Foreign Affair Sailing

Siberia

On the Trans-Siberian Express - Day 1

We didn't have adequate internet access to permit posting as we traveled between Moscow and Beijing.  We know posting to the blog is impossible in China since they block all Google and Facebook associated sites.  Dwayne's brother, Brian, wrote most of our record of the trip while on the train.  What is posted here is mostly Brian's work with Dwayne doing some editing.  Brian's blog is at the following link:

The Kremlin and Boarding the Trans-Siberian Express

It snowed again last night, about 2 inches.  The forecast is for continued light snow and warming temperatures up to 30 degrees Fahrenheit.  We intend to tour the Kremlin which should take most of the day, pick up our luggage at the hotel and head to the railroad station to board the Trans-Siberian Express which will be our home for the next few days.  Up until now, it has been easy to gain internet access.  We aren't certain how we will fair on the train.  If there are no posts for the next few days, you will see several when we once again can post.

Moscow - Red Square, St. Basil's and GUM Department Store

We woke about 0730 to the sound of snow shovels in the courtyard between our hotel and the neighboring buildings.  About 2 inches of snow fell over night.  We slept well and ate breakfast in our room consisting of bread, cheese, yogurt and tea.  After breakfast we headed to the subway to catch a train to Red Square where we found ourselves in a winter wonderland of fir trees, vending stalls, skaters and tourists enjoying a pleasant winter day in Moscow.  Temperatures were in the 20 to 25 degree range during the day.  Snow plows and snow shovelers were busy throughout the day.

Casablanca to Paris to Moscow

We woke at 3:30 a.m.  Took breakfast at 4:00 and were in our cab on our way to the airport by 4:30.  We arrived at our gate 20 minutes before loading for our Air France flight to Moscow via Paris.  The roughly 3 hour flight to Paris was uneventful as we slept most of the way.  Upon our arrival, we had to rush through security checks again to catch our noon flight to Moscow.  We hardly had time to stop at the restroom before boarding for our 4 hour flight to Moscow.  Lunch was served shortly after takeoff.  It was fish, potatoes, salad, bread, cheese, a fruit tart and wine.  All in all, it was better than most food served on airlines.  Our bags were among the first to be found on the baggage claim.  We hit the ATM for some cash and were soon off to catch the airport express train and a subway to Moscow's main train and subway hub.  We attempted to purchase our tickets for our Trans-Siberian/Trans-Mongolian railway tickets to Bejing.  However, the international ticket windows were closed and no one was able to help us get tickets.  So, it was decided to grab a cab and head to our hotel.  There we checked in and ate our supper of salami, black bread, potato chips, an orange and some oreo cookies with tea and milk.  It was a long day but everything went well with the exception of getting our tickets for Bejing.  We will try again tomorrow.  The train leaves the following day.

Casablanca

We stayed an extra day beyond our organized tour to rest and spend more time in Casablanca.  We slept in and didn't get to breakfast until 9 a.m.  We remained at the hotel watching television until about 1 and then, went to the Hammam Ziani for our spa treatment.  The walk to the hammam was interesting as we had to negotiate our way through narrow streets and wide boulevards for about 30 minutes before arriving at our destination.  This hammam is highly rated on TripAdvisor and recommended by the hotel.  We checked our clothes and two hours later emerged refreshed, spick and span.  We returned to our hotel for a light dinner and watched "Chasseurs d' appart'" a French version of the television show "House Hunters".  We went to bed early.  We have an 0730 flight tomorrow.

Marrakesh to Casablanca

We covered the 250 kilometer drive from Marrakesh to Casablanca in a bit over 3 hours.  We checked into our hotel and ate lunch after which we had free time.  Carla did some laundry at the hotel while Dwayne went to the Hassan II Mosque for a tour.  This mosque is the largest mosque in Morocco.  Over 100,000 people can worship there with 25,000 on the mosque's interior and 75,000 in the vast courtyard at its entrance.  Its 210 meter tall (689 feet) minaret is the tallest in the world.  The mosque was completed in 1993 taking 7 years to construct.  Twelve million Moroccans donated to the cost of construction.  It is estimated the project was completed for about $600 million.  The finest materials were used by the over 10,000 craftsmen involved in its construction.  The marble, granite, tile, woodwork and stucco combine to create a modern architectural wonder of immense size.

Marrakesh

On our way to the Koutoubia Mosque we ran into a couple of Watermen.  These colorfully dressed men served an important function in Morocco.  They carried goat skin bags filled with water, cups, a bell and a money pouch while distributing water and collecting alms for the poor.  The Watermen would walk about periodically ringing their bell to announce their presence.  If you went for water, they would pour a cup and take a sip themselves first to show the water was good.  Then, they would pour a cup for you.  You would then give the Waterman a contribution which he would put in his moneybag.  At the end of the day, he would count the money; keep enough for his sustenance and give the remainder to the poor as he wandered about.

Fez to Marrakesh

It was a very long ride of over 500 kilometers today from Fez to Marrakesh.  We made several stops during the nearly 11 hour drive.  The highlight of the road trip was lunch at a marvelous restaurant whose walls and ceiling were elaborately covered with tile work.  The meal itself was a chicken tejine and not as tasty as other meals we have had since arriving in Morocco.  We are getting a bit tired of tejine meals.  It was also the most expensive dining experience we have had 310 MAD (about $35 total).  The countryside was quite varied as we passed through mountains and plains.

Fez

We were able to sleep in this morning as our bus did not depart until 8 a.m. for a tour of Fez.  We made a brief stop at the entrance to the royal palace before heading to the Fes El Bali Medina.  Because the royal family was in Rabat, we were able to get a close up view of the seven decorative doors to the palace.  Fez was the capitol of Morocco for 400 years.  We spent the morning in the Fes el Bali Medina which is the oldest walled part of Fez.  Here we wandered the narrow, maze of walkways viewing the many workshops and vendors wares for sale.  We had a local guide once again who was raised and lives in the medina.  His intimate knowledge of the passageways through this vast community were essential to our not getting lost and being able to see many of the important sites located within the medina walls.

Rabat to Fez

On to Morocco

We woke at 3 a.m. to catch a cab at 4 a.m. to get to Termini, Rome's central transportation hub to catch a bus to the airport for our 7:45 a.m. flight.  We flew Iberia airlines with our first stop in Madrid, Spain where we had to hurry along to get through this mega-airport to catch our connecting flight to Tanger, Morocco.  It took us about 25 minutes to move from our arrival gate to our departure gate.  Thank goodness, the airline transferred our bags.  We arrived at our departure gate about 15 minutes before boarding.  Both flights were smooth and we slept most of the way.  In Tanger, we met our driver and van at the airport.  Without any delay, we were on our way to Rabat.  It took us 3 hours to cover the 300 kilometers from Tanger to Rabat.  Brian had to use Mapquest to help the driver find our hotel.  All in all, the day went smoothly and our hotel is definitely up-scale for Morocco.

The Vatican

The sun was shining bright as we left the hotel to catch the #5 streetcar and A train to arrive at The Vatican.  The local guides were upon us as we got close to the Vatican Museum entrance.  They wanted $50 to get us priority entrance and a guided tour.  We once again took advantage of the Rick Steves audio guide and using our blue tooth earphones were able to negotiate the Vatican Museum at our pace and get a very well scripted tour.  The line to get into the museum was not very long.  After all, it was not the height of the tourist season.  This made the visit even more enjoyable.  No crowds.

Rome Day 2 - The Forum, Collona Trajana, Monumento a Vittorio Emaneule II, Fontana di Trevi

Rome - Day 1 Colosseo

The Donatello Hotel is small but comfortable.  Carlo checked us in and gave us a very good run down on how to efficiently get around to all the major sites.  After storing our luggage, it was off for lunch and then on to the metro and the Colosseo.

On to Rome

It snowed overnight and the rental car was covered in about 3 inches of the white stuff.  School was cancelled, however, the roads were in good shape.  We had a few bumps in the morning but all ended well.  Brian's credit card was denied when we tried to make a purchase.  Apparently, someone had attempted to make a $38,000 transaction on it and the bank shut down the card.  The charge was from a Japanese source.  Janet's charge card on the same account was not affected.  So, we can still use that account while traveling.  All of us were TSA Pre and expected to move quickly through the security checkpoint; however, Dwayne's passport was temporarily missing shortly after we passed through TSA security.  It was eventually found and we were soon in the British Air Lounge looking for something to fill our stomachs since we really didn't have a big breakfast.  The flight to JFK was short and uneventful.

Rendezvous in Columbia

January 15

Dwayne flew out of Kansas City and Carla from Charlotte, NC.  They arrived within minutes of each other at BWI and by chance had the same station for baggage claim.  It couldn't have been more convenient.  Even more amazing was Dwayne's brother, Brian. arrived a few minutes after the bags were recovered and pulled up right in front of the door for pick-up.  No time or effort wasted.  Shortly after, we were all together sitting at the kitchen table at Brian's enjoying hot pizza and beer that was ordered for delivery while we were returning from the airport.  At least we are starting our Round the World (RTW) tour in good order.  Let's hope our luck holds.

Jurassic Quest - Dinosaurs

Dwayne took his grandson for a day outing to learn more about the boy's favorite subject: dinosaurs.  Jurassic Quest was in Kansas City.  So, it was off for the day of adventure.  True to life size dinosaurs were on display.  The automated dinosaurs moved and roared in their dioramas.  It was quite an impressive show.  We learned much about dinosaurs during our tour of the exhibits.  Afterwards, there were various activities to keep young and old humans entertained.  The dinosaur walk and baby dinosaurs were a big hit with the kids.  There were also rides, craft activities, bouncy houses and fossil hunts to keep everyone busy having fun and learning.  Afterward, it was a late supper at Culver's Restaurant for hamburgers and custard ice cream.  Then, home for some much needed rest.