What an amazing ten days!! 2 continents, 4 countries, 10 cities!!
Saturday, November 12
I woke up super early to catch a bus from Huelva to Sevilla to pick up Ray from the airport so we could start our road trip to Lisbon, Portugal. His flights were delayed so I hung out at a cafe and had breakfast while I waited on him. And of course, Knight Rider was on TV, woo! (Spain is completely random... always.)
He finally landed four hours late. I have never been so happy to see someone before in my life. I thought I would have cried when I saw him but I was completely consumed in joy that it didn't even cross my mind. I couldn't stop hugging and kissing him. Wow, I missed him. After saying our long hello for the first time in 7 weeks,we picked up our tiny car, The Clio. The drive was four hours through beautiful mountains and countryside. We arrived to our hostel, The Rossio. The hostel was absolutely beautiful. No wonder it was ranked the number 2 hostel in all of Europe! The hostel is situated in the heart of Lisbon right on the Rossio Square. Our room was at the very top of the buidling with an amazing view. We could look out and see the Rossio Square, houses stacked up the hillside, and even the Castle of São Jorge.
After unpacking, we decided to walk around then have a few beers at our hostel. Happy Hour was 2Euro for all you can drink. WHAT.A.DEAL.
About midnight we decided to walk around and find dinner since both of us hadn't eaten since that morning. When we walked outside we saw that the police had taped and booted our car! When we were looking for parking when we got into Lisbon, there was a man waving in cars at the square. We paid him 5Euros to park overnight. Well come to find out the man just stole our money, along with about 12 other cars. We were illegally parked. An American girl trying to speak Spanish to a police officer that only speaks Portuguese. How frustrating. So 91Euros later we had our car. Oh and did I mention that we had just gotten done with Happy Hour? So anyways, when trying to move the car the door rubbed against the crosswalk sign... our parking space wasn't the greatest if you couldn't tell by now. We found an underground parking garage and called it a night. Boy were we fuming!
Sunday, November 13
We slept in until about lunch time then decided to make our way to Sintra. Sintra is supposed to be a beautiful small city with amazing views. We grabbed a couple of bocadillos, Ray's first ever, and headed to romantic Sintra. 25 minutes later we arrived and our car climbed the treturous hills and tiny winding roads up to see the Moorish Castle and Palacio de Pena. But of course, it was completely foggy so the view was shot and when we got to the gate to enter it started storming. It rained so hard that we decided walking in the cold rain for a view of nothing was pointless. We turned around and were once again disappointed.
Back at the hostel we were invited to have a traditional Portuguese dinner with all you can drink Sangria. Ray and I decided to sign up and we were so glad we did. After the rain let up a little bit we walked around the city and grabbed a beer at a local bar. We headed back to the hostel for dinner and we were very surprised when we got back. Candles were lit around the dark living room with a table set for two. HOW ROMANTIC! The guy told us that we were the only two that signed up for dinner so he decided to go all out for us. We were served baked cod with rice, a salad, and for dessert mango mousse. It was all so delicious! Ray even had seconds. That was by far the best thing I have eaten in Europe. After dinner he and I did this awesome puzzle that was on the wall of the living room and watched True Romance with other guests on the big screen in our hostel.
Monday, November 14
Ray and I woke up and the weather was actually beautiful out! We walked through the city and down to the Ferry station. We took a ferry to Almada to view the Cristo Rei statue. After taking a publuc bus up impossible hills and streets that can barely fit one car let alone a bus, we were there. Cristo Rei is very similar to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. From the statue you can overlook Lisbon...one of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen. Also, you can see the 25 de Abril Bridge that is the sister bridge to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco. Ray and I were the only two at the site so we were able to completely enjoy it, no rush.
We headed back to our banged up car and headed down through Portugal, and not to mention 294239 more tolls, to Huelva, Spain... my home! Yes, Portugal has a ton of tolls. None of them make any sense. Some are 50 cents, some are 1.50Euros, but just to enter and exit the country it is a whopping 18.95Euros. WTH?!
Tuesday, November 15
We woke up and headed to return the rental car. To make things short, we owed almost $1000 in damage. Apparently basic insurance covers nothing!! After that shot to the wallet, we caught a bus to my school, Juan Ramon Jimenez, in Cartaya, Spain. Ray sat in on my second grade class while I taught. I really confused them when we were going over animals. Every animal I would have the students imitate the animal. But when I got to Zebra and asked what noise do Zebras make? The kids just sat there so confused. I thought it was a given that zebras sounds like horses but I guess not. After school I introduced Ray to Hipercor and Corte Ingles... basically our version of Super Walmart. We bought some Cruzcampo, Spain's famous version of Natty Light, and made Mac n' Cheese for dinner. We watched Green street Hooligans and called it a night.
Wednesday, November 16
I worked most of the day as Ray explored around Huelva. That night Sarah, Ray, and I went out to the Red Lion for drinks. We had a great time sitting and talking late into the night.
Thursday, November 17
This day we did absolutely nothing. I introduced him to the new show, The New Girl, and we watched the entire trilogy of Ocean's. We packed for Morocco and called it an early night.
Friday, November 18
Ray, Sarah, Jen, and I woke up SUPER early to catch the 7AM bus for Sevilla. We had to almost literally run to make it on time. We are not morning people. We met everyone in our tour group at the Plaza de Cuba in Sevilla at 9, loaded the bus, and headed for Gibraltar.
Once in Gibraltar we crossed through customs and we were in English territory! It was so crazy to see everything written in English! I went with Jen to use the bathroom and it was crazy. The public restroom costs 1 euro to use. You put the euro in the slot and then the door slides open and a British lady's voice gives you instructions. You have 20 minutes and then the door will automatically open. Then, when you're finished, the bathroom cleans itself. Weird... Our tour group loaded smaller buses and made our way to Europa Point and St. Michael's Cave. The views were incredible of the ocean and the cave was fantastic. Here's a fun fact, during the war the Brits prepared the cave as a hospital. It was never used but so cool! And of course when you talk about Gibraltar you have to talk about the monkeys. They were everywhere an not shy at all! One even jumped on someone's back! Too close for comfort. After the tour we headed into town for free time. We decided to have fish and chips, a traditional British meal YAY!! Afterwards, we headed to Algeciras where we loaded a ferry, basically a jet boat the size of a huge ship with the luxury of first class, and headed to AFRICA!!!
An hour later we were in Ceuta, Morocco!! We drove straight to our hotel in M'diq! It was beautiful and right on the Mediterranean! We had dinner in our hotel which wasn't too bad actually! Fried fish, salad, and for dessert hot Moroccan tea and cookies. We had a great time a dinner, we laughed so hard I was in tears!! What a great start to our weekend. Later, we all headed to the beach in front of our hotel and collected seashells and walked around. In the background you could see the outline of the mountains. Beautiful.
Saturday, November 19
Waking up next to the man I love and the sound of waves was perfect. We repacked our things and rode our to Chefchaouen. This small city was situated high in the mountains. I loved it. We took a tour down small walking streets between buildings painted a beautiful blue. They are painted this color to keep the mosquitoes away but it makes the contrast against the mountains and sky really stand out. Our tour guide was a tiny tiny man that was hilarious. All I could make out was, "hello friend" and "how are you?" We learned how the Moroccans made fabrics and then broke away for free time. Seeing so many things in the market that are unlike home and even Europe was so interesting! Seeing a different way of life really impacts you like no other. While in the market, these children bugged us to buy items or even just give them money. They were very persistent. I snapped this picture as they became angry and demanded that I pay for the picture I just took of them. Kids, you're cute, but no. As we were leaving it started pouring rain. We made it to the bus a little wet and started towards Tetouan.
In Tetouan we had a traditional Moroccan lunch with soup, kebab, curry chicken, and tea. The restaurant was amazing and later we learned that it was a place for weddings. It was beautiful. During Lunch we had many entertainers playing music and dancing with fire! So cool. After lunch we walked around the city and even saw the palace in Medina (old town) where the king lives!
That night we headed to Tangier where we checked into our hotel and had dinner. Dinner was salad, chicken, and couscous. Once again we had music and performers. The man who danced with a plate of fire took Ray out of the crowd and had him try to twist his arm full circle with a candle on top of his hand. He did it like a pro! It was awesome! Our dinner table had people from all over the world... USA, England, Scotland, Finland, and somewhere else.. I can't remember.
After dinner the girls, Ray, and I drank back in our rooms before going out to the discoteca! We left about 1am to dance our butts off. I made a fool of myself but who cares? I didn't know anyone! Some dance moves included were walking it out, the sprinkler, MC Hammer, and everything in between.
Sunday, November 20
We woke up early, probably too early, to go out on our last day. We drove out to the beach and rode camels. CAMELS!! How awesome. It was very touristy and short but to be able to say I rode a camel in Africa is freaking amazing. After the camel ride, we went to where the Atlantic and Mediterranean meet and had a cup of coffee. I have never seen the Atlantic look so beautiful. It was an incredible blue as the waves rolled in. After sightseeing, we went to Hercules Cave. This cave was carved out by the crashing waves over many years. It was so cool to see. On our way back to the ferry, we rode through Ceuta for a small tour. The ferry ride home was amazing. Sailing away from the African coast watching the Mountains fade away in the distance. Beautiful.
Once we rode the bus for a couple hours we arrived in Sevilla. Sarah, Ray, and I checked into our hotel and met up with Ale to go to dinner. We tried a Mexican restaurant for the second time since I have been here in Spain. It was close but still nothing compares. The four of us had a great time talking between English and Spanish. It feels so good to have such great friends already and it felt even better to be able to enjoy both company of my best friend in Spain and my best friend from home.
Monday, November 21
The last day we slept in once again and went for lunch at a small cafe. We shared chorizo, carne mechada and, jamon montaditos and huevos a la flemenco. Ray really enjoyed Spanish food, and boy was I happy to eat it too! After lunch Ale took us to the Plaza de Seville. It was huge and just absolutely incredible. Then we stopped at Starbucks. I missed Starbucks! Thank you Sevilla for having sbux, I loved indulging thanks to my amazing roomie, Sarah! Mocha Praline... Yummm. After a coffe break we walked to the Cathedral de Sevilla. It was beautiful. It is the third largest cathedral in the world!! We wanted to tour it but it was too much money. Ale headed to work so Sarah, Ray, and I drank some Sangria and had a few tapas including the Spanish Tortilla. Very traditional. I think we introduced Ray to most the the good stuff! After dinner we headed back to the hotel and stopped at Triana's Bridge. He bought us a lock that we put our initials on and locked to the bridge. We took a lot of time to pick the right spot. It was very thoughtful of him to remember me talking about it from my last visit to Sevilla and to surprise me with our very own lock! I loved it!! We have now left our mark on Spain!! Once he and I returned to our hotel, we spent time reminiscing on our trip, laughing at the good times (and even the bad), and made plans for when I get home for the holidays in 30 days.
I had an absolutely incredible experience. I had the most amazing person by my side through it all. I met some new friends, became closer with my roommates, and made everlasting memories. Thank you everyone who was apart of this trip for contributing to some of the best times of my life!!
"It sure left its mark on us
We sure left our mark on it
We let the world know we were here
With everything we did
We laid a lot of memories down
Like tattoos on this town"
THIRTY DAYS UNTIL I AM HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!
Saturday, November 12
I woke up super early to catch a bus from Huelva to Sevilla to pick up Ray from the airport so we could start our road trip to Lisbon, Portugal. His flights were delayed so I hung out at a cafe and had breakfast while I waited on him. And of course, Knight Rider was on TV, woo! (Spain is completely random... always.)
He finally landed four hours late. I have never been so happy to see someone before in my life. I thought I would have cried when I saw him but I was completely consumed in joy that it didn't even cross my mind. I couldn't stop hugging and kissing him. Wow, I missed him. After saying our long hello for the first time in 7 weeks,we picked up our tiny car, The Clio. The drive was four hours through beautiful mountains and countryside. We arrived to our hostel, The Rossio. The hostel was absolutely beautiful. No wonder it was ranked the number 2 hostel in all of Europe! The hostel is situated in the heart of Lisbon right on the Rossio Square. Our room was at the very top of the buidling with an amazing view. We could look out and see the Rossio Square, houses stacked up the hillside, and even the Castle of São Jorge.
After unpacking, we decided to walk around then have a few beers at our hostel. Happy Hour was 2Euro for all you can drink. WHAT.A.DEAL.
About midnight we decided to walk around and find dinner since both of us hadn't eaten since that morning. When we walked outside we saw that the police had taped and booted our car! When we were looking for parking when we got into Lisbon, there was a man waving in cars at the square. We paid him 5Euros to park overnight. Well come to find out the man just stole our money, along with about 12 other cars. We were illegally parked. An American girl trying to speak Spanish to a police officer that only speaks Portuguese. How frustrating. So 91Euros later we had our car. Oh and did I mention that we had just gotten done with Happy Hour? So anyways, when trying to move the car the door rubbed against the crosswalk sign... our parking space wasn't the greatest if you couldn't tell by now. We found an underground parking garage and called it a night. Boy were we fuming!
Sunday, November 13
We slept in until about lunch time then decided to make our way to Sintra. Sintra is supposed to be a beautiful small city with amazing views. We grabbed a couple of bocadillos, Ray's first ever, and headed to romantic Sintra. 25 minutes later we arrived and our car climbed the treturous hills and tiny winding roads up to see the Moorish Castle and Palacio de Pena. But of course, it was completely foggy so the view was shot and when we got to the gate to enter it started storming. It rained so hard that we decided walking in the cold rain for a view of nothing was pointless. We turned around and were once again disappointed.
Back at the hostel we were invited to have a traditional Portuguese dinner with all you can drink Sangria. Ray and I decided to sign up and we were so glad we did. After the rain let up a little bit we walked around the city and grabbed a beer at a local bar. We headed back to the hostel for dinner and we were very surprised when we got back. Candles were lit around the dark living room with a table set for two. HOW ROMANTIC! The guy told us that we were the only two that signed up for dinner so he decided to go all out for us. We were served baked cod with rice, a salad, and for dessert mango mousse. It was all so delicious! Ray even had seconds. That was by far the best thing I have eaten in Europe. After dinner he and I did this awesome puzzle that was on the wall of the living room and watched True Romance with other guests on the big screen in our hostel.
Monday, November 14
Ray and I woke up and the weather was actually beautiful out! We walked through the city and down to the Ferry station. We took a ferry to Almada to view the Cristo Rei statue. After taking a publuc bus up impossible hills and streets that can barely fit one car let alone a bus, we were there. Cristo Rei is very similar to the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro. From the statue you can overlook Lisbon...one of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen. Also, you can see the 25 de Abril Bridge that is the sister bridge to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco. Ray and I were the only two at the site so we were able to completely enjoy it, no rush.
We headed back to our banged up car and headed down through Portugal, and not to mention 294239 more tolls, to Huelva, Spain... my home! Yes, Portugal has a ton of tolls. None of them make any sense. Some are 50 cents, some are 1.50Euros, but just to enter and exit the country it is a whopping 18.95Euros. WTH?!
Tuesday, November 15
We woke up and headed to return the rental car. To make things short, we owed almost $1000 in damage. Apparently basic insurance covers nothing!! After that shot to the wallet, we caught a bus to my school, Juan Ramon Jimenez, in Cartaya, Spain. Ray sat in on my second grade class while I taught. I really confused them when we were going over animals. Every animal I would have the students imitate the animal. But when I got to Zebra and asked what noise do Zebras make? The kids just sat there so confused. I thought it was a given that zebras sounds like horses but I guess not. After school I introduced Ray to Hipercor and Corte Ingles... basically our version of Super Walmart. We bought some Cruzcampo, Spain's famous version of Natty Light, and made Mac n' Cheese for dinner. We watched Green street Hooligans and called it a night.
Wednesday, November 16
I worked most of the day as Ray explored around Huelva. That night Sarah, Ray, and I went out to the Red Lion for drinks. We had a great time sitting and talking late into the night.
Thursday, November 17
This day we did absolutely nothing. I introduced him to the new show, The New Girl, and we watched the entire trilogy of Ocean's. We packed for Morocco and called it an early night.
Friday, November 18
Ray, Sarah, Jen, and I woke up SUPER early to catch the 7AM bus for Sevilla. We had to almost literally run to make it on time. We are not morning people. We met everyone in our tour group at the Plaza de Cuba in Sevilla at 9, loaded the bus, and headed for Gibraltar.
Once in Gibraltar we crossed through customs and we were in English territory! It was so crazy to see everything written in English! I went with Jen to use the bathroom and it was crazy. The public restroom costs 1 euro to use. You put the euro in the slot and then the door slides open and a British lady's voice gives you instructions. You have 20 minutes and then the door will automatically open. Then, when you're finished, the bathroom cleans itself. Weird... Our tour group loaded smaller buses and made our way to Europa Point and St. Michael's Cave. The views were incredible of the ocean and the cave was fantastic. Here's a fun fact, during the war the Brits prepared the cave as a hospital. It was never used but so cool! And of course when you talk about Gibraltar you have to talk about the monkeys. They were everywhere an not shy at all! One even jumped on someone's back! Too close for comfort. After the tour we headed into town for free time. We decided to have fish and chips, a traditional British meal YAY!! Afterwards, we headed to Algeciras where we loaded a ferry, basically a jet boat the size of a huge ship with the luxury of first class, and headed to AFRICA!!!
An hour later we were in Ceuta, Morocco!! We drove straight to our hotel in M'diq! It was beautiful and right on the Mediterranean! We had dinner in our hotel which wasn't too bad actually! Fried fish, salad, and for dessert hot Moroccan tea and cookies. We had a great time a dinner, we laughed so hard I was in tears!! What a great start to our weekend. Later, we all headed to the beach in front of our hotel and collected seashells and walked around. In the background you could see the outline of the mountains. Beautiful.
Saturday, November 19
Waking up next to the man I love and the sound of waves was perfect. We repacked our things and rode our to Chefchaouen. This small city was situated high in the mountains. I loved it. We took a tour down small walking streets between buildings painted a beautiful blue. They are painted this color to keep the mosquitoes away but it makes the contrast against the mountains and sky really stand out. Our tour guide was a tiny tiny man that was hilarious. All I could make out was, "hello friend" and "how are you?" We learned how the Moroccans made fabrics and then broke away for free time. Seeing so many things in the market that are unlike home and even Europe was so interesting! Seeing a different way of life really impacts you like no other. While in the market, these children bugged us to buy items or even just give them money. They were very persistent. I snapped this picture as they became angry and demanded that I pay for the picture I just took of them. Kids, you're cute, but no. As we were leaving it started pouring rain. We made it to the bus a little wet and started towards Tetouan.
In Tetouan we had a traditional Moroccan lunch with soup, kebab, curry chicken, and tea. The restaurant was amazing and later we learned that it was a place for weddings. It was beautiful. During Lunch we had many entertainers playing music and dancing with fire! So cool. After lunch we walked around the city and even saw the palace in Medina (old town) where the king lives!
That night we headed to Tangier where we checked into our hotel and had dinner. Dinner was salad, chicken, and couscous. Once again we had music and performers. The man who danced with a plate of fire took Ray out of the crowd and had him try to twist his arm full circle with a candle on top of his hand. He did it like a pro! It was awesome! Our dinner table had people from all over the world... USA, England, Scotland, Finland, and somewhere else.. I can't remember.
After dinner the girls, Ray, and I drank back in our rooms before going out to the discoteca! We left about 1am to dance our butts off. I made a fool of myself but who cares? I didn't know anyone! Some dance moves included were walking it out, the sprinkler, MC Hammer, and everything in between.
Sunday, November 20
We woke up early, probably too early, to go out on our last day. We drove out to the beach and rode camels. CAMELS!! How awesome. It was very touristy and short but to be able to say I rode a camel in Africa is freaking amazing. After the camel ride, we went to where the Atlantic and Mediterranean meet and had a cup of coffee. I have never seen the Atlantic look so beautiful. It was an incredible blue as the waves rolled in. After sightseeing, we went to Hercules Cave. This cave was carved out by the crashing waves over many years. It was so cool to see. On our way back to the ferry, we rode through Ceuta for a small tour. The ferry ride home was amazing. Sailing away from the African coast watching the Mountains fade away in the distance. Beautiful.
Once we rode the bus for a couple hours we arrived in Sevilla. Sarah, Ray, and I checked into our hotel and met up with Ale to go to dinner. We tried a Mexican restaurant for the second time since I have been here in Spain. It was close but still nothing compares. The four of us had a great time talking between English and Spanish. It feels so good to have such great friends already and it felt even better to be able to enjoy both company of my best friend in Spain and my best friend from home.
Monday, November 21
The last day we slept in once again and went for lunch at a small cafe. We shared chorizo, carne mechada and, jamon montaditos and huevos a la flemenco. Ray really enjoyed Spanish food, and boy was I happy to eat it too! After lunch Ale took us to the Plaza de Seville. It was huge and just absolutely incredible. Then we stopped at Starbucks. I missed Starbucks! Thank you Sevilla for having sbux, I loved indulging thanks to my amazing roomie, Sarah! Mocha Praline... Yummm. After a coffe break we walked to the Cathedral de Sevilla. It was beautiful. It is the third largest cathedral in the world!! We wanted to tour it but it was too much money. Ale headed to work so Sarah, Ray, and I drank some Sangria and had a few tapas including the Spanish Tortilla. Very traditional. I think we introduced Ray to most the the good stuff! After dinner we headed back to the hotel and stopped at Triana's Bridge. He bought us a lock that we put our initials on and locked to the bridge. We took a lot of time to pick the right spot. It was very thoughtful of him to remember me talking about it from my last visit to Sevilla and to surprise me with our very own lock! I loved it!! We have now left our mark on Spain!! Once he and I returned to our hotel, we spent time reminiscing on our trip, laughing at the good times (and even the bad), and made plans for when I get home for the holidays in 30 days.
I had an absolutely incredible experience. I had the most amazing person by my side through it all. I met some new friends, became closer with my roommates, and made everlasting memories. Thank you everyone who was apart of this trip for contributing to some of the best times of my life!!
"It sure left its mark on us
We sure left our mark on it
We let the world know we were here
With everything we did
We laid a lot of memories down
Like tattoos on this town"
THIRTY DAYS UNTIL I AM HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!
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