Portugal is so beautiful I didn't want to leave. {Big surprise, I'm sure!} This was my first trip to Europe, and I absolutely cannot wait to go back - anywhere. Just walking down streets made me happy: architecture, trees, history.
We started our trip in Lisbon. It was chilly, but we didn't care. {Actually, I cared a little bit because I didn't pack very well haha.} One thing that caught both Jeff and I very off guard happened our first night as we were paying our dinner bill. I know, if we had read the Lonely Planet for Portugal, we would have realized: bread and butter are not free starters like they are ...mmm..almost everywhere else I've ever been. I'm not kidding, the tiny packets of butter cost 1.25 Euros each. Haha! Live and learn. A lovely thing about the city is the fact that graffiti art is embraced here. There are some amazingly talented artists out there, and I am always surprised at how well they can direct a spray paint nozzle! I'd have drips and drops everywhere.
For a quick break down, here's what we were up against:
Bakeries on every corner. That's a bacon and cheese pancake up there. I am a huge fan of sweet and salty...perfect. And yes, that's a beer with a breakfast food. {In my defense this was a lunch! Also, living in a dry country has a way of really making the adult beverages a welcome retreat on vacations!} A bottle of wine cost about 10 Euros at restaurants {the bottles we ordered anyway! Cheapo.} and a whopping 2 Euros at the grocery store!
We started our trip in Lisbon. It was chilly, but we didn't care. {Actually, I cared a little bit because I didn't pack very well haha.} One thing that caught both Jeff and I very off guard happened our first night as we were paying our dinner bill. I know, if we had read the Lonely Planet for Portugal, we would have realized: bread and butter are not free starters like they are ...mmm..almost everywhere else I've ever been. I'm not kidding, the tiny packets of butter cost 1.25 Euros each. Haha! Live and learn. A lovely thing about the city is the fact that graffiti art is embraced here. There are some amazingly talented artists out there, and I am always surprised at how well they can direct a spray paint nozzle! I'd have drips and drops everywhere.
We took a ride on the famous Tram 28, which takes you around to some really neat parts of the city.
As we moved down to Lagos in the south, we had a couple of fantastically sunny days, a few great sunsets and even managed to go sailing.
On a sad note, Jeff left his Kobo on a bus. Even worse? If we had stayed just one more day he could have gotten it back. He, of course, used this "opportunity" to buy an iPad to fill the void. Thanks for standing strong through all the recent abuse, bank account.
Here's how we ended the trip:
That's a delicious ending! I'm pretty sure that it was only about two hours after we got back here that I said, "We need a health kick now." We were lucky enough to meet Jeff's sister there, and she is this super cute and tiny lady {also - talented! She is a style editor for the Toronto magazine Canadian Family} who is "gluten-free." She was eating all kinds of fruit, veggies and nuts while were there, and I sort of envy her ability to avoid bread products. I'm a HUGE fan of bread. I'm not going to cut it out - yeah, right! - but I am going to make a conscious decision to snack on things like grapes and almonds instead of Doritos.
And now that we're back I have about a million things to do with about a million missed blog posts to read up on! Gotta love Spring break :)
- Amanda
I was wondering where you were. Sounds like you had a great trip. Love your pictures.
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