Jun 15, 2009 - Lisboa

Ainda no aeroporto de Lisboa, diga-se de passagem muito bem estruturado internamente, passei pelas perguntas e olhares capiciosos dos agentes federais da imigração. Não sei como mais me deixaram entrar em Portugal. Enfim, passaporte carimbado. Bagagens na mão, sai da área de desembarque para a parte externa do aeroporto. Sem dúvida alguma parecia uma rodoviária. Gente estranha num lugar esquisito e quente. Aguardei um pouco para situar a local (enquanto esperava zé mama voltar do banheiro). Fui direto ao guiche turistico. De mapa na mão foi...

Jun 14, 2009 - Lisbon Sights

I had a long sleep, but still up early, I had already booked a breakfast, ( no idea how I am going to pay yet, and as you can imagine I am quite hungry). The reality of the situation hits me, I feel sad again Its still a good hour before the money exchange opens, so to save some money I walk into the city centre and take in some sights on the way before the tourists get there. I stumble on Parque Eduardo, which at its head has the largest flag I have ever seen in my life, it is of course a Portugal flag, its stunning, looking down the...

Jun 13, 2009 - New Country

The day started at 0415 with a shower, I needed to get the 0520 bus to the airport, as flight was at 0740, and i needed to eat before the flight. Quite a leisurely start to the day, but I was shocked when I looked out of the window to see a 747 directly overhead, and it was it seemed almost close enough to touch. Heathrow must have changed the runways over. The short trip to the airport, and security was fairly quick, although very busy for 0530. after a bite to eat, and then it it was time to board. Surprisingly for British Airways, it was...

Jun 13, 2009 - Its all gone wrong

I am afraid that despite the early start, and hassle free arrival in Lisbon, its all gone down hill very quickly, a venture down to the Baixa, has ended up with the loss of my wallet. I feel sick inside, and surprisingly despite the magnitude of what has happened I don’t feel stressed, more annoyed. I make a frantic search I begin to wonder have I left in the hotel room, so a hasty return by the metro back to the hotel. My heart sinks, its not here. My first steps is to get the credit cards stopped, and some long phone calls back to the UK...

May 11, 2009 - Portugal and Spain again

Hello everyone! Hope all is well at home in Calgary and Victoria and the rest of Canada! It has been a while since I wrote so I don´t quite remember where I finished- I believe we were on our way to Cascais, the beach town outside Lisbon. Well the beach was gorgeous and Katie and I alternated sleeping and reading in the sun and the shade. That evening the owners of the hostel cooked us chorizo in the traditional Portuguese manner. They use a special dish with bars across it; the sausage rests on the bars and below alcohol is lit on fire...

May 7, 2009 - Portugal

Hello once again! I am sitting at an internet station in our lovely hostel in Lisbon right now. This hostel is by far the most beautiful place we´ve stayed- it is decorated with very modern art-deco designs and is spotlessly clean. There is also a pretty swanky DVD room with a flat screen and a library of books to read, as well as a nice kitchen. The staff are also incredibly friendly and helpful. We arrived in Lisbon on an early morning train, leaving salamanca at 4:30 in the morning. Since we would have had to wake up at 3 to make it to...

May 5, 2009 - Portugal here I come

I really wanted to visit Portugal so decided to hop on a bus and take off to Lisbon. The hostel was really cool with a very friendly staff. Lisbon is a beautiful city. The streets are made out of little squares of black and white rock that make up all different types of designs. The only thing was they were very slippery so you would catch yourself from falling quite a bit. In my dorm room I met a Canadian girl named Leslie who lives in NY city and two other Canadian girls. We all got along great and hung out together while we were there....

Mar 31, 2009 - Leaving Lisbon

I had to be out of my cabin by 8am despite having paid for the rest of the cruise. It still took them several hours to dig up my passport. Then we had to argue about the fact that they had charged me $100 to see the doctor. I pointed out that I wouldn't have needed to if my cabin wasn't infested with bed bugs. Eventually they got it removed but they never once appologized for what they put me through. I've always chosen cruises for their itineraries not the actual ship or line. The ports on this cruise were all interesting but my...

Oct 8, 2008 - Portugal (8th-14th October)

Arrived in Lisbon and immediately exchanged the coats, scarves and gloves we were wearing in Paris for t-shirt and thongs as the weather was beautiful. We went for a wander through the streets. Michael was wearing his birkenstocks (aka David Hasselhoffs) and I can only wonder if this is the reason why he was repeatedly approached by men who would flash open their 80s style suit jacket as they murmurred “hasheesh...” (I was offered nothing). After a bit of a relax we reviewed the lonely planet for restaurant options and found it next to...

Jul 6, 2008 - First 24 Hours

July 5th, 4:45 PM EST We are currently on our first flight, which will be taking us to JFK airport in NY. This is Joseph’s first time on a plane, and we were able to video tape his first takeoff. I am hoping to be able to also catch his first landing on film. He is not having any motion sickness and his ears seem to be pressurizing nicely. Joseph has adjusted to not having his usual reading literature. While seated at the Columbus airport he started reading Rick Steve’s Portugal 2007. Within minutes he suggested a change to our itinerary so...

Jul 6, 2008 - this place is crazy

so Its sunday 4PM and I just got out of the shower. Jet Lag is absolutley kicking my ass and between the amount of alchohol people and techno that happened last night and into this morning I still donºt believe Im even up. So I thought I´d get here get some rest and chil out but when I got to the city those plans kind of changed. We went to Lux one of the craziest night clubs in Lisbon and did´t even get there until two AM thats when I realized I wasnºt in kansas anymore. Ill put up some more details when Iºm a litle less hungover but just...

Jun 7, 2008 - Lisbon, Portugal

Bom Dia! Yea, we got an extra hour of sleep last night since we are heading west. The sun didn’t set until almost 10:30pm last night. This morning we pulled into Lisbon, Portugal. The port is interesting in that the commercial and private docks are all right next to each other. We came in under a bridge that spans the Tagus River. It really resembles the Golden Gate in SF. And for good reason, they were built by the same company. When it was built in the 1960’s it was the longest suspension bridge in Europe. It is now the 3rd longest. The...