Perfection

I have found paradise and its name is Portugal.

Mamu, I know you said Portugal wasn´t on your list of places to visit, on account of having seen Spain, but let me tell you, this país is not to be skipped.

After a few friends came to Lisboa last weekend and had a blast, I figured it was time for me to get out of the country again, so Jana and I picked up and headed out for a weekend on the other side of the peninsula.

After taking an overnight bus ride, realizing that Portugal is in fact one hour behind Madrid, being let in to the hostel by a sleepy French man and waiting for an hour for the staff to arrive so we could check in, I must admit, I was crossing my fingers and praying that this would be a trip well worth it.

Boy did I get my wish.

I don´t have time to list all the details and write everything here right now, but I had such a great day today that I just had to let you know. After bonding over an amazing breakfast of pastries and coffee (seriously, what could be better than that), Jana and I planned our our day and settled on a four-hour tour of the Lisboa suburbs of Sintra and Casias.

We drove through the Portugese countryside, enjoyed Portugese food, ate more pastries served by a shy but cute waiter, visited the westernmost point in continental Europe, and basically enjoyed what is fast becoming my favorite country (yes Spain, I said it).

The scenery is stunning, the people friendly, and the language, almost totally understandable if you´ve got a Spanish background.

I´ve got line after line of adoration to offer you, but the hostel chef just brought our tonight´s dinner of pasta carbonara, and my stomach is calling louder than these fingers are typing.

Until later, boa noite from Lisboa!