Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! I hope you have a fantastic holiday.

My husband and I have just returned from a 17-day trip to Europe. We spent seven days in an off-season resort town called Salou (pronounced Sah-low), Spain, outside of Barcelona, with day trips into Tarragona and Montserrat Monastery. Followed by two days in Barcelona. And then seven days in Funchal (pronounced Foon-shall), on the island of Madeira, Portugal--a tropical island that is a lot like Kauai, but without the humidity.

After a 20-hour trip that began when the taxi picked us up in Funchal at 3am (That's Funchal time, which is 8 hours ahead of the Pacific Northwest), our plane landed about 10:30pm PST last night and, after claiming our bags and a short taxi ride, we arrived home about 11:30pm. Just in time for Christmas.

It was an amazing trip, but it really is nice to be home again.

I'm sure I'll have more to say about the trip. Some of the highlights were walking across a Roman aqueduct, visiting a monastery at the top of a mountain (by riding a funicular), descending the towers of Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia, the guided tour through a lava tube, wine (port) tasting at the Old Blandy Wine Lodge in Madeira, touring the Picasso Museum in Barcelona, and visiting the Christmas markets. And I haven't even mentioned the food...

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