Please utilise this space to search this blog

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Europe-Morocco-South America wrap up

It's a wrap - Europe/Morocco/South America
24 June 2010 - 02 December 2010
 
 
As has become standard for me when I've ended a trip I've taken to doing a last summary or a 'greatest hits' review whenever I managed to complete the final entry on the 'how, why, when and whatever else may have been alcohol related' blog series of my most recent escapades. Sticking with tradition and therefore adopting the same template that I've used in the past, see also;

[Vietnam-Malaysia wrap - December/January 2009/10]
 
I bring you the close out of the Europe-Morocco-South America experience within my still continuing domain of Life in a year full of Saturdays, which unfortunately is also quickly coming to an end but still has a little life in it still.

Europe-Morocco-South America - 'The Final'
 
Favourite places:
 
1. San Sebastian (Spain) - this place contains everything that is good about Spain. Beautiful scenery, fantastic nightlife, great people and attitude, most restaurants per capita. It's unbeatable. Had a fantastic time here with Jay and Dina plus my favourite band rocked the Anoeta stadium for which I was fortunate enough to have been front row!
 
San Sebastian - Spain

San Sebastian - Spain






2. Madrid (Spain) - It runs a close second behind San Sebastian. Whilst there's a lot of competition between Barcelona and Madrid as to who 'owns the rights' to being the best city in Spain I think Madrid beats its Catalunyan cousin by a fair margin. Style, sophistication and a great sense of fun, Madrid is the place to be!


Just off Plaza Mayor - Madrid - Spain

3. Buenos Aires (Argentina) - It takes a little while to get the hang of BA, to figure out what it's about and how it operates but when you did it just suckers you in whole. It is a vibrancy and feel that is infectious. While some towns may have looks to die for this place has character, charm and more importantly, soul.

Buenos Aires - Argentina

San Telmo - Buenos Aires - Argentina

4. Marrakech (Morocco) - I told my parents before they arrived here that they would hate it initially but that when they'd left they would end up loving it, and they did. This place is a cacophany of sounds, smells, sights and taste. It's in your face all of the time and it's brilliant!

Overlooking D'jemma el fna - Marrakech - Morocco

Marrakech - Morocco




5. Chefchaouen - This is a great little town in the Rif mountain that lies in the north of Morocco. On first viewing it feels like a town in the Greek islands has been transported to somewhere in the Alps and then you realise that you're surrounded by an all sorts mix of Arabs and Bedouin. It's chilled, relaxed and very unique.

Chefchaouen - Morocco

Chefchaouen - Morocco

Most Surprising:

This is a close call between Tallinn (Estonia) and Riga (Latvia). The old town in both cities are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites and both are filled with bars, good vibes and all things surprising. For me I think that Tallinn might have to shade Riga, just by a whisker.

Tallinn - Estonia

Coolest place for a night out:

1. San Sebastian (Spain) - it just has everything you could possibly want in a relatively small area.
2. Buenos Aires (Argentina) - it's just cool, end story.
3. Paris (France) - The City of lights has it all, bars, restaurants, galleries, great Summer evenings...


Favourite Hotel:

Not that I stayed in too many on this excursion but the Riad Boussa in Marrakech easily won the day. It was sea of tranquility and calm in a town that is chaotic and hectic. I will never forget our first night of arrival and the panic stricken faces of my parents that all of a sudden disappeared when they passed through the doors of this place.



Riad Boussa - Marrakech - Morocco




Nightview - Riad Boussa - Marrakech - Morocco


Best place to get totally lost:

1. Amazon jungle (Bolivia) - this one is a 'no-brainer'. If you want to get totally lost then just walk into the jungle and see how well you'll do once you're off the marked trails!
2. Fes (Morocco) - About 9000 small streets and alleys in a space of 19 squares kilometres, keep walking, take a few turns and you're away to losing yourself in a spectacular town.
3. Marrakech (Morocco) - Not quite as difficult as Fes but it can pose problems for the navagationally challenged!



Amazon basin - Bolivia


Find your way out! Go on, do it! - Fes - Morocco


Best place to drink and get totally lost:

1. Riga (Latvia) - I had one 'special night' in Riga where I lost something like 4-5hrs one morning. I left the bar at close to 3am and walked into the hostel at between 7am & 8am. It was a 15 min walk back to the hostel, albeit a convoluted walk. Still, Riga is a great place to have a drink and if you want, a great place to get lost in!


This is my last known location on that fateful night - 4hrs later I made it back - Riga - Latvia

2. Santa Maria (Bolivia) - This place is 9kms from Parque Ambue Ari in the Amazonian basin. I didn't actually get it wrong here but there is potential to get things awfully wrong and you don't even have to try.

3. Barcelona (Spain) - Drinking and then attempting to walk through the Barri Gotic is a rewarding challenge, you can lose yourself in the maze of the Gothic area for hours and have a lot of fun!

Best drink:

1. The Tio Tio - Captain Hook's bar (Barcelona - Spain) - not sure what was in it but damn it was good.

2. The Boliviano - Locot's (Sucre - Bolivia) - it's a traditional mojito but with a Bolivian twist. Infused with cocoa leaves, have a few of these and you'll be swimmingly dialled for a while. A must have!

3. The Whiskey Sour - Yono's (Paris - France) - Nowhere near as good as the Shady Pines Saloon bar in Sydney but when you're operating on happy hour convenience and are just about to have the best meal of your life, well yeah, it works!


Best Meal:


1. Chez Robert & Louise - Marais - (Paris-France) - hands down the best meal that I have had in my life and now provides me with the answer of what I would order for my last meal on earth if I was at anytime required to do so. Blood sausage, pork pot belly and the greatest rib steaks that you can EVER imagine. A place only for a 'meatatarian' ofcourse!

The rib steak - freakin' LEGENDARY - Chez Robert & Louise - Paris - France


Old school - Chez Robert & Louise - Paris - France


2.  Dar Damana - (Fes - Morocco) - This was another return for me. The last time I was in Fes Khalid picked me off the street and I ended up having tea with him and then returning for dinner. This time I took the parents and JJ for a Moroccan feast. Khalid was again there and strangely remembered me! Typically Moroccan food in a great setting. You can't beat that!




3. San Telmo - Buenos Aires - Argentina - I'm not sure of the name of the place that Dina and I stumbled into but the beef was incredible!

Best video:

Well, I hardly took any video footage on this excursion but the Swedish dynamic duo, Frida & Jenny, put together a string of highlights that came out very well - *Spoiler Alert*, watch out for the incredibley handsome guy that starts appearing from around 3:28.



Favourite/best photos:

It's all very subjective when it comes to any sort of artistic endeavour. There's a few photos in many that I took that I really like. They may not be the best of the bunch but here they are.

1. Bono - Anoeta stadium - (San Sebastian - Spain)


My favourite shot of the trip for many reasons. It was such a great night and San Sebastian was a fantastic place and I was fortunate to have shared my time there with two cool people.

2.  Koutoubia mosque from Cosybar - (Marrakech - Morocco)



Marrakech is just so full of colours and I think this shot to Koutoubia mosque does it justice.

3. JJ in some random bar - (Paris - France)


I think this is a pretty cool portrait...and she doesn't think that she looks good in photo's!!?


4. Eiffel tower - (Paris - France)







It's iconic and to tell you the truth I have a preference for catching things in black and white these days.

5. Meteora (Greece)


Meteora is a remarkable place. I think there are probably better shots but for some reason I keep coming back to this one!

Best shot taken by someone that's not me!

JJ just took the camera off me, pointed and took the shot from the second level of the Eiffel tower. It turned out to be one hell of a shot!




Coolest moments:
1. U2 @ the Anoeta - San Sebastian (Spain)

2. Being in Barcelona when Spain won the World Cup for the first time, what a great night!

3. Rage Against the Machine - Endesa Costanera - Buenos Aires (Argentina)


Sketchiest moments:

1. Dicing with Yuma - Parque Ambue Ari (Bolivia) - having a puma rip into your leg and then thinking that you're throat may be next is probably the sketchiest moment I've ever had in my life!

2. Taking goods out of San Pedro prison (La Paz - Bolivia) - having fun with inmates and then have your mates walk out with some prison made goods was kind of odd, and a little sketchy.

3. Crossing up on the Death Road (La Paz to Coroico - Bolivia) - for one brief moment I thought that my breaking technique was going to have me imitating super man for a good 50mtrs.

Uncoolest moment:

The moment that I actually realised that I would be heading for him. Sitting in that hostel room in La Paz as it me was an awful experience.


Best comeback:


Vladimir waking up at 4:30am with a severe hangover after a big night out in Stockholm. Not only did he manage to recover but he managed to drive us all the way from Stockholm to just outside of Bratislava before finally having a rest, some 25+hrs of driving. It was insane and it was a hell of a comeback.

Most random ...but still cool event:

I had been telling Janelle about this shady character called Abdul that I had met in Fes two years earlier. He and his cousin had guided me around Fes before setting me up for a bit of a fall, or so I thought. I told JJ that I'd love to see this guy again but that it would be more than unlikely in a place the size of Fes, and I was right...however...as we were awaiting a bus in Chefchaouen, on our way to Tangier, Abdul appeared out of nowhere! It was completely random and to see a guy that you had met two years earlier in a completely different town was bizarre and strangely cool!

Total flights: 13

Bus rides:  13

Ferries: 3

Trains: 1

There we have it, Europe/Morocco/South America all wrapped. I look forward to delivering you more when the Frelisher tour (On a wing and a prayer) of the US-Mexico-Canada (2011) kicks off on February 18th, 2011! Catch you then!!