Lisboa

Lisboa: a small village

I was lucky enough to have Alexandre’s friend be my tour guide in Lisboa. He showed me all the good views.

In Lisboa, I found, downtown was full of old, small buildings, while the suburbs where full of high-rise apartments. Exact opposite of U.S....

Sintra

I went to Sintra, a nearby picturesque town with royal palaces and castles. There I met Emma and Martin, fellow travellers from London.

I went to Sintra alone. It was the first time in a while I was travelling in touristy places without a guide. It was good to remind myself of the mantra “a strager is a friend you haven’t met” and meet new people

On the way up to the moorish castle on top of the mountain (see above picture), I ran into Fabia and Pierre, a middle-aged French couple from Paris. I had no idea I would use French again so soon! 

On top of the castle. Reminds me of the great wall of China!

At one point, I was explaining something from the guide book to Pierre, and he remarked “Nous avons de la chance d’avoir un chinois-americain, qui nous explique en francais, les choses portugaises”