Me Encanta Portugal

This past weekend, three friends and I headed to Lisbon, Portugal. It was a wonderful, relaxing trip. The weather in Portugal was perfect, and we got to see all of the main sights, without feeling too rushed or touristy.

After camping out at the airport to catch our 6 am flight, we arrived in Portugal already somewhat weary. However, upon checking into our hostel, we got a bit more excited for the trip. Rossio Hostel is by far the best hostel I've ever stayed in, with great staff, fun group events planned for the evening, delicious eggs and crepes for breakfast, an awesome atmosphere, and free coffee and tea always fresh and waiting. We took advantage of that last one before setting out to sight-see.

Lisbon is a great city to visit, because it has a very friendly atmosphere and seems far less filled with tourist traps than many places in Europe. It's slightly more off-the-beaten path, but I thought this added to its charm, rather than making it seem run down. On top of this, nearly everyone spoke either English or Spanish in addition to their Portuguese (English surprisingly being the more common choice), so we were very capable of finding out way around. Once again, being in a non-Spanish speaking country made me realize how much I've grown accustomed to using Spanish in everyday life, which is kind of a nice feeling.

Our first stop was Belem, a neighborhood on the outskirts of Madrid, where we checked off several tourist attractions. Some of these included the architecturally beautiful Jeronimos Monastery, some nice gardens, and Lisbon's most famous pastry store, where we decided we loved pasteles de nata, a distinctive Portuguese dessert. Most Portuguese people seem to live up to their national reputation of having quite a sweet tooth. We skipped a couple of the museums, simple because we were tired and didn't feel like long tours. Instead we walked out to Belem Tower, a fortress built during Portugal's age of exploration. It has been used both as a political prison and a structure for the defense of the port, but it served us, for the most part, as a place to take some beautiful (and fun) pictures. We also got to stick our hands in the other side of the Atlantic here. We then grabbed some delicious pitas for lunch and went to the Museum of Coaches, which was full of some beautiful carriages from throughout European history.

We headed back to downtown Lisbon for a bit of exploring and then some time to rest up in our hostel, since I was still going on no sleep from the night before. That evening, we splurged on a seafood dinner at an amazing local restaurant. A small, atmospheric, family-owned place, it had delicious food and an incredibly friendly owner. He insisted on showing us numerous pictures of famous singers, and we discovered that he had once been the President of Portugal's National Fado Association. "Fado" is to Portugal what Flamenco is to Spain. It's the nation's famous traditional style of music, and although it doesn't include dancing like the flamenco does, the guitar playing and singing involved are astounding. Five Fado singers took a turn at the restaurant that night, giving us an amazing show to complement our dinner. We ended up staying at the restaurant for over five hours, sitting in the candlelight and enjoying great wine, Portuguese seafood, and the powerful voices of the singers. The talent and passion was fantastic. I also really enjoyed the way everyone in the little restaurant would join in the singing from time to time. The songs, from what Portuguese I could understand, were focused on the singers' love of Lisbon, Portugal, and those in their lives. It was beautiful.

The next day began with a hike up Lisbon's tallest hill to Saint George's castle, which is very well preserved from the 11th or 12th century. It also had great views. After an unsuccessful search for Portugal's famous tile factory, we did some souvenir shopping. Then we got some pastries, fruit, bread, and cheese, and picnicked in Plaza de Pedro IV. The rest of the day was spent exploring Barrio Alto, the upper neighborhood, shopping, and grabbing some dinner. In the evening we talked with people from our hostel and chatted over coffee.

Sunday we headed back to Madrid, definitely a bit sunburned, but relaxed from a beautiful weekend. I definitely loved Portugal, a perfect spot for a weekend trip. Tomorrow I head to Andalucia for the rest of the week on a trip arranged for us by the Fundacion, which should be spectacular as well. Can't wait!

Hasta luego!