Tim in DC

Earlier this month, Tim repped his friends on a trip to Washington, DC. Tim had his own seat on the plane, and spent the whole flight looking out the window.

Tim also had his own queen-sized bed at the Kimpton Palomar. We don't have cable at home, so watching TV in the hotel room was a real treat.

Tim visited several museums. The first one was the Renwick Gallery. It featured some cool art from Burning Man. One room was dedicated to a wooden temple where people could leave inscriptions on small wooden plaques. A temple is built at the festival each year.

To the left of Tim are the ten principles of Burning Man: radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace, participation, and immediacy. The bus in the background has been converted into a mini movie theatre.

On our way to lunch, we made a quick pit stop at the White House for a photo op. No Trump in sight...

We had a great pulled pork sandwich at Hill Country. Tim had a few bites, and then took a power nap.

Name that City

Tim was a great companion to visit museums in this city. Where did we go?!?

Hello, Ralph!

Maggie and Clem are posing with Ralph, a 15 foot dog created by Hamilton's horticulture staff. He is made of grass from New Zealand, which was recently grown in the city's greenhouses. He has an internal soil and water system to keep him cool this summer. We think Ralph is going to bring a smile to many faces!

Doors Open

Bernie had an exploration-filled afternoon as part of Doors Open Toronto. He had a peaceful visit at St. James Cathedral...

...he checked out the "Notes in the Night" jazz exhibit (and live music) at Market Gallery...

...he toured the gallery's fine art storage vault (and really enjoyed the curator's talk - very informative!)...

...and he visited the house where William Lyon Mackenzie lived.

To learn about Doors Open events across Ontario, click here.

Royal Wedding

Maggie, Clem, and I slept over at my parents place so we can watch the royal wedding together. We had to wake up very early but it was worth it. My mom prepared scones which was a nice touch. Three cheers for the happy couple!

Hotel Escape

B and I hit the road for a mid-week getaway. Our new pal, Mr. Ji, and Buddy joined us for the fun. The weather was pretty blah but our hotel was nice and cozy. Mr. Ji and Buddy were happy to have their own queen size bed!

20 Hours in Paris

We extended our layover in Paris so we could enjoy the city before heading back home. Clem told Colin all about her trip last fall so he was excited to see why she liked it so much. This is the view from our hotel room. C'est parfait!

After checking out les grands magasins in the 1e, we had a very nice meal at Vivant. Colin's favourite dish was the scallops on the right.

We walked all around town, including the Latin Quarter, which we didn't do the last time. Colin watched the Eiffel Tower light show from the Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge (which used to be covered with "love locks").

The next morning, we stuffed our faces with Parisian pastries at several bakeries and had a delicious brunch at Buvette. We shared both dishes, but Colin liked the dish on the left more.

Colin had a great trip but was happy to return to his pals in the 6ix. He was a bit jet lagged for a few days, but he's now back to his usual self.

Even More Morocco!

On our first full day in Marrakesh, we went to the Jardin Majorelle and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum. Both were very cool, despite the long lines we waited in.

We visited the Jardin Secret on our second day in the city. It was a great place to retreat from the surrounding souks.

Colin had this bench all to himself!

The Jardin Secret was only restored recently. It was built in the 19th century, and was one of the largest riads in the Medina of Marrakesh. This door was hand painted - beautiful!

The afternoons were quite hot in Marrakesh so we would siesta at our riad. The decor was much more modern than the place we stayed at in Fes.

Like our Fes riad, our Marrakesh riad served an excellent breakfast each morning. We had the option of eating in the courtyard or on the rooftop terrace (as we did in this photo).

The Palais El Badii was built in the 16th century to commemorate the victory of a battle against the Portuguese. We spent a few hours exploring the grounds.

Colin enjoying the shade in the old palace wall.

Hello from the palace tower!

Close by the place were the Tombeaux Saadiens. About sixty members of the Saadi Dynasty are buried here. This room was the most impressive.

Some other highlights of our time in Marrakesh included Jemaa el Fna (especially Stall #71 for spiced tea!) and going to a hammam.

More Morocco!

We continued our road trip, passing through many small towns along the way. These are the remains of an older town.

We walked around the Todra Gorges and spent a night in the Dades Valley.

Ait Ben Haddou (the darker brown buildings in the background) is Morocco's most famous kasbah (and also a UNESCO site).

We climbed to the very top of the kasbah, which offered great views of the town and valley below.

To get to our final destination, Marrakesh, we had to cross the Atlas Mountains once more. The drive was very scenic.

When we reached Marrakesh, we splurged on a fancy meal at Le Jardin. We ate tagine for three days straight so fish was a nice change.

Morocco!

Colin ventured with us to a new country - Morocco! After a long day of travelling from Toronto via Paris, we were welcomed to the Sofitel in Casablanca with an unexpected room upgrade and snacks. Colin liked the marshmallows the most.

The next day we did a quick tour of the Hassan II Mosque - the third largest mosque in the world (and one of very few mosques non-Muslims can visit). We then took a train to Fes. 

Our train was delayed because of heavy rainfall. Colin was pretty tuckered out by the time we arrived at our riad.

The Riad Mazar in Fes was beautiful, and the staff were incredibly friendly. Breakfast was included in our room rate, and it was scrumptious!

We did a half day tour of Fes, at the recommendation of our riad, and it was the highlight of our time there. We learned a lot. Unfortunately, we didn't take any photos of Colin since it was raining, and the alleys in the Medina were packed with people.

The next day, we embarked on a three-day desert trek. We started by driving through the Atlas Mountains.

We then ended up at the Sahara, where we took a camel ride to a desert camp for the night.

The two camels in the foreground were ours.

More from Morocco soon!