Scene from the holiday lights and music show at the Grand Place.

Even the Manneken Pis got in on the action:

Happy holidays, dear readers.  Thanks for following along and for all the love and comments.  See you in the States.

A lot of these streets feel just like the Mission or Hayes Valley, but there are some not-so-subtle reminders you are in Spain:

Madrid doesn’t have a lot of famous, picture-worthy landmarks, but the whole city is just really pretty to look at, especially in autumn:

We crossed off several of our must-see-before-we-die paintings, including Guernica and Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights.  Reina Sofia has one of the most impressive collections I’ve ever seen, and Guernica was totally worth all the years I waited to see it.  I really wanted to walk through this installation and ring all the bells:

A few final pictures as we say hasta luego to Madrid:

This bear trying to eat strawberries from a tree is a symbol of the city. J’approve. Even though strawberries don’t grow on trees I admire the bear’s effort.

Toast with tomato and olive oil is my new favorite breakfast.

This cat was creepy.

Mohammed, the driver who took us to Volubilis, was really friendly and very excited to talk with us because he will be moving to San Francisco next year to start an internship at Goldman Sachs.

The landscapes outside of Fez are beautiful and we stopped a couple of times to take photos.

So rich with oranges

Volubilis was very large and had some really awesome well-preserved mosaics.  There were also lots of columns and an aqueduct and rocks that may or may not be historic.  Sometimes it’s hard to tell the important rocks from the regular rocks.

The Romans made tasteful decorating decisions.

When we got back to Fez, Mohammed invited us back to his parents’ house for tea and dessert.  It was really nice to get to visit with him in his house, which was pretty spectacular:

A fancy end to a nice day!

Also, there is lots of loose pasta that really calls to you to rake your hands through it:

But the thing we loved the most was the idea that someone could take home this whole shark:

Imagine that fish tail peeking out of your shopping bag!

Buying cilantro

Back at the riad, the staff dressed us in chef’s coats and aprons and we looked awfully proud of ourselves for some reason:

Our menu was a few different Moroccan salads, chicken with preserved lemons and olives, and a frozen nougat dessert.  The cook was a really sweet woman who spoke to us in a combination of French and Arabic while another staff member did her best to translate.  We all enjoyed joking together and nodding eagerly over the few French words we understood.  We were entrusted with tiny blades that were basically x-acto knives, which meant we weren’t any great help in the kitchen when it came to chopping onions or garlic.  That was ok though – it seemed our main responsibility was to watch and drink tea.

Preparing the preserved lemon and onion sauce

Breads were also being prepared while we were in the kitchen

Hot bread

For dinner we ate the meal that we’d “helped” prepare.  Even though I don’t think I’m taking many cooking tips home with me, we really enjoyed getting to know the staff better and learning some of the kitchen secrets, like the fact that the creamy dessert the staff swore was non-dairy is about half creme fraiche.

Everything was delicious and beautiful, as always.

I hear the drums echoing tonight….

I have always wanted to go to Morocco and Ian was a sport about changing plans with me.  He found us an amazing riad in Fez for a bargain rate.

There is a lot happening in the medina – tons of new sights/smells/sounds/tastes to take in all at once – and it is nice to balance that with a relaxing place to come home to.  The light shining through the stained glass on our door is a beautiful thing to wake up to:

Every day, after a very generous breakfast in the riad, we head out into the medina.  The crafts are beautiful but it is always the food that catches my eye.  Here are a few (ok, a lot) of medina sights:

I think this olive and pickles shop is my favorite.

Years of living in the co-ops left me with a major mandarin-hoarding impulse. I want all of these.

Getting weighed for sale

Coming through

We have enjoyed opportunities to see the city from above and gain perspective on how the narrow streets are actually laid out.  Some cafes have terraces advertising a “vue panoramique” and we’ve also climbed up some nearby hills.

Construction near the tannery

City view, olive trees, and, sadly, trash fires.

Besides produce-peeping and taking in the views, another thing we’ve enjoyed has been admiring the incredible carving and tile-work.  These photos from the Bou Inania Madrasa might give you an idea of some of the detailed work that can be found.

I count one great husband and seven different tile patterns in this photo.

Next up, we actually cook things with those beautiful market ingredients!

We spent one day walking around Bilbao.  The Guggenheim was closed but still really neat to see from the outside.

We warmed up with churros and hot chocolate:

The town of Burgos has an impressive cathedral, which looks cool poking out from behind bright and colorful city squares.

As we began our drive toward Madrid, we passed through several microclimates and Ian took pictures of the changing scenery:

It mostly rained during our stay in San Sebastián but we made the most of a break in the weather by heading up Mont Igueldo for a view of the city.

The weather did not stop us from our primary objective: pintxos.  The very best we had were at Bar Zeruko, which was so popular that we had to elbow our way up to the counter to fill our little plates with snacks.  There were probably sixty or seventy types of pintxos laid out on the counter and each one was a work of art.

Round 1

Happy pintxos eaters

Happy cider drinker

In between pintxos, we walked around the city and popped into lots of cute shops, including this chocolate shop where you could propose to your partner with a chocolate sheep:

Spain, you do things so very well.

Cutest hat shop

Pretty fish at La Boqueria market

Ian and I were excited to go back to Sagrada Familia and see the progress since our last visit.  The cathedral now has a completion date (2026-2028!) and a lot has changed in the last seven years.

The most magical thing to see was the effect of the light shining through the stained glass on the interior:

A climb up one of the towers was also a great chance to peer out over the city and to see the new fruit sculptures topping some of the shorter spires.

We were extra fortunate to cross paths with one of Ian’s best friends from high school, Adam, and his wife, Alli, and all six of us had an excellent tapas meal together.  So much to be thankful for!

The town is beautiful.  The buildings along the River Douro are colorful and provide the most classic view of Porto, but all around the city there are art deco buildings and churches covered in tiles.

Ian found an effective way to hack the steep streets:

A visit to the Serralves Museum and the Kopke port house rounded out the trip.