Night bus to Lisboa

It's midnight and I just got on the bus on the second leg of the journey to Lisboa, Portugal. I've never taken a night bus before and it's quite an experience already!

Starting from the beginning, I said my goodbyes to Sandra and Sophie at the bus stop in San Luis de sabinillas ( southern Spain ) and waited for 16:10 bus. No bus came. Lucky there was another woman waiting for the bus so I was thinking I could find a way to Algeciras with her if the bus didn't show. It finally came 20 minutes late and we got to algecerias. I had a bus ticket from algecerias to Lisboa - I assumed this bus station would be were I was dropped off. No one spoke English and they told me to go somewhere else. I figured it out and finally ended up at a port/ other station 10 minutes away. I waited for the lisbon bus there and there were was luckily another person there because that bus was also late by 15 or so minutes so I stayed near him to make sure I got the right bus!  3 of us got on the bus - me and 2 men likely in their 40s or 50s. After a few minutes the bus arrived at the same station I started at!! I'm still unclear why they made me go to the port... Many others got on the bus there and we arrived in Seville at 1030. I was unaware that we had to switch busses there but we all got off and the driver said we would wait there for an hour.. And then he left. 

I went to a tapas bar with one of the men for 30 minutes or so. He is Portuguese and spoke zero English and only a bit of spanish. This made communication quite challenging seeing as I do not speak Portuguese or French!  We had hilarious and completely broken conversations and he pretty much laughed the whole time!  It's unclear if he knew that I understood far less than half of what he was staying but he kept chatting away and I tried talking to him in Spanish! Main points that I got from our conversation: cigarettes are much cheaper in Gibraltar than in Portugal, he stopped attending school at 12 years which his mother was unhappy about, someone got locked out of his house and has no keys, he doesn't need sleep, he is very tired when he drives..etc. Aside from these great conversations, we watched drunken older ladies dancing, taking selfies with motorcycle helmets, and wobbling around in the tapas bar. Seems like they were having quite a good time! One woman told me over and over how much she loves portual and she really loves lisbon! We headed back to the bus station after 30 minutes and the other guy who was waiting there with the suitcases said (in Portuguese) that we had been gone for an hour.  The other guy made fun of him and motioned that he was crazy. We continued having broken conversations and the guy from the tapas bar laughed at the other guy a lot and kept looking at me in a way assuming I knew what he was laughing and talking about. I heard "Perro" at one point and it seemed like he called the other guy a dog. Who knows, but I laughed along with them. 

Now the bus has fully filled up and I have 6 more hours until I arrive in lisbon. Goodnight! Let's hope I get a few hours of sleep :)

Marbella and Ronda

It's incredible how fast time has been passing by.. I have less than a week left in la duquesa (as an au pair) and then I am off to travel again! It was a beautiful sunny week and Sophie and I went out to the beach or playground almost every day! A storm is on its way and it is supposed to rain Tuesday - Friday.. Time to bring the boots, sweaters, and jackets back into use!

This weekend I went to Marbella and to Ronda! 

Marbella is a wealthy beach town just north of where I am staying. I put a message up on the Malaga au pair Facebook group, and as a result met up with Mary who is Spanish and French! We had a really nice afternoon talking and walking around marbella, eating tapas, drinking in honor of at Patrick's day, and eating sweets!  It was a really great afternoon and so nice to make a new friend in the area!

Mary and I having cider / beer at the all english St. Patrick's day festival in Marbella. Buy a drink and get a hat!

Today I went to Ronda with Sandra and Sophie! It was a very windy road and it was all the way up into the mountains. It was a beautiful town and I enjoyed walking around, playing games with Sophie, listening to music, and looking out at the amazing views!

The city is built right into the cliffs!

Sophie taking a nap in "her bed". 

Flying like the birds!

Admiring the views. 

Throwing fallen flower petals into the air

Lambs running through the street on our way back from Rhonda. 

I bought an overnight bus ticket to lisbon for Friday night!  

Four more countries to go and then my journey begins back to the United States.

Ducklings and Granada

Week #2 was great with Sophie! We have been searching all week for the baby ducks and the mommy duck.  Each day we ask, “where are you baby ducks? Where are you moony duck?” – this has been quite a point of conversation! Its really amazing how fast she is picking up English..!  On Friday we went to the pond again and finally – the baby ducks and the mommy duck had arrived!  There were 7 little ducklings swimming around and Sophie was very excited to finally get to see them!  As we watched them and moved from one side of the pond to the other to get the best views, the seagulls came by… one swooped down and grabbed a duckling and we watched it wiggle in the air and be swallowed by the seagull ..pretty horrible! Sophie was very vocal and made it very clear that the birds should go away “no no no!!  don’t eat the baby ducks!!”

Sophie-very excited to see the ducks!

Seagull in action with the duckling..hard to see but it's in its mouth...

The surviving four!

After the morning in Estepona with Sophie, I hopped in a blablacar (car share service) and headed off for Granada!  I stayed with my friend Amar who I met in 2006 at a tawonga peacemakers weekend with people from all over the world.  We have stayed in touch here and there over the years and it was so great getting to stay with him and explore Granada with him and his friends after all of these years!

Beautiful shops with lanterns on small streets in Granada 

The Alhambra - we were lucky to get tickets the day of and we spend four hours wandering through the palace and garden areas. 

A donkey we met that was hanging out outside of the Alhambra. No owner present..

Incredibly detailed sandstone carvings all throughout the Alhambra palace

Amar and I sitting on the edge of the Alhambra, enjoying the views!

The view of Alhambra and the city from St Nicholas 

We caught the end of the sunset from San Miguel, a great lookout spot of the whole city!

A very gold filled church!

Our 11 year tour guide at the Plaza de Toros (bull fight ring). He didn't seem to want to be working, but he was sweet and showed us the whole place and brought us into the areas where the Bulls stay, the medical room, horse area..etc

Bull fights start sometime next month.. 

International women's day parade through Granada!

Music and flamenco dancing at plaza nueva!

It was a great weekend - took a 4.5hr bus back and now I'm home and ready for the week ahead!