This summer

I've finally got round to writing about our trip to Panama this summer, so here goes!
We started out in Panama City – and it was nothing like I expected: towering skyscrapers, fancy cars and malls bigger than anything I've seen in the UK. This contrasted sharply with the poverty and tumble-down houses seen in less-priviledged parts of the city. The most interesting part of the capital for me was the ‘casco ‘viejo’ or the old part of town which is being done up and experiencing something of a cultural revival, with a mix of little boutiques, European-style cafes and prettily painted and flower decked colonial houses.

From PC we made a trip to ‘La Chorerra’ where D’s grandparents live – it was so nice to see him reunited with them and to see that they were so lively and in such good shape. Than, we drove across Panama (an-oh-so-slightly terrifying experience!), stopping off with D’s uncle on the way before settling in the highlands of Boquete for a few days. Here we relaxed in the gorgeous Rancho de Caldera, went on coffee tours and cloud-forest safaris and saw a Quetzal (apparently the 2nd rarest bird in the world - no idea what the 1st is?!). Here's the view from our 'rancho'...

Next stop – the Caribbean! What surprised me about Bocas de Toro wasn’t so much the pristine palm fringed beaches, but the sheer amount of wildlife, which I just wasn’t expecting. Dolphins, sloths, colourful frogs, toucans, parrots, starfish, monkeys and more surrounded us. And perhaps the most memorable part of our days in Bocas was when we got to see giant sea turtles laying their eggs one night and then help recently-hatched baby sea turtles make their way to sea. The next photo is of the secluded beach just steps from our room.

From Bocas we drove back east through Panama and bid farewel to los abuelos. 2 weeks really wasn't enough to sample all that Panama has to offer - but here is my list of 5 unmissable things to do in Panama:

1. Eat, eat, eat: sancocho - a traditional type of chicken soup is delicious as are the fried plantains - patacones, ceviche made with Panama's national fish 'corvina' is yummy too. Also try the raspados from a roadside trolley - watch the seller grate fresh ice into your cup and top it off with a tropical juice of your choice – Passion fruit was a favourite of mine.

 Lobster on the Amador peninsula near Panama City (Los Bucaneros restaurant)

Ceviche at Amador

Raspados in the Casco Viejo

2. Buy a Mola - an indigenous indian embroidered panel that can be used as a wall hanging or sewn into a cushions, bag etc.

Source

3. Climb Mount Baru and see both the Pacific and the Caribbean sea from the same vantage point. I'm sorry to say we didn't do this due to the poor visibility at this time of the year, but I'm told it's well worth the climb (which can be done partially in car).

4. Get up close and personal with the wildlife

Red frog (the hand is mine)

5. The Panama Canal - lunch at the Miraflores Lock Visitor Centre while you watch the boats go  by is an unforgettable experience - the huge ships look like whole apartment blocks floating by and the food is excellent.

As we're saving these days I don't think I'll be going on any exotic trips for a while, but I have a weekend in Merida coming up and another in Galicia so I can't complain :-)

Panama preview

The reason I haven’t written in so long is that we’ve been in Panama on holiday! We had a wonderful time – the scenery, nature, food and people were just lovely. It’s my first day at work today so I haven’t managed to post as yet but will write about the trip and post photos at the weekend. In the meantime here’s a preview snap and hope you had a lovely summer :-)

Panama City Skyline

5 things I loved about Paris

We've just come back from my first time in Paris. Needless to say I'm in love with the city, there was so much I liked that it's hard to know where to begin but here are 5 favourites to start with...

1. Staying in a cute Parisian apartment. One thing I’ve learnt on my travels is that if I can’t stay in a lovely hotel I’ll stay in a rented apartment and live like a local! I can’t begin to describe how much more pleasant it was to pick up croissants and pan aux chocolat from the bakery below rather than the hotel buffet.

2. A cliché but… the Eiffel Tower. Not on top of it – 1.5 hours is just too long to queue for lazy old moi. However, we passed a happy hour or so sat on a grassy verge (unexplicably free of other people – I guess they were all queueing) gazing at the lit up tower by night. At 11pm the sparkly light show began, and I couldn’t help but shed a little tear – then a storm brewed up and we had to run off into a little café for shelter just like in the movies!

3. The supermarkets. Sorry to say it but Spain’s supermarkets can be somewhat limited (unless you go to the Corte Inglés)… We had a field day browsing the aisles of goodies both French and stuff that I miss from back home… rillete, maple syrup, buttery biscuits, stinky stinky cheeses, smoked mackerel, North African spices, red wine… and best of all the beauty counter – not for fancy international names like Dior (which you can easily pick up here) but the cheaper local brands that feel and smell divine but won’t break the bank balance (Le Petit Olivier's fair trade shea butter body lotion was a particular favourite). Also, check out this Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop site for her tips on French pharmacy brands. Wanting to extend our Paris experience beyond the 5 day break we brought along an extra case to fill with cheeses to take home – said suitcase is still on the balcony being aired – as despite double wrapping all the munsters and camamberts the smell still steeped through – just glad we didn’t put any clothes in there!

4. Montmartre. A hilly district in the north of Paris with a slightly boho villagey feel – little lanes and streets full of boutiques, delicatessens, pavement cafes and the setting for the film Amelie – need I say more :-) See fruit stall above)

5. Seeking out the best views – here are the best we found (apart from Sacre Coeur in Montmartre) in no particular order: 1) On top of the Galeries Lafayette department store – I was also stunned by the amazing stained glass cupola seen from inside (photo below). 2) On top of the slightly posher Printemps department store next door. 3) On top of the Pompidou centre (above) – if you want to go up without going into the gallery at the front of the building to the left you’ll see a security guy sat by a lift – tell him you’re going to the café and he’ll unlock it for you – go up to the 6th floor to enjoy the view.

5 days really wasn’t enough to even begin to scratch the surface of Paris, but as it’s next door there’s really no excuse not to go back soon - a driving tour round France next summer perhaps?!

Paris preview

We just got back from a lovely, sunny Easter in Paris - my first time! Photos and anecdotes to follow soon :-)

A knight in Siguenza

Last weekend, and in celebration of David's tenureship, we spent the night in the Parador at Siguenza. The hotel is a medieval castle from the 12th century and a makes a really atmospheric getaway for a wintry weekend; suits of armour and stone fireplaces aplenty. One of the best places to eat in the town also happens to be the parador where we had roast suckling pig (cochinillo) and migas which are, er...breadcrumbs...though so much tastier than they sound - chunky breadcrumbs fried with a fatty paprika rich sausage known as chistorra and served in this case with a variety of acompaniments: fried egg, baby green peppers, bacon, gammon, cheese, preserved red peppers and grapes. The idea is that you roughly chop the runny egg and greasy chistorra into the crumbs then eat with the rest of the garnishes. Sounds yucky but tastes yummy. Prior to this I had only ever stayed at Paradores when travelling with work - basically they are state owned hotels, almost always in historic buildings and usually 4 star. Also it worked out to be great value as we managed to get an escapada joven (youth getaway) which is about 40euros less than the normal pruice - funny how in Spain joven is up to 35 -  funny in a good way of course, but surprising compared to the UK where your 'young persons rail card' is no longer valid at the 'ancient' age of 26... and I only have a couple more years of escapadas joven to go so I'd better get my skates on ;-)

Here are some photos of the weekend plus an example of what migas look like.

Siguenza Parador



This second photo is taken in a castle in Jadraque that is closed to the public but seeing as some local youths had already broken down the fencing we sneaked in :-)



Migas with accompaniments - source

Views of the deserted castle

 







Eat, pray, love - which of these 2 things did I do in Bali?

I'm back in Madrid again after 2 weeks in Bali and a week in the UK, and I have to say, for the moment at least, I feel like a new woman :-)  Re this post title, for those of you who haven't read the book, Eat, pray, love is a book the true story of a woman who goes on a year-long journey of self-discovery after the dissolution of her marriage and a harrowing rebound relationship. Following this ordeal she ate in Italy, prayed in India and loved in Bali, once again finding her footing in life. It is hugely popular but has also been much-maligned as the self indulgent ramblings of a middle class woman who 'had it all'. In any case, I really liked it. Unlike Elizabth Gilbert, I didn't love in Bali - at least not in that way - but I did eat and pray/meditate an awful lot! I have so much to say about that wonderful island that I don't know quite where to begin. Perhaps in a homage to the book that confirmed I should book my trip to Bali it is fitting to do a little eat, pray, love of my own...

Eat

I have great food memories of Bali - delicious banana pancakes for breakfast, made of tiny sweet Balinese bananas. There were also many quick and economical lunches of Nasi Goreng (fried rice with chicken and vegetables) scooped up with prawn crackers that actually taste of prawn and sloshed with the sweet soy sauce known as kecap manis. Delicious satays, fire-hot salads, and black rice pudding with coconut milk were also abound. At the yoga retreat there were carefully prepared organic meals - curried prawns baked in banana leaves, fresh papaya for breakfast and ginger tea on tap. But it wasn't all local fayre and granola - to end the vacation in style my new-found yoga buddies and I dined in Asia's number 7 restaurant - Mosaik - 6 courses of gorgeous food in gorgeous surroundings.

My solo breakfast on my verandah on the 'silent day' at the retreat (the rest of the days we all ate together).

Nasi Goreng and Bintang beer

Banana pancakes at my simple but homely guest house the first 2 nights

Mosaik

Pray

I have never been blessed by 'men of the cloth' so many times in my life. There were visits to temples rarely frequented by westerners with my Madrid yoga friends. Decked out in full Balinese lady gear of a sarong, sash and a slightly sexy lacy tops (not the one in the photo below!) we knelt and prayed; a curious ritual involving the smoking of ones hands with insence, placing coloured flowers behind the ears, and pressing of rice into ones forehead and temples (this is unfortunately a bit of a crude and inaccurate description of this delicate process). We were then blessed by mangkus who anointed us with holy water, which we accepted with upturned palms and even drank (I didn't get Bali belly after consuming this local water - but seeing as it was holy that should come as no surprise :-)). After the trip with my Madrileño friends, I went on a wonderfully restorative yoga retreat in Ubud in central Bali. My week here started with a 2 hour ayurvedic massage, and just got better and better: yoga twice a day, great food, cycling, beauty treatments, meditation and making some great new freinds - all in lush surroundings.  We visited a sacred temple by night where we walked throught deep ancient stone pools dunking our heads under 'purifying' fountains as we went along and were blessed again by a local mangku. Much of the time in a Balinese household is devoted to making elaborate little offerings to the gods comprising of flowers, rice and on ocassion even cigarettes! The streets of Bali are literally paved with these offerings and I did a class on how to make them. In a fitting end to the more spiritual part of my holiday, on the final morning of the retreat we were invited to burn little bits of paper onto which we had written negative thoughts on a pyre of fragrant flower petals then throw them into the river. Adios silly preocupations (for now at least).

Monasteries and ceremonies

Making offerings from coconut leaves and filling them with flowers - each flower has a different significance

Love
I certainly didn't go to Bali to work on my love life - fact is for the past months I have pretty much shunned love as something that was 'for other people' (though my big-mouth bravado may have suggested otherwise). Now I feel that I may be just a little more ready to meet someone, but only just a little, so we'll see. To be honest I found that Bali, for all it's sensuality felt pretty chaste - even the cat calls seem harmless - at least compared to the obscenities I am used to hearing in Lavapies. It was only when I travelled to neighbouring island Nusa Lembongan that I suddenly felt a bit harangued as a woman - luckily I had a male friend accompanying me on this isle which we came to name la isla de los salidos - pervy/horny guy island. So, as I said, Bali was not really about amore for me - though permit me to get a little cheesy and say it was all about self-love and the love of friends.

The princess treatment

My own private beach

Looking back at what I've written here, it really doesn't capture the essence of the island, the things that really struck me. Things like waking up to the smell of frangipani flowers, the way strangers went out of their way to help me, sweet Ketut at the retreat who nervously smiled as he explained to us the ingredients of the latest organic meal to come from his kitchen, spooky tales of black magic, the toothless smile of an old mangku, new friends in far off places, my first time snorkeling, villagers greeting us with om swastiastu, funny lady market vendors claiming they were giving you a good price because you have nice body or insisting that buying this or that sarong bring good luck for you, crazy rides on the back of all manner of motorbikes, trucks and boats. Thank you for the memories Bali :-)

For those of you who I'm friends with on Facebook, sorry that you've seen these pics already! I'll be posting more on the blog soon.

A message from paradise

Bali truly is paradise, and the yoga retreat is better than I could ever have imagined! I'm here blogging on the centre's only computer (the retreat is called 'escape the world' so the whole idea is that you're not blogging and on facebook the whole time hence my near total absence these days!). I'll be back in the UK in a week or so where I'll post some photos from the trip before returning to Madrid. In the meantime here's a link to my 'wanderlist' (travel wishlist) which Alex and Mina have posted on their wonderful blog, Sending Postcards, where they document their travels round the world.

I take back everything I said about Primark

I'm in the UK as of several days ago, and I've finally got around to buying some clothes for my Bali trip. I didn't want to spend a fortune on travel wear and despite saying I wouldn't go anywhere near the place, I found myself in cheapo superstore Primark. I don't know what happened, but 1.5 hours later I emerged from there 60 pounds poorer but with approximately 10 new items of clothing bundled into a bag. I've always been a firm believer in 'you get what you pay for', but seeing nicely cut classic white tees at only 2 pounds that rule went straight out of the window. I was like 'who cares if they fall apart in two months!' I sincerely hope they are not made by children - a discreetly placed notice in the shop suggests they aren't, but the very fact the placard is there arouses suspicion. Also in my haul were pumps in black and metallic peach at 4 pounds, long floaty dresses, 2 quid leggings and some housewarming presents for my brother's new place (2 cushions for 6 pounds!) The only thing I'd say is that you have to rummage, you have to get past the idea of shopping being a pleasant experience for all the senses and you have to forget about attractive merchandising. Also, you definitely can't dress head to toe in stuff from here without being a little, er, flammable. But seriously, there is some nice stuff here. Viva bargains!

For Madrid dwellers who are interested there is a Primark in Carabanchel's chavvy Isla Azul shopping centre.

What's on your bucket list?

Image Source - Creative Commons

Whether or not to post my bucket list – the list of things I want to do before I kick the proverbial bucket....is something I’ve been ruminating over for some while now. On the one hand, my list is a source of inspiration and action – once things are on the list I do actually start working towards those goals that I see as most achievable (e.g. my recentish visit to Marrakech and obsession with yoga), but the list is also a trigger of stress at times. I look at all the items and feel a bit overwhelmed. What if I don’t do them? What about the goals that would widely regarded by others as unrealistic? What if people think my desires are petty? What if I become one of those annoying types who are always on about how they want to ‘live a life full of passion’ but are so busy ticking items on their list that they don’t have the time to stop for a breather and enjoy it. And I think we’ve all known someone like that, Mr/Ms 'I've done Asia.now I’m going to do bla...'... Er, spending 6 months backpacking round a continent getting high is not necessarily doing it - I think it’s the verb do that gets me...meeeooow, I'll put my claws back and take a chill pill now.

Still, for slightly unfocussed types like me, I still think the benefits of writing it all down outweigh any disadvantages. Without it I could easily end up on my sofa watching Sex and the City reruns for the rest of my life! Or at least that’s what I tell myself. And as for sharing it, well I guess that’s what having a blog is all about. Bucket list is also perhaps not the best name for my the odd mix of must-see sites and random aspirations I'm posting here.

Do I have any bucket list tips? Just one. Although you can’t really include them on the list, do congratulate yourself on the things you ‘did’ without even realising they could be life goals – in my case I’d definitely include living abroad, seeing Michael Jackson in concert and standing (well, sailing) at the point where the blue and white Niles meet in Khartoum before coursing north to Egypt. In fact I have a whole pre-bucket list that serves as a great pat on the back on down days :-)

So, here it is – the good, the bad and the materialistic - bucket list:

Places:

1. Go to Japan.

2. Go to India.

3. Go to Bali – (ok, I cheated, this was never a life-dream for me, but as I’m going this summer I pretty much have to include it!)

4. Do a yoga retreat – ditto Bali :-)

5. Go to China.

6. Spend the night in the desert (this is a huge one for me).

7. Visit old Dongola and Meroe in Sudan (where my dad’s family came from).

8. Visit the USA.

9. Go on a safari.

10. Go to the sacred music festival in Fez.

11. Go to the Womad (world music) festival in Caceres.

12. Visit Lebanon.

13. Go to the (alleged) source of the Nile (Lake Victoria)

14. Visit Thailand and eat Thai street food.

15. Visit all 7 continents.

16. Travel across Russia, Mongolia and China on the Trans-Siberian Express.

Experiences:

17. See Madame butterfly at the opera.

18. Go diving.

19. Climb an active volcano.

Stuff to learn:

20. Learn to make Pastilla (a type of Moroccan savoury-sweet pastry).

21. Get good at yoga.

22. Be able to do push ups (It’s ridiculous, I can’t even do one).

23. Learn to hold a tune.

24. Learn to make sushi.

25. Learn to meditate.

26. Learn to take great photos.

27. Learn French.

28. Do an illustration course.

29. Improve my Arabic.

Family:

30. Host Christmas for my family.

31. Meet ‘the one’, if such a thing exists, and have lovely kid(s).

32. Write down my Sudanese family’s history.

33. Be more openly loving towards my family.

Career:

34. Run my own business that pays me (erm, undisclosed amount) per year.

35. Be a designer of something.

36. Write and publish a book. A proper book. 

Health and beauty:

37. Have perfectly healthy kidneys. This probably isn’t achievable, but by having it on the list it helps me remember to stay as healthy and fit as possible.

38. Have some cool photos taken of me (yes, I’m vain)

39. Spend a weekend in the Cuadalie, Marques de Riscal spa in Álava.

40. Get laser depilation (sorry to mention this here male audience).

Character:

41. Be more proactive.

42. Be more focused. This is a hard one for me.

43. Be more assertive.
44. Have more self-belief.

44. Become a better spoken communicator.

45. Feel happy behind the wheel.

Material

46. Live in my dream house, a penthouse in Alonso Martínez.

47. I freely admit here that I wouldn’t mind a vintage gold Rolex. Bling

48. Be a minimalist

If you’re lacking in ideas but feel the urge to create/expand your list, here are a few (525 to be exact) ideas from a blog I sometimes refer to for inspiration (why you'd have meeting Donal Trump on your list I can't quite imagine, but I'm sure the author would feel the same about my inclusion of laser depilation!)

If any of you have lists and would like to share I’d be delighted to see them :-)

Count down to summer

Image sourced via Creative Commons

In Spain we are lucky enough to work what is know as the jornada intensiva in summer, which means that in late June and all of July we work an 8-3 schedule instead of the normal 9-6. I've been doing this for a couple of weeks now, and I can't begin to say what a difference it makes to quality of life! I now have time to pop by art exhibitions at the Reina Sofia in the afternoons, do an extra yoga class, meet friends for an aperitif on one of my local terazzas or simply just go home and take a guilty nap or watch Anthony Bourdain re-runs on the sofa :-) It also gives me time to make the finishing touches on planning my trip to Bali this summer - as I mentioned a few weeks ago my accomodation and the yoga retreat is all but sorted out I just need to get myself a new suitcase and some Bali-esque clothes. I'm not sure that I really need a new suitcase - but as I'm travelling alone I do sometimes get a little worried about some 'new friend' putting something in my bag and things getting a bit Bankock Hilton (there's also this programme on Imagenio called encarcelados en el extranjero, translated roughly as 'banged up abroad' or something which has made me somewhat paranoid!). So, I figure a hard-cover suitcase wouldn't be a bad purchase, preferably Samsonite who have a great discount outlet in Las Rozas shopping village. Along the same lines of better safe than sorry I need to compare travel insurance quotes online before I go. Perhaps my favourite pre-trip purchase is going to be the clothes - I'm not going to buy much - but I would like a few essential items before I go, I know I can probably buy great stuff out there, but before jetting off I at least need to get a new bikini, cute flip flops, a beach cover-up and a sun hat.  Holiday clothes shopping list to follow ;-)

I rate... Longchamp Le Pliage

I'm not a total bag junkie, but I do have quite a few of them - little satin clutches, roomy beige leather holdalls, white totes for summer and the odd black shopper for the weekend. One bag I'll always come back to is the Longchamp Le Pliage, I sometimes wonder if this little folding marvel is a bit tacky? A bit touristy? Typical duty-free shop fayre. But I can't help it, I love it! I especially love it because I'm incredibly lazy and in winter I carry the black one with brown trim as it means that whether I'm wearing black or brown shoes (my two mainstays for winter footwear) I don't need to change bags. Lazy me :-) Also, I love travel, and as it folds up tiny, you can easily take a couple of them in your suitcase. And now summer's here I need a new one in airy summer colours. Pink anyone? Though knowing my love of clean lines I'll end up with simple white...

What I did in... Marrakech

I hope to make this little list of things to do, eat, see, read, drink etc. a regular on the blog. By no means can I claim it’s a ‘top things to do’ of any given destination, but I can say it’s a list of the things I enjoyed when I was there :-) So, here goes Marrakech...(which was unfortunately cut short by a nasty bout of flu)
Read – The Sheltering Sky, Paul Bowles – classic beat novel about an American couple who journey to Morocco after World War 2.
Eat – Pastilla at La Maison Arabe. I only ate there, in their wonderful poolside restaurant, but it is also an amazing place to stay or do a Moroccan cooking course. Eating outdoors at the Jma el Fna is a must too, but with over 100 kiosks to choose from I can say that stall 97 is among the better ones.
Buy – Tassled curtain tie backs in every colour under the sun – from the main souk. If I hadn’t got the flu and spent my last day in bed I would have also bought a bright white leather pouffe and a silver lantern.
See – The Majorelle Gardens, get there early to beat the crowds, and when you’ve had your fill of the beautiful gardens go to the café – expensive, though this is a good thing as it keeps the crowds out :-)

The snaps above are all from my Easter trip there.

The joy of planning

The beach hut on Nusa Lembongan - if it's really like this, I'll be seriously happy :-)

There's little I enjoy more than planning a trip. Ok, maybe with the exception of eating bangers and mash or really good sushi. But honestly, I find the planning is almost as fun as the trip itself, and sometimes more. I don't like to organise particular days down to the T, but I do like a solid overall plan with room for change if things go wrong. I even make geeky clothes lists of what to take and what I need to buy before I go, and what I might want to purchase when I get there. I don't think all this planning comes down to a huge fear of improvisation, I see it more as a sort of stretching out of the holiday - every time I sit myself down and check out a new hotel on Trip Advisor it's like a little bit of me is already there :-) All this boils down to me wanting to say that I've planned the bare bones of my Bali trip in August so I can sit back and relax for a bit now until nearer the time. So, let me indulge. Days one and two are in Seminyak, meant to be the upmarket(?) version of its boozy neighbour Kuta on the south coast. A friend (thank god for international friends) has given me the name of a friend there, so I might hang out with him - it's all posey restaurants, chill out lounges and designer knock-offs I'm told - sounds good to me :-) I'm staying in a family B&B for those first couple of nights, then I've left 2 nights unbooked, so I can decide whether to stay put or move on if need be. Probably the latter, not sure what to do but checking out elephants or riding horses is an option. Before the yoga retreat in Ubud, I'd like to do a sunset climb up Mount Butur and around the lake there, so I've found a guide who can take me. Then it's 6 days of yoga, meditation, massage and peeaaacceee. Following that I've booked a couple of nights in a nice beach hut right on the sand, on the tranquil island of Nusa Lembongan - the diving and snorkelling is meant to be good there, so I plan to try both of them out, but not sure as I don't want to do a Padi course just yet?? And that is it. I'm painfully aware of how quickly 2 weeks will go by, but feel very lucky to be going in any case.

Bali

For the past couple of weeks I've been thinking seriously about the summer holidays. I wanted something far away and exotic, and as none of my friends are able to do 'far away and exotic' in August, I'm looking at a solo trip. My initial idea was to do do a trip round South Easy Asia; stopping off in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia and maybe even Singapore. I wanted to travel by train, to see how the landscape changed as I travelled and avoiding that feeling of 'just landing' somewhere. However, deterred by the Monsoon and advised by a friend who knows the place well, I decided on a much more relaxed type of break in Bali (which is not in Monsoon at that time of the year). Come to think of it, my recent reading of Eat, Pray, Love encouraged me too, though I have no plans to visit a medicine man or come back with some Brazilian guy on my arm ;-)

I'm really excited about every aspect of the trip. I decided to take an airline I liked the sound of (so that the holiday would start as soon as I board), so I chose Singapore Airlines as I'd heard such good things about them. Much more exciting though is the yoga retreat I've booked to do while I'm out there. So much has happened these past months, and I feel this is just the kind of restorative activity I need. Nestled in the verdant countryside outside Ubud, it has just 10 rooms, so it will certainly be peaceful. There will be yoga and meditation morning and evening, good food, visits to scenic rice terraces, yoga by a volcano, bike rides, massages and spa treatments... Plus, something which kind of terrifies me - a 'purification ritual and blessing ceremony'. From the people emersed in water in the photos, it looks a bit like a baptism. I have mixed feelings about this event; I worry it might be a bit cringeful, a load of westerners doing some sacred Balinese ceremony, but hey, if we're doing yoga, what's the difference? But will people start crying? Worst still, will I start crying?! I'll let you know :-) Whatever happens, I guess it's a new experience so I shouldn't complain.

Aside from the yoga, I have around another week to spend on the island. I could esily go further afield (I'd love to see the Orangutangs on Borneo, Komodo dragons on their name-sake island and numerous other things around Indonesia)... but I'm not sure, there seems to be plenty to do on Bali, friends have told me I can climb an active volcano (!), see temples, visit the Gili islands with their unspoilt beaches, learn to dive... Far from boring it would seem, so I'm still unsure what to do with the rest of my time. Can't wait!

Wonderful Marrakech

I'm back from Marrakech, and putting aside catching the flu and a 6 hour flight delay, I had an amazing time and I'm much better company than I thought I was :-) So much struck me as unique and exciting about the city - the colours, the food, the music, the people. I ate pastilla till I never wanted to see pastilla again, I got lost in the medina then found my way again, haggled for tie-backs in the souk and simply wandered about, taking it all in. Like my trips to Istanbul last year, I can honestly say Marrakech is a city that lives up to its hype, and I think that is partly due to the fact it has this arab feel, but unlike other north African cities like Cairo or Tunis, for me it has this sort of African 'underbeat' that literally gets under your skin. Hard to desribe. I was also surprised at how charming everyone was, I'd heard dodgy stories about bottom-pinching and hustlers thrusting their pet monkeys on you then demanding money for a photo, but I have to say my experience with the people was really positive. Yes the men did cat call (but no more than they do in my Madrileño barrio, Lavapiés) but no touching or serious hassle and taxi drivers and market stall holders generally agreed to come down to a reasonable price. That said, I'm guessing that looking pretty much arab/north african and speaking some Arabic may have had something to do with that. The riad I stayed in was also very cool and was one of the best things about my stay, not so much because of the aesthetics of the place but because the 4 guys than ran it (one French and 3 Morrocans) were so sweet and did everything to make sure my stay was as pleasant as possible from escorting me to the Jemaa al Fna on my first day, to greeting me at the door with a fresh OJ every time I walked in the riad to just generally taking an interest and taking the time out to have a chat with me as I was travelling alone. I really haven't experienced such hospitality in the hospitality industry for a long time :-) Even the taxi driver was lovely and we had an interesting little exchange (quite typical of that part of the wolrd) - 'Are you married?', '...no, er..not yet', 'Maybe in Marrakech...?', 'What, find a husband in 2 days?'.... 'No, not find a husband here, but inshallah Marrakech is the muftah, the key, that might make other things happen, that take you to him'. Very sweet :-) Sweet, because in that part of the world it's perfectly normal for everyone to assume you want to get married and for you to admit it openly.

I won't go into the sightseeing bit here, as the holiday wasn't really about that for me, though I will say that some of the highlights were Yves Sant Laurent's former abode - the Majorelle Gardens, the Jemaa el Fna square by night and wandering round the kasbah. Instead, I wanted to talk a bit about the experience of travellling alone for the first time. Perhaps I wouldn't take a long trip alone (or maybe I would?), but for a few days it was excellent. It was nice to wake up when I wanted, to eat where I wanted, to stop off and read or write for half an hour whenever I felt like it. But maybe more importantly I learnt that I could be brave, that I could look after myself, that I could prevent people from taking advantage of me (common perils when travelling as a lone woman in an unknown country) - all stuff that I guess I knew but that I sometimes doubted. And I suppose, I learnt that if you don't want to be, you're never actually that alone - the riad guys invited me to watch the Barca match, I met up with a relative of my cousin's wife, I chatted with people I would never have spoken to if travelling with someone else. Overall, a really positive and affirming experience :-)

Sisters, Easter and a foodie break in Madrid

So it's Easter and my sisters are over from the UK :-) There they are above in the Plaza Mayor. We've had a pretty laid-back few days, and as usual with us, our time has been entirely arranged around the places we've wanted to go to eat. On the first day we had lunch in the Mercado de San Miguel, a place which I've blogged before. We did a little 'stall crawl' here, first a bar serving small flatbreads (I think they are Basque but I don't know their name) topped with jamon and butifarra sausage, then a croquetas kiosk where we had prawn, squid (with its ink), jamon and chorizo croquettes. The next day we went to one of my old favourites for pinxtos - Txirimiri in La Latina - wild mushroom and truffle croquettes, baby fava beans with foie and a goat's cheese and tomoto confit salad - followed by a kind of chocolate fondant cake and, best of all a tarte tatin with a toffee ice-cream which was almost salty - very very good and service with a smile. Today we were thinking about having a bit of a cultural diversion (as this is Mimi's third time in Spain and she hasn't been to the Prado museum yet), but after a very late night yesterday we were fit for little other than lying in this morning... The evening started out with some dear friends of mine at Eucalipto, a cosy Cuban place at C/Argumosa 2 where they serve great South American and Caribbean cocktails and delicious tropical juices. Next was a midnight dinner at Melos - a scruffy, loud Galician stand up bar near my house where you get the creamiest, most bechamel-liquidy croquettes (these little deep fired balls of delight have played something of a starring role this Easter) and really good pimientos de padron (griddled slightly spicy baby green peppers with sea salt) plus Galician Ribeiro wine served in little white bowls. This was followed, rather embarrassingly, by dancing to Black Eyed Peas in my flat - and there is an unfortunate video documenting this event which is not going to get posted here! Tomorrow, and weather permitting, we will have a picnic in the Retiro park - we're thinking baguettes, pate, cured meats and cheeses, olives and something sweet for afters - can't wait :-)

Doing the unthinkable

Ok, perhaps what I'm about to do isn't exactly unthinkable. It's more along the lines of new and unexpected. I'm going to go to Marrakech, alone. I say unthinkable because I'm a girl who's never so much as gone to the cinema alone, let alone on holiday, but I guess there's a first time for everything. Now in reality I have travelled alone - numerous work trips, a trip to Cadiz to learn Spanish, I even came to Spain alone on a train with half my belongings and no job or home to come to. But this feels different, as I've actually made a choice to travel for leisure alone. My reasons for doing so are manyfold; I have wanted to go to Morrocco for as long as I can remember, it's on my list of '100 things to do in this lifetime' (which I really ought to post here sometime), I've even recently found Morrocco guide books I bought about 10 years ago with the idea of going - isn't that embarrassing? Why did I never go?! Well, I guess sometimes life took over and I forgot about this little plan of mine, it was never the 'right time', other people didn't want to go, etc etc. Of course there never is a right time, and it seemed silly waiting to be romantically involved in order to go, so I thought 'just do it'. The natural thing to do would have been to go with friends, but I'm in such an unusually 'me' mood that I didn't want to wait for a time when it was convenient for friends and then have to co-decide what hotel, to spa or not to spa etc. I guess I just felt like being a bit selfish!

My workload only permits me to go for 3 days, which I think will be a suitably brief introduction to solo travel (not that I plan to make it a lifestyle!) I think the hardest thing will be eating alone - one of the main reasons I'm going is the food, and it would have been lovely to share that with someone. Other people have warned me about hassle from men, but I'm hoping with my Arabic (plus I have black hair and will forgo wearing micro mini skirts) I can avoid that. My terrible sense of direction in the Medina is also a concern ;-) Despite these minor worries, there are many things I'm looking forward to - staying in a traditional riad in the medina, eating pastilla (a kind of sweetened chicken/pigeon pie with ground almonds), visiting the Majorelle Gardens, not so much ticking sights off on a list, but instead taking time (and I'll have very little of it) to walk around, stopping off to drink mint tea accompanied by a good book and a notepad and pen every now and then. Also, after the stress of earlier this year, I'm in a kind of reflective mood, and I'm looking forward to doing a bit of thinking in such interesting and unknown surroundings.

Sevilla Sevilla

I've just got back from a work trip to Seville. The funny thing is, the last time I went to Seville, about 4 years ago, I came back wearing a diamond ring (long removed from my finger, that girl sure does seem like a stranger I met years ago :P). So despite this time being a flurry of author meetings and unglamourous school visits, for me Seville will always be pretty much the most romantic city in Spain :-) No precious stones this time, but plenty of amazing food and Sevillano warmth. Now, I know if anyone from elsewhere in Spain reads this they will be like 'Sevillano warmth??!!' Of course people accept that Sevillanos are friendly but also agree that said friendliness is Totally Fake. My answer to that would be I Don't Care!! (not sure I believe all those sweeping statements about people from different regions being true anyway) I'm not expecting them to let me in their caseta during the feria, it was just so nice to have people be helpful, smiling and take an interest and for taxi drivers, who are normally the bain of my life, to actually be nice. I can't claim to be an expert on where to eat there, but I can recommend one place I always go to for a plate of very good jamon and red wine: Casa Robles, right in the centre.

Granita and Graffiti

Illegal chiringuito, the last night


Ridiculous car hire queues



Palermo

Been back from Sicily a few days now, and I think the post-holiday blues are starting to lift a bit (though really, I can't complain as I'm not back at work for over a week). These month-long southern European holidays are really great but they can make getting back to the grindstone that much harder - a month off gives you enough time to get a taste for 'mini retirements' a la Tim Ferris in The 4 hour work week - whereas when you take a week off you never quite forget the office. Anyway, here I am, coming to terms with the fact that most of us have to work in order to survive and telling myself that the guys in the office are quite nice really, my boss doesn't throw rotton tomatoes at me and I can work from home occasionally, so hey things aren't that bad :-) And what did I make of Sicily? Well Palermo welcomed you a bit like a big dirty slap in the face (no, really), sweltering in August and piled high with stacks of refuse, anyone who could get away from the city in August clearly had. There were some beautiful monuments, but the impact of these was somehow lost when seen through the filter of extreme humidity, crazy queue jumping (yes, more than in Spain, and there it's not just the grannies) and bus fumes. But after a day or so in Palermo, something strange begins to happen, you start to warm to the place; you take a walk along the shoddy but delightfully multiracial promenade (delightfully multiracias sounds so cheesy I know, but it's true!), you discover once-charming little squares, illegal chiringuitos (street bars) in the previously Arab La Kalsa neighbourhood and somehow the general dirtiness instead of obscuring the more beautiful aspects of the city, actually enhances them somehow (a bit like putting Joan Rivers next to Jocelyn Wildestine... Joan Rivers starts to look beautiful... sorry, that was a punch below the belt). There's also no denying that the people are incredibly warm, friendly and eager to help you which always makes life a bit nicer. The food is very good, and the fruit and vegetables, taste, well, like fruit and vegetables - fresh and unmeddled with. A couple of weeks back I did a 'most refreshing summer drink' poll on the blog (just for curiosity's sake) and homemade lemonade came out tops - Sicily have their own version of this, granita de limone (a kind of lemony crushed ice, or slush puppy if you grew up in the UK) which we basically lived on for the whole 10 days. However, do not make the mistake of asking for a granita de menta because it tastes and looks like Listerine mouthwash. If however, there are any italians out there who know of a granita de menta that does not taste like medicine, please let me know! Another foodie delight of Sicily are the fruit stands, serving fresh, cold peeled and cut fruit (with granita poured over if you wish) which is perfect for lazy people such as myself who claim to like fruit but are too idle to actually prepare the stuff. Those of you who read the blog more or less regularly will know that I like to harp on about customer service, I don't know why I'm so obsessed with it (perhaps from working as an account exec in advertising for a few years where we practically had to tie clients shoe laces for them). Don't worry, I didn't ask anyone to tie my shoelaces in Sicily, but it was interesting to contrast the service with Spain. Ok, I admit I have occasionally bemoaned the sometimes moody service in Spanish restaurants and bars, but I can't deny that waiters here are pretty efficient and very speedy. Well, in contrast, Sicilian waiters were incredibly friendly and warm, but unfortunately kindness doesn't quell my ravenous hunger after a day's sightseeing, and it sometimes took what felt like centuries for a meal to be served. In one particular place in Sicily, we were the only customers and we were tended to by no less than six waiters (so we had three people each in theory), who nevertheless were unexplicaby unable to provide us with ice, water, cutlery or any of the other items that are key to a basic meal without being politely asked about 10 times. At first, I didn't understand why they were taking so long, but then I realised that each person had an assigned job, e.g. one was the napkin folder, another the antipasti plater etc, and there was no way you could get them to do anything (no matter how urgent) that would interrupt the all-important the napkin-folding, antipasti-plating etc until they had finished said job. The lady operating the open air barbequeue was also delaying proceedings as she grilled on a 'one for me, one for you' basis, openly gobbling up every other morsel of meat she cooked in front of our very eyes, before cooking the next item. In any case, none of this really pissed us off, as the staff were so good humoured and were probably paid absolute peanuts and had no lunchbreaks and are as such forced to eat on the job, it just made me smile. The best of Palermo? Perhaps the last night there was the nicest, in the La Kalsa neighbourhood, in a street bar we had previously discovered in the middle of a deserted piazza. listening to live cuban music, eating fresh fruit. The funniest? In the 2-hour queue for the hire car which was not remotely funny, especially when you had grown men constantly tyring to push in front of you using the 'I won't look at you, so you can't see me pushing' method - things got funny when our queue was dramatically fragmented by the spillage of a little juice (or some other liquid) on the floor)... All sounds quite normal so far, until someone calls the cleaning man to wipe up the albeit small but hazardous puddle on the marble floor... My Italian's not so good, but he basically edged his way up to the mess with a look of disgust on his face and a broom in hand and proceeded to say that it wasn't his job to clear up this kind of mess. It would seem that he was only in charge of paper mess, and after much moaning, he scuttled off and returned with a huge bag of used paper refuse, poured it all over the tiny drop of liquid on the floor and mashed the paper into it with the mop in attempt to dry it up, speading the originally small dirty zone all over the floor. He must have also added a bit of Fairy Liquid to the mix as it started to froth up and smear the floor, the paper breaking into little pieces. Finally he cleared up all the paper, putting back in the rubbish bag it came from, leaving the floor even dirtier than before. Talk about making mountains from molehills :-)