When planning a trip its always fun to take a few hours and research some of the history and culture that shaped the place. A little insight can help you understand what you are seeing and why things are the way they are presently. Our way of living isn’t always the “right way” or “best…
Berlin Beirgartens
Beer gardens are to Berlin what tires are to cars, essential to smooth daily commuting. Beer gardens make a special space outdoors under giant chestnut trees providing maximum shade as you drink some of the most incredible beers in Germany. These brewers are held to the strict Purity in Bier Law insisting that the brews…
Marrakesh, Morocco
The Red City has an amazing ancient medina full of snake charmers, fortune tellers, con artists and street vendors all ready for you and your tourist dollars. Long ago this vibrant square was used for public beheadings! Nowadays, fresh fruit stands, street vendors and tasty juice stalls line the squares by day. By night food…
Chicken and Preserved Lemon Tagine
A typical dish in Morocco involves steam cooking a roast of carefully placed veggies with or without a meat base into a pyramidal shape in order of cooking time so that we achieve the perfect textures for each veggie in the tagine. This is all set in special clay earthenware for which the dish is…
Moroccan Spice Traders
Everywhere you go in the medina you see spice and fruit traders lining the streets and filling vendor stalls with their wonderful fruits and spices. Try a sampling of dates and figs while you tour the shops! Who knew there were so many varieties of each fruit? I made sure to stock up on Zanzibar,…
Berlin – City of Architecture
As far as cutting edge architecture is concerned, Berlin is full of iconic buildings on display that entertain the eye and challenge contemporaries to push boundaries. This city is unlike most others in Germany because after it was completely destroyed in WWII and then impacted further by the rise and fall of the wall separating…
Berlin Street Art Scene
An eclectic mix of international street artists make Berlin their canvas in various forms and styles. Some artists have adapted to making massed produced copies and pasting them up so that fans can collect the pieces by sponging off and pressing the peeled off graphic between sheets of paper to dry intact.
Bab Bou Jeloud – The Blue Gate
This main, keyhole entrance to the medina sits atop the hill and leads to the endless maze of winding streets and narrow alleyways filled with vendors, cafes, and storefronts full of spices, baboush and endless options of foods and leather goods. Don’t forget that haggling is part of the culture here! Offers are initially made…
Fez – The Chouara Tannery
The tannery produces many of the leather goods sold in the medina. Vibrant colors are created since ancient days using natural elements such as charred coal, flower petals, and pomegranate skins.
Ait Ben Haddou – Morocco
This iconic way station at the end of the Sahara desert guarding the entrance to Morocco just beyond the Middle Atlas Mountains. Desert nomads used the city as a refueling station and trading hub. Protection was given in return for taxes levied on the caravans traveling back and forth with their goods. The site…
Journey Into Cuisine 