09.28.22 to 09.29.22 Regular Class Days!
Wednesday and Thursday were normal class days with only a few extra errands. On Wednesday, E and I ate Chinese food at a small bar because we were starving after our human physiology class. The food was amazing and it was just what we needed to get us to and through our ISA meeting about Morocco. It was extremely informative about clothing requirements, packing details, and the itinerary. The extra errand on Thursday was a quick trip to the bookstore to purchase a textbook ($25) for my Spanish class. When we returned home, our host dad had prepared a desert for us with fruit, chocolate pudding, and lactose free whipped cream. It was amazing!!
09.30.22 to 10.02.22 Lisbon!!
09.30.22 Our weekend trip this week was to Lisbon, Portugal!! The departure flight was supposed to be at 7:40pm but it was delayed by an hour. We ended up leaving Valencia at 8:40pm and arriving in Lisbon around 9:30pm because of the differing time zones. The flight was super short and easy! Once we landed, we headed to our airbnb using the metro (2 euros/person). Our airbnb was a shared apartment with private bedrooms and shared bathrooms. It was perfect for three college students on a budget, who solely needed a place to sleep and get ready. After we checked in, we headed to the city center to meet up with our friends for dinner. Our group ended up eating at a delicious Mexican restaurant and then going to a park cafe to sit before returning home.
10.01.22 On Saturday, we walked 12 miles! Our day started off with a walk to meet our friends at a cafe for breakfast but each group went to different cafes with the same names. After breakfast, we were off on our one day walking tour of Lisbon. The first stop was “pink street.” There wasn’t a lot to see but pink is my favorite color so it was extremely fun to see an entire street covered in pink. Then we were off to the “Time Out Market.” It was a huge building with many places to eat, so we ended up ordering a huge donut and sharing it! Once done with the yummy donut, we walked out a different door and stumbled upon a park with a cute market. I bought my mom tile earrings for Christmas. We began walking towards the riverwalk to look for a seafood restaurant, but ended up finding one a little further away from the river shore. It was okay, not amazing, but okay.
We then headed home for a nap to recharge for our night! After our nap, we started walking towards a spot to watch the sunset from an elevated perspective. But, we were stopped in our tracks by the smell of cookies. We split two cookies, Peanut Butter and Chocolate chip at a cute little shop called “Imperfect Cookies,” it was amazing. Then we resumed our trek to a spot E had found. The view was amazing and those moments with my friends are ones I will hold onto forever.
After hanging around after sunset, we ordered an Uber to take us to an Italian restaurant. It was fabulous, I ordered pasta with red sauce and gave my cheese chunk to my friends, so I wouldn’t die. We then headed home because we were exhausted from all the walking plus we also had to check out from the airbnb by 10:00am.
10.02.22 We woke up early and packed our bags to ensure we checked out on time. Then we headed to a restaurant called “Zenith” for brunch. I ate chicken tacos, chips, and guac with a black coffee. The meal was super good and not expensive. After brunch, we walked towards the river to sit for a while and enjoy coffee while enjoying the view. We sat for 2-3 hours and then decided to start heading inland to look for lunch. I saw a Gyoza Restaurant and we decided to stop there. This restaurant had dim sum dishes and ramen bowls meant to be shared with friends for a low price. For dessert, we enjoyed mochi and sat talking for a while more. Our return flight wasn’t until wasn’t until later but we decided to head to the airport around 4pm to rest since we had class the next morning. The return flight was quick and we returned home around 11:45pm and went straight to sleep!
10.03.22 to 10.05.22 Class! + A Doctor Appointment???
Monday was a super normal class day and we were able to rest up after our busy weekend. On Tuesday, I had to go to an appointment to see a doctor because my foot was bothering me. ISA gave me step-by-step instructions to help me navigate the hospital and insurance forms. I really wished my mom was there with me because she has always been there for me with medical things. This hospital visit made me super homesick and I really missed my mom but my friends decided to go out and get drinks with papas bravas which definitely cheered me up! I appreciate them so much! Wednesday was also just another normal day, nothing to write home about, but I was definitely less homesick and a lot happier.
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