Porto and Lisbon were amazing and SO affordable. Other than the hostels where we stayed, we virtually spent NO money. Barcelona sort of made up for that, but really, Portugal is amazing, beautiful and cheap. Early morning the day we were in Porto, we went on a wine tour and tasting for 4 euros! Port wine is very very sweet and really made for desserts fruits and cheeses. It was totally worth it though, and we got to see the giant vats where they let the wine "mature". After wards we headed to this cute little restaurant right on the waterfront that serves Francesinha and its LITERALLY so so good that every time I remember it, I crave it. It's only made correctly in Porto, and incorrectly in a few other places of Portugal. Here is a picture that you can all drool over.
From Porto, we headed to Lisbon, which although they didn't have a food as amazing as the Francesinha, they did have cheap food and upon arrival at our hostel (which actually had the nicest staff in the world) we ran two doors down the street to the Tofa Restaurant where we proceeded to a plate of meat and fish respectivly, mine being accompanied by a piece of sausage, their version of french fries (flat and circular), what looked like pork (not a big pork eater so I skipped that part) pickled vegetables and an egg. We each had sangria as well as coffee, and the bill came to 13 euros!!!!!!!!!!!! We literally feasted for under 7 euros. That would never have happened in Spain, let me just tell you. The next morning we went and climbed up a giant ass hill to see the old Castle in Lisbon, and it has a really pretty view of the city. It would have been better, but it was really cloudy when we left that morning and at the Lisbon Airport, it had started to torrential downpour. Luckily we missed it all and managed to leave on time. Our friend Roofie and Di had actually come in that day, and taken a tour around the city. Evidently not too long ago, Portugal was hit with a massive earthquake and fire that burnt almost the entire city down. When they rebuilt, the King wasn't very creative and he wanted all the houses to be built the exact same to save on time. Here's what it looks like from the Castle.
And finally Barcelona!! We had such a wonderful time in Barcelona, other than that fact that everything was back to being expensive and we spent probably a full day waiting in various lines. Apparently we went at the wrong time to Sagrada Familia and stood in line for an hour and a half (again, sorry Tita) but it was worth it to see Gaudi's architecture at its finest. From the outside, the Sagrada Familia is really really ugly, and looks like a space ship dropped it off in the middle of Barcelona. Its all dark and black and kinda looks like something Ursula from The Little Mermaid would live in but when we finally got in, it was amazing. It was all white and for some reason really cold, but lit up so beautifully. The stained glass behind the altar was gorgeous but the most amazing thing was probably the ceiling. It was really intricately done and it seemed to go on forever.
And now I know everyone knows how much I've been obsessing over Puyol. To be fair, my uncle warned me he might not be playing...but December 7th, we ventured to Camp Nou to watch FC Barcelona play Rubin Kazan which is a Russian team from the city of Kazan from the Republic of Tartarstan (yea where?), but to my extreme disappointment, Puyol did not play. I got to stare at the giant that is Piqué for most of the time, and Messi was sent out in the second half...but no Carles Puyol. My disappointment surpassed the time I couldn't see the inside of the Colosseum, as I don't actually have any emotional attachment to that ancient building. Stoically I remained in my seat and accepted my fate. Bah.
On a brightnote, the people we met at our hostel were some of the funniest, nicest, and most interesting people we've ever come across. Its just so amazing how some european kids our age live. One was there in Barcelona just "living", no plan for the future and it was apparent that he wasn't all that upset about not knowing where his life was going.
Anyway, its go time for exams and presentations now. I've actually had to sit down and study every day this week! First one is this thursday, but hopefully it won't be too bad! Friday the 17th, is doomsday, two exams in four hours. Then the following tuesday I have a presentation in Spanish with my marketing group and then that Wednesday I'll be taking the Marketing final a month and a half before everyone else in my class does. AND THEN THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23rd, I WILL BE ON A PLANE HEADED HOME!
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