Lisbon, Portugal

Spring Break Greetings! I´m rounded out my 4 day trip to Lisbon, Portugal and am now on to my first morning in Madrid! This really is quite the spring break trip I´m havinhg...Lisbon, Madrid, Greek Islands.

After a full night of traveling Wednesday (transferred in the London airport, stayed there overnight...sleeping in an airport is basically impossible), Clair, Megan and I arrived to Lisbon Thursday March 13 around 9:30 am, greeted by sunshine, blue skies, palm trees, and temps in the high 60s...amazing. We weren´t in Copenhagen anymore!!

The sleepless night wasn´t going to get us down, and after checking into our hostel we wasted no time before heading out to explore some of the city. We grabbed lunch at an outdoor cafe and were beside ourselves that we were actually sitting outside eating lunch in Lisbon, Portugal. WE decided to trek to St. George´s Castle, situated on the highest hill of the historic part of the city, which offered the best views of Lisbon. I will get my photos up when I get back to Copenhagen (around the 25th), but it was a really amazing way to start the trip. The sights were gorgeous and the castle was entertaining to explore. We also got a taste of Lisbon´s nieghborhoods on the hike towards the castle, strolling our way through winding cobbled streets, taking in the sights of the cozy villages. Laundry was blowing in the breeze, people dined on rooftops, and charming houses in every color lined the streets. This part of the city, called Alfama, is the oldest and most historical part of the city, fun to wander through and really feel the history of Lisbon. Every house seems to tell a story. This is also where they have many Fado bars, places to hear the melancholy sounds of Fado guitar, a popular form musical entertainment in Portugal which we unfortunately ran out of time before getting to enjoy some.

Thursday night--soccer game! We decided to do as the locals do and embrace all that is important in Europe and brave it out at a Portuguese soccer match. I felt like quite the local. The game was exciting complete with clouds of green smoke billowing in the air, Portuguese flags waving in all directions, and crazy cheering fans. We tried to clap and cheer along but couldn´t quite catch on to the Portuguese songs :)

Friday we hoppeed on a tram and saw some of the sights of Belem, an important district from Portugalºs Golden Age. The tower of Belem was our first stop, an importatnt historical sight built in the age of discoveries for defense of the city, which has served a multitude of roles since then and now serves as a must see attraction when visiting the city. We saw some other sights in Belem, including the monastery of Jeronimo which was breathtaking and the monument of the discoveries, a monument built in 1960 for the 500th-year celebration of Henry the Navigator's birth who founded the Portuguese tradition of maritime discoverers. We rounded out the trip at the famous pastry shop "Pasteis de Belem" where we sampled some delicious treats. Belem also offered some beautiful parks, gardens and views along the river. It was really peaceful just sitting along the river, closing my eyes and feeling the warm breeze blowing.

Friday night our hostel offered free tasting of the popular Portuguese liquor, ginginha, a sweet cherry liquor. Some guys who work at the hostel then brought w bunch of us staying in the hostel out to Bairro Alto for some Portuguese nightlife. The streets were packed with young people--realy fun night and we got to meet a bunch of new friends from our hostel!

Saturday was amazing...my favorite day here. Our destination was Sintra, a district right outside Lisbon housing hte fabulous Pena Palace (19th century) and the Castelo dos Mouros (reconstructed 19th century). Both places offered a breath-taking view of the Sintra-Cascais Natural Park--stunning. The day was a peaceful getaway from the city as we wandered our way through forests listening to birds chirping and feeling the sun beaming through tree tops. This was also the sunniest, warmest day of our trip...I even got a little sunburned! (exciting when you haven´t seen the sun in months!) The pictures I got were beautiful, I´ll make sure to put them up soon. Saturday night we grabbed some dinner at a local Portugues restaurant recommended by our hostel owner called San Antonio´s. My dinner was delicious, but when the bill came we were a little confused. Apparently, the restaurant owner brought us out some baskets of bread and some cheese for appetizers which we were unaware of that we had to pay for! He just brought them out to our table and then we footed the bill for them haha..I don´t know if this is common here but it was quite different!

Sunday we were all a little tired, and we opted for a relaxing day on the beach. Although sunday was our least sunny day in Lisbon, it was relaxing hearing the waves crash on the beach and watching the surfers ride the tide in. I napped on the beach for a little bit, watched the sun sink lower in the sky, but had to leave before sun set because it was getting reallly chilly! Monday morning we had our last walk around the city before heading to the airport. I bought a neat painting, had a good experience trying to barter (I´m horrible at it haha!), but ended up getting the painting for 7 euro so that wasn´t too shabby. Overall, AMAZING trip to Lisbon...couldnt be happier with the way it turned out. Now on to explore Madrid!!!!

-Cheers :)