I thought it was funny that when we drove past the border, no one stopped us on the way in or out of Portugal. Imagine if that was in the case in the United States. That would never happen. It was also a bit of a shock when they people spoke because I kept forgetting that we weren't in Spain anymore, and they didn't speak Spanish! I tried to speak in Spanish, but the Portuguese actually preferred to speak to us in English over Castilian Spanish… So I didn't do too much Spanish practicing that weekend.
Lisbon has some incredible view points, too. Here are some pictures I took from the top of various mountains that we climbed.
We also saw some incredible monasteries. I know I sound lame when I say this, but the details of the architecture were amazing! I have never seen anything like these buildings. I wish we had some to show off in the U.S. Although I'm sure my program directors told us (sometimes they talk a bit too much), I don't know why this monastery is famous besides the fact that is huge and gorgeous.
Below is a group photo inside the monastery!
Me with Sara and Carlos, two of the program directors
After we spent the day touring the monastery, we had some free time to ourselves. I went with my friends Tom, Erica, Nikita, Sarah, and Elena to a park a bit outside the center of the city. I was expecting a park with foliage and benches and paths, so it was a bit of a surprise when I realized it was actually an industrial park. It turned out to be fine, though, because we saw the most incredible view of the Vasco de Gama bridge (the longest bridge in Europe). We were there at sunset, so we watched the sun go down, and took tons of pictures. If you look really closely at the picture, you can see the bridge in the horizon.
Erica, Nikita, and me
I would love to go back, especially when it's a bit warmer, because there was so much more I would have liked to see. (Hint hint, mom ;))
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