My Vacation

So I'm going on vacation this weekend for the rest of November. I hope nothing too significant happens while I'm gone. We've already tested the October low yesterday. I was afraid that's going to happen next week and possibly break and I'm going to miss out on the action. There's a G20 meeting which I don't think in the short run it'll be that significant but will have a longer term impact. Since I'm a bit obsessive about schedules, I'm trying to plan out what to do each day while researching the cities we're going and you get an idea of my route.

Saturday, 11/15 - flight to Barcelona, arrive late close to midnight I think. Maybe roam around the hotel, scout out food places.

11/16 ~ 18 - ship leaves at 7pm on the 18th. From what Oliver told me, the Olympic Hill is cool and Picaso Museum, Sagrada Familia, La Rambla and Park Guell (and other Gaudi architectures) are all good places to go.

11/19 - At sea

11/20 - Granada/Malaga. We're here almost 11 hrs. I don't know if we have enough time for both places but I'm leaning more towards Granada if I have to choose. Malaga I heard is cool b/c it's right on the ocean and it's the birth place of Picasso. People have told me that La Alhambra is a can't miss... it's like part fortress, part garden, and part garden.

11/21 - Casablanca. 9 hrs in Casablanca and Rabat. I think we can taken an overnight excursion to Marrakech. If this means we can skip Agadir I'm totally for it. Casablanca has the King Hassan Mosque and Rabat has the Kasbah of the Oudaias, Chellah, and Old Medina to see. If we get to go into Marrakech I'm going to try to go to Djemma El Fna, The Souks Market and Koutoubia Mosque.

11/22 - Agadir. From my research this is just a tourist resort. Disappointing...

11/23 - Arrecife/Lanzarote. Timanfaya Park, volcanic mountains and supposedly we can ride camels along the mountain side. I'm all over riding camels, man. But I feel sorry for the one that's having to carry my fat ass around.

11/24 - Las Palmas. 9 hrs here... I don't really care about this place. Beach and hiking? who knows.

11/25 - At sea

11/26 - Lisbon. We're here for about 9 hrs. Oliver told me to go to Monasterio de San Gerronimo and Torre de Belem. I think they're close together in this monument area but I could be wrong.

11/27 - Sevilla/Cadiz. We have almost 12 hrs at Cadiz and Sevilla. My impression is that Cadiz is not that interesting. If it's possible I'd like to go see a bull fight (Plaza de Toros de la Real Maestranza). I think someone told me this was along the river. The Cathedral of Seville, Real Alcazar, and the Jewish Quarter have all been mentioned as places to go and see.

11/28 - Gibraltar. 6 hours here more or less. Dolphin watching, St. Michael's cave and the Europa Point are all good options here I guess.

11/29 - Palma. We only have about 6 hrs or less again at Palmas, I think we can go to Castell de Bellver (some Muslim fortress with a good view of the bay) or the Pueblo Espanol (I think this is built like a small village with classical Spanish architectural work).

11/30 - dock back in Barcelona at 5am. Don't remember what time the departing flight is at the moment...

I'm excited about the food. I'm done w/ my diet and I lost about 12 lbs. Obviously it'd be stupid to gain it all back but I'm comfortable w/ indulging a little bit. I want to get some paella, tapas, gazpacho, kabobs, schwarma, falafael, some Moroccan tea, and just good sea food in general. I love the fact that they ran an episode of Bourdain's No Reservation on Monday when he went to Spain.