Madrid Spain

Andy in the guard station at the royal palace

The royal palace

Fountain in front of the royal palace

The cathedral in Madrid

The room where St Teresa was born has been turned into a little chapel.  

The church that was built on the site of where St Teresa was born and raised.

With Fr O'C in front of the entrance into old Avila.  It was freezing!

With Fr O'C in front of El Escorial

We made it to Madrid!  The next several pictures are out of order but basically, we ate, went to church, ate again, walked around, ate again, then took a nap.  All the important things checked off our list!  Tomorrow is Avila with Fr O'C.

Andy having churros y chocolate.... the third time we ate. our pants are tight!

Outdoor cafe in Plaza Mayor.  We ate for the second time here.  

Street performer near Plaza Mayor

A street performer in Plaza Mayor

Bubble guy in Plaza Mayor

Even though our spanish is very broken, we successfully placed our first order at this restaurant.  At least we know we will not go thirsty in Madrid!

San Jeronimos church where we went to the 2pm mass said in spanish.  

The altar at San Jeronimos church

Spain... we passed this building on our search for food.  Its very pretty but I have no idea what it is.

Portugal

The entertainment for our last night was this band who we saw previously in Budapest 5 years ago.  

The last night in Lisbon we had dinner in an old monastery. This is the chapel with fake monks singing a gregorian chant.  

Last night in Lisbon

We had lunch at a castle turned hotel, and this was in the hallway.

The garden at Fonseca Winery.

Today we went to a tile factory where they handpaint tiles and export them around the world.  We each got to paint a tile. It was a lot of fun.

Andy making a tile square

I painted a rooster on my tile...

Pena Palace in Sintra Portugal.  It was surprisingly small inside.  

Pena Palace in Sintra. 

A street of shops in Sintra

Montserate Palace where we had lunch in Sintra.  It was owned by the Royal Family and has since been turned into a hotel.  

The view from Monserate Palace in Sintra

A street in downtown Lisbon

Andy in front of a fortress built in 1515 to protect the city from attack.

A monument honoring Portuguese explorers 

A different monastery in downtown Belem built in the 1500's.

A view of an old monastery from the hotel in Lisbon.  

Another view of Our Lady

Giant candle cove

Fatima parish church where Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta were baptised.

The tram train that takes you around Fatima to see where the children lived, and the sites of the apparition of the Angel and the alternate spot Mary appeared. 

A sacrifice of approaching the site of the apparition on one's knees. We'll attempt this tomorrow.  Not sure how far I will get on my bony knees.

The Basilica

Ok.... technical difficulties have been solved thank you Andy!  The statue in this picture is the exact spot where Our Lady appeared to the children.  This area is called Chapel of the Apparitions and is an outdoor pavillion type of area.  Mass and rosaries are held here.  A better photo is coming soon of this.

Made it to Portugal and we are in Fatima.   I can only say wow, its incredibly powerful.  

Some points.... the landscape of Portugal looks exactly like inland San Diego in terms of hills and plants and the people are not overly friendly and can be quite fragrant.

I have said all your intentions twice so far and lit many very large candles at a big outdoor candle cove that looks like a giant fireplace.  We went to mass at 330 with some priests from Ireland.  They prayed very fast but the homily was good.  We also took a tram ride around and got to see Blessed Lucia's house inside and out.  Finally we visited where the angel first appeared to the children.

I've tried to post the pictures within this thread with no luck so on to plan 2....  stick with me!

Testing...