Spain and Portugal were really awesome ). They are connected on the same land, but they are two completely different cultures. Portuguese are very clean, and quiet when they eat/sleep.

The trip would have been better if we had left a certain family member behind (who was always complaining and whining and didn't want to do anything but play Runescape in the cyber cafe . . . and yelled at us if we didn't go on the other side of town to get him a friggin Mc.Donalds cheeseburger. Who eats Mc.Donalds when there is delicious seafood that is caught that same day in a nice Spanish/Portuguese seaside restaurant??!! Even if you don't like seafood, there are still many good Spanish/Portuguese dishes!

I don't know . .I'm a hardcore believer that if you travel to a country, you see their historical sites, indulge in cultural experiences that you couldn't anywhere else, and eat THEIR food.

The Portuguese have amazing pastries by the way, yum ! I went to thwe Pasteis de Belem pastry shop that is world famous. Ate a heavenly raisin muffin. I'm a quarter Portuguese, so this was kind of like a heritage thing. Granted, I'm way more German and Scottish than I am Portuguese, but it's still cool. They are very friendly, and always want to help you. The Spanish were kind of friendly, but not as friendly as the Portuguese. We stayed in a BIG apartment that had a divine view of the pink hydrangeas outside the kitchen window. So every morning, I would eat breakfast and gaze at how pretty and relaxing they were.

So we had a stop in Paris' airport on our way over . .and I was shocked. The French were so kind and helpful . .apparently I had remembered enough French from highschool and with an accurate dialect, because the people started talking to me in French in a fast-paced tone. . they thought I was French. LOL.

RIP Michael Jackson
Regardless of what you may or may not have done,(which, I'm hoping you really didn't do those things), it is a shame to lose a musician as talented as yourself. I grew up in an Alaskan air force base, in a decently-sized two bedroom apartment, and my mom always played the Jackson 5 music when we had people over, which was often, we were quite the sociable family (and still are). While munching on baby carrots, I remember listening to songs like, "ABC. . easy as one two three" while dancing around amusing the guests with my . . hyperactivity. I always knew we were having guests over, when mom cranked out the Jackson 5 music.

I'm so glad to be back and see some of my friends! I missed you guys so much! I'm grateful to have such good friends. I got to chill with Rachel and Jem, which was awesome. Rachel is just the sweetest girl ever, and Jem is just hilarious. Gave her a hand painted fan I got from Spain. Then moved out of the apartment, Dan helped out alot, so I'm grateful. He even hooked up all my computer stuff into my bedroom at home. So got him a bottled beverage called "bawls" which made me laugh out loud. He's probably been the best friend out of all of them, and well, the one I've practically known the longest.