Lisbon

i can't say i have any complaints about the train trip to Lisbon (i know, this could be a first) it was only 3 hours, which is nothing, and i read a fair bit of my book, which is good. the only problem i encountered was finding somewhere to sleep. because of Easter i think everyone is on holidays, so many hostels are booked out. a couple of people that i've met have had to swap and change a number of times, so i guess i was lucky i only had to change twice. the first night i stayed in a OK hostel that was a bit out of town, all i care about was somewhere to sleep really, so it didn't worry me too much. the rest of the time i spent in Lisbon i spent at a really nice little hostel that was a bit closer to the city. the people that ran it were really friendly and helped me plan my day, showing me what areas to check out. i also met some cool people there, on the first day i met a group of American girls that were teaching English in Spain and 2 Brazilian guys that were on holiday, they were a really nice group and we all went and checked out 'Castelo de Sao Jorge' which is the castle on the hill that overlooks the town. it was quite a good castle really, but i found out later that it wasn't the original. it was rebuilt about 200 years ago, so its still pretty old. the area surrounding it was quite interesting too, great buildings all painted different colours. on a tuedays, not far from the Castle they have a flea market, which was quite good, though i kind of find it funny what some people think is worth selling, there was stuff there that was just junk, well, maybe to the untrained eye it was.

Lisbon is broken up into a few different areas. I found the 'Bairro Alto' area quite cool, plenty of little art galleries, street are, live music, bars and cafes and course the characters that come with them. i was just wandering around there and i noticed a few people were going down an alley way so being the inquisitive person i am, i followed them. probably the best idea i've ever had. i noticed that everyone was going to a park. the 'Bairro Alto' area is quite an elevated part of the city, and the park had an awesome view over the city and water. all these hippies were there drinking beer and wine and playing bongo's, it was brilliant!

although its nice during the day time, and i've had some great weather while i've been here, i think that Lisbon looks best at night, the way the street lamps lights up the streets and highlight the peeling paint and copple stones, looks nothing short of amazing. also the crowds from the bars spill into the street, so it makes it feel very festive. only problem is with that time of night, just like in Barcelona, if you walk around, you get offered drugs quite a bit.

Its quite hilly here in Lisbon, so there's no wonder that they have quite a number of trams, trolleys, and funiculars to get around. even though there were a couple of trams and funiculars in Porto, i think its more of a experience to ride them in Lisbon, most of them are quite old and i think some of them are heritage listed, i really like hearing them clunking there way around the town, i think its a really good way to get around and experience the town. they also have a huge lift, which connects the lower part of the town to the higher part. i found it quite beautiful, apparently i was designed by a guy that worked for Gustave Eiffel (the designer of the Eiffel tower), and you can kind of see the influence.

i did a trip out to Belem, you can get a train there, but because the weather was so nice, i decided to walk. Belem is just on the outskirts of Lisbon and originally would've been on its own, but because Lisbon has sprawled out over the years, its now kind of part of Lisbon. its quite a nice little spot, they have some nice parks and a number of museums there, even though i didn't end up going in, one of the buildings, Jerónimos Monastery, was huge, quite elaborate and interesting to look at. There is also Belem Palace, which was originally built for royalty but its now the official residence of the President of Portugal. i went to the Contempary Art Gallery. which wasn't too bad, they had a couple of big names in Warhol and Hockney, and there one one room that had projections of mice running around on the floor, which was kind of cool. but, the main reason i came to visit Belem is to get a 'pastéis de Belém' which is there specialty here. its kind of like a creme brulee, but in a tart. very nice.

when i was in Chester staying with my friend Celeste (click here to read the Chester post), i spoke to her parents who had visited Lisbon once before. they recommended that i should do a day trip out to a place called Sintra. i'm so glad i did. Sintra is a little over half an hour on a train from Lisbon and is know for its 'romantic architecture'. the town isn't very big but its very cute with its little lanes to explore. in the 'old town' part of the city, there are a number of nice buildings, the 'town hall' is one of them, and also the 'Sintra National Palace' which is nice, but in my opinion, probably not as nice as a few of the other attractions. only problem is a few of the other things to see are quite far apart. you can walk them but it takes a while, so i caught the bus. 'Pena National Palace' was a big of a highlight for me. it was a little bit expensive to get in, but i felt it was worth it. i've see a number of castles and palaces now, but i felt this one was probably one of the best. it looks a little bit like something from a fairy tale. the inside is really nicely preserved, in a way, it kind of feels like you're having a gander while the King or Queen have just popped out for for some lunch. the palace is perched right on the top of a hill and as you can imagine, the views from up there amazing. looking over neighbouring towns and the surrounding park land, you can even see as far as the ocean. i probably would've gone into more buildings but you had to pay quite a bit to enter them, which was a bit of a downer, but i guess yo can't do everything. while i was there i was told to try a pastry called 'travesseiros de sintra' as the name suggests, its from Sintra. i'm not intirely sure what was in it, but it was quite sweet. i really liked Sintra, if anyone asked me what to do i recommend a trip out there.

i ran into a few people that i met in Porto, so we went out to bars and ate together a few times, it broke the budget a little bit but i figured that while i had good company i should take advantage of it. so often i haven't found cool people to hang out with, sometimes there are just some people you don't click with, and traveling on your own can be quite lonely at times, so i figured i should make the most of hanging out with people i like while i can.

i think the Portugese language is a strange one. because of its location you would kind of expect it to sound really similar to Spanish, or perhaps have a bit of an Italian feel too it. on paper it does look a little bit spanish, but it doesn't really sound like that at all, if anything it sounds a little bit Polish or something from around that area.

People here in Portugal and Spain are pretty laid back, you always see people sitting drinking coffee, having a cigar or reading the paper, which is great, i could kind of get used to this kind of life style, minus the cigar bit. but in someways they kind of lack work ethic. one of the American girl was telling me that one of her friends that she is studying with, who is Spanish, only just got her first job and she is 24. i ask if she just meant a professional job, but no, she meant ever! the girl was just handing out flyers and she was so pleased with herself because most people her age dont work and study, they sponge off there parents. which i think is kind of strange. having said that, since i've been traveling i've realise how hard Australians work, maybe even to a point where we work too much.

since i've been traveling i've been told i look either French or Irish, which i guess is slightly believable. most people don't have a clue where may accent is from, which i think is a dead giveaway, though i think it might have softened since i've been away. but i got told the other day that i looked Portuguese, which i think is a bit of a stretch, considering the Portuguese are generally quite dark and i'm as pasty as they come.

i heard that Porto and Lisbon are poles apart and i think that is true. there are some things that they have in common, but at the end of the day Lisbon is a capital city and has many traits of a capital. first thing i noticed about Lisbon was i found it to be 'on show'. its a lot more polished than Porto, they have big brand shops, shopping centres etc. and most of the houses and buildings are generally bigger and more looked after. its not until you get out out the city centre a bit that you start to find abandoned or decaying buildings, which i find a little bit more interesting, i think they have more character. also,you see a lot more tourists around. don't get me wrong. Lisbon still has its charm but i think i just prefered Porto a little bit more, i think mainly because i'm a little bit over bigger cities now. i'm off to Largos next which should be quite nice, hopefully the weathers good so i can enjoy the beaches, and i don't mean Bette Midler singing 'Wind Beneath My Wings'. more when i get there.