Porto

So this weekend, we went to Porto, Portugal. It was so beautiful; I absolutely loved it.

Friday, we went to class and Adam (one of my classmates) basically, took over the class. We did go over some topics at first, but then Adam told us about his experiences with his family here in Madrid. He says that they aren't very nice to him and that they have so many rules. It was like a complete vent session for him. I felt bad for him since I sort of felt the same way at the beginning of my stay here. However, after the school moved me from my family, I felt much better. Plus, the new house is so much better, even though are light switches don't work and the food isn't great.

After class, we went to the airport to catch our flight to Porto. We got there by taking the metro. It was actually descent, however, we had to pay one euro to take the metro direct route to the airport. Once we got there, we checked in with Ryanair. They made us check our carry on bag's dimensions and they weighed it. After that we went through security and then ate lunch. I enjoyed a salad and a mimosa! Then we went to the gate, we were the first people in line. The plane was on time. We boarded after we checked our carryon again. After everyone had boarded, they told us that the flight was going to be delayed for an hour. We sat on the plane for 1 hour and 45 minutes before leaving for Porto. My friends and I were rather upset that we had to wait so long. The flight to Porto was short, so I was happy about that. When we arrived, the people there were very nice and they spoke English. They had a help desk, where they informed us how to ride the metro to our hotel. It was so easy, one train. They also gave us a map of the city. Once we checked in at the hotel, we asked the front desk to suggest a restaurant. We ate at an authentic Portugese restaurant. I had the fish, spinach, seafood soup, potatoes, and strawberries. The food was good. Afterwards, we went back to the hotel. I slept well there, since it was air conditioned and quiet. The next day we bought a ticket for the tour bus and river cruise. Unfortunately, the weather was a real pain. It had been sprinkling when we landed and Saturday morning it was cold and rainy. The rain makes for bad pictures and bad hair. So I didn't get great pictures. :( We took the tour bus to the ocean. We got off in the rain and of course, it started raining harder. We still put our feet in the ocean and took some pics. Cristina almost lost her sandals when the waves came in. Ana accidently slipped on the sidewalk and scraped her knee. After we got all cold and wet we went to the bus stop and waited for our tour bus. Afterwards we decided to go the boat tour. There we bought an unmbrella. Shortly after we paid 5 euros for an umbrella (each) it stopped raining. The boat tour was very nice. It showed us the entire port. I really liked it. It was such a beautiful sight. It really made me miss Jay. I wish he could have been in Porto with me. Porto is such a romantic city. I told Jay we should fly to Portugal, rent a car, and visit each port town. I think driving through the country would be so beautiful.

After the boat tour, we got on a cable car. Yeah, I can't believe I did all this stuff. It was so scary, but I did it. The cable cars were super high in the air. Monica had her eyes closed the entire time. She is deathly afriad of heights. After that we shopped and ate lunch at a Pizza Hut. It was your typical Pizza Hut. I had stuffed tortellini. Then we took the tour bus back to our hotel to rest for an hour and shower. Then we went to cross this very tall famous bridge by foot. Again, Monica was terrified but she did it. I was also pretty scared but I was able to take pics. We walked up to this tall park/ church place. It was beautiful. I wished Jay could have been there, so I could have given him the biggest kiss ever. It was very beautiful and the sun was beginning to set. We went back to the hotel to eat dinner and go to sleep.

Sunday, we slept in and then had breakfast. Then to the airport to catch our flight and back to Madrid. I have classes the whole week and two excursions planned. We are also thinking about going to see a Flamenco show. On Friday, we will be off to Florence, Yeah!!

I'm half way through my stay in Europe. I miss home but I am trying to enjoy myself here. I miss everyone so much and I look forward to getting back home to see everyone.

I'm having difficulty upload the photos, so I will try again later, Sorry