And this brings us to the final leg of our trip: Lisbon, Portugal. After having such an amazing time in Spain, we had some unreasonably high expectations. And I'm happy to say that this beautiful city measured up! After checking into our hotel in the Baixa neighborhood, we popped into a spot around the corner for a delicious late-night dinner.
The next day, we didn't have much of agenda, so we rambled around town and took in the city. Lisbon reminded us of a European San Francisco, with its endless hills, colorful buildings, quaint neighborhoods, and trolleys. I loved all of the street art and tile work!
Throughout the day, we stopped for coffees and a freshly baked Portugese pastry, like their famous egg custard tarts. We ended the day sipping Cuba Libres while walking through the Barrio Alto neighborhood, which turns into one big backpacker street party.
The next day, we headed up to Sintra, which is about an hour away by train. Unfortunately, the skies opened up and it started pouring, so we skipped some of the sites to check out the colorful Pena Palace, which is the closest thing to a Disney palace that I've seen in real life. The upside to the howling wind and torrential downpour was that were no crowds, so we were able to explore. (And by explore, I mean clutching to the castle on a precarious stone path right next to a dangerous drop-off.)
The next day was my birthday! We spent it taking in more amazing street art and wandering up to the Castle of Sao Jorge, which has breathtaking views of the entire city. In the evening, we ate the most amazing meal of our entire lives! (Confession: Sometimes, when we're sitting on the couch, I break out a picture of that dinner and we both sigh longingly.)
The next day, Erik flew back home and I moved my stuff to the Lisbon Surf House, a surf hostel located on the outskirts of town. The winds were not in my favor during my stay, but I got some fun surfs in. One day a huge and messy swell came in, and I ate it on a crap-ton of waves. But I also managed to ride one of the biggest close-outs ever, which earned me a "wow, brave girl!" from a hunky Portugese dude. On another day, I went for a solo afternoon surf and got lost trying to find the train home, which involved me rambling around a quaint village with my surfboard and asking grannies for directions. It felt like I was in a movie.
The Surf House itself was fun, filled with travelers from all over the world. One night, I went out with a Swedish girl, Israeli dude and two hilarious Italian buddies. Before the trip, I was a little apprehensive about staying and surfing in a strange country solo, but I'm so glad that I did. What an experience!
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