Holy Week, Portugal and Parents' visit

Recently we just wrapped up Semana Santa here in the south of Spain, which is one of the biggest holidays that is celebrated throughout the year. Holy Week is a huge deal around these parts and you can read all about it here. Though I appreciate Semana Santa for its cultural implications, I am not fanatic about going out to see processions each day; I can get by with seeing just one or two. I do enjoy having a week off work and this year my parents came to visit so all in all, it was a pretty nice Easter holiday.

 First, Jose and I started off visiting the beach in Portugal for a few days before my parents arrived. We went and stayed in an apartment hotel in Quarteira which was right next to the beach and had a pool. The weather was fabulous and there was basically no one around so we had a couple of fantastic days of rest and relaxation.


When my parents got to Seville we went back to Portugal since the weather was perfect for heading to the beach. We showed them our favorite places to visit and eat before coming back to Spain. I think they enjoyed visiting another country and spending some time in the sun after having had such a tough winter back in Michigan. I am encouraging them to come spend an extended period of time in Portugal when they are retired since it is perfect for that and not too expensive. Plus as a bonus it is fairly close to us.

 During my parents' visit we went to see a Holy Week procession both in Seville as well as in Dos Hermanas. We also made a day trip to Cadiz since it was a city my dad had been dying to visit for some time. We went down by train in the morning and came back in the late afternoon, having spent the day walking around the city and visiting its sights. 


Jose also took my dad to a Betis game with my father-in-law and I am sure they had a great time though soccer is still difficult for him to understand. That same day we went to have lunch with my in-laws and celebrated my dad's birthday. My parents made a good effort to put their Spanish speaking skills into practice and of course with a couple of beers everyone is a bit more fluent.

It's always nice to have people come visit and we were definitely sad to see my parents go. We are hoping that with retirement will come longer and more frequent trips across the pond.

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