It was sad to us to be gone from home on Easter Sunday, our favorite day, we love being at home to experience these times so we can relish in each of our special traditions and even start new ones at home...but this year it was unavoidable. But thankfully we found a church to go to. The trouble was getting there! The taxi driver seeing us coming out of the hotel thought perhaps he could prey upon the "stupid tourists..." but we were not to be had! He wanted to charge us $65 to go and come back and also take us to the best jewelry shops and leather. We said no shopping, just take us to this place and we talked him down to 60 leira which i think is about $40. so we get in and take the back roads...at this point i am thinking...great...we are going to some kidnappers home...but we finally end up in downtown and we stop at a parking lot. He announces to us to get out and we are thinking...ummm...this doesn't look right. but he assures us..."no problem..come!" whatever. we follow. he walks us through a little alley, out onto a street and right up to....a jewelry shop! so i am so mad now because we said NO SHOPPING!! but this guy apparently will give us directions to said church. so he conveniently writes his info on his business card and points us in the right direction! WRONG!
after walking for 30 minutes we stopped at this familiar location...ah...starbucks...how we love thee...to get directions yet again! but we finally made it to this sweet fellowship of people...albeit late...but then again what's new for us. good intentions...
they took spectacular care of our kids and we enjoyed a beautiful service.
they meet in this beautiful place down a narrow cobblestone street. but the best part of our time today was meeting another family with 3 young children all within a year of our kids' ages. We ended up going home with them, having pizza and going to a playground together.
we even got to enjoy cotton candy...yum!
ride the merry-go-round...escaping death at least 3 times...so that's why the US doesn't have them anymore!
and declaring this playground the most beautiful playground we have ever been to as it went right up to a cliff overlooking the bay of the Mediterranean Sea and huge, snow-capped mountains on the other side! what a perfect and beautiful day! He is risen INDEED! our new friends took us back to our hotel and we met up with our taxi driver and told him once again we were not to be had and how he had not taken us to our destination, tried to trick us into buying jewelry and therefore we were not paying him his full wage...we paid him more than half though and he was quite upset. we felt a little bad, but in the end i decided he was beat at his own game...we will not be had!
So happy for you to get some major family time and even date time while the kids are at school! Love you K!
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