Morocco

Before we left for Tangiers and our flight to Paris, Monica insisted on dressing us up on traditional Rif Valley outfits for a photoshoot. A nice way to end our trip and to spend a minute thanking the friends we made while there. I think this one might just be our holiday card next December…if…

We are so lucky we get to stay a full week in each city as we travel. It takes a few days just to adjust to the rhythm of a new place. To figure out where the grocery store is, how to find your way around and how to not act like a idiot (or…

We sent Lauren off in a taxi for Tangiers to start her journey home in the morning Tuesday and I spent a day in bed with “traveler’s stomach.” A not-so-glamourous payback for eating street food and fresh fruit when we first arrived in Morocco. Just slept, drank bottled water and ate imported Pringles while watching…

Those moments when you go from feeling like a seasoned veteran to realizing you’re a jerk who knows nothing are a common, humbling part of traveling. As was the case with my plan to take Lauren to a traditional hammam experience in Morocco. Rob and I went to a centuries-old Turkish hammam (bath house) when we…

Monday, Thursday and Saturday are the market days in Chefchaouen – the day when the farmers of the Rif valley come down to the tiny blue streets to sell their wares. A perfect day for Lauren and I to go for a bit of shopping on her last day of vacation. The prices here were…

Things began looking up the minute we started leaving Fes. We loaded our bags into the handcart pulled by our host’s father-in-law and left the medina for the last time. We had asked for a large car to take us and the two bikes to Chefchaouen, but last time – that resulted in a Mercedes…

I am normally extremely good at looking on the bright side of things. It’s my profession and almost my vice. My instinct is to be polite about Fes, but really…I just disliked it so, so much. I’m angry at the city for wasting our time and money – and a secretly bit glad that Rob…

On the second day of our time in Fes, we stayed inside for the morning while a rainstorm passed over. Along with cooler temperatures, it gave me a chance to attempt to take pictures of our 700 hundred year-old house. You saw the terrace yesterday, below that there’s a small bedroom. On the next floor…

Matt, Lauren, Rob and I barely made it to our flight from Barcelona to Fes. We were running full-speed through the airport the minute the gate was supposed to be closing thanks to RyanAir’s insane baggage drop-off lines. And at the same time, fairly grumpy because we loved Barcelona so much and didn’t want to…

Guys…you know what’s not the greatest idea I’ve ever had? Starting a business and preparing to go abroad for seven weeks at the same time. It has been absolutely madness here – with non-stop trips to City Hall, client meetings, the drugstore, the bank (it seems like every single day) and paperwork (all the paperwork)…