When I arrived in Lisbon it was already late, and I was exhausted from a full day of traveling. I made it to the hostel in one piece and crashed for the night, hoping to be refreshed and ready to go the following morning. The next day I felt rejuvenated from the good night sleep, so I decided to take a run. I enjoy running and have found it to be one of the best ways to familiarize myself with a new area, since I cover more ground than walking but am not closed in on a bus or a car. I explored the Alfama district, an old part of the city not far from the hostel. The architecture was quite interesting, but the hills sure made it tough on the run!
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| the Alfama district |
After a shower and lunch I headed over to the Belém Tower, which is at the mouth of the Tagus River and was built in the 16th century as a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. Right across the street from the tower is a beautiful monastery which houses the remains of the famous Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, as well as the National Archeological Museum.
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| Belem Tower |
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| National Archeological Museum |
I returned to the hostel in the evening and met two graduate students from Indiana University who were studying in Spain for the summer. That night the three of us went out along with an Australian and German tourist to Bairro Alto, an area in central Lisbon known for its nightlife. It didn’t disappoint either – entire roads were filled with people drinking and bar hopping – no open container laws! (I started to get used to that on my study abroad, only to be let down when I came back home).
The second day I went with the two grad students to the Castle of São Jorge, which had a great view overlooking the old part of Lisbon. We met up with a pal of theirs for lunch in the old city, and then took the subway out to the Lisbon aquarium. We checked out the building, but the guys I was with didn’t feel like paying the 15 Euros or so to get in, so we just explored the surrounding area. They decided to visit the Belém Tower, but since I had already been there the day before we split up and planned to meet back at the hostel.
On the map I found what I thought was a botanical garden and headed across the city to check it out. Problem was that the Jardim was actually a Jardim Zoológico – aka a zoo! I felt pretty dumb when I realized my mistake, but thought what the heck, I’ll go to the zoo anyway (and of course it turned out to be more expensive then the aquarium…oh well). The trip was fun anyway; the weather was great and it was relaxing to just stroll around the grounds and check out the various exhibits.
Around six I made my way back to the hostel to meet up with the IU guys for dinner, and after I had to get on my way – I had a train to catch! Before I started the trip I had booked a sleeper car from Lisbon to Madrid for that night. I found the train station fine and with plenty of time, but the track schedule had changed. Being that it was the first time that I had used my Eurorail pass I also needed to get it activated.
After a little scare trying to find the right platform, I got my pass sorted out and caught the sleeper with only a few minutes to spare. The beds were small and basic, but they fit my criteria – as long as I could get some sleep I was fine! And I lucked out too; there were four beds in my room but I was the only one there. Surprisingly it didn’t take me long to fall asleep, and before I knew it we were almost in Madrid.
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I would have liked to explore other areas of Portugal,
but time constraints limited me to Lisbon |
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| sleeper Eurorail car |
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