My Last E-Mail Update!

Below is my last e-mail update about my trip for those of you who aren't on the list!



Greetings From MN!

I am home! I can’t believe how fast time flies! The last time I e-mailed I was in Portugal. I know that most of you also read my blog so I will summarize and try not to bore you! Since Portugal, I traveled back to Spain via Seville. I enjoyed my time in the city exploring. I walked for six hours straight taking side streets and looking at all the beautiful sights. I have to say my favorite activity in Seville though was sitting by the pool and relaxing! I was exhausted from my travels so far and HOT as it was over 100 degrees. From Seville, we went to Cordoba, the city that housed the Jewish, Muslim, and Christians all at once. We visited the Mosque Cathedral (a Mosque until the time of the Spanish Inquisition when it became a cathedral then back to a Mosque) It is the third largest Mosque and I have to say out of all the many church buildings we visited the most impressive! From Cordoba I went back to Madrid, toured more of the city and then took a side trip into Toledo. Toledo was by far my favorite city! I don’t know what it was, but I adored it!

From Toledo I went back to Madrid to begin my crazy journey home. My journey home started at 2:30 a.m. I left the hotel at 3:15, took about 2 hours in the airport to clear the ticket and baggage counter as well as security (REDICULIOUS), did like 4 Sudoku puzzles at 5:30 in the morning (impressive that I can even think then) and boarded my plane at 6. I then took a 2.5 hour plane to Amsterdam, had a five hour lay-over which I wrote postcards to my 1st graders and cleared passport control and security, took a 9 hour flight (really 10 with the plane delay) back to MN, drove an hour home, showered so I would feel human again, jumped in my car, drove to my 10 year class reunion and fell into bed exhausted sometime around midnight after over 30 hours of no sleep!

Today I am feeling a bit like a zombie. I was up by 6:30 because of jet lag, went to church and helped my aunt move all day. I am hopeful for a bit more sleep tonight (although it is 11 and I am wide awake) and will hopefully be functioning better tomorrow!

I think that about sums everything up! Being a collector of quotes and sayings, I always like to try and find a quote to sum up my travels. The following quote I think is most appropriate for two reasons. 1) I was in Spain and it is a Spanish quote and 2) every morning in Valdelavilla the sun would shine in my window and I would wake up to the sun and cuckoo bird knowing a new day was starting. The quote goes something like this… “El sol se levantará mañana y quién sabe lo que traerá la marea” Translation: The sun will rise tomorrow and who knows what will bring the tide. When I go on a trip, I never know what adventure, scene, weather, hold-up, danger, or person the next day will reveal to me. However, each day it is always something or someone exciting, inspiring, and sometimes challenging that makes the trip amazing!

Thanks for following my journey through Spain and Portugal….for all your well wishes and prayers! I am so blessed to be surrounded by such amazing people! I have attached some pictures of my favorite stops for you to enjoy! The code can be found below!

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Sharon