The old and the new

This is so fascinating, crates of Coca Cola bottles being hauled by mules. This was in Fes, the alleyways in the souk is so narrow that everything has to be carried in by donkeys. We stayed just outside the souk and we came upon this donkey being loaded up with Coke bottles and then we watched it carrying them up the hill into the souk. Everything is carried in and out by donkeys, food, drinks, construction material. Every now and then there'll be a call to get out of the way because a donkey with a load is coming through. It goes on non stop. The locals don't like it when you take pictures of their animals, these are their prized possessions.

A very smelly place

The souk in Fes is one of the oldest in the world. It functions as it always has since its inception and is one of the most fascinating places in the world. It is old and decrepit and confusing, more so than in Marrakech. At one point Sophie and I got separated and I had a bad case of claustrophobia, I had to run out of the place. Most of the locals can't afford the upkeep of their places and thanks to UNESCO and some foreigners who has injected funds into rehabilitating the place and placed a halt to it's decline, the place is experiencing a resurgence. The most smelly place, the tanneries is right smack in the middle of the souk and the foul smell warns visitors that they are fast approaching the tanneries. But it is also a fascinating place. I've never been near a tannery before and to see one up close was very exciting. We were invited up some stairs and we wondered why but when we were up the rooftop, we realised, that it is the most vantage point to view the workings of a tannery. There were vats of leather steeping in what we were told donkey urine and pigeon poop to soften the hide. It stank so bad. There were workmen jumping in and out of those stinky vats, scrubbing the hide as they go. God, this must be the world's most awful job!

A Berber village

Scenes like this dot the area outside Marrakech and it is an amazing sight to behold. We didn't see much of them outside of Fes towards the North. I remember being quite disappointed when we were in Fes but the moment we left and arrived in Marrakech, then what we anticipated came true and we became happy again. We went to a Berber market day and that was also very amazing. I loved that. It was so primitive, it reminded me of a similar one in a little village in Southern China. They built these houses from the mud, that is why the color is indistinguishable from the color of the dirt. I remember telling my Chinese taxi driver, 'I want to see dirt houses.' Then the color in this village in China was red and the dirt houses were red and so beautiful.

Another red city, Marrakech

It was only six months ago that we were in Marrakech. The zeal for it has waned a little as we prepare to visit other places in the world. Marrakech is one of the most exotic and vibrant places that I've visited so far. The people are nice and energetic. It's fun to experience energy in places we visit. It is crowded but that's nothing new considering we are from Southern California where people and cars clash and fight for space. I'm always amazed at magazine articles featuring Los Angeles and Southern California. I don't remember it being so beautiful or so special but it is. While at home, all we do is go to work and come home. It's the Hollywood types who has the time to visit all the special places. In some neighborhoods it is easy to bump into a movie star or just working in a drugstore (I'm a pharmacist and have filled prescriptions for some movie stars) one will see movie stars come in for prescriptions or other drugstore items. Or going to the Los Angeles courthouse because these movie stars often get into trouble with the law. Or going to a local jail, one might bump into Paris Hilton or Lindsay Lohan serving their time at the local women's jail. Maybe no place is as crowded as Cairo or China. I've yet to go to India. I hope to do it soon. Sigh......so many places, so little time..... We've enjoyed Marrakech very much

Rufus Wainwright

A red city, Bologna

We walked out of a restaurant after dinner and saw the moon shining over this church. I couldn't pass it up, I had to take this picture. Wow! Such is the stuff of life, in the end, all we do is make memories, whether happy or sad ones. I went to Bologna because I read it is red and I like red. Is that enough reason to visit? I think so. Bologna is very different from other Italian cities, it is more laid back and easier to get around. It's fun walking in the colonnaded arcades of the red buildings. There are a few world class museums that are obscure and well worth visiting.

Basilica San Vitale, Ravenna

One would have missed out a lot if one has not seen this and many of the fine examples of Byzantine art and architecture. I visited Ravenna a few years after Sicily. In Sicily I saw some gorgeous Byzantine mosaics and these dates much later than the Ravenna mosaics. The cathedral at Monreale just outside Palermo is so incredible, though they have been restored, doesn't in any way diminish their importance. The mosaics at the Palatine chapel in Palermo, though on a much smaller scale is also very spectacular. We visited at a time when they were restoring them but they did leave the chapel opened to visitors. The importance of the Ravenna mosaics is they are an important example of very early Christian Byzantine art and architecture in Western Europe, the other early ones being in the East, in Istanbul, formerly Constantinople. The church in Ravenna was begun in 527 and completed in 548. It is the only major church to have survived in such a pristine condition from the period of Emperor Justinian. Justinian and his wife, Theodora is featured prominently in the mosaics adorning the interior of the church.They are absolutely amazing.