The Rain in Spain

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Today I'm joining Alison over at The Polohouse for her July linky party:  Favorite Vacation Spots.


My husband and I have some friends who have a villa in Spain overlooking the Mediterranean, and it's not too shabby.  A while back, we flew from Dallas to London for a few days (to get over our jet lag) and then traipsed over the Pyrenees (via jet) to see our friends.  


I didn't have a good camera at the time, so I downloaded some of these pics from the Internet.  Don't judge.  I promise that we really were there!  


We stayed at the Cadogan Hotel, which is in the heart of Knightsbridge in London.  Built in 1887, the Cadogan has a rich history.  Oscar Wilde, the Irish writer and poet, was arrested there for "indecent acts of gross indecency…"  We don't need to know any of the details.  Suffice it to say that some interesting things have gone on in that hotel:

Since we were only a few blocks from Harrods, we shopped there every day several times:   

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It's too bad that I didn't buy this iPhone cover then.  Because of my unfortunate history with cell phones HERE, I could have used several.  


We were able to tour Buckingham Palace since the Queen was on vacation and out of the country.  (I know that she missed seeing us.)  I bought this pretty little dish at the gift shop:

We also went to the Portobello Road Antique Market where I bought this old zebra rug.  (Before you do the PETA thing, remember that zebras are NOT ENDANGERED).  Somehow I was able to fit it into my suitcase:

This front door in Mayfair was so pretty that I had to take a picture of it:

Ok, enough of London.  On to Spain!


This is the entrance to our friends' villa:

The main house:

Gorgeous pool:

Beyond the pool is the Mediterranean:

I'm not sure what this structure is, but I love it:

This is a detail of the marble compass rose:

I want a koi pond like this!

After hanging out at the villa for a few days, we decided that we needed to take a break from the perfection.  So we took a day trip to Morocco:

We had an interesting meal at this restaurant.  It was very….well….er….Moroccan:

My sister, who was with us on the trip, took a camel ride:

After the camel ride, we went to the local market.  Sis took a photo of this woman who was selling fruit.  She apparently didn't like having her picture taken AT ALL, so she threw a piece of her fruit at Sis.  As the fruit was hurtling through the air, Sis captured it on film.  Crazy stuff!

  

We decided to leave the country before we were thrown in jail.


And yes, it's true.  My sister has always been more adventuresome than I.  Growing up, I was usually upstairs in my room reading while Sis was outside doing dangerous and interesting things.  We haven't changed much over the years, except that now I read my iPad while she rides exotic animals:

Sis and friend in Thailand


So that's the end of our European vacation.  It was lots of fun and exciting, thanks to Sis.  Can't wait to go back!