Portugal

We are so grateful for the wonderful trip we were able to take this past Christmas with my family. It was a once in a life time experience! Neither Wes nor I have been to Europe so this was a first! We also have never left Brady for 12 days, so that was a first too. Grammy and Grampy were so wonderful and kind and took care of our little guy so we could go.

We left on the 26th and took off for Portugal. We had a twelve hour lay over in Frankfurt Germany, so we were able to leave the airport and explore the city. It was absolutely beautiful! There was lots of snow and it was very cold. We walked the downtown area, which was so fun because we got to see the beautiful architecture. We also took the train out to see the Frankfurt temple. That was also very fun. On the train ride we saw lots of little towns and the way people live.

After our lay over we were off to Porto Portugal. We finally arrived to our hotel after being awake for 36 hrs. Needless to say we were exhausted. The next day we drove all over town and were able to see the different places my brother lived while on his mission. Porto was my favorite city:) The next few days we drove all over Northern Portugal and visited the areas my brother served. It was so fun to meet the people he taught and served. It was also fun to hear he and Wes use there portuguese. We then traveled to the Madiera Islands. They are the Hawaii of Europe. They were very beautiful. We were there on New Years Eve which was quite the treat. They have the third largest firework show in the world! It was unbelieveable. We then flew to Lisbon and spent a day and a half there. This was a much more modernized city.

We had the most wonderful time and I am so grateful for all that I have and the country I live in. The people we met were so humble and welcoming. I will always remember this experience.