Portugal

This past Sunday I flew to Portugal to meet up with my mom, who made her semi-annual trip to visit my Grandfather. We landed, rested up a bit, then went to check out the local parade for Carnival. This is the slightly smaller version :o). It was cute though, and the turnout was pretty amazing.

The weather there was fantastic, particularly compared to Zürich, where every day pretty much hovers around freezing. During the day the temperatures were in the low to mid 60's, and in the sun it felt so wonderful. We stayed with my mom's aunt, who had this nice little porch that got sun from morning to afternoon.

View from the porch- the fruit trees were in full bloom!

On Sunday afternoon we went to go visit my Grandpa at the nursing home. He has had Alzheimers for quite some time, so he doesn't say much except to ask for food :o(. We brought him outside and took some pictures with him, and took him for a walk around the home.

 He was notably weaker than he had been in the past, and had to take a sit-down break about 3/4 of the way around the home. He recovered quickly though, and we brought him back to his comfy chair in the TV room before we left.
Sadly, later that night, a call came that he had passed away. The next few days were a flurry of preparations, family, and errands (and some absolutely phenomenal Portuguese food- that was the upside). I pushed my flight out to stay a few more days for the Funeral and Cremation. We hope Grandpa is in a better place with Grandma and the rest of his family. I think everyone will miss the funny, jovial man he was, and I will always remember how to draw Kilroy.... thanks Vôvô.

And on a slightly ironic and funny note, this was the name of the crematorium:

Obviously 'Fun' doesn't have the same meaning in Portuguese its just an abbreviation for 'Funerária' but I still had to laugh.