Lisboa

After 4 days on the beach it's hard to leave now to get my culture back on.

I had read one can compare Lisbon to San Francisco in that it's built on seven hills, uses trolleys, and has a bridge designed by the same architect who designed the Bay Bridge. Only this one in Lisbon is painted red like the Golden Gate.

Nice lunch spot at this Miradouro/lookout

And I actually thought at times I was in California. The landscape around the beaches is very hilly like La Jolla and Torrey Pines in southern Cali. 

In terms of what there is to see I don't really know. I myself just love to wander with no goals set out and see what I discover. This is a great place to do that.

I started out in Belém, a town just outside downtown where there actually are many things to see like the monastery and the tower. But I had to try this pastry according to my host Carlos who mentioned I would probably have to queen a bit because they were so famous.

Belém Tower. Built 1519 for fortifications and to be a gateway. 

Now here's my rant on these things. They look like a little cupcake with custard filling. They give you packets of powdered sugar and cinnamon to put on the pastry yourself. After doing this I was covered in whiteness since it was a tid bit windy. But it really just tastes like dough had you not put the other ingredients on it. So why not just put it on in the first place and spare me the trouble?! This is what makes it taste good! Anyway after explaining this to Carlos he got a kick out of it and kind of agreed with me.

The inner city is extremely hilly and full of old falling apart buildings. Tiles adorn the facades as people thought they would last longer than paint and ultimately be cheaper. This adds a bit of color to the otherwise drab urbanscape.

I jumped on one of these to go one stop because there was an accident blocking ahead

It reminded me of when I went to Rome and thought every thing was falling apart. I hated Rome. But Lisbon has a different feel for me. The city is plagued by earthquakes and the one back in the 18th century flattened much of the historic core. So what we see today is what was rebuilt.

I spent much of the day on one of the cities Miradouro's or look out points enjoying a little snack.

As far as cuisine goes Carlos was explaining to me one night how they have a special word for the mixture of garlic, onion, and olive oil because it is the staple of most dishes in Portuguese cooking. I found this fascinating probably because it's one of my favorite combinations to use myself.

I went out in Bairo Alto at night with some Couchsurfers because they were having a Stammtisch. After a few hours not much German was being spoken so I ended up at this spontaneous party they set up by the river just for this week only and enjoyed the view with a nice Heineken? Don't ask.

One of those contemplating life moments

The next Carlos drove me out to show me his hometown of Sintra. It was the first time it rained in 6 months! But it didn't last long. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site also meaning it's very touristy. They're numerous castles dotting the tops of hills and it was nice to hear Carlos describe what it was like growing up here. To me it seemed like a spot where a bunch of well to do people would come to live and get away from the city. Hence the castles.

Pena Palace

Moors castle. Not the Moops Seinfeld fans.

Then he drove me out to the beaches one being the most western point of Europe. Can you just think that on the other side of this is the Jersey Shore?! I know hard to imagine.

Cabo da Roca

Well we took too long lollygagging around and I only had two hours until my flight left. So Carlos averaged about 90 mph on the way while I kept asking if he had enough gas to make it. "Sure" he assured me as it was almost under the red line. "How many times have you run out of gas before" I asked. "Only twice."

Well the panic subsided when we reached the airport fighting through rush hour traffic and off I went with an hour to spare before I was off to Paris.