This past weekend I went to Lisbon, Portugal. It was so amazing I don't even know where to begin. We arrived in Portugal at 8:00 friday morning after "sleeping" in the Madrid airport the night before. The metro's(subway system) closes from 1-6am and taxis are ridiculously expensive so for early flights sleeping in the airport is the best option. When we got to Portugal it was warm and gorgeous! This was going to be the first time we had stayed at a hostel so I was a little nervous but it turned out to be awesome. The Yes! Lisbon Hostel(yeah, that is actually what it is called) was nicer than a lot of hotels and only 15 euros a night. They provided linens, towels, internet, free breakfast, and the atmosphere was great! Everyone there was SO friendly, and they put us in the best room in the hostel(according to them). It was a huge room with really comfortable beds a balcony and room to hang out. 
After settling in there we headed off to the second biggest aquarium in the world! It was Amazing to see. In the middle of the aquarium was a HUGE glass tank filled with all kind of animals that was so big you could see it from every part of the aquarium. My favorite were the otters, there were three of them and they were all sleeping...too cute! After the aquarium we discovered a small marina area that was offering free motorboat, sailboat, and kayak rides so we headed over there! The weather was perfect and it was really fun to go out in the boats. After that we got some lunch and gelato and quickly realized how cheap everything in Portugal was, it was a great change from Paris last week where everything is so expensive. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful but fun. We walked around the area of our hostel and saw some really beautiful buildings. We got some dinner and afterwards decided to get more gelato(the gelato in Portugal is amazing). We had a tour planned for the next day that promised to take us to "the best gelato in Portugal" as we were eating our gelato that night we decided it HAD to be the same place because it was so good, turns out it was! Afterwards we headed to bed so we could get up early for our free breakfast and tour!
The "We Hate Tourism Tours" had been suggested to us by a girl in our sorority who was in Portugal last fall, and I am so glad we took her advice. It was one of the best days of my life. Everything was absolutely gorgeous! We began by going to Sentra, a large area with castles and an amazing park that had gardens, caves, towers, etc. It was absolutely beautiful and I was sure that this would be the best part of the trip, but I was wrong. Before heading to what would soon be my new favorite place we stopped at a small road side stand to get some lunch, that was included in the tour. We watched our delicious lunch of chorizo inside bread be made, starting with the dough and then cooked inside a large oven. While we were waiting our awesome guide Ricardo brought us some wine and the most delicious cheese I've ever had. Afterwards we took our lunches and headed off to the farthest western point of Europe. Because it is so far west people used to believe that this point was the end of the world. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. All nine of us(who are usually super loud and talkative) sat in near silence on the stone wall overlooking the water as we ate our lunches. It was so gorgeous that it was breathtaking and is impossible to describe. After taking in the scenery we went to a beach where we got to play around in the sand. Even though it is February it was 60-65 degrees and sunny, we could not have planned for better weather! We enjoyed several more beautiful views throughout the day. It was by far the best tour I have ever been on and one of the best days of my life. None of us could stop talking about how much we loved everything. That night we decided to eat dinner at the hostel, for 8 euro you got bread, soup, huge helpings of chicken, rice, and salad, homemade chocolate cake and passion fruit mousse as well as three drinks, quite the bargain and the food was delicious!
The "We Hate Tourism Tours" had been suggested to us by a girl in our sorority who was in Portugal last fall, and I am so glad we took her advice. It was one of the best days of my life. Everything was absolutely gorgeous! We began by going to Sentra, a large area with castles and an amazing park that had gardens, caves, towers, etc. It was absolutely beautiful and I was sure that this would be the best part of the trip, but I was wrong. Before heading to what would soon be my new favorite place we stopped at a small road side stand to get some lunch, that was included in the tour. We watched our delicious lunch of chorizo inside bread be made, starting with the dough and then cooked inside a large oven. While we were waiting our awesome guide Ricardo brought us some wine and the most delicious cheese I've ever had. Afterwards we took our lunches and headed off to the farthest western point of Europe. Because it is so far west people used to believe that this point was the end of the world. It was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. All nine of us(who are usually super loud and talkative) sat in near silence on the stone wall overlooking the water as we ate our lunches. It was so gorgeous that it was breathtaking and is impossible to describe. After taking in the scenery we went to a beach where we got to play around in the sand. Even though it is February it was 60-65 degrees and sunny, we could not have planned for better weather! We enjoyed several more beautiful views throughout the day. It was by far the best tour I have ever been on and one of the best days of my life. None of us could stop talking about how much we loved everything. That night we decided to eat dinner at the hostel, for 8 euro you got bread, soup, huge helpings of chicken, rice, and salad, homemade chocolate cake and passion fruit mousse as well as three drinks, quite the bargain and the food was delicious! Everything in Portugal was absolutely amazing and I would go back tomorrow if I could(but it turns out I'm actually here to go to school). Family vacation soon Mom and Dad? I cannot imagine a more beautiful place with friendlier people than what I found in Portugal, the entire experience was absolutely amazing! My next trip is camel riding through Morocco, which I cannot wait for!
One of the many gorgeous views of Lisbon!
Sentra Castle!
Pretty Beach!
My new favorite view in the world.
Absolutely gorgeous!
This is where people used to believe the world ended!
DG's on the beach!!!
What sounds like another GREAT weekend for you and your buddies, produces some wonderful photography and another fabulous blog!
ReplyDeleteI am thrilled that you are having so much fun and experiencing such different places while on your semester abroad! Sounds like a great family VACA to me too Hay!
Love you Hay, take good care,
Dad
Sounds like the coolest aquarium ever!!! I need to go there just for that!
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ReplyDeleteThose Portugal pics were unreal. LOVE it, sounds amazing. keep posting, love it! I loved "The creep" by the ocean! HILAAAAAAARIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!
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