Why did I have so much time to travel? This past week was Feria, yet another of Seville's week-long holidays in which classes are canceled and all businesses shut down. (They're very anti-working and pro-festival here, which I can definitely get behind.) First, I went to Lisbon, Portugal for three days with my study abroad program. Immediately after that, Ramya and I spent six days in Barcelona, Spain and Avignon, France. We returned early Sunday morning to enjoy the last day of Feria in Seville. In those ten days of travel, three were completely sleepless (oh, trust me, you'll hear why later). Let's start with Portugal!
On Friday morning at 8:00 a.m., we all piled onto the bus for a seven-hour ride to Lisbon. Though I was excited to visit a new country, I really didn't have high expectations. Firstly, the only thing I associate with Portugal are Portuguese Man o' Wars (the less-pleasant cousin of the jellyfish). Secondly, I had heard from multiple people that Portugal was basically Spain, but less fun, poorer, and dirtier.
The main benefit of program-planned trips is that instead of staying at the sketchiest hostels known to man, we stay at nice hotels. It's a bit hard to see, but there are two pots of giant flowers actually WITHIN the revolving door. What?!
We had a little over an hour of free time after checking into the hotel, so Ramya and I decided to walk to the nearby King Edward VII park. It's the second-biggest park in Lisbon, according to my trusted sources at Wikipedia. The weather was pretty gloomy, but it was still nice to explore the city.
A view from the top of the park to the ocean. Even though I walked past it 30 times while we were there, I still have no idea who that giant statue is supposed to represent. Let's go with either Christopher Colombus or Jesus, they're safe bets.
After the park, we heard a talk on Portuguese history and the European Union given by a professor at the University of Lisbon. I found it very interesting-- for example, I had no idea that Portugal was a dictatorship until 1968-- though I'm pretty sure I was the only one paying attention.
A stealth picture of the gentleman who gave the lecture. He couldn't get his PowerPoint presentation to work, providing still more evidence that professors worldwide find basic technology completely baffling. One of my professors at the University of Seville can't even figure out how to adjust the volume on the computer.
After the talk ended, we went on a guided walking tour of the city. It's very charming even though most of the town was destroyed in a 1755 earthquake (which, considering all of the recent earthquakes, was not a comforting fact). I took about 200 pictures of random buildings because Portugal has very colorful, interesting architecture.
I want to live here! There's no way your life could be anything but wonderful in such a cheery building.
A massive elevator built in the early 1900s for rich people who didn't want to walk up the hill to Barrio Alto. Fun fact: it was built by a student of Alexandre Gustav Eiffel, of Eiffel Tower fame.
An overhead view of one of Lisbon's main plazas.
The sunset on the beach in Lisbon. Note the bridge in the background resembling the Golden Gate Bridge (they're designed by the same architect, what a one-trick pony).
The next day, we woke up early, ate breakfast, and headed to Sintra, a small town close to Lisbon.
The breakfast was delightful!! I was there for a solid two hours every morning, both stuffing my face and then stuffing my backpack with food so I wouldn't have to buy lunch. (Hey, they were asking for it by providing juice boxes and materials for sandwiches.)
Oh my goodness. This castle in Sintra (called Palacio de la Pena, if I remember correctly) was the coolest thing that I've seen during my months here. It's located in a giant park and, aside from the excellence of the building itself, it provides amazing views. Totally worth the harrowing bus ride and the long uphill hike.
A better picture of the castle, though it still doesn't capture the full amazingness of it. It's a mix of styles-- there's a bright yellow dome, and Muslim arches, and then pink German-influenced towers. I love it when architects can't make up their minds. The inside is amazing too, but no pictures were allowed and all of my stealth pictures turned out pathetically blurry. Alas.
The terrifying statue over the main entrance-- it's some sort of mythical sea creature, according to our guide. It also looks a lot like me when I don't get enough sleep. Coincidence?
After leaving the castle and eating a quick lunch, we headed to the Tower of Belem on the coast. The Tower of Belem an ancient military tower meant to guard the entrance of the Tagus River. It's about seven stories tall, all connected by one narrow, winding staircase.
Sorry, Seville, but this tower is way better than the Torre del Oro.
Hanging out in one of the guard posts. Note how small the door is-- I had to duck to get in. People in the past were just adorably tiny (thanks, poor nutrition!).
One of many narrow but deep pits in the tower that were used as jail cells back in the day. Least fun jail ever. At least they had the soothing sounds of the ocean, I guess?
People sailing on the coast.
After leaving the tower, we drove to the nearby Hieronymites Monastery. It was built in the 1500s by the Portuguese king Manuel I to commemorate the successful return of Vasco de Gama (who is now buried inside the church) from India.
This is the 10th cathedral that I've seen so far on my trip! Double digits! (Granted, it's not officially a cathedral but it's enormous, so I'm pretty sure that counts.)
It's very similar to the churches in Spain in terms of size, but the inside is much simpler. Less gold leaf, fewer statues of Mary and Jesus, fewer decorations in general.
The courtyard of the monastery.
The very last thing we did in Portugal was to try their most famous sweet: pastéis de nata. The pastry shop we went to in Lisbon is world-famous. It has the original, top-secret recipe for the cakes and sells 10,000 a day on week days (20,000 on weekends). It was the largest bakery I've ever seen and was completely packed at 4:00 p.m. on a Saturday.
Two "pastéis de nata", loosely translated as cream cakes. I was skeptical, seeing as there's no chocolate involved, but they were fantastic!
Hooray for cakes!
Ok, that's about it for Portugal. Next up: the debacle that was our trip to Barcelona/Avignon.