This morning we got a relatively early start for our mountain drive from our Parador in Arties to the Bielsa Parador.
We had dinner at the Parador
Arties to Bielsa
Month: March 2023
Cordona to Arties
Today we traveled north and a bit west from the Parador of Cardona to the Parador of Arties in the Pyrenees mountains. Since we arrived at Cardona late Thursday night and had very little to eat on Thursday we were at breakfast in our Parador when it opened.
After breakfast we explored the castle. It was a highly strategic site during the War of Spanish Succession. The nearby salt mines made the Dukes who owned this area incredibly wealthy.
Our reservation and the deal we had reserved included dinner last night. Since the restaurant was closed when we harried we had lunch today instead.
After lunch we got on the road and drove through the mountains to the ski resort of Arties. It was a drive of about 3 hours. Along the way we stopped for groceries.
Once we arrived at the Arties Parador we had our welcome drinks played cards and had a picnic dinner.
Casablanca, Morocco to Cardona, Spain
This morning we went out and found a place for breakfast before leaving Casablanca.
Then we drove to the airport and turned in our rental car.
It took us 6 different checks including security, immigration and checking bags but we finally got on our plane for Madrid. In Madrid we only had an hour between flights and we had to go through immigration and travel a long distance to the domestic terminal. We made it but just barely.
We landed in Barcelona around 6:30 but our bags didn’t. They finally showed up about 10:30 and then we were on the road in a new rental car. We drove about an hour to Cardona where we are tonight. We arrived too late for dinner. It was a long day and we are all looking forward to breakfast.
Casablanca Day 2
This morning we found a place for breakfast and then walked to the Hassan II Mosque and took a tour.
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The scale of the Mosque is astounding. It is the third biggest in the world, the biggest outside of Saudi Arabia and it has the tallest minaret in the world. The mosque is stunningly beautiful. It is constructed almost exclusively of Moroccan materials.
From the mosque we walked to a bookstore that had some books in English.
Then we had tea and played cards.
For our last dinner in Africa we went an absolutely wonderful African Fusion Restaurant called NKOA.
Safi to Casablanca
Today was pretty much the last day of our Moroccon Road trip. We drove up the coast from Safi to Casablanca.
Casablanca is a big city. (Over 3 million people.) It is certainly the most cosmopolitan city we have been to in Morocco. The drive to our hotel was a bit stressful because of all the traffic and the crazy drivers. But we made it and we are settled in the Art Palace Suites and spa. Each room has a different theme.
We went out for a walk after we got here and then had a great dinner at a nearby French restaurant Le Kimmy’Z.
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