Final Hoorah

Where to begin? Our last night in Ana and Juan's was both joyous and sad. We popped the champagne and had one final paella from Juan. There were tears and laughter all around. I held on to the fact that I would see them again before I left Madrid for good.

After hauling our big suitcases to a storage locker, we were ready for our week long excursion. On the flight to Nice, we got on a tiny airline with a frighteningly low ceiling.

MK's claustrophobia kicking in

Kinda felt like giants!

Once in the air, the captain came on speaker to announce that we couldn't land in Nice because the airport was closed and we'd be flying in to another town an hour or two away. Ten minutes later we received a quick "JK!" and landed smoothly in Nice.

Once we arrived to the Airbnb, we quickly figured out that the host knew as much English as we know French and he called his buddy to translate. Turned out that the Airbnb we were staying in for four full days had no wifi! So I brought my laptop to dinner and we downloaded all the movies we could for when we went offline.

View from the Airbnb

The next morning we walked down to the boardwalk and laid out on the pebble beach. The water was a color unlike any ocean I have ever seen. It truly looked fake with the many hues of blue.

Cutie

In Nice, there is a really beautiful plaza with small fountains that little French children ran through as dogs chased each other. I could see why this place is a honeymoon hub!

These drinks were 13 Euro :o

We sat along the water at one of the restaurants on the beach and briefly enjoyed a lifestyle that we normally could not maintain.

The night ended much like the rest: belting out whatever throwbacks we had on our iTunes and devouring the pints of Ben and Jerry's we picked up on the way home.

One morning Megan and I went grocery shopping and struggled as we had zero grasp on the French language. So much so that we actually bought toilet bowl cleaner instead of detergent. Whoops! Thank god for MK doubting us enough to use her data plan to double check it.

Another cafe con leche that was extremely overpriced :)

One day while in Nice we decided to hitch a ride on the bus to head over to Monaco for the day. This bus ride in itself was incredibly beautiful with views of the French Riviera. To our surprise, the Grand Prix was actually going on the same day and many of the streets were blocked off for it.

After getting judged hardcore by a worker for wearing beach clothes in front of the Monte Carlo, we decided to bounce and head back to Nice where we impulsively went to get our ears pierced! One of my favorite pastimes.

MK going in for her doubles!

Megan finally got the I <3 Mom tattoo she always wanted!

On our last morning in Nice, we were very decisive about finding a place for brunch and wifi! This bakery had all sorts of vegan/gluten free options and an interesting brunch selection.

We were very contented

Time for Greece!

Thus began one of the longest travel experiences I've ever had. To lay it out for you, we flew from Nice to Istanbul, then left Turkey at midnight for Athens, once in Athens at 1 a.m. we attempted to sleep in the airport until our 5:30 a.m. flight to Santorini. (The Athens airport played elevator music on a loop so there was no sleeping.) Once we took a cab and came to our hostel, we found out that the desk wasn't open until 8 a.m. so we trudged over to McDonalds for breakfast. Low and behold, McDonalds had no breakfast items on their menu so, yes, we had some Big Macs at 7 in the morning. After the desk opened, we learned we couldn't check into our room until the afternoon! So we rented some four wheelers and decided that sleeping on the beach was the move.

Unknowing of the journey before us

Sprinting between Turkish Airline plane and shuttle

After the shortest tutorial on operating machinery, we were given two four wheelers to drive around the island. Due to not only this but lack of sleep, we got off to a bit of a rough start when MK and Frankie hit the wall of a restaurant! Luckily no one was severely injured and the restaurant owner was only concerned with MK and Frankie's safety. Despite his kindness, I think this gave all of us bad feelings toward those four wheels for the whole trip.

After this little incident, we headed to the black sand beach for our first stop and some nap time.

Even though I was scared out of my wits while driving this abomination, I have to admit the views around us outweighed whatever fears we had.

Our first planned excursion was a boat ride to climb a volcano and swim in the hot springs! The volcano was essentially a pile of the black ashen rocks, but the feel of the hot springs was something else. To be honest a little disturbing to swim around in warm water in the ocean since we all know what that usually suggests.

Why so brown?!?

View from the volcano of Santorini

After the days activities, we were famished and ate some kebabs before heading back to the hostel to rinse off. 

That night we decided to clean up and head up to a winery for some great views with some great people.

Riding in style

We went to the Santo Winery in the middle of the island to watch the sunset in the evening. Without tasting it, we ordered a bottle of their famous vinsanto wine and a cheese platter to share. This turned out to be a bad call because that wine was syrupy and GROSS. But who could be upset with views like this?

The next morning we drove south to the red rock beach to soak in some rays and hit all we could in our last full day. Afterwards we drove back to Pyrgos, a village in the center of the island, for the same salad we ate the day before because it was fresh as hell and worth the repeat!

Before she slipped down the rocks

Megan refused to drive

*angels singing*

We also took the opportunity to wander Pyrgos and have a little photoshoot. Every corner of this island posed as an excellent Instagram opportunity!

Puertas de Grecia

In the afternoon we went to the northern part of the island for some cliff jumping and a final sunset in the iconic Oia. This drive was five miles long and most of it along a cliff with no fence. I was shaking the whole time.

Our SLU friends who were there the week before us told us to check out Ammoudi Bay (pictured below), which provided an incredible experience being in the midnight blue and sea green water while being surrounded by the crescent shape of Santorini. I also went cliff jumping for the first time ever! Granted I only went once, but, hey, it counts.

Frankie and I are the little specks on the left!

Naturally we all watched Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (1 and 2!) to get in the zone of being in Greece and most of the filming actually took place in Ammoudi Bay! We felt legit.

*Note the same ledge we jumped from behind them!*

I was dubbed as Tibby from the movie 

In the evening we hiked back up the mountain for dinner and the sunset in Oia. This part of the island was breathtaking with the all white buildings and the iconic windmills.

Me and Meggy

On our last afternoon it was imperative that I found the only brewery on the island (the Crazy Donkey) and tried one of their IPAs. The workers were a bit confused by my request for just one beer and that it be opened on the spot, but it was a must for my local brews trials.

The workers at the hostel were extremely kind and drove us to the airport at no cost where we said our final goodbyes to one another. The tiny airport in Santorini is exactly what you would expect from a small Eastern European island. The entire place was chaotic with workers who said contradictory things, and fines up the wazoo when they demanded everyone check their bags.

Once on the airplane back to Madrid, Frankie and I rewatched the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants only to download the sequel for the second leg of the trip. That evening we met up with my high school friend Caroline who lives in Dublin before we headed out to the tiniest most attic-like Airbnb. We didn't get in until 1 in the morning so we all hit the hay right away. (My apologies to Frankie for a sucky final shower abroad!)

The next day I dedicated to showing Caroline around. We toured the royal palace, went to Retiro Park, shopped a lot, and had some traditional Spanish tapas! We finished the day off by having a picnic during sunset at Temple of Debod and going out to my favorite bars (J&J's and La Via Lactea).

Nom nom nom! 

Iberian ham and manchego for dinner! 

Missing the exquisite collection of beers at J&J's

After a late night out, I woke up early to head to the airport to pick up Paige and bring her back to the Airbnb. We went out for brunch to Ojala (of course) before turning right back around to the airport to meet up with Kaye. 

Poor Kaye and Paige flew from the US to Madrid and then to Lisbon in one day. After arriving in Lisbon we settled into our Airbnb in Barrio Alto, a neighborhood with all the bars and restaurants. Coming to Lisbon, I had no idea about the beautiful tiling around the city. Every building wall had a unique design (Note: see @kayepf's instagram for a flip video of the best tiles!)

Both nights in Lisbon we went out for dinner and to bars in Barrio Alto. The next morning we went out for breakfast in a plaza and then on a tuktuk tour around the city! Tuktuks are open carriages/fourwheeler-type vehicles. We hadWeWe had a nice young man for our tour guide who showed us all of his favorite sites in the city.

This city provided the best back drops!

Attempt 1 of trying to take a picture

Attempt 2

Third time's the charm

For lunch we went to a popular seafood restaurant that was way above our price range so we just snacked on the smaller items on the menu. But, damn, were they good. We had some Manchego cheese, and mussels and shrimp in a garlic butter sauce.

On our tuktuk tour, we were able to see different neighborhoods in Lisbon and beautiful vantage points. In one neighborhood we passed an old woman who was selling a cherry liquor that she had made. Next to her was a small table with a  picnic cloth and a cutout of a newspaper article praising her liquor. Of course we had to taste it!

The Pat Foley pose

Pretty in pink

The city was art itself

That night we went to this small market near our Airbnb that overlooked the city. There was live music and warm wine along with the small stalls. We enjoyed ourselves as we watched the sun set in the distance.

Content with our glog

After a late night out on Pink Street, we headed to bed and Caroline left early in the morning to head back to Dublin. Our remaining party packed up and headed to the Porto airport. The flight was a quick trip and we landed early afternoon, very hungry. 

Porto was a surprising city because none of us knew what to expect, but it was a charming port city with a huge bridge and port wineries lining the dock. The town was primarily grey stone with blue porcelain murals here and there. 

The Airbnb we stayed in had to be the best one I've had all semester. It was called the "Greenhouse" and had a ladder with a bed in the upper nook. The owner was a super chic woman who gave us a bottle of the region's vino verde and small brochure she made about places to see and what delicacies to eat. Seriously this airbnb was #goals.

Vino verde was SO good!

Enjoying our balcony view with some vino

After we dropped off our bags we decided to try out the famous sandwich called the Francesinha (which was a pile of meat and cheese over fries with an egg on top). We walked 40 minutes in one direction before arriving at the recommended restaurant which...was closed. It was late in the afternoon at this point and not many restaurants were still serving lunch so we just stopped in a small diner for it instead.

Girl that stops to pet literally every dog

Ready for our first bite!

The Francesinha!

Yes, I ate this

Final say on the Francesinha: Good for when you're really hungry until you become sick of the immensity of the meat.

Lovely girl in a lovely city

After lunch we strolled (rolled) down the shopping district on our way to the port. Since port wine is from Porto, Portugal, it was a must that we try it. All the wineries were on the other side of the river so we took in the sites along the way.

Porto puerta

After crossing the bridge we realized the wineries were actually down by the water so we took a short gondola ride down to the dock.

Lol 

Trying to be artsy

We went to a winery where we sampled three port types. Sadly all the other wineries were closed for the evening! However, we weren't too bummed about it because port wine was not for us.

"Foley for the dyslexic." -Anonymous 

Port wine tasting!

We decided instead of going out for drinks that night, we would enjoy a lengthy dinner in Ribiera Square. We had a couple bottles of wine, tapas, and incredible dessert to top it off! It was quite the dinner. 

The next morning we woke up early to explore the Porto a bit before we had to head back to the airport. We first went to the Clérigos church and tower styled in the baroque period. The church contained pretty pinks and golds.

View from the tower on a rainy day in Porto

Next we walked down the street to see the Livraria Lello & Irmão, where J.K. Rowling supposedly wrote some of the Harry Potter series. 

This library had all the classics plus glass cased shelves with some dusty originals. After checking out the library, we had time only for a quick lunch before we needed to grab our stuff and return to the airport.

Alfredo with squid ink noodles

Portonic! Better than just the port