Sunday in Madrid

I woke up went to breakfast then went to mass then came back to the hotel and slept all day then went to dinner. that is pretty much my day. that was my Sunday.

Ok well i have to go pack now.

Saterday afternoon in madrid

so i already blogged about the fact that i saw the Pope and i posted the picture. In the afternoon i had lunch with Laura, Kristen, Devan and Emily. Then Laura Devan and Emily whent to the grosry store to get some snacks for the trip out to the air field and Kristen showed me a few of the more reasonable priced souvenir shops so i did not spend more than i needed to. When we came back we had about a half an hour before we were planing on leaveing for the air field and at that point i was not shore if i was even going to go out there that night or if i would just go out on sunday morning for the mass because i knew there was a group that was not going to stay the night no matter what happened.

But i decided i would go out there and if i found the rest of the group who was planning on staying the night then i would stay with them. So when i came down stairs to the lobby Father, Veronica, and Johnathen were waiting. When we were on our way out the door to the metro Carla & Gabbie came down but they wanted to walk the entier 5 miles from the start point to the air field and Father, Veronica, Johnathen and i were going to take the metro to the closest stop then walk the last mile or so in. So we left and when we got on the metro it was semi packed but it got even more so with every stop the train made. We finally go to our stop and off the train and headed up there were so many people that we did not really need any direction as to were to go. It was really hot but luckily there were more than a few residence who either had a hose out the window or were pouring buckets of water over there balconies onto the passing pilgrims and filling our water bottles which was ausom because it was really hot. We finally made it to the air field and got in and there were just so many people that we decided unless we found our group we were not staying. Unenforenetly we did not find anyone from our group so father and i headed back to the hotel and we got back just in time for the vigil to start. after the vigal Father, Larry and i went out to dinner. When i got back to the room after dinner Carla was in the shower and Gabbie was on her bed on the computer and we both said at the same time "I thought you were staying the night!" then Gabbie asked about father making shore he was ok and i said we had just come back from dinner. then i fell asleep.

picture of pope

Here is my picture of the pope

Pope Siteing

This morning i over slept again. The reason i say i over slept is because i was planing on going to mass at the Love and Life center at 9:30am this morning. But when i did not wake up until 10 before 8 i decided to just come down for breakfast and see if anyone else had missed mass. When i got down here i ran into Veronica and we talked while we ate then father joined us and after we were finished eating father went out get his morning paper from the stand down the street and there were cops every about 20ft as far as the eye could see on the street. So Father asked one of the police officers and i asked one of the pilgrims that was sitting next to the news stand and they both said that the pope would be passing right in front of our hotel in a bout a half hour so i staid down stairs and held a spot for father and i while he went upstairs. When he did finally come by he went by so fact that i only got one picture but luckily it was a good one. I am working on getting the picture up now but it will be here by Sunday night as were will be at the air field tonight.

More latter

Madrid day 5

Today is Friday. Today Gabbie answered the phone when her mom called so i did not have to wake up to answer the phone as she did so i ended up sleeping til round 10am which meant i did not go to the catechetical session neither did Carla and Gabbie. So we went down for breakfast and while we were eating we ran into Kattie and her brother Tyler. We told them about the meeting with the arch-bishop of Seattle and what time we were meeting in the lobby and it was a good thing we ran into them because they did not know what time we were meeting in the lobby or anything about the meeting. By the time i got back up to the room and out of the shower i only had about an hr and a half before i had to be in the lobby so i just updated the blog, wathced some tv, and listened to what ever Carla and Gabbie were playing on Carla's computer. then it was time to meet in the lobby so we went down. When we got down there i thought maybe they had left early which was ok with me because i had scouted out the rout with Larry yesterday so i knew how to get there, but it turned out that they had everyone had went down to get lunch before we left. So after everyone had gotten back and eaten we left for that meeting.

The meeting went well it was really hot in the room. But it was cool to see all of the fellow Washingtonians who were here at world youth day in Madrid. I even saw Sarah and Twan which was really cool because i did not know they were coming to Madrid. So the meeting was really more of a prayer and information session. We even got to meet the niece of a soon to be saint. After the meeting our group split into two groups one group went back toward the hotel and the other half stopped for lunch. After lunch we all came back to the hotel and went to our rooms. After a few hours i decided to venture out on the town by my self. I might have figured out what happened with my breathing after the welcome mass while i was out because it happened again while i was out. But i pushed through it and walked around for at least a half hour before i finally had to turn around and come back to the hotel. Im not shure if it was the fact that there were a tone of people or that i was alone or the fact that i am in a foreign country or a combination of all these things. I am going to let Gabbie use the computer before she falls asleep then i am going to try to upload pictures to the blog. I have tried two or three time today but i kept lousing my internet connection.

Madrid day 4

I woke up to Gabbies mom calling. After that i couldnt get back to sleep so i just went down to breakfast. After breakfast we went to the caticesis then had mass. Then i came back to the hotel and dropped my backpack off and only cept my camera, metro pass, id, and credit card and went to lunch with Larry and Father. After lunch Larry and i scouted out the route to the archbishops hotel. It was a good thing to because we got sort of lost but we found a map and were able to find our way. It tuned out that it was a good thing we scouted it out because it actually took a little longer that we thought. Then on our way back the metro was really packed so we decided to take another rout back to the hotel but then decided that since we were already on the train headed to the love and life center we would just stay on the train and go over there and see what was going on over there. but when we got over there everyone was leaving. We ran into a few people from our group and we stood and talked a little, then we went our seperate ways again and i stayed with Larry. The train that would lead directly to our stop was relly packed so we decided to again take another rout back. but we ended up having to walk from one stop farther away because our stop was closed. then i watched the popes arival and mass on the TV. I will be adding pictures when i get back from our meeting with the archbishop.

Madrid day 2

We met as an entire group in the morning and prayed and talked about the day we had had on Monday, like the fact that not all of the restrants that accept the meal passes are sit down some are you get your food and go. Then when we were done a group including me decided to go to one of the art museums then to the love and life center. By the time we got to the museum half the group decided to just go on and go straight to the love and life center. But i decided that since i was already at the museum i would try to get in but when we found the line we found out that it would have been a 3hr wait to get in so we decided to go to a church that was behind the museum instead. The church was cool it was beautiful but i think they were getting ready for mass so we left. Then we headed over to the Love and Life center and cot the end of the kick off bash and had lunch. We decided to leave about 3:45. The group split again and i went with Carla and Gabbie back to the hotel and the rest of the group headed to Sabelis square. When we got back to the hotel Gabbie and Carla decided they were not going go to mass so i filled all of my water bottles and went down to the lobby and waited for father and Larry to come down and head to the square for mass. We did not make it all the way to the square because there were so many people but we were able to see a screen so we were able to follow along in out magnificat. Father parts and we split everything else up between the rest of the group. Then on our way back our group got split up and i ended up with just Larry and Father. I had a small breathing issue not sure exactly why because i had been drinking water ALL day long and i had a fan to keep a little cooler. We stopped on our way back toward the hotel and had dinner. Then headed back to our hotel and i went to bed.

Madrid day 1

So we got to Madrid on Sunday evening and had a free day on Monday. World youth day did not start untill tuesday. So we had a free day and i spent most of it with Father, Larry, Carla, and Gabbie. We started out the day with an early breakfast because we thought we were meeting out tour coordinater @ 7:30 in the morning, but it turned out it was 7:30 pm. so we desided that since it was the feast of the assumption of Mary so the first thing we did after breakfast was ask the front desk were the closest catholic mass was. and it was actually at a cathedral but the mass was interly in Spanish which made it a little bit chalenging but i was still ablee to follow along which was ausome, although it was really really hot inside so i ended up standing by a door most of the time. After mass we came back and teased Larry with our internet conection and found a place to eat lunch. We ended up eating lunch across the park from the cathedral. since lunch is the biggest meal of the day here we had a 3 course lunch which was really good. We desided to take a different rout back to the hotel which was really cool because we got to see were some of the restronts we could eat are and they are all within walking distence of our hotel. It is ausome.

8-15

Since i last blogged we have left Fatima and spent 2 days in Salamanca.

When i last wrote it was 5 pm on the 11th. After i posted i took a short nap then we met up and had dinner at the hotel restrant and it was good stuff. Since we have been here i have eaten more bread than i usually do in a week at home, but it is good. After dinner we had a group meeting and we talked about a lot of the things everyone had done that day and watched as Antonio (2 1/2 years old) intertained us by being his self. Later that night a group of about 15 of us went back up to the basilica and did what we called a Rosary walk on our knees. I did this as well but i was not able to make it back up the hill to the start of the path. When i got up i was sort of wishing that i had just pushed myself to have gone up the hill because i had to walk up the hill any way. I still have a scab on one knee from this walk but it is no were as bad as Gabbies so i cant complain. I ened up staying upa and playing a card game called Stupid with Mike, Lucis, Sammy and we played untill around 2am local time. Then the next day we left for Salamanca around 10am, it was a 5hr drive.

When we finally got there i got in our room and had to take a nap cus i was in a bad mood and not shure why. I woke up in time for dinner which was really good. After dinner i went out on the town with Larry Linda, Rachel, Lucis, Sammy, Laura and devan. While we were at the great wall looking for the frog we ran into Migel and Wendes family and i desided to stay out and hang out it them. Migels sister, her husband and kids desided to suprise tMigel by being @ the hotel when they got there. Ite was a happy reunion and when we ran into each other @ the great wall they said i could hang out with them. So we sstroled slowly back to the square and they desided to sit down and have something to drink so i had a sangreea whitch is like our Long island tea. But i all so learned it is a good thing i dot live here in spain brecause any time i would celabrate a birthday i would be the one who treats everyone not them treating me.

So the second day we we went to avala. which was a beautiful city.

More in a few hours

8-11 in Fatima

So last night i tried to blog but i was falling asleep so i saved the post and fell asleep. when i opened the blog this morning i noticed that when i posted last night it time stamped it with the US time not local time which was about midnight.

This morning when i woke up it was time for breakfast so i just put on my sweatshirt over my pj's and whent down for breakfast with my room mates Gabbie and Carla. But when we got down there we found out that we had been told the wrong time and that we actually had a half an hour before it would be ready. So Gabbie and i tried to load some pictures for the blog post about yesterday and we got 4 or 5 pictures set to load and they would not load on to the post so we desided to just go to breakfast because we could always blog after breakfast before mass. Well that did not work out either because we had morning prayer. So after morning prayer i came up and finally had time to shower. By this point it was already 9am.

When i went down stairs i sat down and started to blog and our tour guide Frank came over and let us know that there would be an earlier opratunity for a tour of the Fatima Basilica Museum i decided to go and blog after before mass. Well that didnt happen eather because after eather because Karin, mike, Linda, Gabbie, a few other people and i desided to go see the sites were our mother Mary appered to the children Lucia, Francisco & Jacinta and there houses. I was not able to walk all the way to there homes but it was still a beutiful walk to see were the apparitions happened. so Kristen, Laura and i made our way slowly back tword the hotel, by now it was around 1pm. So on our way back to the hotel we stoped and had lunch at a little restrant about 5 blocks from the hotel on our way back.

It is now 5pm Gabbie and Carla are takeing napes as i write this. Now i am going to atempt to add a slide show of pictures i have taken to the top of the blog.

Pictures from our adventures

I have finally got a slideshow of pictures up and linked but it is not running through all of the pictures i have in the album so please click on the picture and it will take you to the album andyou will be able to see more of the pictures i have taken but not all. I have selected a few from each day but there are 2 days were we were just traveling and i did not take very many and bus pics are not always the best.

Safe

ok made it safely to lisbon and have meet our tour guide. More to come on todays adventures Tomorrow morning after breakfast.

Sorry it is late here and we have been traveling for what seemed like ever. in one flight we saw a sunset then about an hour or two later we saw it rise again. So more in the morning

OH HAY

here is a link to our group blog http://stjoevanwyd.blogspot.com/

You might see some of my pictures on there.

NIGHT

8-9 am

It was a good thing dad was home because i slept through my 5am alarm but i was still able to do everything i needed to before i left this morning and still be on-time to the church to meet the rest of the group. During the bus ride to Seattle, i helped layout friendship bracelets that we are planing on breading and giving away as a little token of our group.

as were were going through security we all went through without any problem until Laura put her bag through. When her bag came through one of the gaurds picked it up and asked if she could look through it. Laura said yes, and so they went through it and took a few things out and put it back through then whent to put every thing back into the backpack they found a bookmark that was metal. Laura and i both started laughing because a book mark was stumping a security gaurd. Then when we found our gate we all went our own ways. I walked around the entire terminal then ended up sitting across from the gate at a charging station.

That brings me to 12:25pm Pacific Standard Time. and that is now

8-7

I leave for Spain Day after tomorrow. I am almost compleatly packed and ready to go. but i still have butterflies about the long plain ride there and home. Mom and i finished the last of the shoping last night and I even got my hair cut here is what it looks like now. One of the most important things i got was a new camera and this picture was taken with that camera.

8-2

I leave for Spain in one week. Today i am making my packing ck list and waiting for my parents to come home from Spokane. I am getting more excited as i count down the days but at the same time i am also getting nervous because i have never been out of the state let alone the country with out my parents.