Welcome to Madrid!

Crescent and Havergal started our journey with an overnight flight to Madrid, with a few successfully getting some sleep on the plane. Once we landed, we dove straight into programming, exploring with our tour guides Santiago and Isabel. We visited the Reina Sofia Museum to see famous paintings by Dali and Picasso (to name a few!) and had lunch in the area. Currently, we are settling into Hotel Sterling Gran Via before a well-deserved dinner and restful night. 

The squad started the day with a light breakfast at the hotel: fruits, cereal, pastries, etc. We then made our way to the Palacio Real de Madrid. On our way, we walked along the Calle Mayor, and then explored the palace courtyard and garden before exploring the "palacio" itself. After touring the 3,000 room palace, the group made their way back to the Plaza Mayor where we split up for lunch. Reconvening after lunch, we made our way to the royal garden where we saw the Crystal Palace, statues, and the Modern Art Museum. The afternoon concluded with a downtime at the hotel. In the evening the group headed to the Dudua Palacio restaurant for a filling three-course meal. 

-Filip & Darie 

The boys started off the day with a rough morning after a mechanical malfunction caused our bus to be late by several hours. However, we remained positive the entire time, ate some churros (a traditional Spanish breakfast with chocolate!), and after a 5-hour bus ride, we reached the grand city of Granada! 

As we stepped out of the bus, we were amazed by the grand mountains and vast scenery that contrasted the buzzing cities we saw throughout the past few days. 

The boys first toured through the Alhambra and saw medieval fountains and unique architecture. Here we saw the first influence of Arabic culture in Spain, brought by the Moors of Africa who lived here up until 1421, that we will be seeing more of in Morocco. Next, we moved on to the Generalife, where we were met with beautiful gardens and flowers.  

After ending the amazing day with a buffet dinner at the hotel, the boys are ready to go to bed for an early morning transit and our first day in Morocco! 

- Jesse and Andy

Today we got to explore the city of Fes and we celebrated warm weather (finally!), good food and Filip's 18th birthday! The team had a well-earned late start to the day after our late arrival in Fes last night, beginning the excursion of Fes with an expedition to a local pottery workshop, ArtGile, at 10 am. The workshop guided the team on how to make pottery, from moulding the clay to painting the final touches of it. After the pottery workshop, the team had lunch and ventured into the Medina.

The Medina consisted of many different small stores in a tight area. Each alleyway was tight, which made driving through it impossible. Therefore, the Medina is the largest area globally that doesn't permit cars.

The Medina hosted a bounty of wonders. For example, we visited one of the oldest universities in the world, which disallowed anyone who was not Muslim to enter, a leather house that offered mint to cover the smell, and a fabric store that sold robes and turbans.

After a long walking day, the team returned to the hotel and, as we are writing, are singing along to music while playing cards on the rooftop terrace at sunset. Since it is Ramadan, we heard the "adhan" the call to prayer across the city just as the sun was setting, indicating that people could break their fast. As Morocco is a predominantly Muslim country, most residents are observing Ramadan. 

Perchance, Casablanca will be just as exquisite tomorrow. 

- Andrew & Kasim

We started today by filling our empty stomachs with a nice breakfast. For our first stop of the day, we ventured to the renowned Hassan II Mosque to be awed by the blend of local and foreign architecture. The mosque combined traditional Moroccan materials like cedar wood from the Atlas Mountains and foreign materials such as Venetian glass chandeliers, famous for their resistance to the humidity ever present in the coastal mosque. 

From there, we ventured to the perilously woven streets of the oldest market in Casablanca. Roaming the streets of the market, our nostrils were filled with the thick, earthy scent of the various olives grown and produced in Morocco. 

Another highlight of the day was when we were given the opportunity to exchange our euros for the local Moroccan Dirham; the rate was so good it brought my fellow blogger, Arqish, to tears. Following that, we enjoyed a traditional Morrocan lunch that transcended international flavours. 

Finally, we embarked on a road trip to Morroco's most populated city Marrakech, awed by the window scenery lazily rolling by. Tomorrow will be just as magical, perchance. 

Sincerely, 

Max & Arqish