Spring Break!

So starting tomorrow spring break is officially over...sadness. Mom, dad and Noah came to visit me for my break and that was a lot of fun! They arrived the Wednesday before my break began and we spent the rest of the week and weekend in Madrid, with me playing a bit of tour guide and all of us exploring together. We went all over the city: to the Palacio Real, Prado, Reina Sofia, Parque Retiro, Sol, Plaza Mayor, etc etc. We had pretty nice weather while in Madrid so that was nice. Even sun for a few days (although that was majorly shortlived). Then, early Sunday morning we set off for Lisbon, Portugal!

Our journey to Lisbon was supposed to be quick and easy but towards the end of our flight the captain announced that we couldn't land in Lisbon for some unannounced reason and we didn't have enough fuel to hang around so we had to land in a city in the south of Portugal and then retake off and fly back to Lisbon. We later learned that the reason we couldn't land was because there was a dog on the runway and it took them forever to get it off! Oh, Portugal...

Once in Lisbon we settled into our hotel and kind of took it easy for the day. Typical of me, I got sick once my family arrived so I was trying to recover a bit. Lisbon is really beautiful, surrounded by ocean and mountains, but it is definitely not as modern a city as Madrid and it shows. It's a lot more run down and visibly old, which in some cases is beautiful but in other cases was kind of dirty...We spent our days walking around the city, attempting to find restaurants that suited all our tastes (some people in my family are picky eaters...*cough* Noah *cough*) and resting. We took an old trolley to Belem, along the coast and ate the famous desserts at the pastry shop there. Delicious!

One of the days we took a train to a tiny town about 40 minutes outside of Lisbon called Sintra. Sintra was absolutely beautiful! It was home to two palaces and an 8th century Moorish castle, along with tons of cute little shops and winding streets and outdoor cafes. We visited one of the palaces that was right in town - really beautiful. Then, after lunch, we took a scary bus ride up the windy hills to the castle, which was amazing! Old rock walls and towers snaked along the green hillsides overlooking Sintra and Lisbon and all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. They really were breathtaking views.

After we wrapped up our stay in Portugal, we headed back to Madrid where we had once last night in the city before my family left ridiculously early the next morning for their long journey home. It was really nice to have them here - a little taste of home - and it's sad that they're gone now. But school is starting up again and things will quickly get back to their normal Madrid ways. This past weekend people started coming back from their trips so I had a fun and busy weekend with friends, and of course, homework avoidance.

Oh, quick new flash...not sure if you all read about the Greek cruise ship that sank last week, but two of my friends from the program were actually on board the ship! They're back in Madrid now, safe and sound, but sadly all of their things are now at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. Glad to have them back safe though!

Alright I should finally get to my reading. Hasta luego!