Let me just start off by saying that I am thrilled to write this blog entry and I’m sure you can guess why! Just in case your brain isn’t functioning today...I’ll just go ahead and tell you: It is because the week I am about to write about is the week Kim and Michael came to visit me in Europe!!! I can’t even express the excitement that I felt to see my sister and brother for the first time since August. They arrived in Santiago on Monday afternoon while I was in class and let me tell ya, I have never walked home from school as fast as I did that day. I think I probably made it in 15 minutes and it usually takes me anywhere from 20-25 minutes, if that doesn’t demonstrate my excitement to you, I don’t what would! :) Kim and Michael booked a room in the same building that I live in so the first thing I did when I got home was ask my “landlord” what room number they were in and then I went upstairs to greet them, it was fabulous! I was so excited to see familiar faces that I could have cried; I’m actually surprised that I didn’t. I had just enough time to eat lunch with Kim and Michael before my afternoon class. I had them try an Empanada de Atun, Croquetas, and Queso de Tetilla, all of which are typical foods of Galicia (the state that Santiago is located in). They both walked with me to my afternoon class at the South campus just to get a feel for my daily life in Spain and then they headed to explore Santiago while I went to my grammar and conversation class. I pointed them in the right direction of the cathedral (the main “attraction” of Santiago) and then met up with them later in the evening. We hung out and chatted (catching up was so nice) until dinner time, which of course is about 9-9:30pm in Spain. We went to the restaurant that my program coordinator took my group the first week we were in Santiago. It is a nice restaurant with authentic Gallegan food (I posted pics of the food in the initial weeks I was here). Kim and Michael were both very open-minded about trying pulpo (octopus), which made me happy because it is a must in the NW region of Spain. They both were neutral about it, thinking it wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great either.
On Tuesday, I had a test in the morning and an essay to write in the afternoon, so I sent Kim and Michael on a little day trip to A Coruña (which I’ve already told you about and posted pictures of previously). Unfortunately for them, it was rainy all day so they didn’t enjoy the beach and the sites of the coastal city like I did, but they still enjoyed the day (Who wouldn’t, it’s Spain for goodness sake :)!) Tuesday night Kim, Michael, some of my friends and I ate dinner at “Dolce Vita” an Italian restaurant that my friends and I love for 2 reasons...The food is delicious (and a change from the everyday Spanish food we eat) and the camereros (waiters) are pretty darn cute! :) (No worries momma, I'm still not in love with a Spaniard and I have every intention of coming home come December 21st.) The following Wednesday morning, Kim, Michael and I woke up early and headed to the bus station to catch our bus from Santiago, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal, which was about a 9 hour trip. Considering I am quite the frequent traveler nowadays (hehe), I am accustomed to being “in route” for that amount of time, but I think Kim and Michael were a little wrestles, lol...Who can blame them, 9 hours is a long time in a bus! For the most part, we all slept to pass the time quickly. I always try to save my “postcard writing” for long bus rides because it gives me something to do. So when you received your postcard and were wondering why the handwriting was so bad, that’s why...the chances are I wrote it while on the road. I don’t have much detail for you as far as the 9 hour bus ride goes, the only thing worth talking about is a 10 minute rest stop/bathroom break we had. So the way these long bus rides work is you stop about every 2 hours to use the bathroom, to get off the bus and stretch, and of course to eat. This particular bathroom break was in a small city in Portugal (I can’t remember the name) and Kim and I both got off the bus to use the restroom, which to our surprise (and disgust) ended up being a hole in the ground. I mean literally, you walk into the door that says ladies bathroom and it is nothing but a hole in the ground. I hate to be over-detailed, lol, but popping a squat over a hole in the ground is not fun at all! I think Kim would agree with me when I say “I am not sure what these Portuguese people were thinking!”
We arrived in Lisbon at about 6pm in the evening and by the time we checked into our hostel and got out to explore the city a little, it was dark so the first few pictures you will see on my Shutterfly are night shots. Our hostel was in an awesome location, right in the heart of Lisbon so we were able to walk most places which was great. I was excited for Kim because it was her first “hostel experience” (Michael studied abroad in Australia so he knows all about it), and what a great experience it was! We stayed at “Lisbon Easy Hostel” and it was absolutely fabulous in that the rooms were nice and clean, there was free internet access, free laundry service, 1 Euro beers and glasses of wine, little parties every night in the lounge area that offered free Sangria and shots, and the service was awesome. Every one who worked there was so helpful with suggested things to do/see and places to eat. One night, Kim wasn’t feeling so well so the lady at the front desk made her a cup of her special tea that always makes sick guest feel better, and of course, it was free as well!
Michael – I wanted to add a tid bit about how awesome the name of our hostel was and tell the story about “hitting the easy button”, but I decided that it was way too funny to be able to describe in words, so just know that I thought about it!
Our first night of walking around and exploring we got lost in the hilly streets of the city, but it ended up working out for the best because we ended up making our way to the top of a huge hill which gave us a pretty awesome view of the city. Of course it was dark so the pictures didn’t come out too well, but just so you know, it was an awesome sight! I learned from my trip to Oporto that the maps in Portugal are crappy, and our Lisbon experience reassured me that this was true. Because there are so many little hidden streets and alleys, they don’t name all of the streets on the map, just the main ones, and this makes it kinda hard to navigate around the city. Lucky for Kim and me, “Michael to the rescue” LOL. We had a late dinner on Wednesday night (the Portuguese don’t eat quite as late as the Spanish, but still later than us Americans are used to eating), and then headed back to the Hostel to rest up for the following days activities. On Thursday we took the “Lisbon City Tour” hop-on, hop-off bus to the various sights of Lisbon. We were able to see the older part, as well as the more modern part of the city. We walked through a park and took some scenic pictures first, and then we visited the “Campo Pequeño” which is a bull fighting ring/commercial center. Weird combination, I know. The upstairs part was an arena, and underneath was sort of a shopping center. The tour bus took us by the aqueduct of Lisbon, which wasn’t anything as amazing as the one in Segovia that I previously wrote about, but was still neat. We visited a cathedral that was beautiful, as all cathedrals are (at least the one’s I’ve seen). From there, the bus took us down the river, driving past the Lisbon, Portugal Suspension Bridge, “Ponte 25 de abril”. Right on the river there were quite a few historic sights we were able to see. There was the river itself, the famous bridge, the “Padrão dos descobrimentos” the “Belém Tower” and finally the “Jerónimos Monastery”. We were able to go inside and tour the Belém Tower, and as you can see from my pictures, the architecture was pretty amazing, and the views it provided were even better. The monastery was closing as we were arriving so we only got to do a quick walk through, but once again, the building itself (as well as the interior) was phenomenal. We ended up seeing a lot on Thursday and to top it all off, we ate at an incredible Portuguese restaurant recommended to us by a member of our hostel staff.
On Friday morning we woke up and headed to “St. George's Castle”, which is located at the top of a huge hill. Hiking up the hill wasn’t fun, but definitely worth it considering the amazing view we were able to see. From the castle we could see the city, the river, and the bridge we had gotten a sight of the day before, but from a different perspective. The castle pretty much consisted of walls and wasn’t the neatest castle I’ve seen so far, but because of the location and the view, it was fabulous! After touring the castle, we headed toward the train station and jumped on a train to Sintra, which is just right outside of Lisbon (about 45 minutes). Once again, Sintra was a recommendation by our hostel staff and boy do they know how to pick em’. Sintra was absolutely stunning. It was only a day trip so we didn’t have a whole lot of time to do/see everything we wanted to, especially because Sintra had so much to offer, but what we did see was amazing! We took a bus that took us up the mountain and dropped us off at the entrance of the Pena Palace grounds. From the entrance, we walked/hiked up the rest of the mountain until we actually reached the Palace. The entire exterior was gorgeous and the inside was extremely beautiful and very elaborate. (Let’s just say the kings and queens live for what they are, royalty!) Considering the palace was at the peek of a mountain, the view was amazing. It was a beautiful clear day so we could even see as far as Lisbon from Sintra. After spending time inside and eating lunch on the terrace of the palace, we decided to walk around the grounds inside the palace walls. It was a beautiful landscape with multiple little ponds everywhere. From here, we walked toward the Moorish Castle. It was nothing more than castle walls, but let me tell you, it was incredible. It was located on the mountain top as well and to be honest, it was a little scary. The castle walkways were very narrow and very very very high up. Michael isn’t a huge fan of heights but he was a trooper the entire time! The view and the experience itself are enough to make anyone overcome their fear of heights! The best part of the Moorish Castle was toward the end when we climbed up the highest tower of the castle to catch the most phenomenal view of all. Just imagine...here I am, standing in the wind at the top of this tower, located in this Moorish castle, which was located on the top of mountain, and as if that weren't sweet enough, my sister and brother were standing right next to me! At that point, life couldn’t have gotten any better! It was the perfect ending to a great day in Sintra! :)
We took a train back to Lisbon and finished off Friday night with a nice Portuguese meal. Saturday morning rolled around and it was time for me to say good-bye to some of my favorite things...Portugal, and Kim and Michael! They grabbed a cab to the airport while I took the metro to the bus station. My long bus ride back home to Santiago gave me a lot of time to think about things and never in my life have I felt so blessed! I am one lucky girl to have her family fly across the world just to visit her. I am so thankful for all the opportunities/experiences I’ve had and there is no doubt in my mind that 30 years from now I will look back on this trip and remember how wonderful it was and how many memories I made!
Thanks Kim and Michael for one of the best weeks of my life! :)
Check out Portugal pictures on my Shutterfly site:
http://mexigurl14.shutterfly.com/
Let me just start off by saying that I am thrilled to write this blog entry and I’m sure you can guess why! Just in case your brain isn’t functioning today...I’ll just go ahead and tell you: It is because the week I am about to write about is the week Kim and Michael came to visit me in Europe!!! I can’t even express the excitement that I felt to see my sister and brother for the first time since August. They arrived in Santiago on Monday afternoon while I was in class and let me tell ya, I have never walked home from school as fast as I did that day. I think I probably made it in 15 minutes and it usually takes me anywhere from 20-25 minutes, if that doesn’t demonstrate my excitement to you, I don’t what would! :) Kim and Michael booked a room in the same building that I live in so the first thing I did when I got home was ask my “landlord” what room number they were in and then I went upstairs to greet them, it was fabulous! I was so excited to see familiar faces that I could have cried; I’m actually surprised that I didn’t. I had just enough time to eat lunch with Kim and Michael before my afternoon class. I had them try an Empanada de Atun, Croquetas, and Queso de Tetilla, all of which are typical foods of Galicia (the state that Santiago is located in). They both walked with me to my afternoon class at the South campus just to get a feel for my daily life in Spain and then they headed to explore Santiago while I went to my grammar and conversation class. I pointed them in the right direction of the cathedral (the main “attraction” of Santiago) and then met up with them later in the evening. We hung out and chatted (catching up was so nice) until dinner time, which of course is about 9-9:30pm in Spain. We went to the restaurant that my program coordinator took my group the first week we were in Santiago. It is a nice restaurant with authentic Gallegan food (I posted pics of the food in the initial weeks I was here). Kim and Michael were both very open-minded about trying pulpo (octopus), which made me happy because it is a must in the NW region of Spain. They both were neutral about it, thinking it wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great either.
On Tuesday, I had a test in the morning and an essay to write in the afternoon, so I sent Kim and Michael on a little day trip to A Coruña (which I’ve already told you about and posted pictures of previously). Unfortunately for them, it was rainy all day so they didn’t enjoy the beach and the sites of the coastal city like I did, but they still enjoyed the day (Who wouldn’t, it’s Spain for goodness sake :)!) Tuesday night Kim, Michael, some of my friends and I ate dinner at “Dolce Vita” an Italian restaurant that my friends and I love for 2 reasons...The food is delicious (and a change from the everyday Spanish food we eat) and the camereros (waiters) are pretty darn cute! :) (No worries momma, I'm still not in love with a Spaniard and I have every intention of coming home come December 21st.) The following Wednesday morning, Kim, Michael and I woke up early and headed to the bus station to catch our bus from Santiago, Spain to Lisbon, Portugal, which was about a 9 hour trip. Considering I am quite the frequent traveler nowadays (hehe), I am accustomed to being “in route” for that amount of time, but I think Kim and Michael were a little wrestles, lol...Who can blame them, 9 hours is a long time in a bus! For the most part, we all slept to pass the time quickly. I always try to save my “postcard writing” for long bus rides because it gives me something to do. So when you received your postcard and were wondering why the handwriting was so bad, that’s why...the chances are I wrote it while on the road. I don’t have much detail for you as far as the 9 hour bus ride goes, the only thing worth talking about is a 10 minute rest stop/bathroom break we had. So the way these long bus rides work is you stop about every 2 hours to use the bathroom, to get off the bus and stretch, and of course to eat. This particular bathroom break was in a small city in Portugal (I can’t remember the name) and Kim and I both got off the bus to use the restroom, which to our surprise (and disgust) ended up being a hole in the ground. I mean literally, you walk into the door that says ladies bathroom and it is nothing but a hole in the ground. I hate to be over-detailed, lol, but popping a squat over a hole in the ground is not fun at all! I think Kim would agree with me when I say “I am not sure what these Portuguese people were thinking!”
We arrived in Lisbon at about 6pm in the evening and by the time we checked into our hostel and got out to explore the city a little, it was dark so the first few pictures you will see on my Shutterfly are night shots. Our hostel was in an awesome location, right in the heart of Lisbon so we were able to walk most places which was great. I was excited for Kim because it was her first “hostel experience” (Michael studied abroad in Australia so he knows all about it), and what a great experience it was! We stayed at “Lisbon Easy Hostel” and it was absolutely fabulous in that the rooms were nice and clean, there was free internet access, free laundry service, 1 Euro beers and glasses of wine, little parties every night in the lounge area that offered free Sangria and shots, and the service was awesome. Every one who worked there was so helpful with suggested things to do/see and places to eat. One night, Kim wasn’t feeling so well so the lady at the front desk made her a cup of her special tea that always makes sick guest feel better, and of course, it was free as well!
Michael – I wanted to add a tid bit about how awesome the name of our hostel was and tell the story about “hitting the easy button”, but I decided that it was way too funny to be able to describe in words, so just know that I thought about it!
Our first night of walking around and exploring we got lost in the hilly streets of the city, but it ended up working out for the best because we ended up making our way to the top of a huge hill which gave us a pretty awesome view of the city. Of course it was dark so the pictures didn’t come out too well, but just so you know, it was an awesome sight! I learned from my trip to Oporto that the maps in Portugal are crappy, and our Lisbon experience reassured me that this was true. Because there are so many little hidden streets and alleys, they don’t name all of the streets on the map, just the main ones, and this makes it kinda hard to navigate around the city. Lucky for Kim and me, “Michael to the rescue” LOL. We had a late dinner on Wednesday night (the Portuguese don’t eat quite as late as the Spanish, but still later than us Americans are used to eating), and then headed back to the Hostel to rest up for the following days activities. On Thursday we took the “Lisbon City Tour” hop-on, hop-off bus to the various sights of Lisbon. We were able to see the older part, as well as the more modern part of the city. We walked through a park and took some scenic pictures first, and then we visited the “Campo Pequeño” which is a bull fighting ring/commercial center. Weird combination, I know. The upstairs part was an arena, and underneath was sort of a shopping center. The tour bus took us by the aqueduct of Lisbon, which wasn’t anything as amazing as the one in Segovia that I previously wrote about, but was still neat. We visited a cathedral that was beautiful, as all cathedrals are (at least the one’s I’ve seen). From there, the bus took us down the river, driving past the Lisbon, Portugal Suspension Bridge, “Ponte 25 de abril”. Right on the river there were quite a few historic sights we were able to see. There was the river itself, the famous bridge, the “Padrão dos descobrimentos” the “Belém Tower” and finally the “Jerónimos Monastery”. We were able to go inside and tour the Belém Tower, and as you can see from my pictures, the architecture was pretty amazing, and the views it provided were even better. The monastery was closing as we were arriving so we only got to do a quick walk through, but once again, the building itself (as well as the interior) was phenomenal. We ended up seeing a lot on Thursday and to top it all off, we ate at an incredible Portuguese restaurant recommended to us by a member of our hostel staff.
On Friday morning we woke up and headed to “St. George's Castle”, which is located at the top of a huge hill. Hiking up the hill wasn’t fun, but definitely worth it considering the amazing view we were able to see. From the castle we could see the city, the river, and the bridge we had gotten a sight of the day before, but from a different perspective. The castle pretty much consisted of walls and wasn’t the neatest castle I’ve seen so far, but because of the location and the view, it was fabulous! After touring the castle, we headed toward the train station and jumped on a train to Sintra, which is just right outside of Lisbon (about 45 minutes). Once again, Sintra was a recommendation by our hostel staff and boy do they know how to pick em’. Sintra was absolutely stunning. It was only a day trip so we didn’t have a whole lot of time to do/see everything we wanted to, especially because Sintra had so much to offer, but what we did see was amazing! We took a bus that took us up the mountain and dropped us off at the entrance of the Pena Palace grounds. From the entrance, we walked/hiked up the rest of the mountain until we actually reached the Palace. The entire exterior was gorgeous and the inside was extremely beautiful and very elaborate. (Let’s just say the kings and queens live for what they are, royalty!) Considering the palace was at the peek of a mountain, the view was amazing. It was a beautiful clear day so we could even see as far as Lisbon from Sintra. After spending time inside and eating lunch on the terrace of the palace, we decided to walk around the grounds inside the palace walls. It was a beautiful landscape with multiple little ponds everywhere. From here, we walked toward the Moorish Castle. It was nothing more than castle walls, but let me tell you, it was incredible. It was located on the mountain top as well and to be honest, it was a little scary. The castle walkways were very narrow and very very very high up. Michael isn’t a huge fan of heights but he was a trooper the entire time! The view and the experience itself are enough to make anyone overcome their fear of heights! The best part of the Moorish Castle was toward the end when we climbed up the highest tower of the castle to catch the most phenomenal view of all. Just imagine...here I am, standing in the wind at the top of this tower, located in this Moorish castle, which was located on the top of mountain, and as if that weren't sweet enough, my sister and brother were standing right next to me! At that point, life couldn’t have gotten any better! It was the perfect ending to a great day in Sintra! :)
We took a train back to Lisbon and finished off Friday night with a nice Portuguese meal. Saturday morning rolled around and it was time for me to say good-bye to some of my favorite things...Portugal, and Kim and Michael! They grabbed a cab to the airport while I took the metro to the bus station. My long bus ride back home to Santiago gave me a lot of time to think about things and never in my life have I felt so blessed! I am one lucky girl to have her family fly across the world just to visit her. I am so thankful for all the opportunities/experiences I’ve had and there is no doubt in my mind that 30 years from now I will look back on this trip and remember how wonderful it was and how many memories I made!
Thanks Kim and Michael for one of the best weeks of my life! :)
Check out Portugal pictures on my Shutterfly site: http://mexigurl14.shutterfly.com/
2 comments:
Yeah for updating your blog! I seriously can't believe it's almost been a month since we've seen you! So, I totally almost forgot about the whole bathroom - or hole in the ground - incident on our way to Lisbon. It made me laugh out loud! I'm glad to hear you had as much fun as we did in Lisbon. It was so fun visiting you and seeing you was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. I'm off to check out the pictures! Love you!
Thanks for a pretty detailed post. I love reading about your adventures...even if they don't include me. :( The pictures are amazing! I can't believe you're so close to being home. Less than a month away. We all can't wait.
Love you and Miss you.
-Dre
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