A practicar o portugues!

Hello friends and family and whoever else may be reading this:

It's been a while since I've updated this so I'll try to keep it short. Somehow.

In the past two weeks I:

-Had fun
-Went to Lisboa on my 5 day weekend
-Got sick from forementioned trip (possibly something to do with the 9 hour bus ride) and called in sick for the first time
-Went to work (barely... I have every Friday off plus yesterday was a holiday)
-Came home to a new washing machine in the apartment (this was today... hopefully it works better than the last)
-Have taken quite a few photos. And will be taking more, of course....

Those are some of the highlights, details time!

Lisboa sunrise

So, a little about Lisboa. I had been there last year while backpacking, but it was only for one or two nights. Not nearly enough time, but more destinations had to be seen, and I liked it a lot. This time around, however, I really loved it. We arrived bright and early on Friday and left on Tuesday morning- in this case, four nights were better than one. As you can see, the first sight we were able to see was the sunrise. After waiting for a bar to open and having a coffee we wandered aimlessly to the sea, as is so easily done in Lisboa, and were surprised at our perfect timing. Needless to say, we didn't wake up for the sunrise on any other day. The sunset is a different story... but I'll get to that.

Since I was wearing my camera around my neck for basically every daylight hour of the trip, I decided I would take as many photos of Portuguese people that I could. Toward the end of the trip I kind of eased up a bit, but these are some of the people I snapped. Mostly everyone was pretty willing to let me, especially if I asked them in Portuguese. Which of course I did- when else do I get a chance to practice my rusty Brazilian Portuguese? If it can't be Brazil, then let's make it Portugal.

 

 

   

Speaking of my accent, I kept things really short when talking to people- whether ordering a coffee or asking for directions or being social. That being said, I got asked so many times if I was either Portuguese or Brazilian that I was laughing happily basically every time I spoke. I guess I order a mean cafe com leite to get these people thinking I'm a native. I'll take it!

Lisboa is a beautiful city, and it made me realize how much I miss the ocean. I'd settle for any body of water near me. Madrid is great, but it's missing that. Unless I'm looking for a cloud of rainwater to fall on my head, it can't really offer me much in the water department. I am thrilled to post that I went sunbathing for what is surely the last time this year. It felt better than I would've imagined to be laying in a bathing suit on the sand... especially because I had to take off my pants, socks, and shoes to do it. I'm already tired of wearing pants, socks, and shoes. But let's save 'me vs. the cold' for another day. Back to the sunbathing... we took a train (more like a metro-ride) to Cascais, a beautiful little town right next to Lisboa. It took no time at all and made all the difference in the trip! Perfect weather, perfect everything. The waves were so big on one side of the beach that fully clothed people were getting soaked on the boardwalk. I melodramatically and quickly walked past those areas for fear that my camera would get wet (again, that thing was permanently around my neck).

I'm hoping that the tiny bit of sun I got that day will last me the entire winter. A girl can dream.

We also went to Sintra, now a UNESCO world heritage site which was a teeny town that resembled some old fashioned princess kind of town. It was complete with a castle, a palace, and a beautiful quinta (Quinta de Regaleira). Oh, as well as a waiter who gave me a dozen flirty sugar packets because he could see how much I liked the Portuguese phrases on it. I can't help how my face lights up when I'm into something! Anyway, we chose to stroll the Quinta because it was the talk of the town. With beautiful gardens, caves, and towers, I can see why. It kind of reminds me of the Labyrinth Park in Barcelona, but more beautiful and old fashioned. More Portuguese. 

Quinta da Regaleira 

Sintra

To close off, I have to say that the sky in Lisboa is possibly the most beautiful sky I've ever seen. Whether it's the sunrise, sunset, or just plain the middle of the day- it's something worth looking at. Not sure I've ever seen such vibrant colors... and of course everything just looks better with the water reflecting it.

A