Life is more than the Cubicle: July 2015

It's been a YEAR...

WOW, it's been a year since I last posted! Sorry, guys.

This will be a giant photo post so don't worry, I won't be droning on about all the things that have happened. Book reviews will be coming too. I've been reading like a fiend.

And away we go!

So, I met a boy in December 2014 and most of these pictures are from our adventures together. There will be a mix of iPhone photos and camera photos so....sorry.

We journeyed to Sausalito in January, which in my opinion, winter is the best time to visit SF. Warm and sunny days. Sunnier than summer!

On the way to Sausalito, we stopped at Fort Point to explore and take photos of the bridge.

I took him wine tasting at my favorite wineries in Napa. This was from a wine cave tour at Miner where I'm now a wine club member...not that I need to spend any more money on wine.

We also journeyed to the Botanical Garden in San Francisco and met this cool prehistoric guy. He's totally real, guys. Totally real. And adorable.

We also went over to the music concourse outside of the Academy of Sciences for a coffee break.

We also traveled to Morocco in May to celebrate my big 30 and to visit his family. We flew into Casablanca through Paris and Atlanta. It was a rough trip, almost 24 hours of traveling but we made it! We then had to take a 3 hour cab ride to his hometown of Safi which is along the coast. We spent about a week lounging in the intense heat but were able to make it outside a bit in the afternoons once the heat died down.

Visited the large tagine in the middle of town

The biggest mosque in Safi

A historic Portuguese fort which now houses the museum of ceramics

This is a view of Safi from a nearby cliffside where there's a cute cafe with a view of the water

And some GIANT steps that someone decided would be a good idea to make...I think each step was almost 2 feet tall. Tough climb

If you don't have a car, the best way to travel around Morocco is by train. The exchange rate when I was there was roughly 10% so it was about $7 for a second class one way ticket from Safi to Marrakech

Marrakech was awesome! We went with his brother to check out the restaurants, sights, and shopping. Here we're hanging out at a restaurant having dinner before heading into the market

The market was AMAZING. I wanted to buy everything!

Maybe put a few of these in every room of my house? I doubt my roommates would be okay with that...but I might be able to convince them

The food in the market is delicious and you choose a stall and sit down to a fantastic meal. There are probably 50 stalls and they will all battle for your attention

Night time shot of the Koutoubia mosque outside of the Jemaa el-Fnaa square

Outside of the Jemaa el-Fnaa square in the daytime. You'll notice lots of restaurants sell pizza for some reason..

We visited the Bahia Palace when we were there which is known for its intricate carvings, tile designs, and wood carvings. It was the palace for the wives and children of the king.

Lots of cats too. This one's pretty awesome

We finished back up with a day in Casablanca before I flew out. Below is the picture of the largest mosque in Casablanca. So giant that I couldn't get the whole thing into the frame

Once we were back stateside, we went to the wedding for this beauty, my cousin Justine

Pretty sure this is the first family photo we've taken in almost a decade

Once back in Cali, we went to the Alameda County Fair. I gotta show the Moroccan dude the best (and worst) of America while it's still new and shiny for him

Totally wanted to take this guy home!

Saw my first horse race live!

What's nice about dating an America-newbie is that he likes to explore. We went up to Hawk Hill on a beautiful day in June to enjoy the view of the city

This was an abandoned fort so there are tunnels winding through the mountains where they used to store artillery and could move troops from the bay side to the marin side

Of course, now there are just sailboats and no attacking hordes

I also got to take him camping! We found a tent spot the week before July 4th and took advantage of it while we could. Although, we did not expect the heat and the mosquitos...

Always have to splurge on meat whilst camping...I believe it's a law, or at least it should be

Did some obligatory glamour shooting while hiking

Dinner on night two was some moroccan style chicken with veggie hobo packs (I guess Martha Stewart calls vegetables cooked in foil as a hobo pack....)