In December, I took a trip to Lisbon. It took about 4 hours to get there by bus from Huelva. Lisbon was a very neat city, I was amazed at the detail that went into laying each cobblestone in the street! Lisbon was very badly injured by the Great Earthquake of Lisbon in 1755, and they rebuilt all of thier buildings after this, and they turned out great.
Below is a picture of Lisbon's city hall. (the cobblestone in the plaza seems to be art in itself.....the whole time I was walking around I was wondering how long it would take to lay it all)
I stayed at the Smile hostel, which only has a sign for it in small letters above the doorbell, it was a difficult hostel to find as well. Taxi drivers can sometimes help you find the hostels, but sometimes they take you to a completely different part of town that has a street with the same name as the original street you are trying to find.....I dont know why some cities have the same name for streets in the same central area???!!?
The smile hostel was more like a hotel and I was one of the only ones staying there, it was awesome. It cost me 12 euros a night for a nice bed, a heater in the room, carpet, hot shower, english programs on the television, and an awesome breakfast in the morning. It was awesome. Granted, I went on this trip right after I got over the flu (I'll try to never pass a flu shot after this flu experience), where I had just moved into my new apartment in Huelva which had semi-warm water, no heaters, no carpet, a small room that felt like a dungeon becasue i was sick and living out of my suitcase because I hadnt unpacked or shopped for food, and a bad smell coming from somewhere. So the hostel felt like a palace to me at this point. I was so impressed with the value of this hostel. Below is the Lobby (with heater) and bedroom (with carpet and heater). 12 euros a night!
I also went to an area in Lisbon called Belem. Belém's major historical building is the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jerónimos Monastery). The building of the monastery began in 1502 and took 50 years to complete. It was built as a monument to Vasco da Gama's successful voyage to India and was funded by a tax on eastern spices. The monastery contains the tomb of Vasco da Gama.
On day two of my trip, I took a 25 minute train ride to Sintra. I went to the Pena National Palace, which was origionally a monestary for monks to meditate and pray, during the 16th century. In 1755, the Great Earthquake of Lisbon reduced the monestary to ruins, but the chapel escaped without significant damage. In 1838, King Ferdinand II of Portugal bought the remains of the palace and began to construct the palace as it is seen today. It was used as a summer vacation home for the Portuguese royal family. It was beautiful, and the gardens and nature around the palace were even better.
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