http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Portugal , Lisbon and Tagus Valley en-us Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:39:22 BST Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:39:22 BST Hi everyoneWe made it to Portugal It was a very long flight and I didnt get as much sleep as I wanted to but that is ok I had a power nap. Lisbon is a very crowded big city. There are a lot of different districts to see some a little better then others We arrived at our hotel too early to check in so we went right out and started seeing things. We went down to the Tagus river and walked aroun http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-303299.html the last afternoon we updated we wentout with a group from the hostel which was a hilarious night but a lot of drinking was done. dodds was a ladies man half the time chatrting up 2 aussie chickies. we found a bar with 1 euro beers which the boys thought was amazing.. it was pretty good. we were there awhile. we wandered the streets home all pretty gone and got back to the hostel to eat some http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-302779.html We NEARLY missed the bus to lisbon but luckily we made it making a quick stop at the loo before we left. sitting on the bus the mad came up and said we had tickets from lisbon to madrid.. but after looking at our probably white faces he let us on.. ha. we booked a little less known bus than most of the other ppl we met but it was a pretty awesome bus we got it half price to them too there http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-300080.html Our side trip to Portugal which was unplanned until we got into Barcelona turned out to be a really great time. We found out about a music festival in Lisbon on the 10th11th and 12th. Optimus Alive 08 with main attractions Rage Against the Machine Bob Dylan Neil Young and Ben Harper Amoung many others. I know those of you reading this who happen to be huge fans of RATM have to feel a littl http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/blog-299147.html How do you know when you're in the right place That it's ment to be I know by dejavus. And I have a lot of those here. Again. But first let's start with the journey.Thursday I think was the most boring travelday one can experience. Usually you'd meet people on the train start a conversation just for the sake of talking perhaps even someone interesting. Nope not me naah I took the 6h http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-298887.html We got into Lisbon just after day break and pulled up at a giant transport interchange building. I followed a fellow passenger in the direction of the main building. He seemed to have the same idea as me and went straight for the toilets. Unfortunately they were closed. Wouldnrsquot want the general public using them now would we. Had to search the entire expanse of the great featureless buildin http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-296444.html We departed Heathrow airport early Saturday morning bound for Lisbon. At around 11am we arrived and jumped into a cab to our hotel not bad at 10euros for the trip. I think the cab driver thought he was a racing car driver as we fanged our way through the streets holding on for dear life.After checking in we hopped on the metro and headed to the main downtown part of Lisbon the area referred t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-290342.html Following our disasters in Madrid Jay and I fled to Salamanca Thursday to get the earliest train to Lisbon. We thought an overnight train from Madrid would cost more so we took the free ride to Salamanca stayed in the train station after having the great fortune of replacing Pacman the Sacman and grabbed a 5 am train to Lisboa.The train was one of the shadiest shitboxes I have ever seen i http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-290023.html A new country but we're up to the same tricks. We didn't book a shore excursion so we decided to try it on our own again. After our ordeal in Casablanca you would have thought we had learned our lesson. NOT This time we were somewhat more fortunate. Linda G negotiated us a limo with an English speaking driver. His name was Coladalike in Pina Colada and he had good command of the English langu http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-288455.html As que Tavo manej durante cerca de 6 hors con rumbo suroeste hasta que llegamos a una estacin de gasolina en las afueras de Madrid. All hicimos el cambio de conductor y tom el volante del Micra. Eran cerca de las 9 de la maana. As tom rumbo a la capital de Portugal donde realmente esperbamos que fuera un buen juego el de los suecos vs. los blgaros. De hecho no creoque nadie haya via http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-283721.html C'est confortablement assise dans une vraie villa dans les Vosges en France que je vous cris Et oui notre dcouverte du Portugal termine nous sommes retourns sur Paris afin de terminer nos derniers prparatifs pour notre priple vers l'Est Pascal est courageusement rest sur Paris pour affronter la bureaucratie chinoise pour faire faire nos visa ... BONNE NOUVELLE NOUS AVONS NOS VISAS et http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-282935.html Lisbon Arrived here right on time at Noon on Thursday May 22. Since we were not going to disembark until the next morning we opted to take one last excursion and were glad we did because the weather which had been perfect for the entire trip turned cold and rainy. The first stop was Queluz the Summer Palace for Queen Mary I. It was a nice tour but nothing exceptional and typical of the pala http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-280426.html May 19 2008After 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 architectureand even http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-278359.html I am on holiday with Laura again This time we are in Lisbon in Portugal. We have spent the time wandering about and seeing the sights. It is very hilly here compared to Cambridge which means Laura has been eating lots of custard tarts to keep her strength upOne day we went to Sintra which is a town about 40 minutes away. It was very pretty and had a very nice castle on the hill. The castle was http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-271823.html We are in Lisbon It is very nice but very hilly so we are exhausted We never thought we would appreciate the flatness of East Anglia. Due to the hilliness of Lisbon and the fact that most of the streets are very narrow and windy we spend most of our time not being entirely sure where we areWe have had 2 days exploring Lisbon. the first day we went to Belm which is a district that is a 6km away http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-271606.html Went on a day trip to Sintra today. Sintra is a town about 30kms away. We got the train which was a bargain euro1.65 each way. Why aren't trains at home this cheapWe visited a really cool castle when we were here. It is Palcio da Pena which is this brightly coloured castle high above the town. The architecture was a little bizarre in places think cartoon castle but I really liked it.We also http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Sintra/blog-271605.html My friend Damir was right when he said I'd never want to leave Portugal Just got back from the long weekend and Portugal was by far my favorite trip I've taken. I saw a total of 8 cities and had an unexpectedly amazing time. Even the pictures don't do the actual scenery justiceit was that beautiful there. The city of Lisbon was so eclectic in that it had its ancient buildings on one side of town http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-271489.html Happy Birthday to Kim's little sister Lisa She is 19 today Due to our late night we slept in a little 830 instead of 630. This visit to Lisbon Portugal is longer than when we went to Ponta Delgada so we had some time to spare. When we got off the ship we went thought the customs building and got some maps to try to find our way out to the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos. We walked past the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-270841.html Tuesday 5 February 2008Over the rolling hills of Portugal we drove around the southern coastline past the popular seaside town of Faro and up the western coastline towards Lisbon. We stopped at a service station along the way for the driverrsquos rest break. We werenrsquot excited by buying dinner from a diner with such a name photo.It was quite late when we arrived in Lisbon so we caught http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-270746.html Went to Sintra yesterday. A 35 Mins train journey from the Rossio station took me to the Sintra station. From the Sintra station we took a 2 way hop ticket for the bus 434 which took us to the Pena park and palace. The palace is on a hill and park around the palace. After visiting the palace we had long walk inside the park. The map given at the entrance was helpful. You just need to follow the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Sintra/blog-270499.html The meeting was at 08.30 in the cafeteria for breakfast.We could choose among many types of foods milk chocolate fruit juice cereal joghurt jam cheese ham or Portuguese cold meathellipAbout at 09.30 we went on a first tour of Lisbona .we took the underground and after three stops we got off at AzhulhellipThe beautiful voice of an African lady received us in the underground it was a http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-269198.html Now that was a trip and a halfThe Lithgae Boys travelled Easyjet from Edinburgh to Lisbon Via an overnight stay in Luton while the Aberdeen Boys went Air France via Paris to Lisbon.We all met up at the Hotel in the early afternoon but only after the Lithgae Boys went down the coast a bit to pick up the match tickets from a Portuguese contact we sourced through Mike.We got showered and changed and http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-265666.html Day 12 and here we are at the Portugal capital Lisbon We arrived here on a high speed train travelling at a whopping 221kmhr Our funky hostel was located right into the centre of town over looking the Rossio Plaza I think our corner room had the best view in the whole hostelOur first stop was climbing up the tallest hill in Lisbon to the Castle of S257o Jorge. We had a look around the o http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-263131.html March 26th 2008.Hi Friends and FamilyrsquoSorry that I havenrsquot updated this blog since but being at home is not like being on holiday Things to do people to see places to go. I mean Berlin IS a funky town baby. Anyway here we gohellip..Some of you already know that I like history and museums so today was going to be a cultural day. First to the most important place of all Cast http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-262916.html Me and Rocio are in Montijo which is a town across the bay from Lisbon. We are staying with a nice lady I contacted through the organic farm program to help her work on her home are garden. So far we have been putting cement on and painting the walls of an outdoor bathroom right now there is no toilet weve been using buckets and composting the waste and cutting up the extra tree limbs in the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-262607.html