Category: Postcards

Feb 20, 1963 - Minarets and Bell Towers

2/20/2011

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We drove to Sevilla. The roads were full of holes and were covered with water in three or four places. Seville is beautiful. It has many lovely parks and many huge impressive Moorish buildings. The Cathedral is one of the largest in Europe. It was built on the ruins of a Mosque. the Giralda, originally a minaret, was converted into a bell tower and the ramps that allowed the the Muezzin and others to ride on horseback to the top were preserved. . The Plaza d’Espagna which is built in a semi circle Parts of it are like the Sacrada Familia in Barcelona. It is right next to the Giralda

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Feb 16, 1963 - Bad Start, Good Ending

2/16/2011

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Nasty day. Rained all day and the lights went out. About 8 pm we drove to Torremolino to a place called Pedros with the intent of having a Scotch and water. We got our drinks and found ourselves in a little side room as the bar was full. An older couple joined us and so did an older gentleman. After awhile he said a few words to us, then ordered us another drink and eventually he paid for even our first drink. Then he suggested that we go with him to have something to eat. He took us to the El Camilon which was really a great place. And there at 11:30 pm, we ate pigeon, cooked vegetables, soup, dessert and coffee. And the nice man from Sevilla paid for everything. It must have set him back close to $10 plus his drinks and dinner and then he went his way and we went ours. Absolutely amazing.

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Feb 7, 1963 - On the Road from Casablanca to Marrakesh

2/7/2011

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Camels on way to Marrakesh

We left Casablanca early heading for Marrakesh. The country was very flat and not as interesting But we saw some camels, donkeys, sheep and goats all together beside the road and decided to get out and take a picture. Judy was in the process of snapping it when two young boys and an older herder started running toward us. Believe me we got in the car in a hurry. Just as the car was shifting into 3rd several more converged on us from out of nowhere. They were right in the road and two of them stood right in front of the car to stop it. Pat put her hand on the horn and blew it until we were right on top of them. They jumped out of the way when we were almost to them. But lord knows what would have happened if we had stopped. Maybe they were friendly but they didn't look like it. I am glad we didn’t find out. It was really terrifying, especially since we can’t lock the left door from the inside.

Marrakesh and Atlas Mountains

Marrakesh is a lovely place. It is made of red buildings and quite a contrast to the white of the other towns we have seen. This afternoon we wandered into the old city and through the maze of souks. Here, as in Tangiers, everyone wants you to come in and look with the same “How much is it?” “Too much” “How much will you pay?” in operation.

Tomorrow is Friday, so the shops will be closed. But Saturday we plan to go and buy souveniers. I hope we are convincing enough to get what we want at close to our price.

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Jan 28, 1963

1/28/2011

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This morning we were informed that the American Navy had arrived. We went down to the dock and there were at least 10 ships. We walked back to The Cosmos and then to the Kit Kat Club for hot chocolate. There the excitement began. We watched a guy go out in the street and talk to two American sailors. He brought them inside and suddenly there were two girls beside them and it dawned on us that he was a pimp. The first words exchanged were “you got any cigarettes?” He was in and out a dozen times and every 5 minutes a new girl came in. Inside he kept playing with one of the girls, rubbing her arm and pinching her butt, all the time talking to the sailors. We were horrified that when they left they went straight into our hotel. Juan and Jesus told us that the girls cost 200 – 300 pesetas for the Americans and 6 for the Spaniards! Our street was full of them, they come out from everywhere when the sailors come to town by the boat full. Finally we left the Kit Kat to buy some food for the trip and were really surprised that the sailors never gave us a second look. (Maybe it was the knee socks, the penny loafers or the sun glasses.)

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A daily diary of a journey in 1962. Please post comments about where you were then on the Background page.

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1962 was pivotal. This is the background:

It was a year colored by the Cuban Missile Crisis, an escalating involvement in Vietnam, the Berlin Wall and the Cold War with Russia, Civil Rights issues, a nascent space program, Nelson Mandela in prison, Betty Friedan's, The Feminist Mystique, the Beatles, Rolling Stones and the death of Marilyn Monroe.

In the face of all of this, Pat, Judy and I blithely took off for Europe with the intention of traveling through Europe and North Africa until our money ran out. We had a travel guide and a book titled Europe on $5.00 a Day. Since we had all read The Ugly American in preparation for the trip, we thought we were very smart to buy a used Volkswagen with Dutch license plates. We dubbed the car "Louie" since a cute guy from Switzerland named Louie had helped us acquire it.

There was no such thing as a cell phone, a computer, Twitter or Facebook. Our parents didn't hear from us for weeks on end. We wrote regularly, but letters took forever to deliver and we only vaguely knew where we would be next. It was a very cold winter and we followed the sun.

Feb 20, 1963 - Minarets and Bell Towers

Feb 16, 1963 - Bad Start, Good Ending

Feb 7, 1963 - On the Road from Casablanca to Marrakesh

Jan 28, 1963

1962 was pivotal. This is the background:

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