Lisbon, Portugal

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The capital of Portugal is full of dichotomies. The people are friendly, polite, open and expressive, but also wary. The buildings are grand, charming and quaint all at once but there is graffiti everywhere. You can't help but marvel at just how beautiful the city is—filled with beautifully tiled houses with red roofs and winding cobblestone streets that snake between multi-story homes draped with Portuguese flags and hanging laundry. But there is also a niggling feeling of unease, particularly around the tourist traps, where you get a glimpse of unadulterated poverty. Old men scanning the ground where the tourists walk to and from McDonalds looking for dropped coins, young men loitering in gangs selling umbrellas, sunglasses, whatever.

The food, and almost everything else, especially alcohol, is incredibly cheap but not always great quality. The meals in the small cafes were delicious and of-course we will now be those snobs that argue, "you haven't really tried a Portuguese tart unless you've tried..."

The best day was spent at Sintra, a short and easy day trip from Lisbon by train. The place is a wonderland of Moorish castles, Royal palaces and chateaus of eccentric families. Photos show these treasures.

New Years eve was incredibly fun. First we went for dinner at an authentic portuguese restaurant (no english) where we had a sort of paella, then we watched the pre-fireworks live show at the plaza and waited for the spectacular fireworks.

We all fell in love with Lisbon.

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