Thursday, April 3, 2025
First and foremost . . .
Happy 49th Birthday
to our youngest son Michael!
How can our youngest anything, much less our own son, possibly be 49 years old?
Laurie and I both got a chance to congratulate him via a WhatsApp call and will celebrate with him and his family soon.
Spanish Serie A playoff update . . .
Posted by the Spanish Federation today
I mentioned earlier this week that Mariners Team President Kike Prado Alonso mentioned on our way to the Asturias Airport that the Badalona Dracs (6-1) were willing to forfeit there re-scheduled Week #9 weather postponed game against the Terrassa Reds (5-1-1).
It was a strange offer as the winner of this game would claim the Eastern Conference Championship and the conference's #1 seed which would give them a home game in the Semifinals against the Western Conference's #2 seed, the Osos Rivas (4-4).
The loser of the game would be the conference's #2 seed and play their Semifinal in Madrid against the Western Conference's #1 seed, the two-time defending National Champion Las Rozas Black Demons (8-0).
From the looks of the graphic above, the Federation was having nothing of it. The makeup game is now set for this coming Sunday hosted by the Reds.
Let the Eastern Conference Championship, playoff seedings and playoff sites be determined on the field as it should be.
I agree 100%.
Today was a travel day back to Gijón from the exotic city of Marrakech and it would be a long one.
We left our marvelous Ksar Anika Hotel & Spa at 9:00 a.m. in a chauffeured vehicle arranged by our wonderful hosts.
Laurie and I both agreed that this was a perfect hotel for our visit to magical Marrakech. It was well appointed with a marvelous, friendly work staff, located in a quiet area and just a short, safe walk to the frenetic wonders of the Souks.
Spotted in the Ksar Anika's lobby
as we waited for our ride
Had Laurie been on of a conquering sultan's wives, she would have taken it.
Instead, she has me so it stayed in situ.
Also in the lobby was this
cool lamp that I liked
The 15 minute drive to Marrakech's Menara Airport was as exciting as expected as we drove through, over, under and around the always interesting traffic patterns of this Moroccan city of 840,000 friendly, polite people.
The Menara Airport is spacious
It is also, clean, efficient and offers great sight lines to the traveler.
The decor was pleasant
Busy but not crowded
The lines for both the Security and Passport Checks were short and moved quickly today.
Can you make a quilt out of those
tiles in the triangular patterns?
I should have bought a fez
I thought it was the Kasbah?
Our view as we waited for our flight
but only after . . .
. . . some coffee and a pastry
Our Madrid flight was on time
and FULL!
We accepted Iberia's offer to ship our two carry-on bags in the cargo hold for free all the way to Asturias to ease the potential anxieties of all of us in Boarding Group 4 potentially fighting for overhead storage space.
It was liberating to be hands free with just our backpacks the rest of the trip.
Of course the Menara Airport
has a Smoking Lounge . . .
. . . sponsored by Camel cigarettes
You can't make this stuff up.
I like the warning at the camel's feet.
The smooth flight to Madrid's Barajas Airport took only 90 minutes thanks to a favoring jet stream apparently as it was scheduled to take two hours.
Laurie thought that the top of
this column in Madrid looked
like a part of a killer sea creature
I'll have to pass this by a budding Marine Biologist that I know.
The left half of a HUGE art display
in the Madrid Airport . . .
. . . and the right half
Due to changing two time zones and our faster than expected flight from Marrakech, it was now 3:40 p.m.
Our flight to Asturias did leave until 10:00 p.m.
We had a whopping six hour and 20 minute layover to kill!
Sounds like an opportunity for lots of noshing and shopping to me.
No Laurie, NO!
This billboard-like bull can be seen
throughout Spain's highways but in
much larger sizes
She looked but she did not buy
Food at last
Beautiful, delicious Jamón Ibérico de Bellota
We had a jamón Ibérico and cheese boccadillo and a healthy salad with beer to chase it down.
It would not be our last repast of the layover.
The Barajas Airport, like the Menara Airport,
is also visually stunning
An FC Barcelona store in Madrid?
HERESY, CALL OUT
THE INQUISITION!
I once broke a tooth eating a delicious
Spanish Turrón in nearby Toledo
Yes, we did have lots of coffee
while we waited
And maybe a cookie or two as well.
Maybe.
A relentless Window Shopper
Thank goodness that the emphasis here is on the word "window."
I had never seen a self-serve
Starbucks before tonight in this airport
Have you?
Finally, it was 10:00 p.m. and
we were winging our way to Asturias
This flight left about 15 minutes late but only took an hour to land in Asturias.
Now we had to get back to Gijón. No problem.
We had ample time to catch the 11:59 p.m.
bus for the 40 minute drive back to town
The bus cost us 18 Euros as opposed to the approximately 100 Euros a cab would have cost from the airport.
Once safely ensconced in the Gijón bus station in the wee hours of the now Friday morning, we hopped into a cab for the short ride to our apartment.
Our mini-vacation was now officially over, it was definitely time for bed.
Giggles from the net . . .
Too close to home . . .
Ah, those life-loving Italians
Hmmm . . .
Yes, me too!
A truer Fact-of-Life you
will never find
This is exactly why I live my life on the Wild Side.
The organizing and packing for the flight home starts Friday morning.
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