coast. Yet, in the dark hours before that beautiful vision from my Iberia plane window, I was waiting for the 5:10 night bus in Madrid’s Plaza Cibeles with Kate, SK, Shenning, Yadira, and Ida. We made it to the Barajas airport with plenty of time to spare until we boarded the plane around 7:30. At roughly 7:45, we arrived in Lisbon, Portugal (No, the flight wasn’t 15 minutes long. We changed time zones.), a little bleary-eyed but excited about venturing into a new country, city, culture, language, etc.In Lisbon, we stayed at the Rossio Hostel, located just off Praça do Rossio. Rossio (the plaza and our hostel) is more or less smack dab in the heart of the old historic district and just a 7 minute walk to the harbor… the prime location for visitors who only have a weekend to get acquainted with Portugal’s capital city. As if the location wasn’t great enough, staying at Rossio Hostel was the best hostel experience I’ve ever had. The staff was super friendly, extremely
helpful, and impressively multi-lingual. Additionally, they served us breakfast in the mornings: hot crepes accompanied by a portion of nutella. Mmmm… Heaven on a plate. The common room and kitchen were really cool, super chic, spacious and comfortable, and very clean, which can be said for the rest of the hostel. The six of us had our own room where we slept on three sets of plush bunk beds. The cherry on top to this great accommodation experience is that all this goodness was quite inexpensive, and when traveling on a budget, this is an essential factor when rating your hostel choice. When I return to Lisbon, I know where I'll be staying!Friday was a beautiful day, and after we found our hostel and checked in, we went out to explore some of Lisbon’s sights. We wandered through the historic district, marveling at the most
striking architectural features that Lisbon is noted for—the azulejos or colored-tiles—which come in every shape, design, and color. The Portuguese have excelled in ceramics and tile-making for centuries, and Lisbon displays their expert craftsmanship in an unpretentious, yet not-so-subtle manner, adorning entire building facades with beautiful tile patterns. Lisbon (Lisboa in Portuguese) is a port city situated at the large mouth of the Tejo River. Seagulls congregate in the plazas and perch on the numerous statues and fountains found throughout the city, commemorating important Portuguese politicians, explorers, poets and the like.Actually, Lisbon somewhat reminds me of Charleston, South Carolina. While Lisbon has been an important city since the time of the Roman Empire and Charleston has only been in existence since the mid-17th century, I think that the two cities have a similar atmosphere and share some commonalities. The commonalities come from Lisbon’s more recent history. In 1755, Lisbon was rocked by a catastrophic earthquake and further devastated by the ensuing tidal wave and massive fire outbreaks. The city and surrounding areas were more or less flattened, and the “historic district” (as I am calling it) that we see today is the product of post-1755 reconstruction efforts. Thus, old-town Charleston and lower Lisbon have an architectural style that reflects the same time period. Of course, this is the theory I invented in order to explain my observations… so, don’t take these ideas to be fact.
Yet, there are many things that set Lisbon apart from Charleston… 
· Old rickety streetcars, or trams, clank through the cobblestone streets; their network of metal cables hangs not too far from pedestrian heads.
· In good weather (so, most of the year), streets are full of tables and chairs, and locals and tourists enjoy their Portuguese pastries, rich meals of seafood (like bacalhau), or beverages at a variety of outdoor cafés.
· Portuguese is the spoken and written language of Lisbon. I have fallen in love with this language that seems like a strange mix of Spanish and French.
· Lisbon is a city of little hills, which helps in distinguishing when you’ve left one neighborhood and entered another, and each has its own personality.
· There is a very special Portuguese (or maybe just Lisbon?) occurrence that 
reflects the curious personality of these people. On any given street, you are likely to see an old woman or an old man or both peering out of their balcony window, nonchalantly watching the passers-by and partially hidden behind the cloth curtain of hanging laundry.
· Some buildings survived the 1755 earthquake, and every now and then, a giant cathedral or some other ancient architectural marvel pops up when you turn the corner.
· You can find ancient Roman ruins… as we discovered on Friday at the Roman Theater Museum
· There is a large castle—El Castelo St. Jorge—on one of the highest hills that overlook the port.
We lingered on top of the castle lookout for a couple of hours Friday afternoon, admiring the amazing views of the city and the water. Finally our hunger and tired bodies caught up with us, and after a good fish sandwich or two, we happily tucked ourselves in our Rossio bunk beds to get some rest and take a nap. Unfortunately, Kate had become very sick ever since we arrived at the Madrid airport, and even after visiting a nearby pharmacy once we got to Lisbon, she wasn’t getting any better. Kate decided that she had to go to the hospital to see a doctor in order to get more medical aid that the pharmacists could offer sans prescription. Friday evening, we walked Kate to the hospital and Ida stayed with her that night. While it was a major bummer to have Kate sick, Yadira, SK, Shenning, and I honored her request to go out and enjoy our time in Lisbon. We spent the evening talking over bottles of wine, eating good seafood, and hanging out in the plazas. Don’t judge us for being bad friends.
On Saturday, we took a day-trip to the mystical town of Sintra, just a 45 minute train ride away. The small, quaint village, which was tucked away in a lush valley that resembled an Indian rainforest, was right out of a fairy-tale. The small houses were nestled along the hillsides, their garden walls unable to contain the copious amounts of vegetation from spilling out. Wild flowers and blossoming trees caught the eye with their exciting splashes of color and tickled the nose with their sweet perfume. Birdsong filled the fresh, moist air. Through the mist rose a tree-covered mountain, crowned with the remains of an ancient castle.
We moseyed through gardens and followed the winding road into the old town center. Some of us
took a tour of the Palácio Nacional de Sintra, which was possibly one of the most pleasant palaces I have visited. We snacked on delicious pastries and then caught the 434 Bus to take us up the mountain. We didn’t know that we were going to have the chance to relive Toad’s Wild Ride (a classic Disneyworld ride), and we were all very thankful to exit the bus at the pinnacle. We roamed the ancient ruins of the Castelo dos Mouros (the Moorish Castle), clambering on top of crumbling stones and summiting castle turrets. The mist was so thick we could only see the cloudy grey droplets of water swirling around us (whereas on a clear day, you can see for dozens of miles). The mist was awesome, because it created an eerie atmosphere and made it easy to imagine the scene 1000 years ago. Although our hair was soaked and our clothes were wet, our spirits could not be dampened by the inclement weather.
Kate was still ill, and she and Ida decided to head back to Lisbon. I stayed with Yadira and the two Sarah’s to make one last tourist stop in the Parque da Pena, only a few hundred meters from the Moorish Castle. The four of us navigated our way through the park paths and reached our goal, also at the zenith of the mountain, Palácio da Pena. This palace is absolutely ridiculous, on the inside and out. Constructed at the end of the 19th century, the lavish interior decorations were very reminiscent of the Biltmore home in Asheville. Extravagant. Over the top. Absurd. Way cool. Google it and then you can get a clear picture of how nuts this place is.
Back in Lisbon, we went to a small mom-and-pop restaurant called Fado Maior that our hostel recommended. A young couple also staying at our hostel joined us (they teach at an international school in Dakar, Africa), and we all enjoyed our time at the small, smoke-free, local hot-spot to get good food and a good show. Shenning and I split a meal of fresh bacalhau (cod… what Portugal is famous for), shrimp, onions, potatoes, and peppers, all of which came in a copper pot and soaking in a simmering sauce. Oh, how I love good seafood. Portugal’s unique musical tradition is called fado, soulful folk music accompanied by twelve-string guitars. Throughout our meal, the lights dimmed for a few minutes as the owners, a waiter, and even some of the regulars got up to sing their favorite fado tunes. Here’s a sample.Some of Lisbon’s most recognizable monuments are located in the Belém District, the last bit of land where the river meets the ocean. On Sunday, we visited the Pradrão dos Descobrimentos (Discovery Monument) and the Torre de Belém (see below). We got drenched by a quick but heavy rain shower as we left the monuments in search of food. We ate lunch at Pão Pão Queijo Queijo and got refueled by our falafel, pita, fries, and caffeinated beverages. Next, we roamed through the prestigious Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jeronimos Monastery), constructed to commemorate Vasco da Gama’s successful voyage to India. The cathedral was beautiful, but the cloister was divine—beautiful, serene, and pleasant. Before we left Belém, we picked up a box of their famous custard tarts from the Pasteis de Belém café. We took them back to our hostel, where munched on them while sitting on the floor pillows.
And that was the long and short of my trip to Lisbon! Unfortunately, our flight was delayed an hour, and I didn’t get back to my apartment until after 1:00 AM. Needless to say, I was pooped all day on Monday… but I survived and managed to teach a little English. I better get used to it, because think I’m going to have many more Mondays like that in the coming weeks. ;-)
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