Last year I took a trip to Portugal and Morocco with two of my girlfriends after an event I had to work in New York. My husband had no vacation time left and I really wanted to take one last trip before Sophia was born, so me and my two friends went on a once in a lifetime vacation.
Me (with my 6 month baby bump) and one of my co workers at the Quiksilver Pro New York – September 9th, 2011.
9/11 memorial over looking Mahattan from our hotel
After a week of non stop working at the event, vacation officially started. I got on the airplane and head to Lisbon where I met with my girlfriends that flew from other cities. First stop visit to the cathedral in Lisbon.
Discovery Monument on the northern margin of the Tagus River estuary of Libon.
For lunch we went to Castelo S Jorge and ate at a local Italian restaurant on the way up the mountain.
The next day we went to a small fishing town that right next to Ericera d ilhas, well know surf spot in Portual.
In this town we had to stop to eat the famous pastel de Belem, I think we must have eat over a hundred by the end of our stay in Portugal… they were delicious!! But I found later on a recipe to make it at home and they came out great.
We explored the famous Sintra and visit the Castelo de los Moros.. is a must! The sceneries look like they were out of the Lord of the Rings movie.. amazing!
Here we are at the most western part of Europe!
Of course we had to do a stop at the Quiksilver office/store in Portugal.
The next day my friend from Portugal took on on an amazing helicopter ride to check out Lisbon, he let me be his co pilot.
After many days of exploring Portugal we took a short flight to the city of Marrakech in Morroco.
We stayed inside the Medina in a small but beautiful riad where they received us with a welcome breakfast that had many assortment of pastries, orange juice and tea.
After resting for a bit we adventured to the Jema el-Fnaa. We saw dancing cobras, acrobat monkeys, and thousands of shops.
Traditional food – cous cous with boiled vegetables in curry sauce. This plate probably cost around $2
At the mosque.
Next stop was Ait Ben Haddou— this is where they filmed the movie Gladiator. It’s a must!
Our lunch on our way to the Sahara desert
We stopped at an Argan oil factory and saw how they made it from the seed
Our camel ride in the Sahara desert
Dinner at the middle of the desert
stephanie castagnet 
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