Blogs from Portugal, Europe - page 223

I wake up half-dazed on a shuttle plane with golden light creeping through the window by my seat. Daytime again! The cold and rainy labyrinthine paths through sausage-stand infested streets in Picadilly Circus are behind me. I still see them in my head and feel the cold in my bones while I gaze down at light glittering from the crystal waters around Lisbon's harbor. Such a contrast with lively, cold London nights! As far as I'm concerned, I am still in Luton until this plane lands. I am still on the double-decker laughing at a Kiwi sweet-talk five Icelandic girls, trying to convince them he's not Australian. In clearer words, this transition, from England to Portugal, feels so smooth I just don't quite grasp the reality of looking down at mainland Europe. But I am. How? ... read more

Hey all, Yeah, so we have been slacking quite a bit with our blogging. As our trip nears it's end we are spending as much time in the sun and at the sights as we can. Since our last entry we have moved around a lot, but dare not miss some of the places we have been. One of the most beautiful cities we have been to is Lagos in southern Portugal. It is a small, laid back town, but because of the scenery it is not one to miss. While here we stayed with an amazing lady in her apartment. She and her husband were in their late 70's and had two bedrooms that they rent out to travelers on a budget. It was so nice. She cooked for us, did Brandon's laundry and ... read more

Ok, no, I’m not home, but doesn’t it look like the Golden Gate Bridge? Seriously though . . . who has been keeping Portugal a secret? I love it! I wish I had more time to spend here and explore. These are my last few days traveling alone and Lisbon is the perfect place to stay. It feels a lot like Orange County and San Francisco wrapped together and the weather is much more manageable at around 75 - 80 degrees versus the 105 degree weather in Seville. With five days in Lisbon I was able to see some great sites and prep for my next trip, nine days in the Azores, on the island of Pico (more on this later). Bodies Exhibit - I went to this exhibit in Lisbon and it was the highlight ... read more

If I had to advise people whether to travel to Portugal or Spain, I would be a very tough choice. Despite the reputation of being Spain's less attractive cousin, Portugal was just as beautiful, and about 1/4 the price. Our first stop was Porto, right on the river which made for some gorgeous views thanks to the perfect weather we had throughout Portugal. After hitting the hostel and getting rid of our stuff, we checked out the waterfront and did a bit of wine tasting, and Hannah, being Hannah, couldn't rein in her shopoholic (and alcoholic ;p) tendencies and treated herself to a couple of bottles. It was also an early night as we slowly recovered from our late nights and early mornings in Pamplona. The following day was more sightseeing as we checked out ... read more

Day 12 and here we are at the Portugal capital: Lisbon! We arrived here on a high speed train travelling at a whopping 221km/hr! 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 hostel! Our first stop was climbing up the tallest hill in Lisbon to the Castle of Sāo Jorge. We had a look around the old castle walls and up the towers to get sweeping views across another red-roofed city, then made our decent down the cobblestoned road to Lisbon’s Sé Cathedral. We went back to the city centre and saw the large arch and statues at Plaça de Comērico on the edge of the Rio Tejo. We walked up towards Praça Rossio, stopping to ... read more