So I realize I was only gone on spring break for a week, but there were just too many pictures to fit into only one blog post, so here is part two: Lisbon, Portugal.
When we first arrived, it was pouring down rain and super windy as we made our way up the hill through winding alleyways and staircases to our hostel. After we dropped off our bags we began to venture out and saw this amazing view, looking out onto the ocean as the sun began to break through the clouds.
Even though we were exhausted from the bus ride all night, we hopped on a train to a local hill town named Sintra. Here we took a bus on a windy road up the mountain to the forest grounds surrounding a castle. Even though it was pouring we decided to explore this castle that was supposed to be absolutely gorgeous. Well lucky for us, the castle didn’t disappoint to say the least. This is a view from one of the balconies of the castle.
An hour later when we came out from the interior of the castle the sun began to peak though. Our reactions were so happy that I just had to pull out my camera and capture the moment!
While the rain withheld for a little, we decide to begin to hike around the grounds and find some of the other buildings and such within the forest. It was so beautiful and probably the most green I have seen since the summer!
At the highest point of the mountain there was a cross marking the spot! We were all overjoyed to reach this point and relaxed while taking in the view around us. I’m assuming the cross has been there for a long time since the grounds used to be part of a monastery before the crown took it over and had the queen live in the castle. Pretty amazing to be standing next to such an ancient sculpture if you think about it!
The view of the castle from the outlook point where the cross was. So beautiful when the clouds began to fade!
Back in the town of Sintra, we decided to try something Lisbon was well known for: a cherry liquor called Ginjinha that was served in chocolate shot cups. You would take it all at once and then eat the chocolate cup so that it all tasted like a chocolate covered cherry. It was actually quite delicious!
A commonly found dish in Lisbon was a meal such as the one pictured here. It consisted of fried sausage, an egg, lettuce, and fries. It seems like a random combination but was actually pretty tasty!
We went down to the water at the edge of town where there was a dock, but not so much of a beach. Although it wasn’t a perfectly clear day we still got the opportunity to take some cool pictures!
Now yes I know we were in Portugal and not Italy, but we still had a craving for gelato. It turns out this was the best gelato we ever had and even beat some of the places we went to in Rome. Who would have thought, right? Pictured here is what I got which was strawberry gelato on the inside with mango surrounding it, creating a flower-like shape.
The view on the last day was so gorgeous because it was finally sunny all day! Lisbon had the typical European costal town architecture colors, which when contrasted against the ocean, always made a beautiful picture!
