Portugal: April 3-12

Wooo Hooo! I went to Portugal! I just want to say how much I'm in love with Portugal now that I've been there. And I don't mean the "Oh, that's a great place to visit" kind of love, I mean the "Oh, I wouldn't mind packing up all my stuff right now and moving there" kind of love. I had been stuck in grey, rainy, cold Germany all winter when I went to Portugal, and it seriously pulled me out the gloomy state I had been stuck in since winter started.

It's sunny, it's happy, it's warm, it's beautiful! I went with Shawn, Priscilla, Molly (all American), and Angela (Canadian), and seriously fell in love with the country. We flew, and our first stop was the capital, Lisbon. Thank goodness we had Angela along, because she speaks Portugese!

And let me just add this little bit of amusing information: Priscilla and I almost missed our flight! We took a train to the airport in Frankfurt, but we were running to check in. When we finally found the check-in spot, the two ladies behind the counter were saying we weren't going to make it. They gave us our tickets, and we flew up the stairs to find the gate. When we arrived at security, we couldn't take our luggage on the plane due to liquids. So the security attendant directed us to baggage check in. Only, he sent us down an escalater that was only going up. After almost tripping down that, we found the stairs, dropped our luggage off and ran back up to security. Then we had to run to find our gate, and as we arrived, they were making the final boarding announcement. As soon as he saw us, the man stopped his page.

And back to Portugal. Lisbon is home to Castelo de São Jorge, or the Castle of St. George. The first fortifications date back from the 2nd Century BC. It offers a beautiful view of the city and overlooks where the Tagus River empties into the Atlantic Ocean. I have now seen both sides of the Atlantic Ocean :-)

Portugal is a country of sun and decorative tiles. The people were friendly, the cities were clean, and atmosphere was great. I simply cannot say enough about it! We did a lot of sightseeing in Lisbon, including the castle, numerous statues and monuments, and the Church of Santa Maria Maior.

We then spent a day in Sintra, home to Pena National Palace built by King Fernando II, and although we weren't able to visit the Castelo dos Muoros, we viewed it's splendor from afar. Molly, Priscilla and I hiked up a long path to get better views of the city, but only were able to see the forest on the mountain. It was a good hike, however, and the woods were still pretty. Priscilla just happened to sprain her ankle on the way down... so she had to buy a brace and wear it the rest of the trip. But she lived.

From Lisbon, we took a four hour bus ride to Lagos. Lagos is, by far, my favorite city in Portugal. We had an amazing hostel that was a three bedroom house, complete with a bathroom for every room, a full kitchen, and a patio. There wasn't much sight seeing to do in Lagos, but you didn't need it when you could lay out in the Algarve.

The beaches were amazing, the sand simply brushed off your body, and the water was so much cleaner than I've seen on the other side of the Atlantic. After haggling for a group price, we took a boat trip to view the 15 beaches of the Algarve, including one called "Potato Beach." Our guide was very nice, and even allowed Shawn and Angela to jump off the boat. He thought they were crazy because the water was still very cold when we went- they were the first ones of the season to ask to jump off. He even showed us the boat taxis waiting for tourists to come down from the western-most point of Europe to be taken back to the main beach area.

The atmosphere in Lagos was very layed back. I simply cannot stress how great this trip was. We layed out on the beach every day in Lagos, and the rest of the time was spent walking around the shops, drinking wine and playing cards on our patio, and I admit: watching loads of MTV music videos. Let's just say Nelly Furtado was very popular there.

I will say that Priscilla and I attended church on Easter Sunday. The church was packed so full with tourists and Portugese alike, that the doors weren't even staying closed. Priscilla and I decided to say a prayer and leave, as the service was in Portugese and we couldn't understand any of it. We also thought we should give people standing outside a chance to get in on Easter.

I would love to someday go back to Portugal. I know exactly what city I would go to, I know exactly what hostel I would stay in, and I know exactly how much I'd hate to leave it when the time came. I love it!