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Published: December 10th 2006
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Demon Ghost
Can you guess what it is? I was staying in a hostel right in the centre of town and it turned out to be fantastic, though almost impossible to find as it was through an unmarked door. It had a lounge area for reading with a stereo, another lounge with TV, an internet room and a dining room and kitchen. The beds were king singles with down duvets and oh so comfortable. I met up with Randi and Matt again for dinner and were treated to some german tourists inside the restaurant choir singing which added to the ambiance. We went back to their pension and chatted for a bit but had a fairly early night.
The next morning I met breakfast lady, my new favourite person in the world, she would make your toast, bring you fresh juice and tea/coffee and cook eggs for you! The perfect way to start the day. Randi and I just wandered the city today, down to the waterfront and all the way up to the giant square. That night Martina from Montenegro who was staying at my hostel wanted to go out partying, she had flown in from london for the weekend. She wanted to go out with 13
spanish guys on a stag weekend away who were happy to have her, and dragged Randi with her so I felt obliged to go and keep an eye on proceedings. We got as far as the square and then waited for ages for them to all turn up before giving up and going back to nice warm beds.
I had another date with breakfast lady first thing then Martina, Randi and I caught a train to Sintra, a small town just outside of Lisbon. It was a very quaint small town with old buildings all on the side of a hill and castles on the top. We only made it to the Royal Gardens because it took so long to wander around, this place was also very picturesque and another highlight for me. There was just so much to it, gardens, monuments, caves, wells, trees, mini castles and a mansion all very rich and beautiful. It was actually all man made and designed by one guy. We grabbed a late lunch after me and Martina were both so hungry we nearly killed each other, and grabbed some specialty mini custard tarts that I didn't think were all that special.
Saturday night and Martina was chomping at the bit to go out, so after a recruitment drive at the hostel we headed up to the bar area. It was very cool, the streets were literally packed with people drinking outside bars and there were lots of kitschy bar everywhere. The drinks were fairly cheap and all free poured - strong. Martina was pushing for everyone to go to a club but I had enough for one night and went back for another great sleep while they went and queued in the rain for a while before giving up and coming back anyway :P
Another great breaky and Martina, Randi, Zack and I headed off to the Aquarium which was supposed to be very good. The weather was terrible but the aquarium was very cool. Two levels with a giant tank in the centre that connected to four seperate areas around the outside. They had a great environmental focus but I still feel sorry for all the fish and animals that are kept there, especially the otters. Now one of my favourite stories is about how outside of the aquarium they have a huge concrete queing area that has
been painted, and when it gets wet it gets slippery. My skate shoes are almost smooth on the bottom so with a good run up I was able to slide a good 30m+, great fun! Pretty soon I had other kids trying their luck, random people cheering and I really didn't want to leave. But with promises of a home cooked meal from Randi for us all hunger got the better of me. It was a great dinner followed by biscuits, grapes and coffee while sitting on beanbags watching 'Catch me if you can' which I hadn't seen (not bad).
I said my goodbyes because the next day I was flying back to London, I was actually feeling a bit weird about the fact that suddenly (well not so suddenly) that was it, bomb-bam, my travels were over! Randomly enough Martina was on the same flight as me so after an early start, a bus ride, and a call to Caley to wish her happy birthday we were on the plane and I was contemplating beginning a new chapter in my life.
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