Lisbon
1st Day – (3 cities in less than 12 hours) The next morning, I woke up fairly early to catch my flight, I took a shower and headed for the airport yet again. I had to make a quick stop at the ATM and I decided to take the aerobus because I was running just a few minutes late and I didn’t want to take any chances on missing my train because then I would miss my flight! I got there with plenty of time to spare. I made it through security just fine and was soon on my plane. This was the first time that I had flew with Vueling, a very popular budget airline in Europe based in Spain. It was probably one of the best “flights” I’ve had turbulence wise. It was very smooth and I had the entire row to myself so I stretched out and took a nap because it was a good 2 hour flight. I can’t usually sleep on planes but at this point, I was so exhausted that I probably just passed out. I like to fly early in the morning because that’s when I’m most calm and when I’m calm I don’t have such a hard time with it. I woke up during the descent into Lisbon and Goncalo was right, it was an amazing view, it was unlike any city I’ve ever seen before. It was something similar to San Francisco because they have a bridge that is almost identical! It was beautiful though. After we landed I couldn’t wait to get to my hostel and start my exploration. I easily caught a bus to downtown and got off at the right stop. Now, Goncalo had warned me about the winding streets but I assumed that it would be like the other European cities that I had been too and I have managed up to this point, to find my way around and I haven’t really had much trouble locating any of my hostels. However, this one was different. I had picked up 3 different maps at the airport and I had the address of the hostel but I didn’t have any Internet access between my trips to look up the exact directions from the website but I assumed it was easy locatable because it was marked on a page from my hostel book also. Well 3 maps and 1 book later I was completely and utterly lost. Lisbon is a city full of steep hills and even steeper, what seem like, drop offs. It goes up and down, up and down and the sidewalks are unlike any in Europe, yes they are the cobblestone but, much more dangerous and uneven, it’s really crazy. I know this is caused by the earthquakes and such because Lisbon suffered a serious one at the end of the 18th century and they still get them periodically, in fact there was a small one when I was there however, I didn’t feel a thing. Anyways I was totally lost and was in the right neighborhood but I couldn’t find the right street. I had walked up and down this one hill twice which was enough for me considering it was practically the equivalent of a black diamond ski slope. Well, with my luck an obvious American tourist walks by and I glance over at him, he can completely tell that I am lost and then proceeds to ask me if I need help. I said yes, oh yes, I’m so lost and then he proceed to pull out 2 maps. I asked if he lived there and he said no but that it was his fourth trip to the city and he always carries 2 maps with him because even though he knows his way around, he still gets lost sometimes and the maps are never accurately mapped so he uses 2 to get around! This made me feel a little better because I was using 3 from the airport and then one that I had brought out of my book! Haha he helped me find the place, it took a good 15 mins. but after walking around lost for over an hour, it seemed like nothing! I was so thankful, he made sure I got safely inside and everything, it was almost like he wanted to say something else but I shut out the opportunity just wanting to get settled in and wished him well on his way. After I got inside I was a little frantic after being so lost and the lady could tell. It was definitely different than the hostel I stayed at in Granada and it was the same brand. She checked me in and then she proceeded to show me around the entire place, which I thought was different. It wasn’t that big and wasn’t as I had pictured it at all. It was still nice though and I only had 3 other beds in my room, which was nice. I got settled in and she even introduced me to my roommates and then allowed me to grab breakfast, I did because I was starving and then I was ready to head out on my adventure for the day. I felt like there was a lot to see in Lisbon so I was kind of in a hurry. I was tired so I could feel that I was getting easily agitated and angry. I proceed to get onto the trolley that was going to take me all the way to St. Jorge’s Castle. I boarded the trolley, very old fashioned, paid my fare and took my seat. I sat down and the trolley probably went 500 feet and then stopped. I couldn’t really figure out what was going on but then all of a sudden the driver stood up and said something and then everyone proceeded to get off the trolley!! I just kinda stood there hoping that this guy spoke English and I said, I’m trying to get to the castle, what do I do now? And then, like a miracle, he gave me perfect directions in English like it was his first language! Lol I was impressed but then again, I remembered what Goncalo had told me about Portugal, everyone speaks good English here! I was thankful, I followed his directions and before I knew it, I had made it to the other trolley car, explained what had happened and he let me on and took me to the castle. Once I got there I had to walk up another black diamond slope but I eventually got to the castle. Now, the castle itself wasn’t much to see, it was just the stone walls ya know and the one exhibit that I wanted to see was closed for some reason, however,the real treasure here was the view. It was beautiful, It felt like I could see the whole city from up there! I got some great pictures and then went to see the next thing. Like Rome, Lisbon is a city built on 7 hills, I tried to make it to each of them to see the views, my hostel was on one of them, the castle on another, and then I went to another one above the castle that was equally impressive. After that hill I went to the Mosteiro De Sao Vicente de fora which was pretty cool. There was water in the bottom of it and for some reason I thought this was just the coolest thing ever! This place was huge and I sorta hurried through it but I think I saw the good points and after that as I was strolling to the next site I ran into some type of HUGE flea market, there was so much stuff and it just went on for blocks and blocks! After the flea market I went into some building that I think honors the more famous dead people of Portugal. I’m not sure what exactly it was supposed to be but this is the drift that I caught! Next was the Museo de Fado, the Museum of Fado, a Fado is a popular type of song from Portugal, it’s really pretty and it’s usually about love or hardships, the museum was ok but I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures so I was bummed, I loved the music though. After hitting all of these sites I realized that it was only like 2 in the afternoon and I couldn’t believe that I had hit most of the major attractions in Lisbon on my list for that day! After realizing this I took a more relaxing pace toward the rest of my day, next I visited the Cathedral and it just so happened that when I went inside the choir was there having a Christmas concert and it was amazing! I probably sat there for a good hour just listening to them. Next I was feeling pretty hungry so I tried to locate some food, by this time I had walked all the way back to the center city and I stopped inside this little café and the guy working just looked at me and I said, “I’m starving! What do you have?” He said that he had some duck left over from lunch and he could get that ready for me if I wanted, I agreed and it was delicious! I ate every last bite and he said, “I guess you were hungry!” He was really nice and after that I walked down as close to the ocean as I could get and then did a little shopping there in the city, as I was walking around shopping there were quite a few entertainers out and about because it was the holiday season and I saw this group of young men, probably my age singing and dancing to some song and they were all gorgeous! I don’t know what it is but the men in Portugal are just to die for! They are all good looking and charming. They were all just so cute singing this song, I’m not sure what exactly was going on and I couldn’t understand anything they were doing or saying but the crowd around me seemed to love it, so I guess it was a good thing! After walking around the main city area and snapping some pictures at night I headed back to my hostel and called it a night, I was exhausted and couldn’t wait to get some sleep but, when I got back the girls that were staying in my room were there getting ready for bed and we stayed up for the next 2-3 hours talking about traveling Europe, they were from Turkey and were headed to Barcelona next and because I had been living there, they wanted to know everything and of course I wanted to tell them all the great things to see so I made them a list and we ended up talking forever! I always meet the best people in hostels! I love it! I probably didn’t get to bed until 1 or 2 in the morning, normal time I guess!
2nd Day - I decided to sleep in as long as I could because I was exhausted! After I had showered and eaten I head downstairs to ask for directions on where I was planning on going for the day. I head for the trolley once more and traveled to Belem, a little bit outside Lisbon, in relation to the US I would say it was like maybe living in a suburb outside of a bigger city, much cheaper! There was a lot to see in Belem, I toured one of the most beautiful monasteries in Europe, (my opinion.) It was just to die for! After that I visited both of the bigger monuments there, one of the statues that honors the explorers of Portugal’s history and the other was an old military tower called the “Tower of Belem.” Both were equally impressive and were right on the ocean. I got some great photos here. The lady at the hostel told me that I had to try this particular pastry here so I found the bakery and the line was all the way out in the street! It was so busy but it was well worth the wait. This pastry was probably the best pastry that I have ever eaten, hands down! It was like sex in my mouth! UN-freaking- believable! Next I went to this outdoor market that they were having there and I found some really pretty earrings and some other unique stuff. After I had seen everything in Belem I headed back to the center city and decided to head over to the other side of Lisbon to see some sport/park area but it was pouring rain when I got there and then all of a sudden, it appeared out of no where, this huge shopping mall called the Vasco de Gama shopping center! It was huge and ended up being a great place to kill time while I waited for the rain to stop. The rain didn’t really stop though, after I finished shopping I took the metro back to the center and ended up having to walk back to my hostel in the rain, I was glad that I had my broken umbrella with me, even though it was broken, it did suffice. After I had finally made it back I was soaked so I changed into some different clothes and then had dinner there at the hostel. It was really good too! I was pretty tired so I decided just to hang around there for the rest of the night, pretty soon, Goncalo had called the hostel and said that he was on his way, someone came and gave me the message and then about an hour later he showed up to see how my trip was going to so far. He had been in Prague with his family for his mother’s birthday and was just returning to Lisbon. I had told him all about my adventures and then we picked a time to meet tomorrow so that he could show me around. All of the people who were staying in my room the previous night had already left and I was the only one in there, needless to say, it was very quiet!
3rd Day – I recall waking up pretty excited about the day for my own reasons. Goncalo picked me up at a main square around noon. He had his sister with him so I got to met her, she’s is absolutely gorgeous, and we headed to a kennel to pick up their dog and then went back to his house where I met his mother, she was very nice. I got to see their house which was really nice, they had an amazing kitchen! After meeting his family, his dad was at work, we headed out for the day and our first stop was Cascais, which is where the beach is, we parked the car and went down to walk along the shore, the waves were huge!! This could have been because there was a storm but Goncalo tells me that there is great surfing where he lives and that the waves are always big, I also got to see his surfboard which was pretty neat since I’ve never seen a real one up close. After walking around for a while we got back into the car and headed down the coast toward Lisbon, we made another stop to check out the beach and spent some time there before heading to Belem, Goncalo didn’t know that I had been there the day before but, he soon discovered! We went to the place where I got the amazing pastries the day before and got lots of them along with some other pastries and sorts. When I say these pastries are to die for, I’m serious. They are so good, so we woofed those down and just walked around, he showed me this cultural center where he used to work and we also sat by the fountain for a while, after that we headed down into the center of Lisbon, on the way we stopped to buy a bottle of Port wine that I could take back with me, after that he took me to eat at a traditional Portuguese restaurant. We had wine and he helped me order. The meal started with breads and some unique dips, all of which were good, my main course was bacalla, basically cod fish, it was amazing though! For dessert I had some moscatel and a cooked apple that was probably the best thing I have ever had next to the pastries in Belem! Haha I was definitely a little tipsy afterwards! After dinner we walked around a bit and tried some more desserts at a bakery and just relaxed. I got back to my hostel pretty late and saying goodbye to Goncalo was bittersweet. He wasn’t going to be able to see me the next day so we had to say our goodbye that night. It was a great day though, having someone that knows the language and the hot spots in the city is definitely a plus! It’s so nice to have someone take you around and show you all the great things about their city! I would love to go back to Lisbon and also see more of Portugal. It’s a great city that has a very unique character.
Day 4 – T-minus 24 hours until departure time from Europe – I slept in. I didn’t have any plans for the day because I thought I would be hanging out with Goncalo but since he couldn’t hang out I decide to venture to Sintra to check out the castle that I have heard about. I took a train there, buying my ticket was a challenge but I managed. I didn’t have much money left at this point so I stopped and bought some snacks. When I finally arrived I learned that there was more than one castle on the mountain, I think there were maybe 3 or 4 different one’s but I went to the one that I had heard so much about, It was very colorful, the inside wasn’t nearly as impressive as the outside and I got in trouble for taking pictures. It was also pretty rainy this day so I was lethargic. The views were great though, I felt like I could see all of Portugal. It was also very foggy because we were so high up that we were in the clouds! It was interesting to see and I’m glad that I checked it out, there was also a small town a little ways down the mountain and I walked to that, checked it out, and then caught the bus back down to the train station and headed back to Lisbon. After I got back I went back to my hostel to get my stuff and then I checked my reservations online and then headed to the airport. I made it there fine and I can’t exactly remember much of my flight back to Barca, I know that it was long because there was a time change but when I touched down at the airport I was sad because all I could think about was running home and then turning around and coming straight back to this place! I know Barca’s airport like the back of my hand at this point and I feel like I’ve spent the majority of my trip there somedays!
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