Out and Around the City

There are a lot of keyhole arch doorways that are opulent like this. The large wooden doors are cedar and ancient as are all the gold painted portions. All the colored patterns are tiny pieces of tile; the same mosaic over and over again with precision. This happens to be one of maybe a hundred (give or take) back 'doors' into the royal palace. Notice the guard houses - we had to take the picture when the guards were elsewhere...





'La Gare' (the train station) is a main destination for most tourists that come to Fes. It is new, has a fancy cafe and feels 'safe' to someone who is just getting used to a new culture. It is open 24 hours a day and doesn't feel 'dicy', even in the middle of the night. Trains are the one thing in Morocco that run more or less on time. There is a petit taxi stand right in front and unless it is in the middle of rush hour, there are plenty of taxis to go around. If there is a huge crowd of train travelers vying for a seat, just go back inside and have a coffee until the rush dies down.

Ain Chef Park! It is pronounced 'I ns cough' and I can never get it right! This is a beautiful, fairly undeveloped tract of land about 2 miles south of Fes. There is a jogging path around the perimeter and lots of little trails running here and there. We took the children there for 'F' week and looked at the 'forest' and 'flowers' and had lots of 'fun'. The only problem is that you pretty much have to have a man to go with you or it is considered 'not safe'. I am grateful for Naveen (man that he is!) and loan him out on a regular basis to other needy females!!!

This fountain is in the center of the New City where we live. If you went straight toward the hill in the background (Mt. Zolla), you would reach the Medina after a good 35 minute walk. We live about three blocks to the right of this picture. It is called the 'Globe Fountian' because the large black ball on the top of the pedestal is a free moving etched-world globe composed of black marble. The water pressure bubbles it up and it rotates. Being that I am OC sometimes, I can't look at for very long because the rotations aren't regular and it gives me a stomach ache. I want to climb up and give it a quick spin so that ALL sides have equal access to the water...

Cheesy sign... When you are walking down the street, you are usually greeted (especially if you are female) with 'Welcome to Morocco' from miscellaneous well wishers (usually men). Yesterday, as myself, Rachel, and Dottie were walking in the Medina, a man leaped to his feet where he had been visiting with friends and said, 'Hello, please look.' He proceeded to count (in English) each one of us (one, two, three) and then point to himself and his friends (one, two three). Usually it is best to ignore these hopeful encounters but this time we just had to laugh!

Just Us!

Ok - these loaded backwards... So the pictures are chronologically in reverse...

ME!! My hair was falling out by the handful so I decided to give it a decent burial. I have always been jealous of the fact that my beautiful auburn-haired mother and sisters could grow their hair down to their waists so I gave it a try. Hmmm... It looked like an aging horse tail in need of a good grooming. I spent an enjoyable evening with the family of our school secretary whose sister is trying to start her own beauty business. First she chopped quite a bit and then rolled, affixed and sprayed. Next we ate tons of food and watched 'Arabs' Got Talent' for 2 hours. Kesh, there's a little Tunisian boy who might just beat your best Michael Jackson impression - just saying... Finally, everything was brushed out and I felt like a combination of a glamor (drag?) queen and Shirley Temple. (Nuka - if you look closely, you will see the earrings you brought me from Costa Rica and the perfectly matching shirt is a Christmas present from Karuna.)



This is the elevator outside of our apartment. We have a supper club - sort of - and the girls often come over or we go to their homes to eat, watch movies or play Nerts. Naveen is the replacement little brother and everybody appreciates his quick wit and quirky humor. Except for the time he got stuck in rhyming everything he or somebody else said. 'That's enough rhyming now and I mean it!!! Anybody want a peanut....?'



Christmas at the Welch's in Germany!!! They made us feel like real family - which we are - sort of. Ravi had a ready turban and we brought him a real fez from Fes. Naveen and Ravi are masters of the phony Indian accent. Actually, I guess that you can't call it 'phony' because they ARE both 1/2 Indian. Maybe it is genetic...




Before Christmas, the week before Thanksgiving, a group of us went to Seville, Spain and hung out for 5 days. We found a park (huge - across the river from the bullring) in which to play.... SOCCER!
These are cork trees - for reals! I checked around for corks but could only find acorns. Maybe the season for gathering corks was past.






Sunset on the beach at Cadiz. We drove down from Seville and spent the day playing on the beach and eating McDonalds'. Some of us (not me) even played in the ocean. It was about as warm as the Pacific is in March. In other words, not very.
For those of you history buffs, this is where all the explorers set sail from. Technically, the King and Queen were in Seville upriver but this is the harbor from which the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria began their journey.


Naveen and Stephen... Sometimes opposites attract, but at other times, birds of a feather... These guys are great examples of fine feathered friends! Stephen and Christy Whaley are new this year to the school and arrived in Fes about a month before we did. Stephen is the tech guy and Christy is the HR person. We spend a lot of time with them - they live right up the street and around the corner. Stephen and Naveen play a lot of (mind-numbing) online games together.