So its day twelve and Kris and I are taking a much, much, MUCH needed down day. Its really our first one since we arrived in Europe and the last few days have been mayhem. I dont think I ever wrote from Lisbon, so Ill start there...
We loved Lisbon. After Porto was a big disappointment, we were way into Lisbon´s cool atmosphere. I find it really, really difficult to pinpoint what I liked so much about it. Our hostel was fantastic and we met a WestJet flight attendant from Calgary, Sommer, about five minutes after we arrived, and we spent most of our time there with her. We spent most of our time in Lisbon just wandering around and doing nothing that would interest anyone reading...It was really, really muggy and hot. Our last night was probably our best one in Lisbon. After eating at non-authentic Portugeuse restaurants for days (Kaje and I took some time to get our appetites back and every time we ordered something, we got something very unexpected and often very unappetizing) we went out for a legit Portugeuse dinner with Sommer. We sat on the big main promenade in a sidewalk restaurant and had a budget-busting seafood dinner made in copper plates..very authentic and delicious. We also killed three bottles of wine and tried to help Sommer pick up Felipe, a waiter Sommer had met days before and partied with. He was about the most charming and attractive (in a Id-never-like-you-in-Canada-Don-Juan kind of way) waiter Ive ever had so we left him an outrageous tip (on our final bottle of wine we tipped 75%...and tipping isnt customary in Portugal) but it didnt work. He walked us back to the hotel after dinner but he didnt stay...I guess the tip was a bit of waste, really.
So now we are in Lagos in the Algarve in Southern Portugal and it is absolutely amazing. I could honestly stay here forever. They say Lagos is like a black hole--it sucks people in and doesnt let them go and I think this is true because nearly everyone weve met here stayed extra nights. Kris and I have added two nights to our already-lengthy four-night stay. The coast is absolutely beautiful, with the most gorgeous little grottoes with cute little beaches with perfect sand. The colors of the water in these little coves is indescribable. It is heaven. Today Im nursing a couple weird patches of sunburn (the sun is still really strong) and am staying away from the beach, but it is really hard.
Were staying at a hostel called Carlos House, which is honestly part of the reason why so many people stay so long. It is the most social hostel Ive ever been in. It has this rooftop terrace where everyone congregates and drinks before going out together. Its really nice. the first night, we just went to the beach and drank and hung out. Kaje and I met some really cool Australian boys (actually I think there are probably more Australian guys around here than Portugeuse)...The next night and last night, we went out to bars and partied until 4 in these packed tiny little bars that are like the size of the average bedroom. We had a blast dancing and drinking these enormous 10-person drinks in huge fishbowls with three-foot long straws. Last night, Kris and some other Canadians did Canada proud by doing a beerbong to win points for Canada on this board. She looked like she was going to die while she was doing it, but she pulled through. I dont think Ive ever been so proud. (haha). Dont worry, there are pictures.
Eurokris is really kicking it into high gear...I have on nights and off nights, but she is off to a running start.
Wow this is getting really really long...One more story. We went surfing the other day--Kris, this rad British girl Meryl, and I with this surf school called Fun Ride. This Portugeuse guy (Paul) and a guy from California (Mikey) came and picked us up in Lagos and took us to the West Coast, where the best surfing is, and gave us a lesson. It was really fun but a really weird day. Paul was a bit of a Nazi as far as surf instructors go. He was really lacking in the positive reinforcement department, and we had to do TONS of practice on the beach before we got to go in the water and he kept barking "Again!" and getting really frustrated with us and telling us that we obviously hadnt listened to shit. We all thought that we were doing alright and we were having fun (although we had to hold our surfboards out of the water and go one at a time for a long time in crashing surf and it was sooo tiring) but he told us were shit..Literally, on the way home I told the girls that I was proud of us (we all got up by the end of the day, but only briefly because we were in shallow water) but Paul informed us that we were shit surfers. At the end of the day, it was freezing and windy and we got changed and were standing around in our bathing suits and they just disappeared and started cooking sardines on this grill behind their hut. We went back to warm up and they ignored us for two hours and talked in Portugeuse and didnt make any mention of taking us home. They gave us sardines though, which were surprisingly really good once you got past the removing the innards and all that. It was strange, because it really didnt have the makings of a good day but it was actually was a fantastic one.
Wow this has gotten really long, and there is still so much more to say. Is anyone still actually reading? To sum up--Portugal is great fun and beautiful and I dont want to leave...But we are headed to Madrid after a couple more days on the beach.
The photos are coming soon...I am uploading them to Shutterfly right now and it is taking YEARS.
Love,
Chels
No comments:
Post a Comment