Aviero-by-the-Sea

Olá! (As they say in Portugal)

Today was a very fun day! I woke up a little early so I could take full advantage of breakfast. They had quite a bit of food available, including many pastries and fresh fruit. I was even able to get on the internet a little bit in the lobby before the whole group had to meet to go on a gondola ride around the city. These plans were put to a halt, however, when a copious amount of water began to pour from the sky. Instead, we went to the beach. It was so gloomy and rainy that Patti and I ran into the nearest shop, as did pretty much everyone else.

We did a little souvenir shopping and found this really cute story with wooden animals and very cute bracelets for really cheap. We then walked around for a little since the rain had cleared up before getting some lunch.
I ate the famous Bacalhau con nata (codfish with cream). It was incredibly rich and they gave me a huge portion so I was only able to eat half, but it was delicious. After lunch we walked down and sat on the beach until it was time to go back into town.

We had a short rest and then went to go on the gondolas since it was then a sunny and beautiful day with no sign of rain. I was a little worried because I didn’t take/bring any Dramamine with me, but it turned out fine. It was great seeing Aviero from the water, and I took lots of pictures.

After we went back to the hotel to rest, and then we went exploring to find food. We ran into this little market with hand made things like coats, rugs, plates, etc. It was very cool! We then found a sushi place and I introduced Patti to sushi. She is a vegetarian so she had never considered sushi appropriate before but she got some cucumber rolls and she absolutely loved them! I love introducing people to new things that they end up loving. Afterward we walked around and then shared a enormous ice cream crepe before heading back to the hotel to study for our finals on Tuesday.

On an unrelated note, in exactly 7 days I will be on a plane! And in exactly 7 days and 3 hours I will be landing in SFO!!! I can’t wait.