Have had an enjoyable weekend in Lisbon to put the finishing touches on my Euro trip. This city is pretty and unique in its own ways, though I think its up there as one of the hardest to navigate by foot because the maps are crappy, the street layout is a mess, and the street names themselves are, not surprisingly, in Portuguese which makes them very hard to correctly pronounce when asking locals (and they seem to enjoy watching tourists get lost and wander around their hilly streets). First on my tourist attraction list yesterday was the Castelo do Sao Jorge and it took me about two hours to find the place, and its not that far from my hostel. Youd think that a giant castle on the top of a hill would be easy to find but you would be wrong. After many wrong turns, dead ends, and much huffing and puffing I found the place and it was very cool and provided some great views of the city.
Lisbon (first and second pictures)
Last night a bunch of us from the hostel got dinner then went to an outdoor fado show. Fado is traditional Portuguese music which is a bit melancholy in its original form but we went to a local street party in the Alfama neighborhood that had a lively fado singer and a dance beat and everyone danced for hours. Was a lot of fun and combined with the street fair gave us a good feel for how Lisboas citizens get down on a Saturday night. Then we hit a club afterwards called Lux that was a cool spot but had lame music. Oh well, overall the night was a good one. Also, our group from the hostel for most of the night had two American guys, one Australian girl, one French girl, one Brazilian guy, and one guy from Estonia. Keeping it diverse.
Last night a bunch of us from the hostel got dinner then went to an outdoor fado show. Fado is traditional Portuguese music which is a bit melancholy in its original form but we went to a local street party in the Alfama neighborhood that had a lively fado singer and a dance beat and everyone danced for hours. Was a lot of fun and combined with the street fair gave us a good feel for how Lisboas citizens get down on a Saturday night. Then we hit a club afterwards called Lux that was a cool spot but had lame music. Oh well, overall the night was a good one. Also, our group from the hostel for most of the night had two American guys, one Australian girl, one French girl, one Brazilian guy, and one guy from Estonia. Keeping it diverse.
Moorish Castle at SintraToday a few of us took the 40 minute train ride north to a town called Sintra which is very pretty and has its own castle that dominates the one in Lisbon. Awesome views, nice little cafes, and some Moorish history lessons all mixed together. A good day for my last full one on the road before I fly back to the States tomorrow. Hard to believe that I left for Rio de Janeiro three months ago, but I am very excited to come home.
No comments:
Post a Comment