Wow, what can I say about the last two weeks besides it was wonderful? A lot, actually. Since I do have so much I want to share with you all I'm going to give each city I visited its own blog post so stay tuned in if you want to read about my adventures and advice about backpacking Europe. I am also adding a new section to my blog which will include recommendations on what to see, where to stay, and what to eat in each city visit based on my own personal opinion.
My trip started in Lisbon, Portugal (to be honest it technically started with a 10 hour flight followed by a 9 hour train ride, but I'll just leave that out). I really had no expectations or ideas about Lisbon or Portugal in general, the only thing i knew for sure was that it would be better than the inside of a transit system. I arrived to Lisbon at 8:00am with a backpack larger than myself and a crashing immune system (because I had not slept in 48 hours). We stayed at a hostel that did not allow check-in until 2pm. So, for several hours our tired bodies walked around a small part of Lisbon until we were allowed into our room. We slept for the rest of the day, but woke up shortly after mid-night for a McDonald's run (typical Americans... I know). The following day we woke up bright-eyed and headed out for a day of sight-seeing. Our hostel was a decent distance from the city center so had to walk pretty far to get to the hub of Lisbon, Rossio Square (we reached our step goal everyday). Our first official day was spent absorbing the charm of Lisbon and exploring the streets. We walked along the coastline and admired the Portuguese version of our Golden Gate Bridge. Later that day we went to a beer museum, located right on the coast, and learned all about the different brews from Lisbon- this was very interesting & i highly recommend doing this if you ever find yourself in Lisbon.
The next day we got a late start but did the same thing as the day before, passed time window shopping the luxurious stores we only dreamed of affording, ate a gourmet lunch at Pizza Hut, and made a friend from Brazil. He was so kind to show us around Lisbon and made us feel like locals because he had been there much longer than we had. Sam, if you're reading this- Thank you for everything! That night he took us to a small restaurant where we tried traditional Brazilian food & Sam attempted to teach us some Portuguese (by the way Portuguese is such a beautiful language, if i ever get Spanish down then learning Portuguese will be my next adventure). I'll give you all a quick lesson on the little Portuguese i learned:
- abrigada- thank you (abrigadO- if you are a boy)
- Bom día- good day
- faz favor- please
The next adventure we embarked on was visiting the small town of Sintra. We had heard and read great things about this place, but words did not do it justice and I don't expect mine to do it justice either. WOW. Sintra was incredible. Just a short train ride away from Lisbon, this ancient town hides several castles in its rolling hills. Sintra is the perfect mix of old and new. It offers a beautiful natural landscape which is great for pictures and has an incredibly rich history. Maddie and I had so much fun exploring this town we even went back the next day to visit the Moorish castle that was perched upon the highest point in Sintra.
We passed our last night in Lisbon visiting a lounge that was suggested to us, The Chinese Pavilion, which housed odd memorabilia and WW2 figurines. This place is perfect for someone who adores history and weird nick-knacks. As our last night came to a close, both Maddie and I couldn't have imagined a better first destination for our journey abroad. I highly recommend Portugal for anyone who wants an affordability and cultural authenticity.
Portugal, you get a 10/10 from me.