Portugal

May 19, 2008

After a 10 hour flight we have now arrived in Portugal. It was pretty cool as it was Henry's first time being in Europe, He thought about this as he walked down the stairs from the airplane and set foot on European soil. The first thoughts of Portugal are very positive, The city of Lisbon is very clean and beautiful with so many street side cafes, old Eurpoean architecture,and even a castle on the mountain top. We have also never seen so many Mercedes Benz, a lot of the taxi cabs are Mercedes as well. We did not do to much today as we are very tired from the flight and the time difference will take some getting used to. We are currently writing this at 4:30am (8:30pm back home). We were both really excited as we saw our first Subway restaurant in the three months. We sat down and enjoyed our small taste of home for twenty Euro ( $30 dollars...ouch ) in a Portugal square. Hopefully we can find a nice Hostel as our current hotel does not have any ammeneties that we need but, for now, it does the job. It's funny how our first question to the hotel staff is "Is the water safe to drink" and for the first time the answer is "Yes"

May 20 - 21, 2008

We have now started adjusting from the jet lag and the time difference and we have the energy and desire to walk around Lisbon. We began our trip with a quick tour of a nearby castle that can be seen from almost every part of the city as it is situated up high on a hill. The castle was really interesting with all its history, views of the city and sea, and the way it was built. Who would have ever thought we would be walking around in a castle built approximately 600 years ago.


May 22 - 23, 2008

Lisbon so far has shown to be rich with and culture and long time traditions. The people here have all been very friendly and helpful. One day we got lost and an old man with a cane who did not even speak a word of english and could barely walk himself guided us to our hostel. Even when we looked really lost, people would whislte at us from a distance and point to the direction we needed to head. We were so appreciative and thankful of these warm gestures. We checked out a small part of Lisbon called Belem. It has has a watch tower (Torre de Belem) built in the water which was used to protect Lisbon shores from any Invaders. The watch tower itself was built between 1514 and 1520 and still looks and feels strong.
Another memorable sight was the Kings palace. It is hard to describe in words the beauty and feeling that you get when you glance upon something so dominating with its creative stoneworks, imposing towers, and sheer size. It had its own church with massive columns and its inside done in pink marble, It even had the tomb of a King, a famous poet, and other very important figures. The cool part of the tombs were the life like statues of these important people lying peacefully on top of their tombs.
Still, one of the most interesting things we saw were the schools of fish along the shores of the seawall. They would float near the surface vertically, with their mouths gaping wide open and pertruding from the water as if though they were gasping for air. It was pretty funny to see fifteen to thirty little mouths sticking out from the water.
After almost seven of sightseeing we headed back to the hostel for some relaxation and also to plan our next trip to a town called Evora.


May 24, 2007

Upon arriving to the town of Evora we were really surprised to see that the entire town is enclosed by old castle like walls. The town itself is really fascinating and has an old gothic style that could be seen in many of the buildings. We had initially come here just to see the Church of Bones but have realized that there is alot more to explore in this town. The entire day was spent wandering around the city and getting lost in the maze like streets. The town was packed due to the University students graduating this weekend and also due to the thousands of toursits that come to see the history of this small town. Throughout history the museum like city has had different rulers from Romans, Muslims to Christians all giving this town its rich heritage and unique style. Even after many battles, Evora remains a perfect example of a city that thrived during the golden age of Portugal. So much can be seen here that it was also been declared a world heritage site.



May 25 - 26, 2007

We have have now arrived to our third destination in Portugal called Villamoura. Walking through this small town made us a little nervous as it looked really expensive. Every hotel is five star and not a hostel in sight, actually, not even a backpacker in sight as well. We talked to a lady at a car rental shop and she told us that we would not find anything close to a hostel here. It was unfortunate but we decided to check out the next town that was only a ten minute walk away. The good part is that it is situated along the beach and it looks to be more livelier and not so touristy. Villamoura is great for all inclusive vacationers that have money to spend for a couple of weeks. We are not on that boat this time. We found a three star hotel for about thirty five euro a night and its pretty nice. TV, our own bathroom, a patio, and a ten second walk to the beach makes this our new home for the next three days. We walked along the seawall checking out the local shops and restaurants and even strolled the sandy beaches for a few hours. It is a nice, quiet and very friendly town with so many beautiful points. This town is definately a beach town and it is just packed during the summer, even though the ocean water is really cold, the warm sand and weather makes up for it.


May 27, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHRISTIANNA!!

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