A relaxing day :)

I don't have any pictures for you today, since my camera card went missing after uploading last night, and it takes hours to upload them, and it seems that there are other sources for you to see pictures so I'm not going to stay up late again-we have to be ready to hike to the field tomorrow!!

Anyways, we got to sleep in again today-which was super nice after a very, very stressful day in the crowds yesterday. Some kids got up early to shop and walk around, but many of us slept until at least 11 AM.

We then headed on the Metro to a restaurant farther from the very crowded areas, and Msgr. Curry treated us to lunch via Fr. John. We had all kinds of Spanish food-chicken, chorizo, some kind of quiche-like tortilla creation with potatoes, and other food. After eating more than we probably should have, we headed back towards the hotel for Mass at the church around the corner, then did our own version of the Way of the Cross, using the WYD booklets, but in English.

We headed back to the hotel, and some of us took advantage of the spa-there were all kinds of pools (hot, cold, warm, whirlpool, one with rocks on the bottom and one with floating oranges), two saunas, a steam room, and a relaxation room. It was very relaxing.

Other groups went out to eat, or walk around and do some shopping. We're all packing for tomorrow now, and then we start our trek to the field at 9 AM-we'll be taking the Metro as far as we can, but we'll still have to walk about two miles or so, which will be very grueling-it's supposed to be up to 102 degrees tomorrow! We'll then have Mass and lunch at the field, before settling in for the vigil and our night under the stars, then Mass with Pope Benedict.

I will be away from internet access all of tomorrow, barring a random WiFi hotspot on my phone, so my next update won't be until Sunday afternoon here.

I hope y'all have enjoyed the blog so far, and have gotten a little taste of what we're experiencing-I can't believe how quickly this trip has gone!

the next time you hear from me, we'll have experienced Mass with the Pope-it's gonna be good :D