Nov 10th - Nov 16th

So the post is a day late, and I already have received email telling me to get on my horse and start writing this post(cough, cough, Elizabeth)!!! Here goes nothing.

Last week, was another short week at school, the only thing that I really had going on was a midterm in my Game Theory class...I have to admit some of these economic concepts don't really make sense to me, they don't seem to practical in real world applications, maybe its just me though. I think that I did pretty well on the midterm, it was somewhat difficult, but not unbearable. There was also a problem set that was due, but I had already knocked that out for the most part with one of my buddies, Miguel. The midterm was on Wednesday and Thursday morning before the Crack of Dawn I was on my way to Lisbon to spend the weekend with the family.

I left the house at 6:00a.m. which felt way too early, I don't think I have been up that early yet since I have been in Spain, unless I was still out dancing at the Disco! Luckily I woke up with my alarm and was out the door on time. The flight went smoothly and we arrived to Lisbon just ahead of schedule. Thursday morning was relatively slow, went to the market with grandma and then had an early lunch with her, Tia Nicha, and Tio Joao. After lunch Tia Nicha and I went running around trying to get an EU Health card that I need, weren't successful on the first attempt but started the process. Later in the afternoon my Grandma took me to get the Flu Vaccine, that Tia Nicha arranged for me at the pharmacy, and everyone in the Pharmacy was making fun of me because I told them I was not gonna take it without my Grandma back in the office with me! Sad, yes I know, but it is not my fault my dad passed this fear of needles onto me! hahaha thanks dad! That evening Avo(grandma), Tio Joao, and I all had dinner at home, and that night Domingos and Miguel Castello Branco picked me up to go out for a beer in Baro Alto.

Friday morning Avo and I went out again to the Market to buy stuff for lunch, we had a mess of the cousins over for a get together (Miguel, Pedro, Domingos, Francisco, Teresa). Felicia Made the soup for lunch, and Avo made one of my favorite Portuguese dishes, Grao. After a magnificent lunch we cleaned up a bit, and then went shopping. I needed to buy a warmer coat for the winter time here in Madrid, it hasn't been too bad yet but we have already been in the low thirties in the mornings a few times. We went to a shopping center called Colombo, that is just like any other mall back home. I found an awesome PeaCoat and also a nice pair of long pajamas. After shopping it was back home to drop things off, check on Felicia (our nanny) and then off again to Tia Nicha's house for a Family dinner. It was great too see nearly everyone: Tia Nicha, David, Maria, Teresa, Tio Ze, Tia Paula, Pedro, Miguel, Tio Ita, Tia Po, Domingos, Francisco, Tio Joao, Marta, and of course Avo and I! Unfortunately Tio Quin (wow, don't know if that is spelled correctly, I hope so!) and Mariana could not be there because Tio Quin was out of town, and Mariana was sick (Swine flu, Not, just the regular Flu). Pedro and Miguel invited the other cousins out to a festival at their college after dinner, and Francisco and I joined them for a while. It was a great campus and a fun little party with live music. Unfortunately it started to rain so we called it a night earlier than we otherwise would have.

Saturday was another day full of activities! In the morning Avo and I went out for a coffee and it was on the road again! Avo went to a lunch at Tia Biba's house with Tia Cheeka, and I was off to Tia Nicha's again. Tio Quin had gotten home late the night before and we all got together at the Leftover's Restaurant(I am sure Tia Nicha will get this, not sure about the rest!!!!) for a lovely meal and chat. After lunch Tia Nicha, David, Teresa, Maria and I went for a walk all the way to Pont 25 de Abril, which coincidentally looks just like the Golden Gate! It was great to get out and go for a leisurely walk. The weather was not the best, but we did not get rain drops till we were just about home, and I think that maybe only around three or four might have got me. As always it seems like there is more food in the equation, on the way home we stopped at Careca, a local Bakery - Coffee shop, and bought Croissants fresh out of the oven which were to die for for and afternoon snack. Domingos and Francisco came over for a bit to hang out, and before long it was time for Portugal to play against Bosnia in the World Cup Qualifiers. I stayed at Tia Nicha's house and watched the game with Tio Quin and David, mostly. After the game I met up with Domingos and Francisco again at their house and then we met up with some of their other Cousins, Sebastian, Martin, and Miguel Bruschy, to go out for a night on the town. We went down to the Doca's for a few drinks at an Irish Bar, and then met up with Miguel Castello Branco and a few other of his friends and went out dancing at a Discotecha called Urban Beach. I must say that we all had a blast together, but the quality of the Discotecha was not on the same level as the Disco's here in Madrid.

Well, home around 6:00a.m. on Sunday Morning and up again at 11:00. Not Ideal but had to take advantage of the little time that I had left in Portugal and spend time with Avo, and Felicia before headed back to Madrid at 3:30. We had yet another relaxing morning to end the weekend, a nice lunch together, and like a flash I was back to the airport on my way Back to Madrid. I arrived home around 6:00 completely wiped out and slept from around 8:00 straight through the night to make up for the lack of sleep the night before! It was a great weekend and now its time to get back into the grind of school.

I was finally able to fix my computer and get a bunch more pictures that are far overdue up onto the internet for all of you not on Facebook. Please look at the Picasa Albums I added too see Pictures from Oktoberfest, Dachau, and Lisbon this past weekend.

As always I hope that everyone is doing well back at home, and I wanted to give a big time shout out to my good friend Gerrit who will be competing in IronMan Arizona this weekend...may speed and warmth be with you Young Grasshopper...Have a great race and finish Strong. Also, a shout out to Matt Kipper, you are bad to the bone for rocking out another Aide Station at IronMan this year!

And, a last thought and remembrance for a good friend of our family Carol Hymes who left us a couple of weeks ago, all the memories I have with you are fond ones.

Love too Everyone!

Phil