Sunday, January 24, 2010

More in Portugal

Today is our last day in Portugal. We went on a different sightseeing bus tour yesterday and saw the newer parts of the city. Some parts are really old, like the Barrio Alto which is where we are staying. There was a massive earthquake in Lisbon in 1755 which destroyed most of the city, only three neighborhoods survived, so the rest of the city had to be rebuilt. So yesterday on the bus we drove through a modern part of Lisbon which had a convention center, a sports stadium, and lots of big buildings.

Today we took a street car up a bunch of hills to check out Castelo de Sao Jorge, a gnarly castle overlooking the city, which was built in the 11th-12th centuries. There was also a museum near the castle which had artifacts from back in the day. It was a cool little area with beautiful views. There were lots of little cafes and houses all the way up to the front of the castle grounds. I thought it was crazy how people live pretty much right next to the castle.

After touring the castle we went to one of the cafes near it and I ordered a hamburger, which literally had ham on it. Kind of strange, but not bad. It had a regular beef patty too. I guess they like ham here in Portugal because there was a sign advertising "Melon and Portuguese ham" at the restaurant. Weird.

Switching to Heather...

So we are literally the only people in the hostel right now. It's very quiet at least. This place offers free internet usage! I wouldn't be surprised if this was the only hostel with free internet.

Ready to move on to Spain for the next week! Adios amigos!

3 comments:

  1. Ham on a burger. Makes sense by the name..hamburger. Only three neighborhoods survived...wonder where they got the people to rebuild. Couldn't have been that many people left. On to Spain...your spanish should come in handy Maggie, maybe. Divertirse en España

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  2. Sounds like it was fun! Did Heather get her breakfast sausage yet? Well, have a blast en España, and don't forget this phrase, it will def come in handy, Yo tengo un puerqo en mis chonies. Your welcome... HAHA just kidding! You're welcome y hasta luego mis hermanas!

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  3. Clarence! So glad you corrected yourelf, I was going to have to kick you over the internet for that. No breakfast sausage for Heather yet, and apparently the hostel in Madrid only has cereal and toast as well. That seems to be the standard hostel breakfast, which makes sense because it's cheap. Adios, Clarence-ita.

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