It seemed as if our flight was never going to leave Porto as we waited – and waited – to board the airplane.  Scheduled to leave at 11:30 a.m. we saw the flight crew board the plane at 10:50 a.m. and we knew there was no way.  And, 30 minutes later we were still waiting.  Finally, we taxied down the runway at 12:30 p.m. and off we flew toward the United States.  We were heading home, ahead of schedule, but for a very good reason.

A Return to Santiago de Compostela

After 35 days and 350 miles we walked in to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, on May 17, 2015.  We were beyond tired and physically beat.  The next day we witnessed the pilgrims mass at the Cathedral and garnered our certificates of completion from the pilgrims office.  The day after that… we boarded a train for Porto.  Our 48 hours in Santiago were not much more than a blur of exhaustion.

The Historic City of Coimbra

We were told the city of Coimbra was built on steep hills. I thought, surely they could not be steeper than the hills of Porto, right?  Wrong.  The historic City of Coimbra (pronounced co-eem-bra) is all about the hills and they are definitely steeper than those of Porto, and the cobblestone streets are brutal.  By the time we boarded our return train my feet were screaming.  But, would I do it all again?  Absolutely.

Hey Braga!

Although we are madly in love with the city of Porto, had we known about the historic and charming city of Braga, we may have instead planted ourselves there.

THIS DEAL IS SOLD OUT!

Everyone needs to experience Las Vegas, at least once in their lifetime.  It’s like no other city in the US, rising up toward the sky from the desert sands, where glitz and glitter are the norm.  From the show rooms to the casinos, to the resort style pools and family friendly options, Las Vegas offers it all.

The Mosque of Cordoba

There are moments in time when one has to come to a complete stop to just take in said moment because one finds oneself in a place of perfection; a place so extraordinarily inspiring it takes ones breath away.  For us, that moment happened when we stepped inside the Mosque of Cordoba.  Never before had we seen such a place, and most likely never will we again.

After trekking the Vintgar Gorge, our day trip from Ljubljana continued as we found our way to Lake Bled, a truly majestic lake with the clearest water you can imagine.  The only comparison I can make is that of Lake Tahoe where the water is stunningly clear – and cold.

As we pulled away from the parking lot at Vintgar Gorge, the shuttle van driver asked, “How was the gorge?” “Crowded!” I responded, “But beautiful.”  He went on to explain that three years ago nobody cared about the gorge, and now, everyone wants to see it and he can’t figure out why.

The Ending

Our train pulled away from Malaga on Sunday morning at 10:40 a.m.  It had been ten days of rest and relaxation, eating our weight in tapas, drinking sangria and taking long leisurely walks along the waterfront and beach promenade.

That’s a Wrap!

The grand Eurail train adventure across Europe is done. Complete. Finished. Finito. We used our last train pass to travel from Seville to Malaga, which is where we are now.  We didn’t really know what to expect of Malaga, but it is beautiful.  We are enjoying temps in the low 80’s and fantastic sea breezes.  Malaga, it’s where the desert meets the sea.