Onwards: Luke, Lisa and I got really drunk last Wednesday night before our 9 a.m. flight on Thursday morning. Not particularly sure why we thought that was a good idea. Luke slept over, I woke the troops up at 5.30 a.m. to take the train to the airport, etc. etc.
Made it into Lisbon by 11ish and found the AMAZING hostel easily. Fleur, the Portuguese girl who seemed to be mostly in charge of the place, was beautiful and friendly and gave us maps and good directions. We dropped off our stuff and the hostel and started walking southeast towards Alfama, the oldest neighborhood in Lisbon. (It was the only area of the city to survive the earthquake, and subsequent fires, of 1755.) I really wanted to see the Castle of St. George (Castelo de São Jorge), a giant stone castle that dates back to the 6th century and which, after passing through the hands of the Romans, Visigoths and Moors, was eventually home to the first King of Portugal. But we were also really hungry and wanted to just walk around Alfama, which is known for its very narrow, confusing streets and the canaries that are always singing from balconies (we didn't see any of them).
On the way to Alfama we ended up walking down Via Augusta, which is basically Las Ramblas of Lisbon: a pedestrian street w/ lots of eateries and tacky gift shops and drug dealers.
Eventually we found a tiny eatery where we made the waitress teach us how to say 'thank you' in Portuguese and tried to get her to explain the menu a bit. The problem with Portuguese is that the Portuguese can really easily understand Spanish, but we couldn't understand their Portuguese at all. It's kind of like Catalan in that it's much easier to read than to understand aurally. (I mean, if you already know Spanish.) I had some kind of really weird sausage and an undercooked egg. Heather, Lee, Mariel and I got Super Bock, the cheap/famous/infamous Portuguese beer and Lisa and Luke split a bottle of vino tinto (that spilled all over the table when Lisa PUNCHEDD IT hahahaaha). Afterwards, we kept trying to find the castle by choosing whichever road seemed to be the most steep, since all we knew about it's location is that it was basically at the top of the city.
Eventually we stumbled on this balcony which at first I just thought was a scenic point of interest. You could see so much of the city and the water and the big bridge that spans the straight between Lisbon and the city across from it. THEN we realized the balcony was really an outdoor patio bar, with tables and couches and beds to lounge on. So, we had a few more glasses of Super Bock overlooking Lisbon and eventually snagged the prime real estate: a bed (that was admittedly very damp) across from a sofa. Beautiful. We were probably there for at least two hours.
Eventually we made it up to the castle, which has a nearly 360 degree view of the city. Breathtaking. There was a troubador singing in one of the courtyards. Luke bought his CD for 8 euro. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves here.
By the time we finished with the castle, the sun was setting and we were exhausted, so we walked back to the hostel and took a nap until dinner time. We went really big for dinner. Bread in molten brie, a white fish with buttered potatoes and broccoli, red wine and a huge slice of chocolate cake. So great. Back to the hostel and then to sleep.
The first thing we saw in Lisbon. Marcus do Pombal Circle. (Or something like that.)
Via Augusta.
Did we go to high school with this boy? He looks so familiar.
I paid a euro to pet this little puppycito. It was akward/great.
Archclock at the end of Via Augusta. The sea is behind that statue.
Pretty.
Big square next to a motorway and the sea.
Lisbon is obsessed with yellow buildings, and so am I.
Weird poopsausage/egg/fries/salad comboplate. It was decent. The poopsausage was pretty good, anyway.
Stencils.
View from the balcony. It got cloudy for awhile?
Another view from the balcony. Red roofs like Prague.
Balcony bar.
Heather, Lisa, Super Bock.
Mariel, Lee.
Luke.
Tra-la-la.
I could live my whole life on this balcony.
Luke / Your Grandmother.
Lisa / A Contortionist.
From the castle.
Balcony bar down below!
If this was a print, I would dodge Luke's face a little and this would be the BEST.
Favorites.
Wild peacock!
And his uncute ladyfriend.
Tram tracks.
Friday we had fantastic breakfast and our fantastic Black & White Lisbon Hostel. Then Fleur told us how to take the train to Sintra, a town an hour outside of Lisbon with about 85 amazing palaces. The train ride was pretty. We ended up taking a hike that lasted well over an hour and basically climbing a mountain to get to Pena Palace. It was a really great walk. Everyone was so sweaty and gross by the time we finally got to the top. Again, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Took a bus back down to the bottom of the mountain and got some traditional Portuguese cheese pastries (I didn't like them, probably because I expected them to be more like the savory one Aisling bought for me in Prague, which was GREAT) before taking the train back to Lisbon.
Back at our hostel, André made 8:30 reservations for us at a Fado place in Alfama. Fado is a Portuguese style of music/singing that is supposed to be able to make grown men cry. It's performed at restaurants. Kind of a dinner and a show thing. We decided to get a few drinks at the hostel bar / mingle with the crowd of people playing Wonderwall and Jack Johnson covers in the lounge area. Met a man named David from Liverpool who asked us if we were British. (British people are constantly asking us if we are British. I don't get it.) Guess what David does for a living? Oh, he's just a graphic designer for THE HARRY POTTER MOVIES! He's on leave for awhile because they don't need him for a few months while they start shooting the 7th movie. Before he went on leave, he was working on the Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes for the 6th movie. AHH. Great.
Anyway, we left late to get to the Fado place and since it was in Alfama, which I've already mentioned is really hard to navigate, we got horribly lost and showed up an hour late for our reservation. I had to really, really sweet talk the owner's wife into letting us stay and eat. Great meal again: olives marinated in garlic and bread with cheese to start, then fried cod with 'cocktail sauce' (it was more live brava sauce) and rice, red wine. The Fado was great. There were so many different singers. The best part was when two men would sing together and get so, so loud at the end.
Good morning.
Fleur, our hostel.
I couldn't get a picture of Fleur standing still.
Free itnernets.
On the train to Sintra.
Transfer station.
Train.
In Sintra, before we started scaling the mountain.
Beginning the long trek.
Mountain climbing.
Finally, Pena Palace.
http://inlinethumb51.webshots.com/22514/2377121620096242728S600x600Q85.jpg
You could see all the way to the sea. And we were an hour away by train! So high.
Easter egg-colored.
Ballroom. The only picture of the inside, because we weren't allowed to take pictures.
@ Fado.
Saturday we wandered aimlessly and found a great outdoor market where I bought three treasures (I don't have pictures, so you'll just have to see them later) that are stunning and weren't expensive. I also bought a jar of rosemary honey from a father-daughter vendor team that were adorable and gave Luke and I a shot of fig liquor (at 11 a.m.). We eventually found a place where we could sit by the water and I got a burn/tan while writing postcards. Wandered more and stopped at a bar for Super Bocks. Hunted for postcards. Got a really good pastry on Via Augusta. Bought a big loaf of bread from a bakery that we all shared and dipped in the rosemary honey. Went back to the hostel for a 20 minute nap and then to the airport for our flight back to Barcelona.
When we got back to Barcelona, my awful roommate Hana was having some jerk over for an awkward/lame first date at our apartment and I proceeded to be a bitch about it because she is /so/ ridiculous. Went to sleep early.
Outdoor market.
Road to the sea.
Lisa, Luke.
Sunday, Lisa and I went to the beach for a picnic of herbed cheeses, milk chocolate, and Estrellas. Went to a bar near Sagrada Familia for patatas bravas. Later that night we went to see Rodrigo (Lisa's RA) play with his 'band' (aka one other dude) at a small bar near where we live. There were 9 people there including the bartender (named Carlas, a childhood friend of Rodrigo's). It was adorable. Rodrigo is a good whistler and whistled through a lot of songs instead of singing them. It sounded really sweet. Eventually Rodrigo made Lisa and I sing American songs (Greenday, The Beatles, The Strokes) while he and his friend played guitar. HILARIOUS. We spoke in Spanish with Rodrigo's friends and got a free shot before leaving.
Great weekend.
Yesterday I went to a town on the Costa Brava (the coast north of Barcelona, really close to France) to see a cork forest with my Mediterranean Environment class, which was really cool. Pictures later.
Jeff's flight gets in in 20 minutes and I'm still in pajamas, so I'm going to get a move on.
Can't wait for Justin and Steev to come to Euroland.
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