Faro? Lisboa? Faro? Lisboa.

I'm going to start off this post with all six of us girls saying, "Why didn't we study here all semester??" Because that's how great Lisboa, Portugal was. Here's a quick photo to prove it:

But now I've got to do a little backtracking to tell you how we got here. Our zero hour flight (thanks to a one hour flight and a one hour time difference) turned into a four hour flight when our plane landed in Faro, which upon further investigation we realized wasn't Lisboa. There had been a problem with fog, so we had to land on the other side of the country, wait a while, and take back off into the air. We were a bit nervous at first because we only have a few precious days in each country, but it was an adventure. We had to change what transportation to use once we landed, and wait for my luggage (sorry guys) so it took a lot longer than anticipated.

However, we got to navigating right away (sort of):

First stop, Castelo de São Jorge. We had to wind ourselves up the side of a mountain but the walk there was great...I think Lisboa is more how I thought Spain would be: very small, privately owned shops that you have to duck to get in to, a ton of artist street vendors, peeling paint and vines on buildings, and streets so small we didn't want to walk 4 across.

When we got to the Castle, it was definitely worth the hike. The view was gorgeous and the remains were so old.



After the hike up to the castle, we decided to split up. Maggy, Danielle, and I figured out public transportation so we could go see the aquarium. The coast was beautiful.



You could actually TOUCH the animals!

That night, we cooked a great meal in our hostel...four of us had two giant bowls of pasta, bread, and cheese for 7E total. It was a college kid's dream!   

Day two was a trip to Sintra, a town about 40 minutes away by train. It's known for its views and castles--it was definitely worth the trip! I felt like I was in a fairytale.

 

This was the Parque y Palacio de la Pena



The second site was a castle with Moorish influences. The view was great, and the hiking was fun--but there wasn't one iron rail to save me if I fell... It was kind of scary!

It was great just exploring the city and walking around for two days. If I had know how amazing it was going to be, I would've stayed an extra day. Maybe next time...

Our 7am flight left on time and got in on time, without any pit stops in Barcelona or Bilbao. It was a fun weekend with a small group of girls and it's making me even more excited for Paris! It's noon now and I leave in three hours...what a nice celebration at the end of midterms week :)

M