Lisboa and the rain...

I’m sorry that it’s taken me so long to write an update on my life over here in Europe. I talked to mom and she told me how a few of you were worried. I’ve been on the go quite a bit lately between Lisbon and Barcelona plus studying for midterms (yes I am still studying even though I’m such a globe trotter). But Here is a little description on my time in Lisbon two weeks ago.

Friday February 22nd, we left bright and early for a 6 and a half hour bus ride to the beautiful Portugal capitol of Lisbon. The bus ride wasn't too bad because I slept most of the way, and therefore missed the border crossing, but that's alright because borders in Europe now are like traveling through the US, so I didn't miss very much.

We got to the hotel Fenix around 2 in the afternoon allowing us some free time to roam the city and grab some lunch. It’s absolutely beautiful and we got a chance to see some of the architecture before the rain set in. That Friday we didn’t really have much time with the group and right after dinner, I went straight to bed because I was exhausted from the traveling of the previous weekend and classes. Everyone else went out though and scooped out the nightlife for me for that Saturday =].

The next morning we woke up bright and early and had a delicious breakfast ( I had the best cup of coffee I've ever had there). And then we set out into the dreary day to do some sightseeing of all the historical aspects of Lisboa. Our first stop was the long walk up to the most beautiful viewpoint of the city. The bridge in the distance looks just like the Golden Gate and there's also a gigantic statue of Jesus looking over the bridge to protect all those who travel in and out of Lisbon. We got a great view of the port and all of the other places that we would be going to visit later that day.

Our next stop was the Jerónimos Monastery and Cloisters. This building was absolutely beautiful! The architecture and decoration was amazing. If you check out my picture webpage here http://picasaweb.google.com/caitlin5487 After monastery and the cloisters we headed out into the blustery weather outside to go to the tower of Belém . It's this really cool tower that was built both as a gateway to Lisbon and as part of a defense system of the entrance of the Tagus river and the Jerónimos Monastery.

After we experienced the city, a few of us decided that we were going to head to the little city of Sintra on the coast. It's this beautiful little scenic town that's about an hour outside of the city. We took a bus tour of the village, and the bus driver was INSANE! He was probably going about 50 to 60 miles per hour on these tiny little windy streets and hills. We all thought that we were either going to die or have the ride of our lives. Fortunately I'm still here, so it was definitely a great ride.

Even though the weather was still horrendous and by this time, we decided to take the 30 minute bus ride to Cabo de Roca which is the farthest point West of Europe. It was pitch black the whole ride there but we got to the edge of the world just as the sun was setting and came from underneath the clouds. It was gorgeous!

Later that night a bunch of us tried out the traditional Portuguese cuisine. It was quite an experience trying to figure out what we were eating when none of us really spoke any Portuguese. We all ended up with something completely different than what we thought, and it was delicious! And after dinner a bunch of us headed down to the docks for some dancing.

The next morning we headed back to Sevilla on another long bus ride. But Lisbon was a lot of fun. Not my favorite city, but it definitely made me want to head back there some day. Even though the weather was pretty ugly for a majority of the time that we were there, Portugal is a beautiful country, and I'm glad that I went.