Fog, rain, and castles.....

I woke up Sunday feeling great after an 11 hour sleep. I needed it. I got ready for my day and then went up for breakfast which included fruit! Yahoo! I grabbed my raincoat and walked down to the train station to go to Sintra. After a 40 minute ride we arrived. I had some trouble scanning my train ticket to get out of the station and thought I'd be left behind as everyone was out of the station already. It finally worked and I went straight to the information desk and asked for a map. The woman gave it to me and then sat giving me a blank stare. I finally asked "um, where do I go?"  Haha, I had no idea what there was to see in Sintra but I had heard it was beautiful. She explained there was a bus you could take to the furthest castle and then take it to the next one and then back town.(this ended up being a lie.) So I hopped on the bus and went to Pena. I decided that I've probably seen enough castles and usually the outside is the best part anyways so I paid to go in the parks instead. I had met a man from Chicah-go named Rick who was a retired teacher and so we walked up to the palace together. It was beautiful, especially with the fog. I then started down to start my walk through the park. I wandered around confused about where I was and where I was going and the ended up back at the palace! I had just walked in a very steep circle! I asked a man driving a trolley car for directions and he was kind enough to get out of the trolley and walk me to the path and point the way. He asked where I wanted to go and I responded that I just wanted to get in the park! Haha he probably thought I was looney! I walked along in awe of the beauty the fog was creating. It was so mystical and magical. It was also a bit confusing because you couldn't see anything in the distance or through the trees so there was no way to tell where you were! Not to mention the signs don't match the map and usually just give you a way out. I saw some amazing lookouts (which were obviously just looking into fog!) I also saw some beautiful trees and huge boulders. It was lovely. I found my way to the valley of the lakes where a black swan followed me around the little pond ready to defend his eggs. The other swan stood over the eggs flapping her wings until I left. Can I just say the ducks in this park are spoiled, they live in an amazing duck palace! I walked through the gates and to the bus stop and ran into Rick again! He was just walking up the road towards the bus stop. We got in the bus and ran into trouble with our tickets. They were return tickets but in a circle so the next castle we wanted to go to should have been our first. The driver was really nice and let me stay on the bus (it goes in a circle). We went next to the Moorish castle and I paid for my admission. Rick didn't have enough money so hewalked with me to the entrance and then went on his way. This castle was just ruins but you could walk along the walls. It was spooky as when you look out all there is is white, there's no ground or sky.....it was like you were in the clouds! I met Maurice from Mexico who is researching electric cars for his PhD in the Uk. He was really interesting. We walked back to the bus stop and I got off in the historical centre and he continued to the train station.

At this point I was starving so I window shopped for some lunch. I found a little bakery with some sandwiches and the "waiter"behind the counter helped me pick some lunch. Afterwards, I had some dessert, another tart. It was tasty; the crust was more flaky but otherwise very similar to the one I had the day before. I had a fabulous talk with another guy working there and he told me all the places I should go in Portugal. He also explained the the Spanish are so rude towards me because of their pride. (I told him that they speak faster and don't try to clarify when I explain I don't speak Spanish). So far the Portugese have been amazing! I walked around the centre a little after that before walking back to the train station. Sculptures lined the road so it was a very interesting walk back.

I arrived back at the hostel and had some dinner. I booked a flight from Madrid to Berlin and found out about buses to Madrid. I was planning to go to Porto but I just don't have any time sadly. I spent some time chatting to one of my room mates from Brazil and then packed my bag and headed to bed.

This morning I woke up and went out to buy my bus ticket for my overnight bus trip to Madrid (man I hate these overnights). At least it's long enough to actually sleep, I hope. I also really hope there's a toilet! I then went over to a part of Lisbon called Belem. I took a yellow tram car over, which was surprisingly bumpy. On board I met some English folks from a cruise just in for the day. The cruise destination was originally supposed to be Israel but it was cancelled due to the fighting there....how disappointing! I wandered around finding monuments and beautiful buildings. Many of the houses and businesses have ceramic tiles as their facade. It is gorgeous. I had some lunch at a small cafe: vegetable soup, Bacalhau Braza , and a drink! Except they charged me almost 1€ for butter! Ugh! Afterwards I went to a bakery that specialized tarts called Pastel De Belem. There was a huge lineup before lunch but afterwards I was able to buy one no problem. It was even still warm! Wowzas! It actually ended up being the same as the tart in Sintra! I walked up a huge hill to find 2 monuments but all I could find was one, but it wasn't anything too special so I enjoyed my steep walk down and wandered the streets admiring architecture and the details of the buildings. At one point I found an abandoned pink mansion with a huge front yard. It was so sad how rough it looked when you could see how beautiful it would have been. I caught the tram back to the centre and walked to the water to enjoy some sun and eat my tart. I met a man from Brazil who was trying to talk to me but I don't speak Portuguese and he didn't speak English. His friend eventually came over and translated although I pretty much figured out that he wanted to go out. Oh boy. After capturing some lovely shots of the sun on the water I started walking back to my hostel, leaving my new friend behind.  I have only an hour before I leave for my bus so I am chilling at the hostel. I will not miss this bus!

It's Amber's birthday today so I thought lots of her! I saw an army base with tanks and took a picture! Can you believe she is 30 today?!?! Wish she could be here with me to celebrate! Xo