Maeve’s travels

The above pictures are from the bike ride I did with friends.  It is of the fanciest McD’s on earth with Art Deco Features.  It was originally the Imperial Coffee Shop. Tom and I spent a couple of beautiful days in Porto, Portugal.  Unfortunately he picked up a cold and missed some of the activities.the first day we had a lovely lunch followed by a historical walking tour of the city.  On the tour we met 4 lovely young ladies from Fordham University - Rose Hill, class of 2020.  We had a lovely dinner down by the Douro River.  For old times sake we had some Mateus.  Yum!  The beautiful tile work is from the main train station. See you soon!  

Had a lovely morning on a field program of bread making in the Medina of Tangier.  We learned how the Moroccans make their mint tea and their wheat bread.  Both were so delicious!  We walked our bread to the community oven.  While it was baking we learned all about the process of mixing spices for the tea.  Soon our bread arrived and we sat down to a wonderful meal!

  Well you saw the camels, but that was only the beginning.  Our visit to Morocco has been a breathtaking experience.  Our amazing guide Isia took us from the Sahara through the Atlas Mountains to Fez and Chefchaouen.  In Fez we had an amazing guide, Mohammed, who is native to Fez and shared the history of his beautiful city.   The handicrafts in these cities are just amazing.  Made some small pottery purchases.  If you do not have Morocco on your bucket list then it is time to add it.  It is a beautiful country with amazing people.  They are so willing to share knowledge of their culture and religion. Chefchaouen is nicknamed “The Blue City”.   It is located in the Rif mountain region.  All of these cities have a Kasbah (military fortress) surrounded by a Medina (walled city).  We spent a wonderful afternoon with our guide and fellow travelers, Heidi and John Lapp, strolling through the Medina.

 We had a beautiful drive to the Sahara via the Atlas Mountains.  Arrived at our Berber Campsite about 4:30.  We enjoyed some mint tea before heading out for our camel ride.  We rode camel’s for about an hour while watching the sun set over the dunes.  It was an amazing experience.  Not as scary as I thought it would be.

Went to Went to the top of Table Mountain in Cape Town as part of my tour.  Loved the views!  Met so many nice people. Went to see the penguins of S.Africa at Boulder’s Beach.  This was part on the tour that included The Cape of Good Hope and Table Mountain.  Tom was not feeling well, so he stayed on the ship.  The penguins were just too cute.