Monday, May 25th 2015
We had a morning flight to Portugal and landed to beautiful weather and sunshine. When we finally got to the hostel we were starving and went to get lunch. The man from the hostel sent us to a restaurant where we ordered, as instructed, the town dish. I think it was Eric’s favorite thing in the world. It was a sandwich, of sorts. It was bread, with ham, hot dog, sausage, and steak with another piece of bread. That was then covered with cheese, topped with an egg, smothered in special sauce and surrounded by fries. It was very good, but thank goodness we split it. From there we went on an alternative walking tour, which showed us around the city. We went into the library where JK Rolling was inspired to write parts of Harry Potter, saw lots of beautiful views of the city and learned a lot about its culture. I really enjoyed it. That night, we had dinner at the hostel. It was very delicious and really nice. I really enjoyed the environment that they created there. Everyone was happy to meet and talk, which made it a great environment for dinner. |
This hostel had a shot-o-clock. At 11 o’clock, everyone in the lounge had a shot! I went out with a bunch of people from the hostel to a local bar. It was fun to chat with new people and be out!
Tuesday, May 26th 2015
For the first thing today, we did what Eric was super excited to do: visit the FC Porto field. We had a tour of the entire stadium and got to go right up to the field. He was super excited. We then went through their museum, which was huge! Eric I think really liked it. I was slightly bored, but it was very well done.
We wandered the historic area for a bit and found some beautiful buildings. We went into the market and found a restaurant, which had fantastic fish. I loved my meal. For the afternoon, we rented bikes and biked by the river to the beach! It was a beautiful bike ride and we got to see the lighthouse. It was really fun and relaxing.
I made sure to bring Eric to a pastry shop on the way back up the big hill. I wanted to make sure he got to enjoy the Portugese pastries as much as I did.
That evening, we went back to the hostel and again had dinner there, because why not!
Wednesday, May 27th 2015
This morning we wandered around a bit before being picked up to go surfing. Our instructor picked us up and we went to the beach. We relaxed there for an hour or so before our instructor had us put on our wetsuits. We had a private lesson. We warmed up and jumped into the water. We learned what we were supposed to do and went in. Unfortunately, on my first shot, I dislocated my shoulder and so I had to give up. Eric then got a private lesson and was actually able to catch one wave! It was nice to sit and watch him.
That afternoon, I got a sling and relaxed before dinner in the hostel. Tonight, the hostel had Pork Belly for dinner, which Eric was thrilled about. Fortunately, they made me some chicken. But the whole night, Eric kept talking about how delicious the pork belly was. While we intended to go out to dinner, we have really been enjoying the hostel dinners. Local chefs come in and cook a Portuguese three course meal and we are joined by lots of people who are also staying in the hostel. It is a great way to meet people
Thursday, May 28th 2015
For breakfast, we had one last pastry. The Pastries were just so good! In Portugal, I really loved them! We then went to the airport and made our way back to Leuven. We packed up my room and cleaned it complexly. I ran a few errands. We enjoyed a last fritur dinner. We then met up with Nico (a friend from Frisbee) and went to enjoy some beers. His coworkers joined us for the evening. Rik came out to meet us at a bar to give me a last hug goodbye. Then as Eric went home to get some sleep, we went to a DJ concert. It was a lot of fun, but the most special part was that I saw Dom, Duncan, Suze and Gwendolyn there. It was amazing to be able to see everyone at my last night. I truly have made some wonderful friendships here and will miss them all dearly. It was so great to be able to see them for the last night and get to dance and enjoy the delicious Belgian beers.
I also need to give a shoutout to my brother who helped me pack and clean my place. Since I had the injured shoulder, I don’t know what I would have done without his help. Not only getting to the airport the next morning but packing and cleaning everything. He was so helpful, I’m very thankful.
I really loved my time abroad. I went to 14 different countries, an uncountable number of cities, made priceless memories and spent amazing time with new and old friends. What an amazing semester.