Getting to Lisbon

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Literally spent the entire day traveling, starting off in Keswick, and right now sitting in downtown Lisbon. That entailed nearly every form of travel, from a bus from Keswick to Penrith Rail Station, then the train to Manchester Airport, a 2 and a half hour plane ride South to Portugal, and finally another bus into the city. Really wasn't intense, though, just boring. A lot of sitting around waiting for things.

And honestly, I'm glad to be out of England. The best word I've decided for the English is "quirky," or even just downright weird. They hike with ski poles and drive on the wrong side of the road. And anyway, England, while it has nice sights, just doesn't feel any different from the States. It's not at all exotic, and, at times, kind of boring because it's too easy and familiar. Part of the fun of travel, if not the entire fun, is being thrown into a strange, new, freakish environment, and seeing odd things. Why else leave home, right?

I feel like Portugal and Spain are a nice change then - at least they speak a different language, and don't always end sentences with either quite right or jolly good. And it's back to the euro! The exchange rate on the pound was brutal. Tomorrow I take a quick trip to Sintra, a town filled with palaces, before finally really exploring Lisbon in the evening.

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Photos

Lisbon at Night
On my way to the hotel. Looks pretty.

Lisbon Ball
I'm not sure what this is for, but I think to keep cars from parking in certain spots.

A Room With a View
Have the upper floor room. The bridge in the distance spans the Tagus River.

The Return of the Mysterious Douche!
I haven't seen one of these since Germany a couple of years ago. Americans are also confused by this. I've heard of people peeing in it, washing their feet, some clothes, and really every imaginable body part. Some poor people have even mistaken it for a toilet. A true European thing - that little spout has many uses!!