Mom and Dad in Portugal!

My mom and dad were able to come visit during my last 2 weeks in Portugal. It was great to have them come. I was really looking forward to their visit. I enjoyed showing them around Cascais and other parts of Portugal. We did some day trips to Boca do Inferno, Sintra, Belem, Obidos, and Castelo do Sao Jorge in Lisbon. My dad and I got to join some friends and their church canoeing down the Teju River! It was very fun. It's hard to narrow the pictures down but I've included a few from their visit.


During our last week my parents and I rented a car to drive down to the Algarve. We enjoyed the hotel there that was just a few minutes walk from the beach. The weather was beautiful and the scenery amazing. We did a LONG day trip to Algeciras, Spain where we caught a ferry across the Strait of Gibraltar to Morocco. That was an experience all in itself...if you'd like to hear the story I'd be happy to share it! After arriving back from Morocco we drove the short distance to Gibraltar which is owned by the British. It was fun driving up the rock, seeing the apes, the amazing views of southern Spain and across into Africa. We finished off the night with a delicious dinner of kebabs before driving back to Portugal. I had to introduce my parents to kebabs (Anna I did think of you)! As my dad likes to tell people - we hit 4 countries and 2 continents in one day!!

After such a long day we took a day to rest and then made a day trip to Seville, Spain. It was a hot day in the upper 90s but the beautiful city of Seville was worth it. We spent most of our time in the Santa Cruz area of Seville touring the cathedral, Alcazar, and wandering through the streets. I think my favorite part was wandering through the Alcazar which was huge. Walking through the castle and gardens made me feel like I'd been transported into the pages of a story from the past.

Our time in Portugal finished off with seeing a sand sculpture exhibit made out of 35 tons of sand! There were lots of different scenes made by different artists - it was pretty impressive. We also stopped by a castle in the town of Silves that has withstood the years pretty well - it dates back to about the 11th century! On our way back to Lisbon we drove the the southwestern point of Portugal - Sagres. It was considered the end of the world to explorers heading out the Mediterranean.

It was great to have my parents come and see Portugal. I will miss the friends that I made while I was there but look forward to new opportunities and adventures in Rochester. God has been good and I'm thankful for all I've learned and experienced!!