So not last weekend but the weekend before last weekend I went to Porto, Portugal with Christy, Matt and Nathanael. We had an awesome time! Thursday night we ventured to the Madrid airport for an overnight stay. Though we didn't sleep at all (and played hours of card games) it wasn't a bad stay. Friday morning we left Madrid around 5:45 in the morning and landed in Portugal around 6 a.m. (an hour behind Spain). Once we landed we took a train and were in the center of Porto by 7:30 a.m. Of course we couldn't check into our hostel that early, so after we dropped off our bags and had a quick breakfast, we decided to walk to the ocean.
Little did we know that we would be walking for the next four hours, but that was okay! The weather was gorgeous and we were excited to be in Portugal. We walked down to the river and walked along it until, taking pictures and enjoying the scenery until we finally reached the ocean. The waves were huge! There were lots of rocks and cliffs to climb on, so we spent over an hour walking along the beach and climbing on rocks and collecting shells. For lunch we ate a tradition Portuguese dish, basically a pile of different meats smothered in bread, cheese and a spicy tomato sauce. I know it sounds awesome but it was too much for me. I ended up eating McDonald's later. :-/
After lunch and a bit more exploring we headed back to our hostel. Once we arrived around 2:30 p.m. we all passed out. We were exhausted! But once we all woke up and showered it was time for dinner. We found an awesome restaurant with the best wine ever (Port wine, duh). I ate a fried sausage type thing with potatoes and it was soooo delicious. And the wine was amazing and we had an awesome time. Overall, Portuguese food was really satisfying!
Saturday morning we woke up and walked toward the cathedral in Porto. We paid two euro to walk up the steps (only like 150, I think) to take pictures. It was a bit cloudy and chilly that day, but it was still fun. After grabbing some lunch we paid for a hop-on/hop-off bus tour (that we never hopped off). It went all around the city, along the cost and to the main sites. The ticket also let us take a boat ride and a wine cellar tour. The boat ride was fun but we missed our wine cellar tour. We were all really bummed out but we got dinner and wine instead and we were happy. I had seafood and of course, it was incredible. After dinner it started to rain so we walked across a bridge back into the main part of time and we headed back to the airport to spend another lovely night in an airport! It was freezing so we didn't sleep at all. Needless to say, I was very cranky in the morning. Sorry everyone!
Sunday we got back into Toledo by 11 a.m. and I fell right asleep until 6 or so. I ate and did some homework and fell back asleep around 10 p.m. We did so much that weekend and I was exhausted. This past Friday we went to Segovia for an excursion, an excursion I've already been on. It was fun and the food was good but it was a long day. This past weekend I spent time working on an essay about Diego Velázquez and working on other homework. Right now we're watching "Te Doy Mis Ojos," a Spanish film that I have already seen. Tonight the group is going out with an Ohio University alumna that lives in Madrid. Also, tonight is a big football match against Manchester United and Barcelona, so it should be a good night.
I have only one more class before a long weekend of studying for finals. However, this time next week I'll be packing to go home, so strange but exciting! Next time I blog will probably be in America, yay! So until then, hasta luego!
PS - Though my Spanish mother can be a crazy, obsessive woman, she does make an amazing gaspacho.
Little did we know that we would be walking for the next four hours, but that was okay! The weather was gorgeous and we were excited to be in Portugal. We walked down to the river and walked along it until, taking pictures and enjoying the scenery until we finally reached the ocean. The waves were huge! There were lots of rocks and cliffs to climb on, so we spent over an hour walking along the beach and climbing on rocks and collecting shells. For lunch we ate a tradition Portuguese dish, basically a pile of different meats smothered in bread, cheese and a spicy tomato sauce. I know it sounds awesome but it was too much for me. I ended up eating McDonald's later. :-/
After lunch and a bit more exploring we headed back to our hostel. Once we arrived around 2:30 p.m. we all passed out. We were exhausted! But once we all woke up and showered it was time for dinner. We found an awesome restaurant with the best wine ever (Port wine, duh). I ate a fried sausage type thing with potatoes and it was soooo delicious. And the wine was amazing and we had an awesome time. Overall, Portuguese food was really satisfying!
Saturday morning we woke up and walked toward the cathedral in Porto. We paid two euro to walk up the steps (only like 150, I think) to take pictures. It was a bit cloudy and chilly that day, but it was still fun. After grabbing some lunch we paid for a hop-on/hop-off bus tour (that we never hopped off). It went all around the city, along the cost and to the main sites. The ticket also let us take a boat ride and a wine cellar tour. The boat ride was fun but we missed our wine cellar tour. We were all really bummed out but we got dinner and wine instead and we were happy. I had seafood and of course, it was incredible. After dinner it started to rain so we walked across a bridge back into the main part of time and we headed back to the airport to spend another lovely night in an airport! It was freezing so we didn't sleep at all. Needless to say, I was very cranky in the morning. Sorry everyone!
Sunday we got back into Toledo by 11 a.m. and I fell right asleep until 6 or so. I ate and did some homework and fell back asleep around 10 p.m. We did so much that weekend and I was exhausted. This past Friday we went to Segovia for an excursion, an excursion I've already been on. It was fun and the food was good but it was a long day. This past weekend I spent time working on an essay about Diego Velázquez and working on other homework. Right now we're watching "Te Doy Mis Ojos," a Spanish film that I have already seen. Tonight the group is going out with an Ohio University alumna that lives in Madrid. Also, tonight is a big football match against Manchester United and Barcelona, so it should be a good night.
I have only one more class before a long weekend of studying for finals. However, this time next week I'll be packing to go home, so strange but exciting! Next time I blog will probably be in America, yay! So until then, hasta luego!
PS - Though my Spanish mother can be a crazy, obsessive woman, she does make an amazing gaspacho.
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