Day 100 - Sintra, Portugal

Bright and early this morning we boarded a train to the suburb town of Sintra. This touristed little town was charming and packed with activities. For a place that most people visit as a day trip there is no possible way you can see everything in one day. Not only is there a long list of activities but lots of stairs and hills to be climbed too.

The first stop was the Pena Palace. To me this place looked more like a castle but, I guess it's a palace. The architecture is a mix of a lot of things included some Moorish influences with minarets.


Pena Palace






The great view

Next we visited the Moorish Castle. It was not as exciting after running around the castle but came with its own great views!

Day 99 - Lisbon Day 1 Castelo de São Jorge

Today is Easter, Happy Easter!! It was a hard day to be a tourist. Lots of things were closed today so we just did what we could and that was the must-see of Castelo de São Jorge.

This was a big hike up a hill but there was plenty to see and take pictures of along the way. I am in love with Portugese tiles. They are my new love. The sights were nice. It is high view of the city and good way to spend the first day that was warm enough to take off your coat!


love love love the buildings here...


more tiles.




The castle




The view


More tiles


More tiles

Day 98 Porto, Portugal

Arriving in Portugal was harder than necessary and sad because the minute I got there I wanted to stay longer. One of the biggest differences between Asia and Europe is the need for planning. It is much harder to be spontaneous because you have to have a week or so booked or you will stay at the worst hostels. So there was no option to stay longer. In Porto the weather was cold and windy. We took to the tourist area and found ourselves a boat tour. There we were able to take pictures and meander around.


The Ribera district


Me on our tourist boat






Loved the houses....


The catacombs in the main church


tiles..pretty. pretty. tiles

Day 97 - Salamanca....Alarm clocks suck

For the first time ever I have missed a bus. I guess the ipod that we were using as an alarm clock had decided to change its time and we arrived almost an hour late for our bus to Porto, Portugal. This was an annoyance but it was even more irritating when I realized the new ticket in my hands was dated for the following morning at two a.m. Now this was about 14 hours later than our initial arrival at the station. With all of our stuff we didn't see the practicality in leaving. With a bit of the cold front that we were enjoying at the moment made the two or so hours we spent outside after the station closed even more enjoyable!

The nice thing about the location of the bus station is that it put us on the route for one of the processions for the Holy week. I was able to see the festivities and snap a few pictures.

Day 96 Salamanca

Today I am off on my own....Well, Jamie is with me but I am out of the comforts of my aunt Becky's house and off to be a real backpacker once again.

We headed to the town of Salamanca on the recommendation of my Uncle. It is a smaller university town. We had fun walking around and seeing the historical district after we got off the bus and had our own walking tour of the town trying to find our hostel.






The big Cathedral


Taking a confession


loved the art in cathedral

Day 95 - Toledo, Spain

Hitting the pavement early again we arrived at in the small touristy town of Toledo. This is almost a need-to-do day trip for anyone visiting Madrid.

Most of the day was spent walking around and visiting the famous Cathedral. The weather was quite cold but we were able to hack it for the few hours we were walking around. Only when we left did it start to rain.

Also, we indulged in a bit of a local delicacy. Some Marzipan. Now I had thought it sounded quite disgusting and didn't really remember liking the bit I had tried before but the little fruit ones we selected were delish!


Pitcuresque streets of Toledo


Palms for Holy Week


Pretty jars


The town itself was the main draw...






Monestary court yard

Day 94 Madrid- The flea Market, Plaza Mayor and such

The second day really spent seeing Madrid was a Sunday which meant we had the chance to see the flea market and got up early to be in on the festivities. However, it being Sunday a lot of the sights closed early and we missed our share of things to see....but these are the highlights.


Plaza Mayor


A cathedral


We just missed getting inside Palacio Real


Out of all the street performers around Sol Station these were my favorite, each time someone tipped them money they changed positions, wished I got a shot of them kissing...but I missed it...

Days 91-93 The European Adventure begins! Madrid

After arriving in Madrid I spent a few days catching up with my family and fetching Jamie from the airport. On Jamie's first full day she had a headache and stayed at my aunt's house to rest. I took off for Madrid with my cousin Eric to learn the ropes and visit the Museo Rena Sofia.

The museum was a nice introduction to Madrid. It wasn't as busy as the Prado but had a few big names to its credit. I wandered around for a few hours and then caught a bus back to Becky's neighborhood. I did great at finding all the transportation links and getting back until I got to the house and couldn't get past the gate. Boy was I glad I bought a scarf.....

The only real pictures I took were these on the first day....


Crosswalk dramatization about the dangers of talking on your cellphone while driving.


Cool building and elephant.


famous Dali painting that everyone was taking pictures of...so I followed the pack.

Days 82-90 The end....

My gross ankle. or lack there of.....just starting to purple up during my epic 32 journey back to Korea

I had a few days in Bangkok to kill after Nate went home. I spent them hanging out on Kho San Road, the backpackers district, and really just saving my pennies as a few of them had gone missing on the bus.

I set off for the airport to spend a few days in Hong Kong when I fell of a curb and really sprained my ankle bad. After a freak out at the airport and a phone call to my mommy I had my flight re-routed to Korea with the idea that it would be easier to get around where I can speak to people a little. Here is the uglyness of my ankle at the airport in KL. It was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. It wasn't broken even after I felt it pop, but I could barely if at all walk and wouldn't wish the experience I had those 30+ hours of transit on anyone.

It was almost better that I went to Korea than stopping in Hong Kong. I am tired. I need a refresh and I want to see my home. My unique travel plans leaves me at 2 years since I have stepped on US soil. I am super stoked for my mom, driving, coffee, super markets, movies in English, MALL OF AMERICA, H&M. It's going to be a great couple of weeks before the trip continues Eurostyle.

My additional days in Korea were fantastic. I stopped by and saw my friend Bella at school. It was great to just catch up and hear about her exciting plans to move to Australia. Another CDI friend Mowglie is pregnant and we had a great catch up over a cup of coffee. Finally, a night out in the square it all began in with Brandon was a fine way to say see ya later. The time in between was spent hanging with Nate, eating korean food, drinking korean beer, mailing korean stuff back to America. The same things I did before I left. It was nice and relaxing and had minimal walking.

Days 72-81 Brining on 25 on the Beach of Ko Phangan, Thailand

I zipped back from Myanmar to meet Nate, a friend of mine from Korea, in Bangkok to go to the beach and hang out for a week. It was great to see a friendly face and have someone to celebrate with!


The view from our first bungalow


The beach...oh, I could have spent the entire three months there.


Plenty of beautiful sunsets


I guess Nathan is a limbo champion....he found himself in the finals at a few of these contests..


Nate dared me to run through the foam....I won a drink...sucker.


Not everything was pretty....dog eating a rat.


Ever wonder what it looks like when Katrina tries to live out of a backpack, here you are....the ugly truth.