells, Arabic, French, and bottled water. We paid to sleep on roofs on rented mats under questionable blankets, we wandered the Medina’s with no plan and no understanding of the language…it was a real adventure.

On the plane we met a German who had a guide book and was willing to travel with us for a bit, with his help (basic knowledge of French) he got the taxi driver to drive us from the airport to the gate of the Medina, we ended up sleeping in a Hostel just inside the gate.

We woke up to the sound of the call to prayer (I wasn’t kidding about the roof)…

…and the sounds of the street vendors morning routines.

Street Life.

I only took my DSLR camera with a fish eye lens with me because I wanted to capture as much as I could as quickly as possible, I didn’t wan to be waving my big camera around making people uncomfortable or making myself more conspicuous as a red headed woman wearing pants and a t-shirt (I wore a pashmina around my neck the entire time).

An eight year old boy tried to hustle us on this roof after we made the mistake of wandering into a rug market.

Chouara Tannery is an 11th century tannery that is still in operation.

Day View from our roof.

Night View.

When I first moved to Germany my Mom asked that I didn’t go to Africa while I was there….Morocco was the first trip I booked when I had a chance to start travelling and I regret nothing. I would never trade the experiences I had in Morocco but If I were to do it again I would most definitely make a plan and do a little more research….and if you are a female planning on travelling to Morocco to wander the old Medina’s I would most definitely go with a man or at least two other women…it is not the most comfortable place for a single (or even two) woman who don’t blend in. [Most people are wonderful, but it’s the small percentage of people who decide that they don’t want to leave you alone that make it uncomfortable.]

TBT: Apple Picking

Back in October my family and I went out to New Jersey for my nephew’s baptism, on one of the days we were out there my sister, brother, brother in law, nephew, aunt and dog in law drove out to Warwick, New York for some apple picking.

I’m not real gung-ho about getting within 10 feet of a baby but I made an exception for this guy.

Places I’ve Been: Ireland.

Ireland (Éire)
April 2011

In April 2011, I met my friend Kailey in Dublin, Ireland. I had only been at the hostel (after getting lost and taking bad directions from some random guy on the street) for a an hour or so before we (Kailey had some options) started planning out our Ireland adventure. We settled on a bus tour from Dublin to Galway. It was a wonderfully sunny couple of days and all of the pale red headed people were out en masse with ALL of the SPF.

Every mile or so there is an old stone castle circa: a long time ago.

I fed a lamb.

Moos.

Stone walls everywhere.

Poulnabrone Dolmen Megalithic Tomb.

Majestic Cliffs of Moher.

A castle and Dublin.

Galway.

Galway.

Dublin.

Kailey and I avoided the fee to go inside Christ Church Cathedral by attending Mass.

Sightseeing: Catalina Hike

As I’ve mentioned in my other two Catalina post I went hiking…I walked up a mountain, made it to the top, and walked back down. The way up was 100% uphill the ENTIRE time and then it was a crazy rocky dangerzone path on the way down…and I hiked it. In my book an actual real live hike is a big deal because I’m not a hiker by any stretch; a nice walk or an easy jaunt in the mountains is something I can do, but hiking and I are not known to cross paths (side note: I was once told to my face that I “wasn’t very outdoorsy”). This post is proof that I was indeed, at least for a day, outdoorsy.

We took the Botanic Garden Path to the Sky Hike Trail.

Wrigley’s former tomb.

1.2 miles UPHILL.

WE MADE IT!

The view of San Clemente Island on one side.

The intrepid hikers.

View of Avalon, the cruise ship, and Long Beach on the other side.

I’m only smiling because I don’t know about the impending sore muscles.

So outdoorsy.

Places I’ve Been: Catalina Pt. 2

Welcome to part 2 of my grand Catalina post. Like I said the other day we spent a majority of our time in the bustling metropolis of Avalon. The weather was perfect, despite having to outrun a winter storm to get to the island, but we got the clear days where you could see straight to the mountains on the main land….ugh take me back.

Big city life.

Our chariot arrived via the sky.

Via Casino Way to the Casino…all of the childhood memories.

Catalina Tile.

I want vacation forever.

Places I’ve Been: Catalina Pt. 1

I took a mini-vacation to Catalina Island with my man last week, I didn’t want to come back mostly because not working > working. We spent most of our time in the “big city” of Avalon relaxing, hiking, eating, and dodging golf carts.

This is part 1 of my grand Catalina post.

Oh hi.

The view of Avalon from the 6th floor deck of our hotel.

The Hotel St. Lauren, the curb appeal is crazy but the accommodations are far from plush.

Night time golf cart watching.

Probably a reincarnation of Frank Sinatra.

Golden hour on the hills.

Waterfront.

Fishies.

Casino.

My sister got married outside this beauty.

Sightseeing: From the Sky

I am very lucky in that my father is a pilot and I have the ability to fly with him pretty much whenever I want. These opportunities to fly give me a perspective that not many other people have, in fact my parents have built a business from it and my mother makes art from it.

These shots were taken to and from my mini-vacation to Catalina (more on that later this week).

Downtown LA looking so fresh.

Mini Carnival.

Rose Hills looking to Mt. Baldy with fresh snow from our winter storm.

A gloomy looking Los Angeles.

Cotton candy clouds.

The West Coast ports have been crazy backed up after a recent shutdown.

Lego blocks of commerce.

Calm day on Catalina.

Avalon looking like a postcard.

(All these photographs were taken by yours truly, no Google image search here)

Sightseeing: Pasadena City Hall.

Since I spend so much time in Old Town Pasadena I figured I’d start playing tourist on my own town. Pasadena City Hall, located on N. Garfield Ave in Pasadena is not only an architectural beauty but it also served as the fake home of Leslie Knope on Park and Recreation.

How do you play tourist in your hometown?

Sightseeing: LA Arboretum.

I have a year pass to the LA Arboretum and I plan on using it.

The Aloe is blooming.

Sightseeing: Murphy Ranch.

Last weekend I went on a hike with a friend to Murphy Ranch…which according to the internet and this LA Times Article
it was the former “utopia” for LA based Nazi sympathizers in the 1930s. It is a crazy place full of crumbling ruins of old buildings and water towers all covered in layers and layers of spray paint.

If you want to see it for yourself check out how to get there via Atlas Obscura.