Our 20th anniversary trip to Madrid, Toledo, Córdoba and Sevilla, Spain; Fatima, Santarém and Lisbon, Portugal; and Rome, Italy, was flat out amazing. To read all about it, just click on those links. When you have to end your tour Europe, we say do it with a bang. That's pretty much how the entire day went. Hope you have your Fitbit on because y'all are about to do some walk-ing. We arrived in Rome late in the evening the night before and were picked up at the airport by our lifetime friends, Paolo and Patrizia. We have known them for 16 years, when we met during our Jubilee 2000 pilgrimage with our high school youth group. Back then, neither of us had kids. Now we have 9 between us! … [Read more...]
Texans in Europe for 20: Lisbon, Portugal
Our 20th anniversary trip to Madrid, Toledo, Córdoba and Sevilla, Spain; Fatima, Santarém and Lisbon, Portugal; and Rome, Italy, was flat out amazing. To read all about it, just click on those links. I've got one more post after today and then I promise to get back to blogging about organizing projects, birthday parties, motherhood, faith and Texas Aggies. Y'all are so kind to let a gal reminisce. LISBON. WAS. AMAZING. We started off our morning with a 7:45am photo shoot. It sounds crazy now, but the light was amazing and it gave us a jump start on a truly gorgeous day in the city. We only had until after lunch to soak it all in, so bask we did. Up first, Belém Tower. It's one of … [Read more...]
Texans in Europe for 20: Fatima & Santarém, Portugal
Our 20th anniversary trip to Madrid, Toledo, Córdoba and Sevilla, Spain; Fatima, Santarém and Lisbon, Portugal; and Rome, Italy, was flat out amazing. To read all about it, just click on those links. It was hard to leave Spain. Real hard. But, the lure of beautiful coastline, stunning churches, delicious pastries, Fado and a dash of Mary had us excited. We left Madrid early via the metro. Yes, we managed three suitcases with tons of people and made it to the airport right on time. No, we did not check the important bag this time. Lesson. Learned. We arrived in Lisbon with barely a hitch and our bags were the first off the belt. There is a God. The rental car line? Not as easy. … [Read more...]
Texans in Europe for 20: Madrid, Spain
Our 20th anniversary trip to Madrid, Toledo, Córdoba and Sevilla, Spain; Fatima, Santarém and Lisbon, Portugal; and Rome, Italy, was flat out amazing. To read all about it, just click on those links. Finally, Madrid! We enjoyed our day trips to Toledo, Córdoba and Sevilla, but had the awesome pleasure of coming back to Madrid each evening. Most of those nights, I left my camera in the room and we just walked around the plazas, enjoying the city. People asked if I felt safe or worried about traveling internationally. Honestly? Not once. I felt safest in Madrid, but we never felt unsafe in Portugal or Italy, at all. I mean, one must be smart and always aware of the surroundings, but we … [Read more...]
Texans in Europe for 20: Córdoba & Sevilla, Spain
Our 20th anniversary trip to Madrid, Toledo, Córdoba and Sevilla, Spain; Fatima, Santarém and Lisbon, Portugal; and Rome, Italy, was flat out amazing. To read all about it, just click on those links. The day before, we explored the beauty of Toledo's town square and it's shining star, the Cathedral. Today, it just got better. Every morning we would wake up and say, "I don't think today can top yesterday." Then, we were promptly proved wrong. Armed with cute clothes from our found luggage, we rose really early and boarded the high-speed train with stops in Córdoba and Sevilla. That train was something else. This van-loving Texan was quite impressed with the efficiency of the public … [Read more...]
