Something I’ve learned about living abroad is that the one thing you really cannot get has of way of becoming what you long for most. That living-in-a-hotel-with-my-colleagues lifestyle in Yemen made me long to be in crowded streets with people so much that the one day we spent in Geneva after flying out of Sana’a […]
Category: Fitness
Searching for a ‘Nice Hike’ in Bajaia
I asked Adam for one thing for my 37th birthday. “I just want a nice hike.” Hiking is one of my favorite leisure activities/forms of exercise and in past posts (Spain, Jerusalem, Morocco) I’ve sought out all the spots for great walks and hikes and did them often. Unfortunately, a “nice hike,” especially one where […]
Some Good News
I am back in Michigan. If you’re counting, that’s three trips to my home state in three months. Never have I lived abroad and been back this much. And I gotta say, Algeria is not so close to the United States; it’s a long trip. But this time, there’s good news… I left Algiers on […]
From Snow to Sun, Another Return to Algeria
Happy Valentines Day from Algiers! Yes, I’m back home in Algeria and it feels good. We have nothing specifically romantic planned for the day. But it does feel holiday-ish because while Sunday is normally the start of the work week, we have today off for President’s Day. I’m spending the day getting dosed with sunshine […]
A Cancer Scare
A few weeks after we arrived back in Algiers, we had settled back into our routine: Working from home Sunday-Thursday, an hour of early evening exercise, shaking up an ice cold gin martini at 7, making dinner, kitty cuddles and TV before bed, socializing with a few friends on the weekends. In the midst of […]
Naxos: A Hike a Day on Vacay
We planned our Greek island trip as we went, so when we were in fancy Santorini, it was time to think about the next stop. Perhaps the obvious choice was Mykonos, mostly because I had heard of it. But an island with a reputation for where the super rich land their private jets for a […]
Revisiting Madrid & Rabat, and a Moroccan Yoga Retreat
First, some news: I am no longer Algiers’ foremost lady of leisure. (As much as this city lends itself to leisure, anyway). I have traded my well-worn pajama pants for pants with a zipper and a button as I have again found myself having a real pants-wearing job. This job is both a real, as […]
Hiking The Highest Mountain in North Africa
At 4,167 meters (13,671 feet), Mt. Toubkal is the highest peak in Morocco, in North Africa, and in the entire Arab world. And we hiked it last week. It was the hardest hike I’ve ever done. Adam planned this trip right when we first arrived to Morocco back in September. Perhaps he thought climbing a […]
Moroccan Surf and Yoga Camp
A few days ago I posted about the amazing shopping in Morocco that my friend Neda and I partook in during her recent visit to Morocco. And now, for part deux: Surf and yoga camp in Morocco. So neither Neda nor I know how to surf, but we thought it would be fun to learn in […]
Buying All the Beautiful Things in Morocco’s Medinas
My good friend Neda, who is one of my all-around favorite people, came to visit me in Morocco. (Our first Morocco visitor, yay!) I thought that a surf-and-yoga retreat I’d heard about sounded like a perfect friends’ getaway for us. See a new part of this beautiful country and be super active with my adventurous […]