oct. 14-16: lisbon, portugal

This past Friday afternoon I boarded a bus from Madrid to Lisbon, Portugal. It was a seven hour bus ride, but after the travel seminar it was all too familiar. We arrived in Lisbon and checked into our hostel around 9 pm. This was my first experience in a hostel and it was definitely an experience. I was in a room with 6 sets of bunk beds, and 11 other girls. I knew three of them, and the other eight were strangers but everyone was nice so it wasn't too weird. We changed clothes and headed out into the city to find some dinner and explore the night life. We picked a great weekend to go to Lisbon because at night the weather was around 68 degrees and about 80 degrees and sunny during the day. We walked up what felt like a million stairs to the famous Barrio Altho, which is an area of the city high up and full of bars and restaurants. There were tons of young people and everyone was just socializing in the streets and drinking and singing and just having a great night in general. We wandered around until we found a good looking restaurant. 

Walking up to Barrio Alto, I stopped to take a picture of one of the many outdoor restaurants on the way up.

My friends Alex, me, Cecily, and Kellen at the restaurant.

I ordered grilled sea bass and boiled potatoes. Portugal is famous for its seafood and it did not disappoint. It was sooo delicious. I ate the entire thing, even though I had to pick my way through all the bones. After dinner we explored a lot of the outdoor bars of in Barrio Alto and met many Portuguese people. Their English was much better than the English in Spain and they were all very friendly and eager to talk to us. 

Waiting for our friends outside our hostel in one of the main plazas. 

The next day we left our hotel and toured the city. The architecture of Lisbon is beautiful, and it kind of reminded me of USD in a way. The streets were more narrow than in Madrid, but still all stone. The air in Lisbon was much fresher and cool, because it is located on the water. It was really nice to be near the ocean again after being landlocked for the longest time since living in Texas!

We went up a million stairs again to the Castelo de Sao Jorge which was a huge castle overlooking the city. It was exactly what you picture a castle to be, with lots of towers and canons everywhere. 

Queen of the castle!

The views from the towers were beautiful.

After the castle we walked back down to the city and walked out to the port, where there were lots of outdoor vendors and you could see the water and it was beautiful.

That afternoon, we went to the prettiest beach in Portugal, about 20 minutes outside the city, called Cascais beach. The sand was warm and the water was freezing so I only went up to my knees. There were lots of people surfing and laying out and playing soccer. It was so nice to be on a beach, which is what I miss most about San Diego. 

Happy feet! My toes missed the sand.

We stayed until sunset and watched the beautiful colors over the water.

The next morning we went to an area called Barrio de Belem that had three very important historical sites: Torre de Belem, El Monumento de los Descubiertos, and El Monasterio de Lisboa.

Below are my friends Audrey, Alex, and I in the garden in front of the monastery. Of course I have a Starbucks coffee in my hand.

The Monument of the Discoveries: a monument dedicated to the conquistadors overlooking the harbor.

The view from the top of the monument. It was pretty foggy because we went in the morning but it was beautiful. It was really windy that day so a lot of people were out sailing. In the distance on the right you can see a huge statue of Jesus Christ, replicated after the one in Brazil. The bridge is a replica of the Golden Gate bridge... I guess Lisbon does a lot of replicas.

The monastery

El Torre de Belem

This is a picture I took as we left the city across the wanna-be Golden Gate Bridge on our bus ride home. 

We were only in Lisbon for two days and two nights, but the city impacted me in a big way. It was so beautiful and relaxed. The atmosphere was different than that of Madrid. It felt more like home, maybe because it's a city on the water, but I just felt very comfortable and welcomed there. I am so happy I chose to go on this trip. It was my first without any of my roommates and it made me rely on myself much more and gave me more time to think and reflect on all the beautiful and amazing things I saw there. 

I miss everyone from home! Love you all.

Next up: Marrakech, Morocco