May 5, 2013-
Today was our last day in Lisbon. Our flight took off at 9:15 p.m.
Throughout our whole time in Lisbon while we were near the sea we would look across and see a huge statue. After asking the hostel staff what it was we found out it was a Jesus statue name Christo Rey that had his arms open and overlooked the whole city.
Our question: how do we get there?
We made our way from the hostel to the port and found a boat that would take us to the other side. There was a huge bridge, that supposedly looked like the Golden Gate Bridge and was designed by the same architect, but we learned that you couldn't walk on it, so our only option was a boat.
We got on the boat and then on a bus and eventually arrived at the Christo Rey. The statue was on top of a huge hill right on the coast. It overlooked the whole city of Lisbon and was surrounded by a huge park.
Of course, being the tourists we are, we had a photo shoot of the statue and then of the bridge. The bridge was absolutely beautiful. I have never seen the Golden Gate Bridge so this was the closest thing I had seen to it. The bridge was massive.
It was a beautiful day and was so hot so we sat in the park overlooking the sea, all of Lisbon, and underneath Jesus until the sunset.
Eventually, in order to catch our flight, we had to get back on the bus and then the boat. We walked back up to the hostel to meet up with Cyd, who had been hanging out with her sister all day, and grabbed our luggage to go to the airport. On our way back up to the hostel there was a car show going on in the middle of the square. It reminded me of my Dad. Although I didn't know what kind of cars they were, I knew he would have loved to go look at them.
We made it to the airport with time to spare. Our flight was delayed so we didn't get in to Barcelona until 12:15. After arriving to Barcelona we had to wait for the bus, which took more time, and then we got back to the main square: Plaza Catalunya. From Plaza Catalunya, since it was so late, we decided to take a bus that would take us near our apartment so that we didn't have to walk. OF COURSE, we took the wrong bus and ended up, I don't know where. We caught a taxi from a random bus station and eventually made it to our apartment at around 3 A.M.
What a day! People don't give Portugal enough credit, what a beautiful country it really is, I was so happy to be able to go there!
May 4, 2013-
Today the one thing on our mind was the free pancakes the hostel was going to make us for breakfast and the beach.
Slowly everyone woke up and got ready. We went in to the main room to find American pancakes and Nutella. The only thing that could have made it better was syrup! Pancakes aren't American unless you have syrup: FAIL.
After we were done stuffing our faces with pancakes we walked to the train station that took us to the beach. However, of course, we went to the wrong train station. That set us back about an hour or so, but eventually we found our way back and on to the other train station.
We bought our tickets and got on the train to take to the beach. Yes, we did get on the right train. The train ride took us about 45 minutes, but alas, we were greeted with a beautiful beach, the sun shining so bright, and the sand beneath our feet. Laying in the sun was something I had missed for so long. It was so hot and I was excited to potentially be able to get a tan.
For dinner our hostel was having a BBQ (for free too) but Cyd's sister wanted to meet us and they were having a bbq at their hostel, which was nicer, so we decided to go to theirs. The bbq was on the roof of the hostel overlooking the ocean and the smell of the bbq was pure heaven. They served meat (the best meat I've had since I've been in Europe), pasta, tomato salad, bread, regular salad, beans, and unlimited sangria. I'm sure you can imagine how many helpings of everything we had.
Music was playing and people were dancing, I kind of felt like I was at a summer wedding, but not. After dinner we went to a hip bar down the street for drinks. The bar had many different types of rooms with different decorations and the ambiance was cool. It was a good night hanging out with Cyd's sister and her new husband.
May 3, 2013-
Unfortunately, half of our time in Portugal was over. It was time to take the train to Lisboa: a city 2 hours south of Porto.
We got on the train (without any problems) and finally arrived to the beautiful city of Lisbon.
After getting off the train we walked out the front door to a MASSIVE cruise ship in the port. Then we got on the metro and made our way to the hostel.
The first hostel was a success, what are the chances we will have luck with both of them?
We arrived to our second hostel, starving, but was greeted by a tan American man in his 30s. He took us inside and checked us in and showed us our room. The hostel was very open air and looked like a fun place to stay. A lot of young people were walking around and the staff was young. Although it wasn't as brand new and modern as our last hostel, we could tell that were going to have a good time.
We set our stuff down in the room, freshened up, and walked to a restaurant we had passed on our way to the hostel called "American Rock Burgers." With a name like that it has to be good. We sat on the patio to soak up the sun while drinking peach flavored iced tea. For lunch I shared a burger with bacon and a salad with one of my friends. The burger was delicious and the salad was amazing. They even had salad dressing!! Something very foreign in Europe. The only complaint we had was that the menu was in Portuguese so we couldn't understand anything. Around the restaurant was old pictures of the early Rock days and outside was a statue of Elvis. It reminded me of the Hard Rock Cafe; same idea.
After lunch we walked around the main avenue which was lined with grass, trees, and benches: probably the nicest avenue I've ever seen. Eventually we made our way down to the sea. Along the way we stopped at a winery that had wine tasting for free! We tasted the typical wines of Lisbon, bought a bottle, and then walked to the sea.
We sat along the sea and enjoyed the hot weather and the wine. As we were sitting there a poor old man fell off his bike behind us and fell pretty bad. He landed right on his cheek so his face was cut up pretty badly. I thought for sure he has broken some teeth, so I couldn't watch. (I have nightmares about that).
Eventually the ambulance came and cleaned his cut. After awhile he got back on his bike and started riding again.
My roommates sister was in town from the United States on her honeymoon so Cyd wanted to go meet her for dinner. We walked with her to meet with her, exploring the back alleys of Lisbon, and then turned around to go back to the hostel to eat our own dinner (which was free).
For dinner we ate at the big long tables in the main room of the hostel with everyone who was staying there. It reminded me of when I went to camp when I was little. They served us free wine and pasta with broccoli and it was free so we couldn't complain.
May 2,2013-
After being exhausted after our day yesterday, we were excited to wake up and get to explore Porto.
We went to eat at the food court in the local mall since there was so many of us and we all had different opinions.
After lunch we went to find fruit at the local market (another bocqueria type). During our tour yesterday the tour guide said to come see this market because in 5 years it probably wouldn't be there. The town was going to shut it down because of the condition. And I could see why just as we entered. Not all the stands were filled, but it was pretty dirty. The vendors were selling homemade crafts, flowers, and the stands toward the back were selling fruits and vegetables.
After wandering around the market for awhile, it was hot so we wanted to go to the beach. We walked around for a little while longer and eventually got on the bus to take us to the beach.
We arrived at the beach to a bunch of rocks. The sand was very rock and there wasn't much space to swim, however, the water was so clear at this beach. We walked on the rocks, observed all the sea life, and took a bunch of pictures.
When we were done walking around this beach we headed up the coast on a pathway made for cyclists.
The beach was pretty, but we decided we wanted to go back to the bridge where we could see all of Porto.
When we got to the bridge we crossed it to the side where the wineries were and walked around looking at all the different wineries. Unfortunately the wineries were very expensive to take a tour so we weren't able to, but it was fun to see all the different kinds of wines displayed inside each one.
Then we made a trek back up the hill to cross back over to the other side of the bridge to find a place to eat. Along the river there were many restaurants with all the seafood you could imagine. Since it was sunny and hot, for dinner, we found a restaurant with a patio and ate. I had a chicken sandwich with lemonade. Ahhh, the lemonade on a hot day was the perfect drink.
After dinner we made our way back up to the hostel to get ready for the night. Instead of taking the same way we came we decided to take the back streets.
The little alley ways were lined with clothes hanging from one side to the other and you could smell the different scents coming from each apartment as they are making dinner. Although the streets were a little dirty, it was great to see really how Porto was.
May 1,2013-
Today we didn't have school because it was "El Dia de Los Trabajadores." Basically, Labor Day.
Bright and early this morning we headed to the airport to start our vacation to Portugal.
"Why Portugal'? you might be wondering. Well, I was wondering the same thing before I went, but not many people can say they've been to Portugal. I didn't know what to expect, but I was excited to go on vacation for awhile with 5 of my good friends who I've met in Barcelona.
Back to the airport we went.
You know you've been to the airport too much when you start recognizing the airline workers: scary.
Our flight took two hours to get to Porto, Portugal.
When we got there we got on the metro and made our way to the hostel. As we came out of the metro we looked around and were right in the middle of the city. It just felt like we were in another country. The architecture of the buildings were amazing.
We walked up a huge hill and eventually made our way to the hostel, without getting lost. WOW! That never happens. The inside of the hostel was very modern and the decor was all handmade. After check in we headed to our room to find three wooden bunk beds, a bathroom with two showers, and a balcony. What are we staying in the Ritz Carlton? Everything was so clean and basically brand new. By far the nicest hostel I've stayed in throughout my time here abroad.
We set our stuff down and relaxed for an hour, then it was time for the free walking tour provided by the hostel. Our tour guide met us and took us down to the main square.
When we arrived at the main square there was a protest going on. My thoughts: Oh no, not them too. Since it was the day of the workers all of the unemployed were marching in a parade waving flags and yelling. It was surely something to see.
We continued on our walk throughout the city learning about Porto.
During the tour they took us to the main street of Porto which was lined with clothing stores and restaurants for as far as you could see with little street vendors on the sides in front of the stores. It reminded me of China Town in Los Angeles, but not dirty.
Then she took us to one of the six bridges in Porto where we saw an overview of the town. On one side of the river was the town and on the other it was lined with Winery's.
After the bridges we left the tour and went back to the hostel to get ready for dinner.
For dinner we went back to an Italian restaurant we had seen on the walking tour. We had really good pizza and wine to accompany it.
April 23, 2013-
A famous day in Catalonian culture: El dia de Sant Jordi.
Sort of like Valentines Day, the story goes like this:
"Once
upon a time, a terrible dragon terrorized the inhabitants of a small
village in Catalonia called Montblanc. The dragon wrecked havoc among
the population and devoured the animals put out to pasture until there
were none left. To calm the dragon's anger, the inhabitants of the
village decided to sacrifice one person every day, chosen by drawing
lots, and to offer that person to the dragon as a sign of their good
will. However, one, dark day, the person chosen to be sacrificed was
the king's daughter: the princess. Just when she was about to be swallowed up by the
dragon, a courageous knight appeared and confronted the evil beast. This
was Saint George (Sant Jordi in Catalan). He thrust his lance into the
dragon and, out of the blood that spurted forth, there grew a red rose
bush. Since then, it has been the custom in Catalonia to present a rose
to your loved one. Saint George, the patron saint of Catalonia, became the symbol of Catalonia during
the Renaixença, a nineteenth century political and cultural movement
that sought to reclaim the symbols of Catalan identity."
On
Sant Jordi's day the men in Barcelona and Catalunya give their
sweetheart a red rose, and in recent years a new Sant Jordi tradition is
that the ladies give the men a book. The book giving is a way to commemorate the nearly simultaneous deaths of two famous authors: Miguel Cervantes and William Shakespere on 23 April 1616. Anyone can give anyone a book, however, only a man can give a woman a rose.
Really, on this day there are three things celebrated: the Sant Jordi victory, the death of the two authors, and Catalunya's push for independence.
In the first half of our 3 hour language class our teacher told us to walk around in groups and ask people, in Spanish, what the day was about. She gave us a list of questions to help us. Some of the questions included: what they were celebrating on Sant Jordi, why the women give me roses, the history of Sant Jordi, etc. It was interesting because we had known nothing about the day of Sant Jordi and this was the perfect way to learn about it. Not to mention it being a beautiful day and then sun was shining.
The streets were filled with rose stands with the Catalan flags hanging around the tables and tables upon tables of books. The lines to get a book were very long, apparently el dia de Sant Jordi is the cheapest day to buy a book in general.
The
prices of the roses varied depending on where you were in the city.
There were many different colored roses to buy and some even
multicolored.There was a huge festival on Las Ramblas celebrating the
day with massive amounts of people, book tables and rose tables.
Hung from one of the buildings in Plaza Catalunya (the main plaza) a huge banner read: "Catalunya: Europe's newest country."
The thing I like most about this day is that it is celebrated in "the streets" so to speak. Lovers meet up at lunch time and exchange their roses and books. They hang out, have a picnic and spend time together outside all day.
The children in the schools typically have a poetry contest where they write poems, read them in front of the class, and then choose a winner. They too exchange roses, the boys bring both a book and a rose and give it to one of the girls in their class. Apparently (according to my Spanish teacher) all the girls wear shorts and tank tops to try to impress the boys, rain or shine :)
A day I will never forget filled with Catalonian culture and Spanish love.
