Sunday 22 May 2011

PG Live and holiday travels

Hello again...! We actually managed to get away for a week once all the cards had gone to the printers and I had decided how I was going to display my cards at the show....on huge black velcro boards.
By late Friday I had worked out we had to be back for the CMBC Centenary event on Tuesday ...after all, I had made MILES of bunting for it! We trawled the internet and found a cruise that fit the bill, arriving back midday on Tuesday so off we went
We flew to Palma where we joined the ship, and spent the afternoon wandering in the warmth and sketching. I love the way the bouganvillia tumbles over walls everywhere...pink, my favourite colour
The first post of call was Tangier and we walked from the ship to the local souk
I have never seen anything as funny as this.....just look at all those poor snails trying to escape up the wall!! Their friends are all tied up in bags above them. Yuk.
I love the way you wander from alleyway to alleyway, each area specialising in something different....these's a meat market, fish market, fruit and vegetables....and of course, countless stalls trying to sell knock-off watches and Gucci handbages to the tourists who pour off the cruise ships on a daily basis. Tony is now the proud owner of an Omega watch....he felt the man had earnt it having persued him for over a mile all around the souk and down towards the beach. It even claims to be waterproof to a depth of 800 metres. Belive that and you can knit fog! I bought a new bum bag which is little bigger than the one I already own but I do like the colour and it did stop the man pestering me!
Next stop was Casablanca. The port is a long way from the town and we weren't sure if we were going to make it so I took this picture on the way, just in case....
but make it we did....we teamed up with another couple from the ship and took a taxi to the incredible mosque, which towers high over the city and is surrounded by poverty. No expense spared here. The attention to detail was incredible and I took plenty of pictures of all the tiled patterns
our friends needed to buy a bottle of water so we called into a local corner shop.....LOOK! OMO and Tide!
Next stop was Gibralter and a trip to the monkeys is a MUST. There they are, waiting to mug unsuspecting tourists as they climb out of the cablecar and rob them of anything they can. Those guys certainly have attitude!
WOW! Just take a look at this. As I stood on the very top of the rock, to the left is the town basking in bright sunshine and to my right, the rocks drop down to a narrow plain and then the sea and I was knocked out by the way the clouds swept up to meet the sunshine at the top. Note to self: If staying in Gib be sure not to stay on the wrong side of the island!
Cartagena next and a wander around this beautiful city and gorgeously ornate architecture. Everywhere the wrought iron railings are more ornate and more beautiful that the last. Here, the side of a wall overlooking a demolition site has been skillfully sprayed with grafitti. Just look at the movement in those figures
and right in the centre is this amazing amphitheatre which was only discovered in the latter part of the 20th century and has been unearthed and restored beautifully. Well worth a visit.
So that was it....a seven day escape from all the prepartions for the trade show on Tuesday next week.
The cards arrived back from the printer on Friday....way later than expected, and OMG some the images are not right and for some reason their equipment did not see the right linked images. Oh well.....what the heck....I have two more days to get it sorted. I have been up since 4.30 am so decided to write a quick blogette as I shall not have time to re-visit till after the show when I HOPE to be able to report some success!

6 comments:

Ruth said...

Good luck on the show.
Thank you for sharing your trip, it certainly was cheery and made me smile.

Marg said...

Good luck with the show.
It looks like you had a lovely week away, thanks for sharing the photos, I always love to see people's holiday shots, even though I do get a bit envious.

Zue said...

What a fabulous trip. Thank you for this very entertaining running commentary. I love the cloud formation. I have a special love of clouds in all their different forms.
I also love your stitched cupcake creation on the magazine page. Lovely Moira! Thanks.
Sue xx

ShabbyChicShaz said...

Best of luck with your show! Love the trip photos, thanks for sharing them :)

Sandra Rowney said...

Glad to see you had a break and a chance to relax before the show. All the best.

Sandie said...

The trip looks amazing, hope you had a good rest because no doubt you will hit the ground running now you are back. I LOVED the photo of the cloud and the cliff face - nature never fails to amaze me.