A Weekend in Portugal

So I spent the weekend in Lisbon, Portugal with 9 friends this past weekend. I really hope that if possible, everyone try to make it out to Portugal at some point in their life. That is by far the most beautiful city I've ever seen!



There were a bunch of wild fruit trees (lemon, orange, pear) everywhere! (We actually picked an orange and then abandoned it outside at a castle, because we heard you they taste awful...but regardless, the trees are really pretty). While we were at said castle, we came upon a wild peacock:

And speaking of castles, me and my friends Jeff and David went to another castle in Sintra...which I don't mean to be rude, but them kings from the 1100s were crazy! Why you ask? Well, they for some reason decided to build this castle atop a mountain. Which is all fine and dandy...unless you want to walk there. It felt like we climbed forever, and then when we finally got to the castle, there were very very very many stairs!!! It was so fun, but so exhausting. And then we came down the mountain a different way (aka the wrong way) and ended up walking along the road for I think about 3 kilometers. We got to the train station at 6:14, and the train left at 6:16...talk about great timing!

 
















Really the only negative thing I can say about Portugal is that the night time is a little bit scary...There are a lot of homeless people who kind of moan and beg as you pass them. I hate the feeling of wanting to help, but not being able to. And the other thing that I absolutely hated was that I was offered to buy cocaine six separate times...that was really uncomfortable. People walk right up beside you (after identifying us as foreign...and assuming we speak english) and say things like, "ok, you want cocaine? is good stuff! I give you good price to try." and they don't respond to "no" and sometimes when you try and walk faster they keep pace and keep murmuring to you about it. But other than that, everything was absolutely amazing!

When we got back from our mountain/castle adventure, we went to dinner at a restaurant called 'amo.te' (I love you). I was so excited about the name...And how do they show that they love you...?  :

A HEART-SHAPED TUNA SANDWICH!!!!!!! I would like for every sandwich I eat from now on to be in a heart shape and served on a plate that says 'amo te'.

Ok, also let me just show you the sky on the first night in Portugal. These were taken at the same time, just one facing out over the ocean, and then I turned and took one of the other direction. Yeah, I'd say Portugal is perfect!

 

And now that I am back in Salamanca, I have those crazy things called classes, so I am off to read a play (mehhh) Hasta pronto!

Amor,
Rachel