last thoughts on Portugal

Things:

 - Portugal scores big points with me for the sheer number of dogs it has. So many people have dogs, and so many dogs just hang around on their own, walking the streets, laying on the sidewalk, and no one minds. Portugal wins.

- Why would anyone drive in that country?

Okay, in Lisbon especially. The streets are sometimes too narrow to even turn the corner on the first try, you have to park on the sidewalk to make room for other cars, and according to my Lonely Planet Portugal has the highest number of traffic accidents in Europe. I’d say you should take the bus, but even then I cling to the overhead bar, praying the driver doesn’t rear end a gravel truck, or hit a tree, or clip a pedestrian.

  – I felt like a total jerk for having learned zero Portuguese before I went, even though we always met people that could speak English and didn’t have any problems. Really though, could I have just learned numbers and maybe some basic questions? I learned, on our second day there, to say Obrigada (thank-you), and it’s the only thing I used the whole time. In my defense, Portuguese sounds are hard. Spanish is easier.

 - The buskers you are most likely to see on the streets of Lisbon are cute accordian-playing boys. (This one is for Anika)

 

 

buns of steel

I think Portugal´s slogan should be “Land of Many Stairs”. That could just be because I´m from Saskatchewan and not used to inclines. To get to our hostel you climb a set of stairs to get to our street of stairs, and then once at the hostel climb three more sets of stairs to get to our room.

Today we went to Sintra, home of many castles. The Moorish castle, built in the 9th century but restored in th 19th, JJ dubbed “the coolest thing ever”. It was beautiful. Breathtaking. Covered in stairs.

Portugal´s other slogan, though, could be “Portugal – So Pretty”.

Then, up a very big hill (we took a trolley, thank god), was another 19th century castle, pink and yellow and covered in blue tiles. 

 Inside we tried to imagine living there, with so much stuff. Furniture and paintings and tapestries and statues.

There was much more to see, but we were too tired after all the stair and hill climbing and caught the train back to Lisbon (and the hostel, more stairs).

Tomorrow we´re heading south to Lagos, and many beaches.

 

Two American girls stumbled into our hostel room yesterday, red faced and short of breath (from all the stair climbing) saying they’d just come from Lagos.

“I´m going there tomorrow,” I said.

“Oh my god! We loved it there! It´s like a whole different world!” said the short one with the brown hair.

“It was wild, the best night life I´ve seen, anywhere,” said the taller, blonde one from Jersey.

“Great,” I said, not admitting i was more looking forward to long days of beach lounging and lots of sleep.

“Where are you staying?”

“Uh, a hostel, Carlos…something…”

“Oh my god! That´s where we stayed! It´s crazy there. Better not tell them you met us though, we left there with our heads hanging a bit low…”

 So apparently we´re heading for the land of sun, sea, and debauchery. Stay tuned.