The Most Beautiful Cake in the Universe

So tonight we actually got to decorate our cakes.  And I’m just going to save you the suspense right now and let you know that my cake was totally the best one.

Not that it’s a competition.

Here’s my “before” cake.  I went with the classic seven-layer cake-raspberry jam-cake-icing-cake-raspberry jam-cake format.  Turns out I can’t cut cake layers level to save my life, but you know what?  I’m pretty sure the people who are going to be eating it won’t care.

And then, the after:

Look at those colours, will you?  Am I not the freaking Titian of icing?  (You don’t have to answer that.  I know I am.)

Morocco in Photos

I never showed you my Morocco photos, did I?  Well, here they are.  Mostly Marrakech, a bit of Tangier.

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Progress!

We are basically finished with this whole moving in and figuring out where everything goes and making everything look wonderful so our home will be a haven of peace and tranquility and overall amazingness process.

Projects that are now done:

The Kind of Thing That Shouldn’t Really Matter In The Great Grand Scheme of Things, But Somehow It Does Anyhow

So, while I’ve been putting up photos of Spain for you all, I’ve been keeping you in the dark about what’s actually been going on.  We took possession of our new place, renovated the bathroom, changed the floors, painted everything, and then last Monday we moved in.  Now, when I say we did these things, we actually hired people to do them.  We live in a condo, so strata rules say that licensed people have to do any renovations.  This is fine, as we a) don’t have tools and b) are not really handy folk.

But oh my god, the decisions!  Generally, I am excellent at making decisions.  I make them fast and am content to live with the outcome.  This is when I’m making decisions for me, however.  When I am making decisions that affect other people (other people in this situation meaning my husband, who probably wouldn’t have appreciated the cream, pale yellow, and pale pink colour scheme I may well have gone with were I single), I have significantly more trouble.

Spain for the Short of Attention Span – Part 7 – Granada

Granada is very photogenic, as evidenced by the fact that I took about six bazillion photos there.  (You are getting a brutally edited version, partly because I don’t want to bore you with all my holiday snaps and partly because I do not have the patience to wait for them all to upload.)

Spain for the Short of Attention Span – Part 6 – Ronda

And right next to Tarifa on the list of places I’d never heard of but am really glad I went anyway is Ronda. Like with everywhere else in Spain, apparently, Ronda has a beautiful old town. What sets it apart though, is the massive canyon running through the centre of town.

Spain for the Short of Attention Span – Part 5 – Tarifa

(Part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4 if you want to read these in order.)

Have you ever even heard of Tarifa? I shall assume that like me before I went on this trip, you have not. It never ceases to amaze me when I discover something lovely or great or special that I have never even heard of. It’s a big world out there, I guess.

Spain for the Short of Attention Span – Part 4 – Cadiz

(Here are part 1, part 2 and part 3, if you missed them.)

What can I tell you about Cadiz? Well, it is very old. Europe’s oldest city, actually. When we were leaving Seville and deciding where to go next, we asked the desk person at our hotel and he recommended it: “Cadiz is quiet and small, but is very very charm.” With a review like that, how could we not go?

Spain for the Short of Attention Span Part 3 – Seville

You can read part 1 here and part 2 here.

Well. Seville. Seville is significant to me for being the only place I’ve ever been where someone put a ball of vanilla ice cream in my gazpacho. Because of this alone, I will always have a soft spot for Seville. However, this city has much more to offer than creative uses of dairy products.

Spain for the Short of Attention Span – Part 2 – Cordoba

(You can read Part 1 here.)

If you enter Cordoba by train, do not let the walk into town fool you. We did this. We left the train station and headed in the direction that the information people said was centre. There is a very nice park that you follow to get there, but otherwise, the city — while pretty — is not the most inspiring thing you will hope to see in Spain. And after coming from Toledo, we were a little let down.  But folks, stick with Cordoba, because in the middle of this city is the old city and the old city is gorgeous!  (I’m sure there is an excellent moral here about first impressions, but I don’t think I’ll pursue it.)