WHS Dance Photos Dec 3 @ TOHS

Westlake High School Dance Team

Below are photos of the WHS dance team performing their Hip Hop dance at the Thousand Oaks High School Dance Showcase, December 3, 2005.

Click on the photos to see a larger version.

Contact me at dnickles@yahoo.com if you would like to order prints.

Christmas in Spain

Welcome to my first attempt at posting/publishing anything on the web. I thought I'd start with a review of our family adventure to southern Spain for Christmas 2005.

Intro

Jesse had been studying abroad in Cordoba, Spain for the fall semester with the University of California EAP (Education Abroad Program). Even before he left, he suggested we meet him in Spain for Christmas. After he left, we began discussing the possibility of traveling to Spain, and as time went by, piece by piece it became a reality. Timing was a bit of an issue as Emily had classes through December 23, and Rebekah was to be in a wedding on December 31. After weeks of research on the internet for affordable plane tickets during the Christmas holiday period, and trying to arrange for lodging for the only week we had available, the trip details were finalized just weeks before we left.

Friday Dec 23: To Paris

We left LAX at 6:20pm on Friday, December 23 flying on Air France to Paris. After flying for about 11 hours, we landed at 2:30pm in Paris on December 24 (Christmas Eve). With a 5 hour layover, we decided to take a bus to downtown to show the girls the Eiffel Tower. The bus dropped us off right across the street from the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs Elysees. After taking a few photos of the world's largest triumphal arch, we walked about 20 minutes through town to the River Seine to view the Eiffel Tower. We took a few more photos, watched the sun set, then walked back to the bus stop. We made it back to the airport with plenty of time to spare, even though the staff at the airport discouraged us from attempting the brief adventure.

Bek and Em at the Arc de Triomphe.

Bek and Em at the Eiffel Tower and the River Seine.

On to Spain

At 7:30pm we left Paris for a 2.25 hour flight to Malaga, Spain. Malaga is on the south coast of Spain on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea - it is the largest city in the Costa del Sol region. We landed just after 10:00pm, collected our baggage, then headed off to the car rental counter. Not finding our car rental company counter with the others, we began asking for assistance, including retreating back upstairs, only to find out about 45 minutes later that the fine print on our reservation form indicated service was being provided at the counter of another company! We finally made it out to the garage to locate the car and then headed down the highway to Marbella.

Our rental car: Fiat Multipla; 6 passenger; 5 speed manual transmission; diesel fuel.

With directions in the hand of my faithful navigator, we began our search for the Club Marbella Resort, reportedly about 30 km (20 miles) from the airport. We made it out of the airport maze okay, and actually located the correct highway going in the right direction. It all fell apart from there. Just a few miles (km) down the road, the highway split. However, both signs on the left and right said Marbella. Not knowing which to choose, we went right - which was wrong. Unbeknownst to us, we ended up on the toll road, which stays up in the foothills above the towns, and has minimal exits. Hence, the directions were not making any sense to us, and we could not find the correct exit or turns. After traveling the highway back and forth, and asking directions several times, we somehow found the right exit, wound our way through the streets, and stumbled across the resort at about 1:30am coming in the back way. We parked the car, gathered the luggage, checked in (Jesse had actually checked in the day before and was there waiting for us), made it to our room and then met and talked with Jesse until about 4:00am (now Christmas Day). After making some quick plans for the next day to visit Marbella, we put our things away and headed off to bed.

Crown Resorts Club Marbella

Our room was just to the left of the Spanish tile roof.

The interior of the resort including the pool; we didn't use any of the facilities!

Sunday Dec 25: Down the coast to Marbella (Mar-bay-ah)

After travelingg for about 20 hours through 9 time zones and getting to bed about 4:00am, we slept in til about 3:00pm on Christmas Day (no early rising for breakfast and gift opening this year!). We started getting ready for a short drive into Marbella to see the town and have dinner together. We quickly found out that while we had enough beds to sleep six, we only had enough hot water for two showers! I'm not sure if this is a European thing, or an economic decision.

It had started raining early in the day with showers off and on. Following Jesse's directions, we got into the car and headed down the highway for Marbella, about 15 km (10 mi) to the west. Once we got to the highway I had one of those "Aha!" moments and realized where we had gone wrong the night before. In addition, we realized that the resort was actually in a community called Calahonda, midway between Marbella and Fuengirola. Ah, the joys of driving/traveling in a foreign country for a family vacation! (Emily is still reminding me of all the times I stalled our rental car.) If you'd like to see the video version of our trip, just rent European Vacation with Chevy Chase. And yes, we did go around many "turn abouts" while covering nearly 1,000 miles. I think I finally understood the road system and signs after the week in Spain...

Map of Spain.

Map of Adalucia - the southern region of Spain.

Well, back to our trip to Marbella. Down the highway we went, first stopping at the Puerta de Marbella (Port of Marbella), which is where all the beautiful people keep their yachts. We continued on to the downtown area, where we drove through some of the side streets until we found a place to park and look around. Being our first night site seeing in Spain, we were awestruck at the quantity and quality of Christmas lights and decorations over the streets, in plazas and along sidewalks throughout the town. After a short walk, we found a nice Chinese restaurant with a menu and price to Jesse's satisfaction (he's still a tightwad even when we're paying!). This was certainly a memorable affair: Chinese food for Christmas dinner in Spain. [By the way, restaurants in Spain open about 7:00pm and serve food until midnight or later.] After dinner, we walked around the town a bit more, stopped by a park, enjoyed the rain showers and sparkling decorations, then headed back to the resort about midnight. Now on a timeframe somewhere between California and Spain, we stayed up talking for another hour or two, briefly made plans for the next day, then went to bed.

Christmas lights over the highway through Marbella.

Even the small streets have Christmas lights (yes, this is a street).

Street vendor on the plaza (dried fruit, dates, figs, etc.).

Another side street.

Bek, JJ and Em posing in the park.

Belem (Bethlehem)

One of the more interesting cultural Christmas traditions we observed throughout Spain was the abundant displays of Bethlehem (called Belem (Bay-lem)) scenes. There were very elaborate displays in storefronts, there was a mechanical one in a chamber-of-commerce type of office, there was one in the house of the family were Jesse lived, and the one pictured below was in the lobby of the resort where we stayed. All have a stream of running water, a nativity scene, the three wisemen, shepherds with their flocks on a hillside, angels, vegetable garden, farm animals - a combination of figurines, models and natural materials. Jesse informed us that in Spain it is believed that Christmas gifts come from the wisemen, not "Papa Noel".

Nativity scene.

Monday Dec 26: Inland to Granada and Al Hambra

While doing my pre-trip planning, I read about the famous castle in Granada called Al Hambra (Arabic for "red castle"). So in finalizing our plans for the week, a trip inland to Granada was on the "must do" list. We were not disappointed.

The trip to Granada went smooth - it was freeway travel the entire way - about two hours total. It was raining off and on - mostly showers. There was little traffic on the road, and we determined later that it was probably due to this day being a holiday (Monday after Christmas Sunday). Being interested in trees and native vegetation wherever I travel, I noticed that the hillsides above the coastline were covered with chaparral-like species and scattered pine and oak trees - not much different in looks than the coastal hills of southern California. Once we got

over the summit and on to the highland plains (the Vega), there were acres and acres of olive orchards. We must have traveled about 100 miles through nothing but olive orchards.

Jesse had been to Granada and Al Hambra on a field trip with one of his classes, so he directed us to the castle and served as our personal tour guide and interpreter. He was able to explain the significance of the design, artwork, craftsmanship and use of the castle and grounds. It was truly a joy to see how much he had absorbed after such a short time in the country - and this was just our first outing!

If I remember correctly, the early portions of Al Hambra were constructed about the 8th century. Additions were made in the 11th, 13th and 15th centuries as well. Click on the link below for more information and history about the site.

Entry sign.

View of the Castle from the Generalife area of the grounds (green on the map above).

A portion of the castle fortress.

Part of the gardens in the Generalife.

One of the many fountains, pools and water features throughout the castle and grounds.

Recognize this tree? (Hint: In its native habitat, it only grows along the coast of northern California.)

















Inside the Charles V Palace.













The famous Palais de Liones.


















Arabic script on the inside of walls.











Following our visit to Al Hambra (probably about 4 hours), we headed into the old Moorish section of Granada (El Albaicin). Jesse wanted to get two things over there: 1) a distant photo of the castle and 2) a kabob sandwich (he insisted we each try one as Granada had the best in Spain, served them with olives, and they were cheap). We drove around through the narrow, one-way, cobble streets of this very old part of town until we found a place to park. We got out of the car and started walking, looking for that evasive promontory for Jesse to get his photo. I felt like a rat running through a maze.










It was very interesting walking through the neighborhood, similar in ways to the narrow streets of Marbella, yet unique with its own architectural styles. The homes are compact, with no yards, yet appear very comfortable. Occasionally we would see a home that had been recently refurbished; others were in desperate need of the same. One thing was very evident; you must get along with your neighbors!













The white-washed homes of Albaicin.












My photographic version of the castle view from Albaicin. How would you like this view from your living room window?










After our walking tour of Albaicin, we headed back to the car (finding it was an adventure in itself) and to old town to find a kabob sandwich and and look at the sites. It was about 6:00pm and getting dark at this time, still with rain showers off and on. We made it to town (only about a ten minute drive), parked the car and found a sit-down kabob shop, a rarity according to Jesse. He was right - we all enjoyed the kabob sandwich. After dinner (which was our only meal that day!) we walked through the streets some more, looking at the architecture and visiting the street shops. We didn't leave town until about 11:00pm, which got us back to our resort in Calahonda about 1:00am. It was a long day, but definitely worth it.

http://www.andalucia.com/cities/granada.htm

http://www.alhambra.org/eng/index.asp?secc=/inicio


Tuesday Dec 27: Cordoba - Jesse's Spanish home town

Our next outing was to Cordoba, a city built by the Romans, and the former capital of the Moorish kingdom called El-Andalus. Cordoba has quite a history, going back maybe 2000 years. Some of the more significant historical sites include the famous Roman bridge over the Guadalquivir River, the Great Mosque or "Mezquita", and the Alcazar, the castle-fortress. Even after visiting many of the cities throughout Spain, particularly Andalucia, Jesse still considers Cordoba his favorite.

This journey took us back up to the highland plains, but we did have some two-lane highways in addition to the freeway travel. This was about a 2 1/2 hour journey one way. We made it to the city where Jesse directed us to downtown and the sites of interest.

Of course, as a proud parent, I was wanting to see the University where Jesse studied. He insisted it was nothing to see - nothing more than an abandoned hospital building resurected for the foreigners to use. Hence, we didn't stop.


Ancient Roman tomb.













1st century Roman road.













Poinsettia Christmas tree.


















Siesta from 2 to 5'30.














Ancient town wall ruins inside the mall.


















"Chino" style steps.












Jesse with the front of his Spanish home down the street.


















The interior courtyard of Jesse's Spanish home.












Cordoba City Hall intermingled with ancient city wall ruins.













Ancient Cordoba city wall.


















Posing outside the Mezquita.


















Alcazar.













Inside the Mezquita.
































The famous Roman bridge over the Guadalquivir River.













http://www.andalucia.com/cities/cordoba.htm


Wednesday Dec 28: Along the Costa del Sol

Not wanting to burn ourselves out with daily long-distance drives the entire week, we agreed to use this as a flex day, to sleep in a bit and leisurely visit some of the coastal towns along the infamous Costa del Sol. The Mediterranean coast of southern Spain is a favourite "holiday" (i.e. vacation) spot for many Europeans, particularly the Brits. Most billboards and advertisements are in English. It is reported that the port of Marbella is home to many large and expensive yachts owned by the upper class of Europe. Promotional material for the region boasts of sunshine 300 days of the year. We were there on one of the other 65 days - although it was a very pleasant afternoon.


Fuengirola

After waking up somewhere between late morning and noon, we managed to get ourselves ready and head down the coast to Fuengirola, a nice beach town between Marbella and Malaga. Most of the beach towns have groomed, sandy beaches, a wide boardwalk-like sidewalk, many high-rise hotels, and a PCH-like highway running through town a couple of blocks from the beach. The freeway is usually on the edge of town towards the hills.

After strolling along the sidewalk for awhile, we made our way out on a man-made jetty to the Mediterranean Sea. We took a few photos, admired the clear, blue water, then collected some sea shells for souvenirs. We then headed a few blocks towards the center of town, admiring the sites and looking for a place to eat tapas. However, since it was now after 4:00pm, only drinks were being served - tapas time was over. Apparently, in Spain timing is everything.

Estepona

Leaving Fuengirola we headed west down the coast to see the town of Estepona. Emily was particularly interested in visiting this town as she had just completed a report on the town, and her former Spanish teacher had lived in this town for several years.

As we were arriving in town, the sun was setting and the clouds were turning a brilliant array of orange and magenta colors. We jumped out of
the car to take some photos, and noticed we could see the Rock of Gibralter in the distance.

Marbella

We planned to stop in Marbella on the way home to look for a restaurant that served Spanish food. Jesse insisted that it would be unlikely to find such a place, since the Spaniards do not eat out for dinner. They typically eat a large meal during the middle of the day (siesta), then lighter fare for the evening (tapas and drinks). Along the highway we spotted a restaurant that served "traditional Spanish food", so we quickly pulled over to give it a try. When we opened the door it was immediately apparent they were not intending to serve American tourists wearing blue jeans and sneakers. The Maitre d' was kind enough to show us a menu, and after a polite review, we thanked him and left. I could eat at McDonald's for 10 days for the price of one meal there. So, on the way out of town, we stopped at McDonald's for something light to hold us over. By the way, in addition to their standard menu items, they also serve gazpacho soup, beer and wine.

Disappointeded that we did not find a Spanish restaurant, we were prepared to eat anywhere that might be open at 11:00pm. Just about two blocks before we got back to the resort, we noticed a bar that served tapas. We parked, made our way through the small crowd to the bar, and Jesse asked if they were still serving tapas (there is no standard). The bartender said he was out of the more popular items, but would put together a plate for us. After a few minutes waiting at an outside table, we received a plate of salami-like sausage and hard sliced cheese along with some bread. Just about when we finished the plate, out came some deep-fried calamari. It was not filling, but was tasty.

After we had finished, we waited awhile to get the bill. Emily offered to go and ask for it, but Jesse insisted that would not be polite - we must wait. After seeing the server pass by, and asking "Quanto?", we were told it would be 30 euros. Emily took a 50 euro bill to the bar, but could not fully understand the bartender's response, and returned without any change. She thought he said he didn't have enough change. [Although she is in her fourth year of Spanish, the Andalucian accent is a bit challenging. Many "s" sounds are "th" sounds in the Andalucian region.] Shortly thereafter a British gentleman came outside to tell her the bartender was teasing her, and her change was inside. Emily went to get the change, and we began a one-way conversation with the half-drunk Brit.


Thursday Dec 29: Across the sea to Africa - well at least to Morocco

Once I realized that a trip to Morocco was only a short ferry ride away, we had to include that in our itinerary. After all, it would be a trip to another continent, a predominantly muslim country, and another culture I had yet to experience. All were in agreement, especially after hearing of Jesse's exploits on his prior trip there (see his blog for details jnickles.blogspot.com).

Asilah is within the blue circle on the Atlantic coast of Morocco.

We had two options for our port of departure: Algeciras or Tarifa. Algeciras is the more commonly used port, is more industrial, and has many departure and arrival times. Tarifa has only a few options, was about 30 minutes further away, but is a much smaller port in a quaint little town. Both ports had ferries to the Moroccan port of Tangier. Tarifa it was.

We left the resort about 7:00am for the 90 minute drive to Tarifa. We planned to purchase our ferry tickets at a travel shop in town to avoid the line at the port. We arrived a bit late, but still in time to catch the first ferry which departed at 9:00am (in time means that we stepped on board just as the doors were closing!). [Sunrise was at 8:45am.] The ferries are popular with travel groups taking day trips to Morocco, as well as for locals traveling back and forth on a regular basis. Our ferry was able to accommodate about 300 passengers and 50 vehicles.

This is a view of the old Tarifa city/fortress walls from the ferry while departing the port.

The 45 minute trip to Tangier was uneventful. The sea was calm and the weather was pleasant. Jesse warned us in advance that there would be many men at the Tangier port posing as officials, some of which may ask us for our passport, but we were to ignore them. He observed them last trip take passports from foreigners and then demand 5 euros to return them. We indeed witnessed many "officials", one of which followed us for a short while walking through the port, until Jesse firmly informed him we did not need any assistance. We made our way through the port with intentions to get a taxi to the bus station and take the bus to Asilah. However, when passing by the taxi que, we were offered a taxi ride to Asilah for 20 euros. This was only a few euros more than the combo taxi and bus ride, so we took them up on their offer in hopes of saving travel time.

The drive from the Tangier to Asilah was quite interesting. First, I must mention that traveling from Spain to Morocco reminded me of crossing the border from California to Mexico; sharing a border, yet worlds aparts. Tangier is a mix of old Morocco, a bit commercial, a touch of industrialization, but nothing finished. Roads under construction (lots of hand labor), unfinished buildings, and even the completed buildings look unkempt. There is a new soccer stadium being built just outside of town - the taxi driver seemed quite proud as he pointed it out to us.

As we left Tangier we quickly entered the countryside with gently rolling hills, agriculture, pine plantations, coastal estuaries and dunes. There were roadside vendors with their wares hanging for purchase; occasional semi-permanent tents for shepherds; a small group of camels on the beach; a soccer field (in active use) consisting of two metal goals in a patch of dirt; some abandoned partially-built multi-family homes; some very elaborate beach-front resort communities.



The taxi driver stopped and let us out at the town center, which was also adjacent to - you guessed it - the old Asilah city/fortress walls. As we stepped out and quickly looked around, it was as if we traveled to another world. People stolling through town, vendors pulling carts by hand, donkey and horse-drawn carts full of produce or construction materials - fascinating and humbling at the same time.














The woman on the left in this photo is carrying a live chicken in her right hand that she just purchased at the street market.


















People of Asilah.



















Marketplace in Asilah.













Emily and the monkey.



















Asilah Atlantic coast.













Front door to home.


















People of Asilah.













Berber woman with donkey.














Cart vendor.


























Kids in Asilah.















The mini-bus ride back to the port in Tangier.












This region, as does Spain, has a rich history and mix of cultures. Muslims, Catholics and Jews intermingle throughout. Arabic is the primary language, with French also taught in school. Spanish is spoken due the regular contact with their neighbors to the north. Some English is spoken because of visitors from Britain and the States. Many of the shopowners and street vendors speak several languages - usually all at once!

The town of Cueta along the northern coast of Morocco belongs to Spain. Gibralter in Spain belongs to Great Britain.


Friday Dec 30: Return Home

We left early in the morning for the airport so we could return our rental car and have plenty of time to check in. It was very windy and cold. The airport in Malaga was not busy at all - Spaniards are not early risers.

As we prepared to part ways, leaving Jesse behind, a few tears were shed. He would be on his own for the next two months, traveling Europe by train. No friends or in-country family to check in with. Even though I knew he had the "street smarts" to take on this adventure, it was still a long ways from home.

We boarded the plane for the first leg of the trip to Paris - about two hours. We had about a 45 minute lay-over, which I thought would be no problem since the gates were very close to one another -- not! Our plane taxied to the outskirts of the airport - we had to walk out to the tarmac and catch a shuttle to the terminal - with snow flurries! Now I was getting worried! The shuttle seemed to take the longest route possible and had to wait extra-long at each stop sign. We finally made it to the terminal about 15 minutes prior to departure. However, it was not the terminal we needed! We went in one door, through security, up the stairs, down the hall, down the stairs, across the lobby, up the stairs, down the hall, running with bags, luggage, jackets, etc. Just as I got to the gate, the door was closing! However, because of the snow, it was the delayed departure of the plane leaving before ours, so we were safe. After about 30 minutes, we went through the gate, into another shuttle bus and across the tarmac to the plane... (is that why deja ju is a French term?).

Anyway, we made it onto the plane and had an uneventful 11 hour journey back to LAX.


Final Thoughts

After this short visit to Spain and Morocco, I realize I need to learn more about Euopean and World History. As our world becomes more accessible via the internet, and immigration and travel offer increased cultural encounters, it is even more important for us to understand the differences and similarities of various people groups. I used to think the U.S. was diverse...