Lazy in Lisbon

The 8 hour bus from Madrid to Lisbon wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. But still LONG nonetheless. More so because I'd thought it was only 7 hours. However, because Portugal is an hour behind Spain it was actually 8. Ugh. But being harrassed by a hoard of massive geese at some backwater trucker stop greasy spoon made an entertaining break. The country side was pretty too. If, like me, rolling hills of golden fields, tufty dark green trees, and wandering farm animals are your thing.

Arrived in Lisbon pretty late, so I didn't do much except get in a couple of those deep philosophical / political / moral conversations that backpackers LOVE to have over a couple bottles of wine. The next day was a bit more productive despite the rain as I managed to get a couple museums under my belt. Dumping my 1gb memory card on CD proved an interesting expierence given I don't speak Portuguese and the woman at the photo counter didn't speak any English. Still, we muddled through.

Yesterday was a bit weird. Apparently every single hostel in Lisbon was booked solid last night. Even the extra mattresses and couches were taken. So rather than spend the whole day desperately searching for a bed, I skipped town. A bit to the west is a cute little (touristy) town called Sintra. And it was there that I spent the night. Completely dead in terms of nightlife, but lovely in terms of scenery. Within an hours walk of the old town city center you can reach two palaces, their gardens, and the ruins of a Moorish castle. So awesome! Even if I did nearly fall off the ramparts to my death. Worst part is, there a bunch of tourists out there with photos of me and my near death experience. "Oh look honey. Here's where that girl nearly bashed her brains out on the 500 mt drop off the castle. How cute!" I blame it entirely on my imbalanced daypack. It had nothing to do with my clumsiness whatsoever.

Today I'm back in Lisbon at my homey hostel (it has cats!). I don't have any plans other than wandering the hills of Lisbon and seeing the sights. It's sunday so pretty much all the shops and markets are closed. But the old center of the city should still be interesting. It'll be a lazy day, but lazy days are always good.