Lisbon here we come!! This weekend I'm off to Lisbon, Portugal with my interest group. We got on the bus bright and early for the seven hour (ish) drive and got to the hotel around two. After grabbing some lunch at a nearby cafe (which we ended getting for free because the guy liked us) we went to La Universidad Nova, and listened to a presentation.. not quite sure how that fit into our interest group topic which is Sevilla y Las Americas.. but we went with it anyway.
Then we got a city tour. All fifty-ish of us piled off the bus into a central plaza and were herded around the city. Although being in a giant tour group is super awkward, the city was gorgeous and much more european and historical that I had anticipated. I dont know why, but for some reason when I think of Portugal I don't associate it with Europe. I kind of think of it as its own thing. Its attached to Europe, but in my mind it doesnt have a history like Spain or France or Germany do.. But today I actually got to see its history, and it finally found its place in my brain with the rest of Europe.
We walked up to Barrio Alto, which is literally what its name means Barrio Alto=High Neighborhood, and its literally a neighborhood on the top of a hill in the city. But from there we could see out over the port and the city. Its surprising how much Lisbon looks like San Fransisco.. its built on hills and is definitely a city, but still has lots of greenery, and it also has the same type of cute colored buildings everywhere. After the tour it was time for dinner and the girls and I went back to Barrio Alto to find something tasty.
When we got back to the hotel we decided to go out and explore the nightlife a bit, so we got a little bit glamorous and first made our way to the roof of the hotel where there was a bar, and then headed out on the town around one. What we weren't expecting was Cadiz Carnival round two (except less gross and minus the costumes.) Everyone was in the streets and we literally had to hold hands to walk through the crowd and not get separated. Overall it was a pretty good night except for the fact that someones camera got stolen. boo. but we went to a reggaeton bar!
Then we got a city tour. All fifty-ish of us piled off the bus into a central plaza and were herded around the city. Although being in a giant tour group is super awkward, the city was gorgeous and much more european and historical that I had anticipated. I dont know why, but for some reason when I think of Portugal I don't associate it with Europe. I kind of think of it as its own thing. Its attached to Europe, but in my mind it doesnt have a history like Spain or France or Germany do.. But today I actually got to see its history, and it finally found its place in my brain with the rest of Europe.
We walked up to Barrio Alto, which is literally what its name means Barrio Alto=High Neighborhood, and its literally a neighborhood on the top of a hill in the city. But from there we could see out over the port and the city. Its surprising how much Lisbon looks like San Fransisco.. its built on hills and is definitely a city, but still has lots of greenery, and it also has the same type of cute colored buildings everywhere. After the tour it was time for dinner and the girls and I went back to Barrio Alto to find something tasty.
When we got back to the hotel we decided to go out and explore the nightlife a bit, so we got a little bit glamorous and first made our way to the roof of the hotel where there was a bar, and then headed out on the town around one. What we weren't expecting was Cadiz Carnival round two (except less gross and minus the costumes.) Everyone was in the streets and we literally had to hold hands to walk through the crowd and not get separated. Overall it was a pretty good night except for the fact that someones camera got stolen. boo. but we went to a reggaeton bar!
Picture of the day 1: View from Barrio Alto
Picture of the day 2: Another reason it looks like San Fran.. its got cable cars
Picture of the day 3: dinner with the girlies
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