First a few facts.
I started my travels on August 17, and return to SF on November 6. It's almost three months.
I have visited 5 different countries - The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Morocco and Portugal (6 if you count the Vatican) and 23 different cities (well, 24 if you count the Vatican).
Here are my favorite things about each place I spent some time.
1. Amsterdam
This was THE place to start my trip. All of Europe seemed to be there with me. It was a great place to get acculturated with its laid-back, everything goes attitude.
Favorite place: the bike path that ran along the Amstel
Favorite food: stroopwafels! and Indonesian takeout
Favorite part of town: Chinatown
Best memory: riding a bike
Will miss: the nice apartment I had there
Best overall thing: the canals!
2. Haarlem
Favorite place: The main square
Favorite food: Ifrench fries with peanut sauce
Favorite part of town: The main square
Best memory: Having a beer and listening to jazz
Will miss: the laid-back feeling of summer in the Netherlands
Best overall thing: how easy it was to get there by train
3. Edam (bike ride from Amsterdam)
Favorite place: Monickendam, a town I passed along the way
Favorite food: the lunch I brought with me - cheese sandwich with good mustard and an apple
Favorite part of town: I somehow missed the town of Edam itself(I saw the dam on the river E), but the trip was great
Best memory: riding my bike through a cow pasture in the rain, riding on the dykes, the whole trip was an incredible memory
Will miss: the feeling of freedom I felt
Best overall thing: how easy it was to travel by bike
4. Gouda
Favorite place: The central square
Favorite food: Stroopwafel (even though I was a little disappointed, it was the reason I went to Gouda)
Favorite part of town: The area around the central square
Best memory: Searching for freshly made stroopwafels!
Will miss: Stroopwafels?
Best overall thing: Stroopwafels!
5. Sevilla
This was my introduction to Spain. Hot, dry, dusty, tapas, low-key, easy to navigate. Here is where I learned about the history of the Moorish conquest, the reconquest, religions living in peace and then the takeover, murders and expulsions. I learned about Juderias, Mudejar architecture and got a taste of the speldor of the Moorish empire.
Favorite place: The Alcazar, specifically the Moorish part
Favorite food: Spinach with garbanzos and carillada
Favorite part of town: Santa Cruz
Best memory: riding my bike along the Rio Guadalquivir at sunset and realizing "I'm in Spain!"
Will miss: fresh warm crunchy whole wheat rolls from the bakery and olives
Best overall thing: the overall lazy feeling of it all
6. Cadiz
Favorite place: View from a tower in the church
Favorite food: I wasn't crazy about anything I ate there
Favorite part of town: The pedestrian walkway running along the beach
Best memory: Taking my bike on the train and hopping on it when I arrived
Will miss: Being able to travel by train easily with a bike
Best overall thing: The contrast of the blue ocean with the old white town
7. Cordoba
Favorite place: La Mezquita
Favorite food: the tea and middle eastern pastries I had
Favorite part of town: the old town
Best memory: entering the Mezquita and finding I could escape the tourist crowds
Will miss: nothing
Best overall thing: the winding streets of the old town, and of course, the Mezquita
8. Granada
Favorite place: The Albaizyn (I know it's supposed to be the Alhambra, but the tourists ruined it for me - I had the Albaizyn to myself)
Favorite food: Churros and chocolate!
Favorite part of town: The Albaizyn
Best memory: Taking the little bus to the top of the hill in the Albaizyn and walking down with views of the Alhambra looming overhead
Will miss: those churros!
Best overall thing: Loved how the city was divided into two parts, the old Muslim section with the winding narrow streets and the newer part with wide streets laid out in a grid. It felt like traveling between two worlds.
9. Rome
Rome is everything you would expect. The joy for me came in finding the unexpected, like the best cannoli I ever had and prickley pear granita.
Favorite place: Trastevere
Favorite food: Um, all of it! Pizza, fried stuffed olives, pasta e fagiole, cannoli!, gelato! granita, stuffed zucchini flowers, pasta, etc., etc.,
Favorite part of town: Trastevere and the old Jewish ghetto
Best memory: Tour of the Synagogue and the ghetto
Will miss: the food
Best overall thing: the food
10. Ceuta
Entry to Morocco, Ceuta is the Spanish border town located in North Africa. Four cultures co-exist - Christian (Spanish), Muslim (Moroccan), Jewish and Hindu (Indian). It was a good place to hang for a bit before making the trip across the border for the full taste of Morocco.
Favorite place: a little coffee shop I found
Favorite food: Moroccan mint tea
Favorite part of town: I never found it
Best memory: sipping my mint tea and watching people
Will miss: that tea!
Best overall thing: the mix of cultures
11. M'Diq
This was just supposed to be where we spent the night, but because it was a long weekend, we spent more time in Ceuta and here in M'Diq. It was my introduction to Morocco, but also a lovely (slightly funky) little seaside resortish kind of place (at least trying to in a very sweet way)
Favorite place: the beach
Favorite food: that mint tea again
Favorite part of town: the pedestrian walkway along the beach
Best memory: watching Moroccans walking along the beach, the balloon man blowing up balloons to sell
Will miss: my room with a view of the beach
Best overall thing: the feeling of remoteness, newness, the whole mysterious, exotic feel of it all
12. Chefchaouen
Favorite place: The Medina
Favorite food: I ate tour group food
Favorite part of town: The Medina
Best memory: Watching the kids play while my tour group was being shown carpets (and I stood outside having the medina and the kids to myself)
Will miss: the sweetness and gentleness of the people I encountered
Best overall thing: the blue and white medina
13. Tangier
Favorite place: The coffee shops with rows and rows of men
Favorite food: mint tea again
Favorite part of town: the market
Best memory: breaking free from my tour group and going for a morning walk, having breakfast and watching kids go to school as Tangier woke up on a Monday morning
Will miss: nothing in particular
Best overall thing: the fact that this was a vibrant, active city with so much to see and experience (if I'd only had more time).
14. Tetuan
Favorite place: The Herb Shop
Favorite food: Pastries
Favorite part of town: Downtown
Best memory: Walking through the medina
Will miss: those pastries
Best overall thing: Tetuan was a vibrant university town with lots of young people walking around, with a backdrop of early 20th century buildings built in a mix of neo-classical, moorish and art deco styles. I would go back.
15. Toledo
Favorite place: The Synagogues
Favorite food: The food was sucky
Favorite part of town: The Juderia
Best memory: just wandering around
Will miss: being able to wander
Best overall thing: finally seeing the city that El Greco imprinted in my mind, though not the same as his painting, it was still impressive.
16. Madrid
Favorite place: The Reina Sofia Museum
Favorite food: my own cooking
Favorite part of town: Chueca
Best memory: seeing Guernica, laughing at Miro's playfulness
Will miss: the subways
Best overall thing: it was so easy to get around such a big city
17. Avila
Favorite place: The old Medieval Wall
Favorite food: none
Favorite part of town: the old city
Best memory: leaving?
Will miss: nothing
Best overall thing: I think perhaps I didn't stay long enough and didn't do my homework, because other than the wall, I wasn't that impressed
18. Salamanca
Favorite place: walking down the street in the photo - I felt like I was transported to another place and time
Favorite food: McDonalds was good
Favorite part of town: the old town
Best memory: the Portuguese women in the little tourist train who were having so much fun
Will miss: nothing in particular
Best overall thing: the beautiful ochre color of the sandstone buildings in the old town
19. Lisbon
Favorite place: I loved it all
Favorite food: porco a aletejano (pork with clams) and frango piri piri (piri piri chicken) - even though I didn't have the best, it was still good
Favorite part of town: was drawn to the old Moorish/Jewish neighborhoods where Fado was born and still lives, and Belem was lovely
Best memory: the woman in the bakery laughing as I tried to shoo a fly away from my face
Will miss: the charm, the sweetness of the place and the people
Best overall thing: I felt like I had discovered an open secret - I never realized how lovely Lisbon was.
20. Sintra
Favorite place: Dos Lagos (before I got thrown out)
Favorite food: the pao de chorizo y queijo (bread with chorizo and cheese) that I brought with me
Favorite part of town: the walk between the train station and the tourist information center
Best memory: arriving and walking a bit before I got on the bus
Will miss: the beauty of the place
Best overall thing: how picturesque and almost unreal the whole experience was
21. Segovia
Favorite place: The aqueduct
Favorite food: Chocolate
Favorite part of town: view from the top of the aqueduct
Best memory: Being interviewed by a group of middle school girls
Will miss: how easy it was to get there by train
Best overall thing: the combination of a beautiful fall day, an enormous 2,000 year old aqueduct and a Cinderella castle all perched on a little hill in the middle of the high meseta
22. Barcelona
Favorite place: La Sagrada Familia
Favorite food: Moroccan food from my neighborhood restaurant
Favorite part of town: El Raval, my neighborhood
Best memory: sitting in the train station with the old folks who hang out there all day
Will miss: the amazing public transportation system
Best overall thing: Gaudi and Miro
23. Zaragoza
Favorite place: La Seo (El Seo?)
Favorite food: The stuffed pepper I had (and the chocolate)
Favorite part of town: The plaza in front of the Virgen del Pilar Cathedral
Best memory: sneaking a photo of the pillar
Will miss: nothing
Best overall thing: no tour groups!
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