Last Saturday I picked up my mom from Madrid’s airport. Sunday we spent in Madrid seeing the touristic stuff: The Prado Museum, Sol, Plaza Mayor, Plaza de España, and a little more.

Monday we left early in the morning to Marrakesh. There we stayed with my aunt, Sylvie, in her Riad house in the Medina. A Riad is a house centered around a patio. Because of the design it stays quite cool in the patio even while the weather outside is unbearable. We walked through the narrow streets with a mix of people, motorbikes, and donkeys. We visited some amazing ancient palaces with tile work and carvings from centuries past. And the big center square with tons of people, good food, and a plethora of eccentric things.

We returned to Madrid Thursday evening and spent the night there. On Friday we took a 6:30AM high speed train to Córdoba. This city had some remains of what we saw in Marrakesh, but very very different. We visited the Mosque-Cathedral and many other beautiful sites and stayed in a hotel in the winding narrow streets of the Jewish Quarter.

It was really nice to see my mom after the months that I have been away. Now I feel that the end of my year in Spain is within site. That comes with a mix of emotions. I will try to make the remaining 18 days as good as they can be.