Lisbon has won my heart

Just like Spain, I did not expect to find myself in Portugal but like I said in my last post I wanted to end somewhere warm and since it is right beside Spain I thought it was a pretty convenient place to go to next. Instead of staying four days, though like Spain, for some reason that I can't remember, I decided to stay three weeks and this has turned out to be no mistake. So this is how it all began...I got off the plane not knowing what to expect and feeling nervous like how I felt nervous arriving in Berlin all by myself, having no idea what to expect. Taxis are really cheap here so I decided to take one since the directions to my hostel were a little more on the complicated side. An example of how cheap the taxis are here is that when Savannah and I took one from London airport to our hotel just about an eight minute drive away it cost 34 pounds while on the otherhand my taxi from Lisbon airport to my hostel, about a 25 minute drive cost a modest 16 euros. So I think we've made an obvious observation here that Portugal is a much cheaper country than England. Anyway, so I arrived at my hostel safe and sound and settled in with some nerves and excitement too. The nerves soon died down, though and the excitement grew larger because it was not long until I realized how amazing this hostel is! I wish you could all be here to experience it but instead, I will give you the website of the hostel and command you that if you ever come to Lisbon you MUST stay here. I have never felt so at home in a hostel, it is truly amazing. The staff are extremely friendly and really take the time to hang out with you and this has such a positive influence on all the guests that come through. Everyone really seems interested in getting to know people, spending time with eachother and laughing lots. It's so great! On top of all that, the hostel building itself is pretty cool. It is like a house and the hang out room is full of furniture from the local flea market, there are picnic tables outside where people eat their free breakfast (includes fresh crepes!), a hammock to lounge out in, a terrace to soak up the sun and look out to the river and city. They also have something happening every day from a trip to a cool town called Sintra, a pub crawl, Fado (traditional portugese music) night, going out to hear live jazz music, a barbeque every saturday and a latino party. And to top it all off they have a cook that comes every day and cooks DELICIOUS meals for only six euros which includes bread, olives, wine, and a soup starter right before the main course which has so far consisted of meals like seafood risotto, paella, chicken curry, lasagne and so on. Oh and sunday nights are fresh pasta nights made by their Italian staff member for only two euros. You might be thinking, hmm...this sounds like an expensive place to stay because it is so nice, but its only costing me 18 euros a night, cheaper than some hostels I've stayed in and haven't liked as much. Okay, I'll stop advertising but seriously, stay here, you won't be disappointed. You may be wondering what I've been doing in Lisbon besides hanging out at the hostel...well, on my first day I went on the Sintra tour with the Italian tour guide, a Swiss and a Brazilian guy. We were quite the international bunch. Sintra is a really cool town with a beautiful palace on top of the hill and another castle close by that you can see as you walk down the beautiful trail from the palace back down to the town centre. Afterwards we drove to the most western point of Europe which was super cool and unbelieveably beautiful. I waved in my heart to all you lovely North Americans! To finish off we hit the beach and just relaxed and took it all in. The water was probably the temperature of British Columbian summer ocean water but the guys couldn't believe that I would actually swim in that. Proud to be Canadian! It was a nice day and good for my sanity to spend some time with some guys because I was on my way to meeting my five new roomates...five 22 year old girls from Florida. Enough said. A lot of my days have consisted of walking around, especially in the area of the hostel which is the oldest part of Lisbon (Alfama, where the hostel gets its name) so it has alot of character and culture. One day I also went to an area called Bellem where there is a beautiful monastery and a tower on the water, like actually on the water and I also enjoyed some delicious pastel de nata which is an amazing custard in a crispy and flaky tart shell. You really have to taste it to know what I'm talking about. This kind of dessert all began in Bellem so I got to taste the best of the best. Amazing! I have gotten to know a really nice american girl, Annilese and a crazy cool Italian, Frederica so one night we decided to go out dancing. Um... I took dance lessons for 12 years but going out to some kind of club to like club dance is not something I do so this was a new experience but a good one. I'm not into serious like look at me, I'm so hot dancing so thankfully I found myself dancing with some crazy polish guy who spoke no english but also enjoyed dancing like a goof. Fewf! I got back pretty late that night but not as late as my crazy roomates who got back at 4am and had to get up at 5am to get to the airport. I was almost asleep when my drunk roomates came in, turned the light on, had no concept of  what whispering was and started packing their bags. I got up, slightly angry to say the least, went on the computer for a bit and then headed back to bed just before they finally left. They were nice...but ya. The next two nights, though I had the room all to myself! So, it didn't turn out too bad after all. The next day the fun didn't end when three crazy french people named Melanie, Samy and Sebastien arrived at the hostel. Annilese, Frederica, and I went out with them along with three other crazy frenchies to a place that overlooks the city and drank the famous Porto sweet wine. Apparently, putting six French, an Italian, an American and a Canadian makes for a hilarious time. Too much laughter!
So a week eventually passes and my heart hurts because I have to leave. Leave to where you ask? Down south to the Algarve region where they are supposed to have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. And you're sad to leave the city you ask? I know it's strange but that is how great my time has been. So, it's April 5th and I have packed all my things and I am  mentally preparing to leave the next day, although saddening at the thought. It's 10:30pm and I am talking to some people about how I don't want to leave and so a couple of them simply say, `Then don't.´ My first thought is that it's not that easy because that has been my mentality the whole way through. I've got a plan and I've got to stick with the plan because it just makes things more complicated to cancel things, try to get your money back and then replan and blah blah blah. But then I started thinking...hmm, you have no plane to catch, you haven't booked your bus yet and since you still have 2 weeks you will still be able to enjoy your last week in the Algarve. And so, within an hour, my accomodation down south was cancelled with no problem at all and I am rebooked in Lisbon for another week. It kind of makes me sound boring but I think that's the most spontaneous thing I've done this whole trip! Felt good. And so I am continuing  to enjoy this wonderful place and the people who really make it to be what it is. Last night it was Melanie, Samy, and Sebastien's last night so a bunch of us went out to listen to some live music and then to some latino dancing club. The majority of the night it was just me and five french grooving on the dance floor as the others left earlier. Too much fun once again.
I am not really sure what will come about this next week but I am enjoying waking up with no plans and seeing what comes my way. This usually involves soaking up a good amount of sun. It has been 25 degrees and is supposed to keep going that way for the next week. Apparently it's usually rainy in April. I am not sure if things can get any better! Needless to say I am extremely thankful for all these wonderful blessings.

Now get your butts over here!

http://alfamapatio.com/hostel/ »»»» Check it out!