Hola,
I am actually sitting writing this from back in Fresno and looking back at the last couple of weeks of this crazy adventure I took this summer. Anyways I'll just get into it because this is going to be a long one folks.
Day 64:
The last Monday of classes... woke up and got ready and, of course, leave it to me to almost miss the tram on my last week. I made it though and went to class. I spent the rest of the day at the apartment just recouping from the busy and tiring weekend and also figuring out how to send my bag back to the states.
Day 65:
I went to class and then rushed back to the store to grab the ingredients I needed to get to make lunch for my host mom. I returned to the apartment and find that I wasn't supposed to cook until the next day lol whoops. I ate lunch, went to a coffee shop with Skylar and Charlotte, and met up with Simmy there. We spent the next few hours studying and working on random things. I went back for dinner and then we had a movie night at the other girls' place.
Day 66:
Today I had the joy of hauling my huge suitcase to campus for it to be picked up and shipped home. Of course with my luck this was the day that my normal tram station entrance was closed so I got to walk my suitcase a bit further. Shipping it home was honestly quite stressful but I knew that it would be so worth it, in the long run, to not have to lug it around while I was with my sister! I got a notification a while later that it had successfully been picked up and I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders. I went home and made sloppy joes for my host mom and gave her the host gift that I had brought from home and it was so much fun. I think she really enjoyed it and she even was texting her kids about it. I went out to dinner with my friends again that night and then headed to bed.
Day 67:
I had my oral exam today which was really stressful until I actually went in and did it. I still don't know how I did on it but it felt pretty good and really just like we were having a conversation at the dinner table. Before my oral exam, we had about an hour of class and I realized in that time that I could not see very well so I assumed that I must have forgotten to put my contacts in. This obviously was not very fun to deal with but there wasn't really anything that I could do at that point. When I got back to my apartment I looked in the mirror and realized that just one of my eyes was missing a contact so I put a new one in and called it good. I spent the rest of that afternoon at another coffee shop studying for my final! Funny thing, when I went to get ready for bed later that night I went to take out my contacts and found that I somehow had put both contacts in one eye that morning...no wonder I couldn't see!!!
Day 68:
LAST DAY OF CLASS! We had our final in a different room which was a bit odd but made sense I guess so that we could spread out. (that still didn't seem to discourage one of the guys from attempting to cheat though) Anyways we went in and I finished my exam first not really to my surprise and my professor thanked me for my hard work in her class and then I went to the USAC office to drop off my old textbooks and say goodbye to Luis and Veronica and then wait for Charlotte to get out of her final as well. We headed back home and my host mom made paella for lunch. Later that afternoon Charlotte and I headed to a beach bar and hung out there so that we could be at the beach but not actually have to deal with getting all sandy. We then met up with Lily and got churros for one last time at Valor and then hung out and watched a movie that night as the last hurrah before they headed home the next morning.
Day 69:
I could not believe this was my last day in Alicante. I was so excited to go meet up with my sis, but It was definitely a bitter-sweet day. My host mom and I went to a cafe that morning to grab breakfast and then we ran some errands in order to grab some things that she needed and we got a fish from the market for lunch. It was quite an experience to watch this man butcher the fish how he did lol. We got back and I finished packing and then we had lunch. Then I went to lay down for a nap before heading out. I didn't actually fall asleep but that is what it is. Much to my surprise, as I went to say goodbye I started to tear up. Leaving Alicante was a lot harder than I expected. I was definitely ready to go, but this place had been my home for 2+ months and that is not something that I could just ignore. I got on the bus to the airport and then headed to Madrid. I got off that plane and went to find my sister. There were definitely tears upon greeting each other and just a sigh of relief to be together at last. We headed to our Airbnb for the night, called mom, dad, and Nolan and that was pretty much that day.
Day 70:
Our first day in Madrid, we started off by heading to a café and having coffees and croissants that only cost like 4 euros for both of us! Then we hit el Rastro which is a giant flea market with vendors selling anything you can think of. from clothes to jewelry to old cameras and kitchen wares. After that, we headed to the Reina Sofia museum and got to see a ton of interesting pieces from artists such as Dali and Picasso. We even got to see Picasso's Guernica which was ginormous. After wandering around and then almost getting lost trying to get back to the locker where our bags were, we headed to a bar/restaurant for tapas. This place was called Viva Madrid, I believe. It was so yummy and Ellie got to watch me struggle to get the attention of the server for the check which seemed to be a constant throughout our trip. We stopped at the grocery store on our way back to our Airbnb to pick up food to make for dinner back at our place. We watched church online when we got back and then called mom and dad before making dinner and heading to bed.
Day 71:
Today we headed to Toledo. We booked a tour with a company that included the ride there and back, a panoramic tour, and then a walking tour of the city. It was really beautiful, but soooo hot that day. We got to go to the oldest factory in Toledo that makes damascene, which is metal that they inlay metal threads into. It's kind of hard to explain but a very cool process to watch. Toledo is also known for its swords and other types of metal works. We got paella for lunch that day and explored the shops until it was time to head back to the bus. The bus ride back was absolutely horrid though, the air conditioning was not working and it was definitely upwards of 100 degrees there. When we got back we still had a 30-minute walk back to our place and Ellie was NOT feeling good. We kept pushing forward, made it back, and then cranked the air-conditioning! We hung out for a while and then made dinner and headed to sleep.
Day 72:
The last day in Madrid we started off by heading to a café that was just around the corner from our Airbnb where we got cappuccinos, a croissant, and tomato and olive oil toast. Then we took our luggage to a locker to store it for the day and off to the palace we went. The palace was insane! sadly we really could not take pictures while we were in it but it was astonishing. Though the royal family no longer lives in the palace they do still use it for large events which I thought was really cool. We not only got to tour the palace, but we also got to see the royal armory collection which was super interesting. After this we walked over to a park that had a small lake in it and then got lunch at a place that was looking out over the lake. I had a whole fish for lunch and when I say whole, I mean like the entire head and body were just laying on my plate. It was pretty good and we were so full after. We went to Plaza Mayor and wandered around there for a while, in and out of shops, and then sat down in the shade for a while. Next we went to San Gines Chocolateria for churros con chocolate, in which I ordered too many churros and Ellie will claim I forced her to eat them all. Then we walked to see the Gran Via which is just a main busy street in Madrid that is interesting to look at except for the fact that they were doing construction on one of the main buildings. We sat down on a bench there and it started to rain huge drops. It honestly felt really good though. Next, we made our way back to pick up our luggage and headed to the tram station, and take that to the bus station. We were taking the night bus and didn't really have anything else that we needed to see in Madrid so we figured we would head there early. We got on the bus around 11, and then we were headed to Portugal!
Day 73:
Our first day in Portugal we took very slow. We got into Porto at like 7 am and then took a taxi over to Gaia which is the area just on the other side of the Duero River. It was cool and overcast as we sat along the edge of the river waiting for the coffee shop that we wanted to go to, to open. I think we fell in love with Portugal in those first few minutes. The buildings stacked upon one another, crested with terracotta-colored roofs, and the flowing river down below created the most gorgeous view. We sat there for a while just taking it all in and then made our way to get much-needed coffee. We took our time drinking coffee, eating breakfast, reading our bibles, and journaling for a couple hours. Our Airbnb check-in wasn't until 3 so we had quite a bit of time to pass. We spread a 15-minute walk into like 5+ hours. I even found my charm for the country of Portugal on this walk to our Airbnb. I thought that was pretty wild because this was going to be the country that I had the most time to find a charm in other than Spain of course and yet I found it the most easily. Porto had these outdoor markets out all the time next to the river and we were just glancing at these when I found the perfect little Portuguese guitar charm. From there we took our time wandering down the river, stopping to sit every few minutes and really every few feet admiring the beautiful water and scenery in front of us. Some old Portuguese lady yelled at us in Portuguese from her second-story window as a way to tell us which way to go which was pretty nice of her, but she could have been saying anything really and we would not have known in the slightest. We made it to our Airbnb, took showers, and laid down for a bit before finding somewhere to go for dinner. When we finally got to where we planned to eat we found that it no longer existed...we went in circles swearing that it had to be there because there was a review written for it three days prior, we gave up and just went to a restaurant that was in its general location. While there we got Francesinha which is pretty much a 3-meat sandwich with cheese and a tomato-based sauce over the top. We also had some sort of Portuguese sausage that came served over a mini grill-type thing. It was quite the comedy show to watch Ellie and I try to figure out how to get the sausage pieces off the metal skewers. After dinner, we headed back and went to bed!
Day 74:
This day, we woke up and headed to breakfast at a pastel de nata place and had cappuccinos and tried a couple different types. They were so yummy! Then we decided to walk on the bridge over the Duro to the Porto side. We walked over to the library that is somehow related to Harry Potter (I have never read or seen these books/movies so it really didn't mean much to me) We got in line only to realize that we were supposed to have tickets...oh well! Then we walked just a few more steps over to a church that has the beautiful blue tiles on the outside to take pictures. then we walked around a bit and bought some souvenirs at the little street markets. We wandered in and out of shops on our way back through town and stopped to get some meat and red sauce pastry thing that Ellie and I shared. It really just hit the spot! We crossed the bridge on the higher level on the way back and then had to figure out how to get down, but that was just an added adventure. Next, we had a wine cavern tour and tasting at Sandman Cellars. It was very cool to hear all about the history of the cellars and learn about the creation process of Port wine. Then we went on a boat tour of the seven bridges in that area of the Duro. When we first got on the boat, we were unsure if anyone else was going to be with us, but they had us wait for a while and eventually, a few other people joined. The boat that we were on looked kind of like a pirate ship which was cool! It was a relaxing way to spend the afternoon. For dinner that night, we went to the food market that had a bunch of restaurants inside and got a pork sandwich with "green Soup" and a baked cod dish! the food was super yummy! then we headed back to the Airbnb for the night!
Day 75:
Our last day in Porto, we grabbed a quick breakfast and then headed to the bus station. We spent most of the day on the bus. Once we got to Lisbon, we took a taxi to our Airbnb where we were greeted by the owner. He told us all about the different things to see in Lisbon and their proximity to where we were staying. That night we found a quaint restaurant for dinner literally 4 doors down but of course, they only took cash so we had to find an atm which was a whole adventure in itself. Eventually, we had cash in hand and got to go eat. Here we split a variety of the Portuguese version of Tapas. It was soooo good! We also share a port tonic and a glass of vinho verde which are both traditional Portuguese drinks. That was the end of that day.
Day 76:
Ellie had one main request for her time in Europe and that was that we have a beach day. This was that day. We started by grabbing breakfast at this very aesthetic brunch restaurant. Then, we headed for the tram. To our surprise, the machine at the closest stop was not functioning, so we took a good long walk down to the main station and were able to get tickets and hop on the tram there. Once we got to our stop, the beach was just a short walk from there. We spent most of the afternoon just laying here and taking a few trips down to the slightly chilly water to cool off. For the most part, it was pretty overcast though so we weren't too terribly hot. Then we took the tram back, walked to the Airbnb, and then got ready for dinner. We headed to Timeout Market for dinner, got a few different types of croquettes and a glass of wine, and then went to get this steak sandwich and there the guy convinced us that we needed another glass of wine haha. For dessert, we got more pastel de nata, because when in Portugal I guess...
Day 77:
This day was jam-packed with all kinds of things. We got up early to walk to the famous tram 28. When we got to the start of it there was a decent line but it wasn't too bad. We were standing behind the cutest little British family that had a little boy that was probably around the age of 5. There he stood talking to his parents with his cute little accent and then a Portuguese cop came up and asked if he wanted to come over to sit on his motorcycle. It took a bit of convincing, but eventually, the little boy agreed and the cop even let him play with the sirens on the bike. Shortly after this, we got on the Tram and took it all the way to the end! Then we went for a short walk to a café that I had found online. I had a wildly amazing avocado toast and Ellie got a breakfast sandwich. Definitely would recommend this place! We then took the tram back to our Airbnb and much to our surprise, it got stuck and we all had to unload, but that also happened to be right next to where our Airbnb was so that worked out well. We went inside and devised a game plan for the rest of our day. Next, we headed to Pink Street, a street that unsurprisingly is actually painted pink, to take some photos, and then we made our way to the Castle and took in the stunning views and learned some more Portuguese history! from there we walked to the main town plaza and wandered around for a while taking in all the sights and then sat on the "urban beach" I believe it was called and just let the wind blow through our hair for a while. Later that night we had reservations at a fado restaurant where they sang and played Portuguese music while we ate. It was a cute hole-in-the-wall kind of place with the most beautiful sounds and rich foods. then it was off to bed!
Day 78:
Our last day in Europe! we got up and packed up the last of our things and took them to a storage place for the day and then headed to breakfast. I got Turkish Eggs(yogurt, bread, poached eggs, and some sort of oil) for breakfast because why not?? I guess lol and Ellie got a breakfast burrito. Both things were sooo good! Then we knew we had a pretty long walk ahead of us out to the marina where the sailboat would be waiting for us. Once we found the meeting spot we sat there for a while and even talked to Nolan on the phone. Then we finally boarded the boat and set off. It was such a cool way to experience the sights that we had not gotten the chance to see yet and learn some more background about each of these sights. It was the most gorgeous way to spend the afternoon! (we will just pretend that we didn't forget sunscreen on this and had to face the consequences of such action) After this, we went back to Timeout Market for a small snack a classic Aperol Spritz and to waste some more time until we could head to the airport. when planning our trip, Ellie and I thought to ourselves that we would save some money and spend the night in the airport. Sadly that was just the best-laid plan. We got to the airport only to find out that we could not check-in for our flights until the next morning. so we proceeded to sit outside of security until 2 hours before each of our flights the next morning. This was definitely not ideal. We made it through though and Ellie got on her flight and I talked with mom and dad until I could go check in for mine 2 hours later. The rest of our trip is pretty much just planes until I got back to the states.
OK there we made it...took me a lot longer than I expected but I finished the blog. Thanks to all of you who stuck with me and read some if not all of these posts. What a wild adventure that was. When people ask me how my time abroad was, my go-to response has been "good, but really hard" and honestly that is true. I think that it was so worth it and absolutely amazing, but I also could not be happier to be home and with my people again. My travel bug definitely isn't gone, but I just might be done with Europe for a while! Any guesses where I am headed next? (I honestly don't know, but I'll keep y'all posted when I do)
Adios amigos!
