I feel like a world traveler

WOW! If only every fall break could've been like this one. I landed early this morning at 1am from my 11 day fall break around Europe - unbelievable!

Oct. 27th
After my midterm, I left for Lisbon, Portugal. We arrived at our guest house (soo cute - the outside is PINK!) and went out to Barrio Alto for dinner and drinks. If you ever travel to Lisbon, be aware that they bring out appetizers without you ordering them, so don't eat them if you don't want to pay for them. The food was great though and afterwards we stopped at a few bars - a great first day of vacation!

Oct. 28th
We started off the day with an uphill walk to the fortress. Lisbon is entirely built on hills and cliffs so I soon realized that most walks would be up steep narrow sidewalks. The view was unbelievable and the weather was near 80!! The grounds of the castel were so beautiful and impressive. We then walked down and through town to the waterfront. The most beautiful blue water ever! Across the river you could see the large statue of Jesus (there is a similar one in Brazil) We went down to two monuments on the waterfront and just laid out and relaxed. Perfect day!! That night we went to the market to get food to cook dinner back at our hostel. Dinner was interesting lol, but guests from the hostel joined and made some mojitos. It was a great night with stories, salsa dancing and lots of mojitos!

Oct. 29th
We took the train to Sintra, Cabo da Roca and CasCais. Sintra is a beautiful town! There are castles EVERYWHERE! We went up to the Morisch Castle via bus since (like lisbon) it is a long uphill walk to the top. The castle was built on the top of the hill and was mostly ruins but we climbed to the top and had an amazing view! Afterwards we went to Cabo da Roca - the western most point of continental Europe. Not much to see there since it isn't really a town lol but the view was beautiful! Lastly we stopped in CasCais where we were able to dip our feet in the water and have a wonderful traditional Portugese dinner.

Oct. 30th
Travel day to Madrid. We met up with Katie in Madrid and went out for traditional Spanish tapas for dinner that night. Our hostel had a balcony and a beautiful view!

Oct. 31st
Bus tour of Madrid. We saw the football stadium, the many plazas (squares), the beautiful gardens, the Prado Museum and most of the city. Madrid is much like a Spanish New York. I was surprised by how Metropolitan it was. That night we had Paella in Plaza Mayor and got to watch all the little kids running around dressed up for halloween (we totally should've gotten our own costumes). No big halloween celebration for us, just a few drinks at a bar and then home.

Nov. 1st
All Saints Day. Apparently this is a big deal in Spain, because EVERYTHING is closed. We had planned on going on a daytrip to Toledo but apparently most other people in Madrid had the same idea because many of the trains were sold out. Instead we spent the day relaxing in one of the beautiful parks. We rented a row boat for a bit and then just relaxed and rested on the benches in the park. That night we went Salsa dancing and had a GREAT time!

Nov. 2nd
I went to the Rena Sophia museum. Its much like MOMA. Very impressive. Afterwards we packed up and headed to the airport for our final destination - ROME. Unlike Lisbon and Madrid, Rome was COLD!

Nov. 3rd
Our hostel offered a free walking tour of Rome which we took advantage of first thing in the morning. We saw many ancient ruins, some beautiful churches, the Pantheon and the Colliseum. Afterwards we had drinks with our tour guide at a local pub. There ended up being an Irish wedding celebration at the pub and we were taken in by the very friendly wedding party. A great time was had by all!!! That night we went to a church to hear a selection of opear music. It was amazing! Great times in a wonderful city.

Nov. 4th
We finished up our city siteseeing by going to the Vatican. How impressive. St. Peter's Basilica is just unbelievable. I have never seen anything quite like it. Afterwards we waited on an unbelievably long line to get into the Vatican Museum. Once finally in the musem we walked through countless amounts of corridors with art from around the world. World renowned masterpieces were at every turn. Absolutely amazing. The museum ends with the Sisteen Chapel. Its uneblievable (I snuck a few illegal photos). What an impressive museum. That evening ended with a home-cooked dinner and great friends. Tons of pasta, olive oil and fun!

Nov. 5th
The game plan was the take the train to Florence, but we decided that a late morning was much earned and so we took a late start to the day and eventual went into the old town, looked at the fabulous shopping district and then had another great homecooked meal.

Nov. 6th
The end of an unbelievable holiday and time to go back to Brussels for interning and an exam.