In three nouns, that is what Lisboa is composed of: bakeries, bookstores, and views. Such beautiful views! Well, maybe it should be architecture, but there are great, hilly views of lovely architecture. I took a boatload of pictures, so I guess these are what I consider to be the best of the best. Anyways, here goes my thorough travelogue...
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| Initiatic Well, Quinta da Regaleira |
Alison, Gianna, and I left on the Thursday night train to Lisboa. The guy directly behind us fell asleep early on. Good for him, bad for us because he snored and remained asleep almost the entirety of the journey. Bah! It wasn't so easy to get comfortable, but we all go sufficient sleep to be able to consciously get off on the right stop. We were able to maneuver the Lisbon metro system enough to get to the hostel, even though the kiosques are in Portuguese. Bam!
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| Indiana Jones would appreciate this grotto in Sintra |
We stayed at the Lisbon Poet's Hostel. Appropriate, no creís? It was such a nice hostel, it will probably be the best I ever stay in. It was all of our first time staying in a hostel, and we definitely got spoiled. We were in a room of 4, and oddly enough they paired us with an American for all of our stay. We had dinner at the hostel for only 8 euros the first night, which was not only a good deal, but it allowed us to make friends with our fellow travellers. Hooray! There were 2 cousins (an Aussie and a Brit) who just happened to be staying the same days we were. Plus our American roommate and a Norwegian fellow. The first night we all went out on the town, getting to hear some great live music. The first place had a guitarist/singer and drummer in the corner, and not much standing room aside from that. The second place had a live jazz band with a really animated singer, which we all danced to. They played old songs like "You Never Can Tell" by Chuck Berry. Now that's class!
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| Beginning our Sintra adventure |
Saturday was spent in a day trip to Sintra. Maybe that was my favorite part. It was a small town about 30 mins by train from downtown Lisboa, noteworthy for its Palacio and Castelo dos Mouros. First we went to the Quinta da Regaleira (my choice and certainly my fav part). It contained the former summer house (and by house I mean mansion) of the Carvalho Monteiro family. Clearly, people with style. We didn't even bother with the house, because the grounds were most interesting. I seriously wish it were my yard. You could wander in it for hours. Most notably was the terrace of the gods, which had statues of Greek gods all lined up. Especially relevant since I'm taking a Mythology class hey hey! There was also a labyrinth grotto which Gianna and I dared to enter. Not going to lie, I got kind of scared at times because it was so dark and we only had our measly cell phones to light the way. Not to mention there was an actual underground tunnel that led to the Initiatic Well, which basically let you feel like you were in a well, without the water. The gardens also had a tower with a nice view of Sintra. It was a mythic place. After lunch of the menú del día (not much different from Spanish travels) we went to the Castelo dos Mouros (Moorish Castle). We intended to walk to it before realizing it was at the top of a fairly steep hill. Gotta love buses! The views at the very top of the castle were tremendous. Joee! It was really difficult to ascend them though because after so many centuries, rock stairs tend to get out of place. Definitely worth the hassle though. Unfortunately the Palacio was closed when we arrived, but para mí, we definitely saw enough wonders to make it worth the trainride.
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| Terrace of the gods, Quinta da Regaleira |
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| Explorer pose, Castelo dos Mouros |
Dinner that night was at a Brazilian steakhouse, so skip ahead if you're a vegetarian jaja. I've never eaten at a Brazilian restaurant, and it was a sweet experience I hope to repeat. First, I said "tresh", so the waiter assumed we spoke Portuguese, and started talking and pointing. We understood enough to sit at the right table. The deal is first you go to a salad bar/buffet, and then the waiters come around with sticks of meat and cut you off a fresh slice. So you get to have various types of meat in one meal...steak, pork, some other beef, sausage, etc. And the seasoning was super-rico! Plus it cost us 10 euros. Qué locura!
Sunday we went to the Oceanario. It was pretty cool, all of the oceans were represented. Bueno, it wasn't my favorite part, but it wasn't too painful. :P Although, the restaurant there had really satisfying donuts (Spain is lacking in quality donuts btw). And we did get to see them feed the otters! So precious! After the Oceanario we went to the Parque das Naçãos, Park of Nations, which had the flag of every country. From this park is also a splendid view of the Puente de Vasco de Gama-- longest bridge in Europe. It is ridiculously long. 17,2 km...I don't even know the equivalent but just looking at it you could tell it was tremendous.
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| View from Castelo dos Mouros |
Um, well I think I went a bit crazy with the pics and details, so I will finish recapping Lisboeta adventures after dinner. :)
