It has been farrrr too long since my last post. However, that is because of how busy I have been and how much I am doing! So, I hope this post is not super long, but we shall see! Do not worry. It is going to be fun.

I have had a few exhilarating things happen over this time and I would love to start with my hike! A little a while ago, Sarah and I went on a hike in the north of Madrid. In fact, we road the

cercanias (train) as far north as we could. Our original intention was to go to some natural spring pools in the middle of the forest. Sad to say… the pool was closed. It was still a lovely hike:) The picture above happens to be from the cercanias on our way to Cercedilla and it was just marvelous. We actually ended up going again with Sarah’s new roommates! Beautiful trees, hiking trails, and eating at a picnic table 4 feet from a cow were some great things we wanted to experience with friends!

I went back to Parque de Retiro again and just wanted to share a lovely picture I took of the Crystal Palace. Retiro Park has become a place of rejuvenation for me and thought it worth mentioning again. Any form of stress and sadness I may have felt, this park always seems to radiate with the happiness I happen to need that day. ESPECIALLY, when I have my hammock…

Now on to one of the busiest times I have had so far! During this time, I made a trip to Portugal in the cities of Porto, Lisboa, and Sintra. All these cities had beauties of their own and will tell you why shortly:) First, I want to mention the adventurers who participated! So, in the back (L-R) is Tal, Sarah, you-know-who, Jacob, Patrizia, Kelly, and some lame-o who bailed after this hang out. In the front is Thomas, Kayla, and Vivien. I want to talk a little about Tal, Patrizia, and Thomas. We met Patrizia and Tal when we found ourselves on the same walking tour as them. After the tour was over they had become our friends! Patrizia is from Verona, Italy, and is looking to earn her masters somewhere in Italy. She just happened to have the opportunity to travel for a while. Tal is from Israel but has been living in Prague for some time now. Pati and Tal were actually traveling together for almost 2 weeks if I remember correctly…

Tal truly opened my eyes to understanding more about the world I live in. She shared the way of life in Israel as well as the path people take as citizens of the country. When you finish Israeli high school, you serve in the military for roughly 3 years if you are a male and a little less than 3 years if you are female. Let me tell you, it was very interesting seeing this adorable little Israeli girl decked out in camo and an assault rifle. Anywho, these two ladies were phenomenal to be around. Now on to Thomas. Some of our group were getting gelato and Kelly decide to get a glass of wine next door. All of the sudden, he ends up talking to this man named Thomas. After we joined in we found out that he owned most of the building, which consisted of a luxurious hotel as well as a small wine shop/bar. He enjoyed our conversation and we enjoyed his. We learned so much about life in Lisboa from him as well as all of Portugal. He seemed to enjoy us so much that he kept giving away drinks to us and I want to say we saved perhaps 150€ collectively…. It was amazing. So amazing that we went again the next evening haha. However, we offered to pay, but Thomas would only let us pay 80€ and we had more drinks than the previous night.

Before we went to Lisboa, we spent roughly a day in Porto, Portugal. This was not enough time there. at. all…. Porto was by far the most enchanting of the places we travelled in Portugal. I learned about port wine (I like tawny) and “pastel de natas” which are these little egg custard pastries that never cost more than a euro or so. If we had 8 meals in Portugal, I had 10 natas. So. Good. The first picture is from a bridge over a river that runs into the ocean with a breathtaking view that pictures do partial justice. The second picture is a morrrrre breathtaking view from the same spot with all the peeps in it.

Down by the riverside (yes I sang the melody in my head, too) were the port wine makers and theyyy werrrre yummy. They have a higher alcohol percentage but a stronger sweetness to them. Either way, they were great. I also learned about green wine or vino verde. It pretty much looked like white wine most of the time but it was explained to us and using a process with very young grapes. So, the taste is a little more sour to me. A big part of Portugal, but more so in Porto, is all of the tiles on the buildings. In Portuguese they call them azulejos and they come from the Moors. Here is some on an old church as well in a train station that told some of Portugal’s history.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is all tile. Something else that I was elated to see in Porto was the Casa da Musica!! This building is a 12 floor concert venue with a fancy as can be restaurant inside. I only went to stare at it. So, I saved my money.

I did not get to see a performance in it, but it meant a whole lot just to see the place.

Last on the phenomenal Portugal list was Sintra! We learned from locals that a place we needed to visit was Sintra. We need to go to Pena Palace and maybe the Moorish Castle. We went to both. Pena Palace was this beautifully coloured castle that had long history that I will not get into. Just know of its beauty and its views.

The castle has its own chapel, (the little black and white steeple is the entrance) kitchen, and whatever else is inside that was too expensive to go see. The last picture was called “The Wall Walk” and I wanted to show how freakin scary it was. I mean… not for me… but just in general. Some times you had, roughly, 2 feet of walking space, but the views were worth the walk. Photo creds to the one and only Sarah McCutchan on that last one.

By far one of my favorite experiences in Portugal was the Moorish Castle. This castle came from a 10th century moorish settlement and the fortress being built in the 12th century.

I have these two pictures just to show how marvelous it was. I am continually awestruck at historical things like this. I cannot begin to fathom life here in the 900’s. I also wanted to add the second picture to show how close the two locations were to each other. Both within wonderful views of each other. Also, as soon as I started walking on the staircase, I waited for the dragons to fly over head as I conversed with Daenerys Targaryen, but it never happened. You would have felt it, too.

Here is my last bit on Portugal! I soon found out that J.K. Rowling spent 4 or 5 years teaching English in Porto, Portugal, after she graduated from university. She has mentioned this library/book store and it is said to have some inspirations for her books. This is a famous staircase that J.K. Rowling said seemed to look like it was moving when you stand at the top looking down. This was also one of my highlights of the trip:)

So, Portugal ended (sooner than it should have) and school was about to start:) I will say that it has almost been my first full week of school. I will also say that you are looking at one of IES La Serna’s new english and music assistant:D and one technology class.

The music teacher as La Serna is Nacho Delgado and Sarah and I have already begun work with him. I am very excited about this opportunity and cannot wait to be working with the choir. This week, Sarah and I have taken the reigns on voicing the men into proper sections as tenors or basses and the feeling is inexplicable. To feel that much closer to the things I want to do in life….. no words. Nacho has even given me information on two adult choirs in the Madrid area that Sarah and I can hopefully connect with… More updates about that will come:)

After this time so far, I feel the need to perhaps impart a little wisdom… whether you are traveling across the city or across countries, it is a wonderful challenge to get to know a new face:) You never know what may come of it. I also want to say that if you feel unfulfilled about anything in your life that matters to you (it has been singing for me these past few weeks) you must be proactive in finding that fulfillment. It is also okay to not do it alone.

All the love to my peeps. You know who you are. All the love to not my peeps. Love you, too. Until next time;P