Sunday wander to Lagos.

Today's adventure was a lot quieter. I checked out of my Lisbon hostel and eventually made it to the bus station for my four hour bus journey to Lagos.

Arriving at 6 pm I was a little tired so I checked in my hostel and wandered the street for some takeaway food to chill at the hostel.

So far my first impressions of the Old Town Lagos Hostel isn't that great. It's small, cramped, overcrowded and I'm scared that the cheap IKEA bunk is going to break with me on top. I was also disappointed by the description when I booked it because it wasn't described as party hostel, like others in Lagos, so I expected some quiet. Unfortunately, its on top of bars and clubs so it's 1 am and all I hear are people partying, roaring music and booming base.

I hope that I will eventually be able to get to sleep for a sea kayaking trip I have booked tomorrow morning

Although the staff is friendly, I will not be recommending this hostel to anyone.

Saturday in Sintra and evening sardines adventure

I woke up early Saturday to book an extra evening at the hostel in Lisbon because I decided to book a day trip to Sintra and Cascais and the tour was to return at 7 pm.

The group piled in the van at 10 a.m. to begin the westward journey. The light rain created a light mist adding a sense of mysticism. We walked through gardens around the city and through the small winding streets admiring history and charm. One of the shops we had the chance to taste various wines, jams, jellies and cheeses and we stopped into a shop for some traditional pastries.

We then visited the Quinta de Regaleira. A surreal mansion and gardens. Three of us (two fellow hostellers and myself) explored the grounds freely walking up and down through small passage ways trying to get ourselves lost in the history around us. We quickly found underground tunnels and galleries leading us to the Poço Iniciáto where we walked up the 30m nine tiered spiral bringing our imagination alive.

Our trek then continued to Cabo da Roca, the most western tip of Europe, where we felt the Atlantic wind blow though our hair like many have for centuries before us.

When we returned to the hostel, the three of us who together explored the wonderful Quinta de Regaleira, decided to go and wander the streets of Alfama for some food. During our adventure we quickly found a street party where we were had some drinks and eventually found a street restaurant with room for us to eat some grilled sardines.

Our sleepy walk back brought us back safely to the hostel around 1:30. 

Visiting Lisbon on foot

Friday was a day of exploration. I took advantage of the hostel  offering of free walking tours around certain parts of the city based on tips.

We visited the city district called Alfama, our tour guide was native to Lisbon and provided great detail and history lessons. Alfama, the oldest part of the city  as it is the only surviving district of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. Walking the streets quickly bring you back in time. The streets are very narrow and winding. Architecture influence from centuries ago can be seen everywhere on the building facades

Preperations for the festivities scheduled to begin next week had already begun. Temporary stages and patios were being built and streamers hanging event decorated with Sardines.

After the tour, another hostel patron and I decided to visit the mediaeval Castle of São Jorge for the rumoured panoramic view of the city. The 6.50€ we paid enter was no disappointment. The view was simply breathtaking. After some time making use of our camera, we continued to explore the site. As we walked through we and create our interpretation of what it was like to live in the castle.

When we finished exploring the castle grounds we made our way back down through Alfama to the port where our tour guide had informed us we could do some free wine tasting and learn about the different Portuguese wines.

Of course time flies when your having fun and we realized that it was almost super time and we were exhausted from walking the San Francisco like hilly streets. So we parted ways and went to our respective hostels.

Lazy in Lisbon

I arrived in Lisbon yesterday around noon. I'm sure most of you may think that's a great time to arrive in a city. Usually I would agree with you but Wednesday was an action packed day for me that began at 6:30 a.m.

So you can imagine with an over night flight (where I didn't get much sleep), I was exhausted when I got here but like an all-star was tried to stay awake until a half decent time.

The Rossio Destination hostel wasn't hard to find at all. The instructions from my receipt were quite detailed. I was quite impressed and would recommend it to any one.

I spent the day exploring the streets on my own and being lazy hanging out with the free WiFi. My intention was to go on a Fado tour with the people at the hostel which began at 9:45 p.m.; however, I felt my grumpiness starting to rumble and knew it was time to hit the hay at 9 p.m.

So I went to bed and only to wake up for 8:30 a.m. on Friday on time for a free pancake breakfast. This morning I'm going to go on a walking tour and then probably go visit St. Georges Castle for the panoramic view and some other historical sites.

I'll keep you all updated!

City portals and dancing lights

As the plane took off in the night, I watched as the lights reflect through the portals and danced around the cabin walls.  I continued to enjoy my private light show, wondering if anyone else had noticed the magic happening inside the plane.

Then the gentleman with the window seat motioned for me to look out the portal. What a class act. The night was clear and the birdseye view was breathtaking. I thought to myself, how do birds ever convince themselves to land on a clear night?

Of course the downside of the red eye flight is the lack of sleep in a small cramped space. Didn't get much sleep on this one and I thank God that they provided a blanket. I used it as a shield to cover my eyes against the lights that were left on during the flight. 

Now I'm at Ponta Delgada Azores airport waiting to board for the second shorter lag of my journey to Lisbon.

See you soon Lisbon!

Boarding for Portugal

Well it's time to dust off the old blog for my trip to Portugal.

I'm currently sitting at an airport typing this waiting to board the first plane over an ocean to a foreign country.

This was a little bit of an impromptu adventure. That being said, I haven't had much time to prepare. My ticket was bought just a short time ago when I saw a window of opportunity to do some travel. So here I am with my backpack checked, no itinerary for the next ten days and a Lonely Planet book in hand.

See you in the morning Portugal!