Spring Break 2018

My brother Graham and his wife Kelly came to visit on my Spring Break week!  It was so great to see them! The first night I showed them around the Basilica area. 

Of course, I had to introduce them to joy of rose gelato after dinner! 

On Saturday they came to Diósd and I gave them a tour of my school. It is so fun for me to share my classroom with people that visit because it is where I spend most of my time here! 

We came back to the city and walked around the Parliament area, along the Danube river and to the Shoes on the Danube memorial. 

We ended up back in the St. Stephen's Basilica area and happened to wander in during a mass.  It was quite crowded and I was amazed that they were letting tourists come in! We couldn't understand anything of course (it was in Hungarian) but the music was beautiful! 

We ended the evening at one of my favorite restaurants, 

First BBQ and Brewery!  

The next day was Easter Sunday! We started the day at my church and then walked around the Easter market before eating lunch at my favorite restaurant (Akademia Italia)! 

After lunch we went out to City Park to see 

the Vajdahunyad castle and 

Heroes' Square! 

We ended the afternoon with a river cruise down the Danube.  It was a very memorable to celebrate Easter together and share Budapest with them! 

The next day, we were off to Málaga, Spain! 

We had a long layover on our way to Spain, so by the time we arrived it was dinner time!  We found a cute little spot with outdoor seating near our hotel! 

For our first meal in Spain, we settled on shrimp and seafood paella! 

The next morning we found a cafe for breakfast, but after we sat down outside, it appeared that we were going to be in the way of some sort of film shoot.  No one asked us to leave but it was kinda hectic all around and we just decided to find another place.  My brother recognized an American film director (Kevin Connolly) in the mix of people, and so he looked up what could be filming Málaga! Turns out it was the tv show Snatch, with an actor some of you may recognize! 

Rupert Grint!  Or "Old Ron Weasley" as my cousin Christina said! 

We wandered back throughout the way and caught several glimpses of him and all the other actors too! 

We wandered the port area and enjoyed walking along the water. I cannot say enough about how much I loved Málaga! 
 The weather was PERFECTION and being right by the ocean suited me just fine. 

We hiked up to the Alcazaba of Málaga.  The hike was steep but the views were worth it! 

At the base area

We also found the Roman Ruins! 

That afternoon we toured the Málaga Cathedral and 

climbed the tower to the top! 

Tapas for dinner! 

We had ice cream every day! 

We ended the day with beautiful view from the ferris wheel! 

The next morning began with a high speed railjet to Sevilla! 

Our family from the midwest will appreciate this picture - once we arrived at the Sevilla train station, we were surprised to see a street exit named after Kansas City! 

We wandered around the city and did some shopping before eating lunch. 

Our afternoon was spent touring the Alcazar.  Wow!  The interiors were really beautiful but the gardens were by far my favorite part. 

After the Alcazar, we wandered the area around the Cathedral and enjoyed some ice cream.  The weather was beautiful! 

Vending machine snack for the train ride back - 

I found some "Tex-Mex" Doritos which turns out are the same as Nacho Cheese Doritos! 

By the evening we were back in Málaga and enjoying some Thai noodles and Thai pizza! 

On our last day, we took a walk to Playa Huelin and dipped our toes in the (cold!) water! It was really beautiful.  

We had lunch right on the water - more seafood and olives of course! 

That afternoon Kelly went for another hike and Graham took a nap!  I also took a nap and spent sometime reading on my balcony! 

That evening after dinner (burgers!) we took in the views from the rooftop terrace of our hotel.  

And got ice cream one last time! 

I left early the next morning, and Graham and Kelly's flight was not until the afternoon.  So we said goodbye that night.  I cried my eyes out after walking back into my hotel room.  This is normal for me when saying goodbye to my family but my heart still aches every single time.  It was such a joy to spend time with Graham and Kelly and make new memories together. Tears of sadness were mixed with tears of gratitude for our time together!