October Update

We just returned from Madrid and Lisbon and had a wonderful time.  Madrid is a massive city, I had no idea how big it was, but its very modern with lots of highrise buildings and skyscrapers and a good transportation system.  We had a lovely day visiting the sites, particularly enjoying lunch at an outdoor cafe in the Plaza Mayor, where a procession of costumed groups preformed traditional spanish dances.  The weather was beautiful, we stayed in a lovely hotel just off the Plaza Espanola, and had a great dinner the night before we left at a wine-focused restaurant near our hotel.  Jason got some great pictures of the city from our trek to the top of a lovely cathedral in Old Madrid, and he'll post these and many others on facebook.  The thing I found most striking was the amazing mosaics around the city.  They were so colorful and massive.  Having attempted just one small mosaic piece with the help of a more experienced friend, I can't imagine how long it took to put such beautiful works of art together, but they were stunning.

In Lisbon, the art on many of the buildings was tile.  Striking patterns and, again, fantastically vibrant colors were all around us.  To us, Lisbon has a bit of a Mediterranean feel, with lots of white stucco buildings, red tile roofs, and a beautiful sloping towards the main river that leads to the Atlantic Ocean.  People spoke more english in Portugal than in Spain, which was great for us, because we had never uttered a Portuguese word in our life before this trip!  We did the hop-on-hop-off tour that we always enjoy so much and saw quite a bit of the city, which is pretty spread out around the coast.  Jason had to leave early on Tuesday to head back to work, so I had the day to explore a little more myself.  I had a lovely afternoon in the National Tile Museum and then went up to the Oceanarium, the second largest aquarium in the world.  And the port - oh, I loved the port.  Its not often served in most restaurants, as the Portuguese drink port at home usually on special occasions.  My hotel had it, though, and I was very happy to enjoy a small glass each evening after a hard day of touring.  Not to mention the "duty-free" bottle that managed to sneak its way into my luggage before leaving Lisbon ;)

The menu was decidedly seafood everywhere we went, and while I loved it, Jason was ready for a big steak by the time he flew home.  Rice is a staple in Portugal, while surprisingly, potatoes were part of almost every dish we came across is Spain.  The food was very tasty, although, very unlike Mexican food; it wasn't at all spicy and there were a lot of cream sauces that must be an influence from France.  All in all, it was a great trip, and the conference I attended for work on Wednesday and Thursday was interesting as well.

Another highlight in October was my 30th birthday on the 11th, which was preceded by a lovely party with some of my friends, neighbors and colleagues.  Also, Jason surprised me with an amazing set of black onyx bead jewelry from Tiffany & Co., which will be a beautiful and very wearable addition to my work wardrobe.  I feel very blessed with all the wonderful wishes I received from family and friends.  My 30s are off to a great start!