The month span from mid-March thru April has been the highlight of my semester so far! Brian visited me earlier, and my parents and brothers just visited me last week! Not to mention that I am now on spring break up in the UK and Ireland, definitely an exciting month.
When my family came and visited we met in Barcelona. Unfortunately they ran into many complications with flights and ended up being delayed, but everything worked out and we found each other after an hour or two. Once we were in Barcelona it was amazing! Honestly, we could have been in Kansas City and it would have been great; I just wanted to see them. We had a great time catching up and telling jokes. It felt like no time had passed at all. Since I only flew for 1 hour and didn’t change time zones, whereas they flew over 4,000 miles, everyone else was a bit tired. So we had a slower start than my typical trips, but people rotated staying awake and catching up with me. Later that night we saw a flamenco performance. It was very impressive and unique. Plus I was so glad I got to see it because, as you know, my attempt to see a performance in Cordoba failed.
Also while we were there, we went on a Gaudi walking tour. Gaudi is the most famous architect from Barcelona. He is from the late 1800s but did some wild stuff, even in the context of today. My dad describes his buildings as melting gingerbread houses. Gaudi loved nature and modeled his buildings after it by avoiding straight lines and using bold colors. The tour ended at Sagrada Familia, the church that Gaudi designed. It was like nothing I have seen before. It started being built over 100 years ago and is still not completed unfortunately. They are aiming to have it finished in 2026 for the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death; I don’t really see that happening though because Spain works at a glacial pace and really enjoys their siesta.
Sagrada Familia was an incredibly ornate building from the outside and has 3 facades: the first for Jesus’s birth, the second for his death, and the third for the creation and eventual end to human life. The third façade hasn’t been completed yet, so I can’t tell you anything about how we will all perish lol. Entertainingly enough, the façade for his birth has a Cyprus tree at the top of it. Say what they will, it looks like a Christmas tree. Yes, that’s right: They put a Christmas tree front and center on a cathedral. The outside I found to be a bit over the top and much like other cathedrals, except for the tree part. The inside is what made me fall in love with Sagrada Familia. The inside looks brand new, mostly because it is, and has towering columns that reach the ceiling with choral seating all along the top. My favorite part was the stained glass. Look at my facebook, I can’t do it justice. But the windows create a sunrise and sunset, and once all of the windows are put into the entire cathedral, I definitely want to go back and see it. My brother Brian saw it 4 years ago, and back then it wasn’t completed on the inside. He said the changes from then to now are remarkable. I can’t imagine how it will look finished. I guess I just have to return to Europe. What a rough life…
One night Brian, Jeff, and I also went around to a few bars and ended in an Irish pub. I ended the night with a Guinness, and let me tell you, it was great!! I have been so excited to travel to Dublin and try the Guinness there. I hear that this beer doesn’t travel well, and is completely different, and infinitely superior in Dublin. For that reason, I have been telling people about my excitement and pumping it up in my mind. Well, while we were out I tried it in Barcelona. Even there it is so smooth! It is like a milkshake! By the end, it starts to be less smooth, but I really don’t care, it is like no beer I’ve had before. It has become my mission to drink Guinness whenever possible in Europe. I need to get my fill, obviously. Brian, Jeff, and I had a great night out and it was an excellent end to the weekend.
After we were in Barcelona, we went back to Madrid. I finally got to show off my city! When we were in Madrid, I got to show off my favorite aspects: the buildings, parks, and food. My favorite building in all of Madrid is Banco de España. It is gorgeous, and completely unnecessary. I took my family there during the night and day and both times they were blown away. Also, we walked along the main street: Gran Via, literally meaning the Great Way. At night it is a beautiful street that is lit up and filled with shopping and uniform wrought iron balconies. I have to say, I love those balconies. Since I do live in Madrid, I knew a bunch of things to see and dragged them around town. We were constantly busy, trying to fit in all of the culture, architecture, and food possible. To relax, we did a bus tour where I got to see the modern part of Madrid for the first time, and we spent our last day in Parque del Retiro. I have to say that was one of my favorite parts. It was slow paced and we just lied in the park and drank wine – sounds like a successful day to me.
Our last leg of the week and a half together was going to Lisbon, Portugal. This was the least glamorous part of the trip, but just as much fun because, let’s face it: I missed my family. As my family quickly decided, Lisbon is the well fed, well dressed city that lives in shacks. They rent control their housing, so everything is falling to shambles. Also, they are asking to get bailed out of their debt, so clearly their country isn’t doing that well.
While in Lisbon, we did a variety of things, and they were all new to me, even though I was in Lisbon back in February! My mom brought a Rick Steev’s book and we went on 3 guided walks and with them I was able to see an entirely new part of town. Also, the last time I was there, it rained almost the entire time and was quite chilly. This time, it was sunny as can be and around 85 degrees! I actually got a bit sunburned. To take a break from the sun, we stopped in for a wine tasting. We got to taste 4 wines a piece. My brothers chose the licorice wine for their 4th wine, and both didn’t really like it, but enjoyed the tasting experience. My mom and I focused more on the whites and roses. I enjoyed mine, but when it came to the evaluation sheet, I was completely lost. See, I had never been to a wine tasting before. I have no idea what the jargon is and didn’t want to make a fool of myself or be completely useless. It turned out that my Dad and my brother Brian ended up tasting most of Jeff’s, my mom’s, and my wines and confirming or assisting us in our vocabulary and insights. There were times when they basically wrote the evaluations (slightly oaky with a lot of body), and there were times when I creatively thought of it myself (It is like licking a wooden box). By the end of the tasting, we were all very entertained and a bit goofy. I asked my dad to take a picture of the table (aka Brian, my mom, and I) and he literally took a picture of the table, legs and all. Thanks Dad. I also was able to get my mom to remake her puckered lips face after trying my wine so I could snap the photo and save that memory for a lifetime. If you’d like to see it, go to the Lisbon album on facebook, you can’t miss it.
As you all know, Japan had their gigantic earthquake a few weeks back. The earthquake was so large, it brought on a tidal wave and then a nuclear plant exploded or some such thing. Well, back in the 1700’s Lisbon experienced the same thing. They had a huge earthquake, brought on a tidal wave, and then the city went up in flames. This destroyed much of their architecture. Interestingly enough, the monastery from before then still stands today, however the entire ceiling has collapsed. This means that all of the archways in the cathedral are holding up nothing more than the sky. It is a beautifully delicate and different sight. You can check out my pictures on facebook if you’re interested. Oh and sorry for the abundance of photos. I do get a little photo crazy at times, but I figure they’re really for me!
Also while in Lisbon, we went through Castel de San Jorge. I walked through it last time, so nothing was too new for me, but I did enjoy showing it off to my family. It’s weird how even though I have absolutely no claim on this castle, I have staked a bit of my claim in it and was showing it off to the family. Well, if that is the case, then I did a great job because they loved it! They enjoyed seeing a castle that is completely accessible and still in great form. It was very interesting and probably the highlight of Lisbon for them. I know it was for me!
Finally, we took a day trip to Belem. There are 2 day trips you can take: Belem and Sintra. Since I went to Sintra the last time I was there and saw the castle and palace, we decided they could go on Sunday, after I left since they were staying a day longer than I was. Belem was a pretty city outside of town. It has a beautifully done monument dedicated to Portugal’s discovery of a quick route to India. Due to their discovery, they were the power house to spices for quite some time back in Europe. Also, there is a lovely monastery (which all starts to look pretty much alike at this point in the semester), and a tower and military museum. I would say if you only have time for one day trip, go to Sintra, but if you are spending 3-4 days in Lisbon, take the 2 day trips. The city itself is surprisingly quick and easy to navigate and it isn’t at all stressful or absurd to fit everything in.
On Sunday morning, I left at 7:00 am for my flight to London to start my spring break. My entire family was a gem and woke up to say goodbye to me. And when I say woke up, there is a wide variety: some ate breakfast with me, some walked me to the bus, and others sat up in bed and gave me a lovely hug and kiss on the cheek. Although they sound like a wide variety of commitment and effort, I have to tell you that each one meant the world to me. It seems silly to want such a meaningful goodbye when I will be back at home in Illinois in just 2.5 months, but I do! I know I will be missing my family for the rest of the semester, but don’t worry; I will still be having the time of my life and enjoying every minute! I’m a multi-tasker, I can do both.
Tune in next to hear all about England, Scotland, and Ireland! All filled with fun accents and English!
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