Woke up in Spain this morning

Yesterday afternoon we left Rabat to spend a few days in Seville, Spain.

This involves about a three hour drive to Tangier on the Straights of Gibraltar.

Houses crawling up the side of a hill

The boy (not really a boy, but I'm his mother and he'll always be a boy to me) had a short meeting, which gave us a chance to walk around town a bit.

The train station

McDo. Love the Moroccan design

 Meeting over, we drove to the port to board the ferry to Tarifa, Spain. Note:  Tarifa is where the word tariff comes from.

Ferry coming in to port

I also wanted to take a picture of the huge rig that scans the cars and contents--minus people.  Think airport scanner big enough to scan a line of 5 or 6 cars, including busses.  However, the very nice security guy told me that wasn't allowed.  No argument from this girl.

I opted for a view of the harbor.

The medina of Tangier

Then we boarded and were off. (Caution:  this is noisy.  And don't fall overboard!)

The trip across the Straights only takes about half an hour.  Plenty of time to eat a snack and take pictures.  It also makes for a nice break from driving.

One of the Pillars of Hercules.
The other is the Rock of Gibraltar

It was early evening and hazy so the pictures aren't as clear as on a sunny day, but the Pillar is the highest peak.  Below, Europe is barely visible on the left between the boat and K's head

Girlz framed by two continents.
Europe is on the left and Africa on the right.

Then, back in the car for a couple hour drive to Seville.  By then, it was getting dark.  There are miles of windmills along the mountains rimming the coast of Spain.  In the distance, the small (relatively speaking) blinking warning lights looked like fireflies.  Reminded me of summer nights in Maine and fireflies dancing in the tall grass in the field.  Sometimes Dad would catch one for me and put it in a jar beside my bed.

Adiós for now.

In the Air Again

I arrived in Morocco yesterday Friday (their time) and wanted to share a bit of my travel sights.  Fortunately, there was no drama, like people being dragged off the airplane or delayed flights or gate changes--more tricky in Paris where my language skills falter.

In order to catch the 6:10 A.M. flight out of Albuquerque I had to kick the birds awake at 3:30 A.M., get dressed, feed the dogs, close the suitcases (left open in case of any last-minute additions) and load them in the car in time to leave at 4:30 to arrive by 5:00.  Fortunately Black Mesa coffee is up and running at the airport by then so I could be awake enough not to miss the flight.

My reflection looking out the window in
Albuquerque Sunport

Perrier seemed the appropriate beverage before
flying to Paris

Arrived in Atlanta on time--nothing for me to stress about since I had a six-hour layover.  Thanks to Marianne Rice, I had a fun read to dive into.  Check out Strawberry Kisses,  I recommend it.

Nothing says Atlanta like CNN

Finally, at long last the wait was over for the overnight flight to Paris.  Sadly, I had a middle of the middle seat--you know, those plans that have three seats on each side and four in the middle.  Hemmed in by a couple of guys (not cute enough to distract) I got very little sleep.  Thanks again, Marianne.  Jake was much more entertaining in sooooo many ways than the my seatmates.

In Charles de Gaulle Airport, I made a beeline for Starbucks--yes, I’ve been in that airport often enough to know exactly where it is--and loaded up on caffeine.

Didn't even need the Starbucks app to find it

Then on the plane for the last leg of the trip, Paris to Rabat, Morocco.

At last,  peace in the garden.