Sunday, November 24, 2013

Portugal

Hi!
   I know, I know I bet you're all surprised that there is another blog post coming so quickly after my previous one! Well here it is and its about: you guessed it…Portugal! In my last blog post, I mentioned that on our last day in Italy Nick left to go back to Paris and I left for Portugal. Well, Nick actually left in the morning and my flight wasn't until 9 pm so I spent the day in Venice all by myself. Let's just say there was a lot of wandering around, sitting on benches, and riding the Vaporetto. I definitely consider myself a people person and I really don't like being by myself--traveling, especially. So my flight to Portugal couldn't come sooner! Plus, I was going to be seeing my favorite people in the world so there was that excitement too! I got to the airport a little early because a) I was getting bored (I know, you're probably thinking how can you be bored you're in Venice?! Well trust me, it's possible!) and b) because I was so excited I figured why not get there early just in case. At 9 pm, I hopped on my flight and touched down in Portugal at 11:30 only to walk out of the arrivals section to one of the most classic Mertens Family scenes: Dad waving, Andrew waving even more excitedly to embarrass me, and Mom & Chris excitedly walking over to me. It was great!
   We grabbed a cab and headed to our apartment that we would be staying in for the week. We caught up, hung around, and ate loads of my favorite American chocolates that my mom brought over for me…sadly, they didn't make it past Monday. My brother's friend, Norman, who we've known since elementary school met up with us in Portugal since he's teaching english in a village in Spain. One thing I love about traveling with my family is that it's so relaxed and low key. We woke up late the next morning because everyone was getting used to the time difference, grabbed lunch, and did what our family does best…explored Europe by bus. My dad LOVES these guided bus tours, so naturally we had to buy tickets. Now I know, they scream "TOURIST" but I have to say that for someone who isn't going to be in the city for a long time, they do a pretty good job of getting you around and showing all the city has to offer in terms of monuments and such.
My favorite boys!

Lovin' the bus life!
 We rode around on the bus for a bit before deciding to take a shuttle bus up to the top of this castle that overlooks all of Lisbon--it was absolutely beautiful!
The view from above
Andrew, Chris, Norman and I 


Family photo + Norman

   After walking around a bit, we headed to a cafe to grab some drinks. Both Chris and Norman ordered hot chocolate which was basically a melted chocolate bar in a mug…Oh my god it was heavenly. I had half of Chris' and finished off Norman's. It was unreal.
Pure happiness

    Later that afternoon we walked around, went shopping a bit, and grabbed dinner. Everyone was pretty tired so we went to bed early and woke up a little bit earlier than the day before. The next day we went to the Santa Justa elevator. Yup, you read that right: an elevator. Lisbon is known for its hilly terrain and in the 1800s they decided to build this elevator to help connect Baixa Square to Carmo Square. At the top of this elevator is a platform where you can see all of Lisbon which was really cool. Similar to the lookout on top of the castle except now you actually get to see the castle. 
The elevator in all it's glory
    The rest of the day was spent using our bus passes to stop at different places in Lisbon. We stopped at the Belem Tower which was built in the 1500s as a watchtower for incoming boats. Andrew, Dad, and I decided to venture inside and go to the top which was a mistake. We got to the top and saw all it had to offer which took 5 mins top and then waited in line for 45 mins to go back down the small winding staircase. When we finally got down, we hopped back on the bus and took it around for a little longer before making our way back to the apartment where everyone ended up taking a nap and having a small homemade dinner. 
Belem Tower
Sunset from our terrace

    Our last full day in Portugal was spent in this small town called Sintra which is a 45 minute train ride from Lisbon. It's a small town that has many different royal buildings from castles to estates. At the halfway point of the hill, there is this Castle of the Moors that you can get to by walking up all these stairs. We opted out of that one since it would just  be another look-out point and decided instead to go to the castle which was up the hill. It was a pretty castle, but for the size of it I didn't think it measured up inside. Maybe I'm biased because I'm studying in France, but I think that the French have the whole castles and chateaux thing under their belt. 
Someone clearly lived in Florida for two years...


Potential Christmas card??
   After spending some time wandering around the castle, we went back down into town where we grabbed lunch and then walked around the town. We made our way back to the train station and returned to Lisbon, where we found a restaurant for dinner. This restaurant was definitely what you would consider a local neighborhood restaurant. No one spoke English and we couldn't speak Portuguese so there was a lot of pointing and guessing. The dinner ended up being pretty good even though no one knew what they had ordered! 
   The next day was spent lounging around and cleaning since Mom, Dad, and Chris were leaving in the afternoon. We had lunch at this delicious Italian restaurant and then said our goodbyes. Crazy to think I wouldn't see them til December! Andrew and I were leaving the next day so we decided to walk around and do a little shopping. Overall, it was a great trip! I LOVED seeing my family and being abroad with them is always an adventure! Hope all is well in the States and everyone is getting ready for Thanksgiving! 

Steph 

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