Posted 5:00 PM by MelanieandSteve
3-29

Writing from Sevilla / Seville Spain. Just got back from Portugal.

We spent 3 nights in Lisbon. It was Great. We both loved it more than we expected. The city was more advanced than we expected. Since the expo at the turn of the century, it´s got something for everyone. It´s got wonderful old sections of town (pre 1755 earthquake), a sort of old section of town (post 1755 earthquake) and then the very modern, to the point of seeming futuristic expo area (we really enjoyed their acquarium). It´s also got castles, good food, good prices etc.

1 night in Sintra Portugal: this is a city on a hill overlooking the coast. The hills were the most lush we´ve seen yet in southern europe: felt like a rain forest. It was quite a steep walk up the mountain to our youth hosel though with our packs on our backs (not to mention a wrong turn which doubled our hike, and made it no less steep) The hostel was right near the Palacio de Pena right at the top of the hill. It inspired to send some more of our things home. When you´re going up hill, you realized what things you don´t need to cary around anymore. Suddenly everything´s just a luxury.

2 in Lagos Portugal: This is a beach town, and that´s pretty much it. It´s got the grotto: great caves and coves along the cliffs and beaches, and its got a night life. We stayed at a hostel there and met some fun people. We walked to the end of the Earth. Well, they thought that once. Now we know it´s just the end of Europe. The most southwestern point: Cabo San Vicente. It was a more than 7KM hike along the cliffs and was very beautiful.

And tonight in Seville. ´When we got here, there appeared to be no rooms left. We tried to sleep at the train station or catch a train, but there were no more trains and they wouldn´t let us sleep there. So we set out to walk the rainy streets, and finally came across a great affordable little hostel, right next door to a very good warm meal and this internet cafe. So, hello from people who appreciate dryness, warmth, full stomachs and having a place to sleep: the simple pleasures in life.

We´ll be heading further South East next. We´ll update again soon, hopefully.

Happy Birthday to:
Julie Koons !!!
Ashton Ferguson !!!
Greg Culling: !!!

and soon, Stefan Wolff !!!
and Kara Welter !!!