65days

19 june // day 6 // lagos to seville, spain

LAGOS TO SEVILLE
- I got up early in Lagos and took a bus to Seville, Spain. There was a group of Canadians sitting behind me on the bus. Across the aisle was a French Canadian.
- I don't remember much about this bus trip, other than stopping at a rest stop that had super modern architecture.
- Once we crossed the border in to Spain I was excited since I could at least pronounce the Spanish I was seeing on road signs, etc. Looking at Portuguese was very foreign to me and it sounded even more foreign.

SEVILLE
- Once I got to Seville, I remember thinking it was very posh compared to Portugal.
- I was very confused coming out of the bus station. I remember looking and looking at the map to figure out where I was. It took me some time to find where I wanted to go. I am usually very good with maps, so it was very frustrating.
- I found a room at an inexpensive hotel just by walking in and asking. The owners didn't speak English (which ended up being the case in most of Spain) but were really funny and were very happy that I was there.

dancing spaniards next to bonfire | click to enlarge

- I went right away to find a computer/internet location and found one in a residential area. Like at the hotel, the person at the front desk didn't speak English. So the only way I knew how to ask for computer time was by saying "Yo quiero internet." You know, just like the Taco Bell dog!
- Walking around, I stumbled upon a film crew filming a bunch of Spanish people dancing next to a bonfire. I think it was some kind of music video because they kept playing the same section of a piece of music. I have a vague memory of being shooed away but was able to sneak back in to take a photo.
- The longer I was in Spain, the more high school Spanish I remembered. It came flying out of my mouth even though I wasn't sure if it was correct. It seemed to work as most understood me.

women chatting | click to enlarge

- Seville was the first place that I remember noticing the Siesta. All the sudden I'd notice people missing and shops closed. It was almost like clockwork.
- Spain was the one country on my trip where I noticed the most Americans speaking a foreign language. There was many younger Americans speaking Spanish with no problem.
- I ate at a tapas restaurant for dinner. I remember not knowing what I was ordering, but liked what I got.

18 june // day 5 // salema to lagos, portugal

SALEMA TO LAGOS
- I was going to spend two nights in Salema, but it was pretty boring. I needed to get the bus back to Lagos, but it was a Sunday. So I pieced together some basic Portuguese and asked Senhora Duarte if the bus runs during the weekend. I remember saying, "Autobus a Lagos, Domingo, sim o não?" It must have worked because she told me in Portuguese that I needed to walk to the main road to get the bus (I figured it out by her hand gestures.)
- I schlepped uphill for about a mile, sat on a railing/guard for probably 45 minutes until the bus finally arrived.

LAGOS
- I found a hostel and a room. The hostel sucked.
- Because of all the Australians at the hostel, I jokingly named it "Little Australia."
- I wanted to go to the beach, but it was too far to walk, so I gave up and just walked around Lagos, which wasn't much. I do remember a nice waterfront and an older section of town. Lagos seemed like the main town for the region.
- I don't have any photos of Lagos, so it must have not been that thrilling.
- There was an computer you could sign up for at the hostel. I scheduled a slot and when the time came there were still people using it. I politely told them they were eating in to my time and they said they'd leave in a bit. About 10 minutes later they finally left but that only gave me about 10 minutes of my time. The person arrived that had the slot after me and told me to leave because her time had started. When I explained the situation to her she said that wasn't her problem and to leave or she'd report me, etc. It made me pretty angry so I stormed off in a big huff.
- Because of the scene at the computer, I treated myself to a proper dinner... calimari!
- I had trouble sleeping that night because of the amount of scooters racing down the street.
- I had a four bed room to myself at the hostel. Around midnight, thee American guys showed up and climbed in to bed after they were settled.

17 june // day 4 // lisbon to salema, portugal

LISBON TO LAGOS TO SALEMA
- I took an early bus to Lagos, in southern Portugal so I could head to Salema, a small beach town.
- I remember there were two young American women sitting near me who were very rude to an elderly Portuguese man, not to mention very loud the entire ride. It was embarrassing since it was obivous to everyone else that they were American.
- It's funny how memory works... I have no recollection of where in Lisbon I got on the bus, but I can remember different stops along the way and driving through a hilly and arid part of Portugal.
- I remember driving by a water park closer to Lagos and thinking how out-of-place it looked.
- There was an elderly women that got on at one of the stops with, I'm assuming, her young grandson, who looked very Brazilian (darker skin, curly hair, etc.) I thought that was interesting and wondered how much of a connection Portugal has with Brazil.

the beach in salema | click to enlarge

LAGOS
- Once in Lagos, I waited for a bus to Salema. At the bus station, I met two young women from Texas who were heading to Salema as well. They offered me some almonds and oranges. One was very suspicious of me and the other was very talkative.
- At the bus station, I also met a guy from California who had been traveling through Europe and the Middle-East for five months. He had one more month to go before heading back to the States.

boats on the beach in salema | click to enlarge

SALEMA
- After I arrived in Salema, I looked for a room. I found a man with thick glasses that made his eyes look huge who showed me a room. The price was too high. He got angry with me but I walked away. I went to a small grocery and asked if they knew of a room I could rent. I ended up staying with the grocers parents. There last names were Duarte, like in Evita. SIDENOTE: a few years later I was watching a Portugal episode of Rick Steves Europe and they showed the room I stayed in... small world!

my room at the duarte's | their house| click to enlarge

- The two girls from Texas said they'd meet me for dinner. Later I went to find them... they had already eaten.
- There wasn't much to do, so I went to the beach to lay around. There were lots of Brits and even more topless women.
- I got sunburnt and and had sand everywhere.
- I walked around after I ate dinner and took photos. I was going to spend two nights but decided to leave the next morning and spend a night in Lagos.

16 june // day 3 // lisbon, portugal

LISBON
- In the morning I explored the Bairro Alto which is were my hotel was. I was sweating my balls off and then realized that I was the only one on the sidewalk. Everyone was on the opposite sidewalk, aka, the side NOT in the sun. My first lesson of southern Europe.

the alfama | click to enlarge

- In the afternoon I explored the Alfama. There weren't a lot of people or tourists and I felt that I had the place to myself. I found an overlook and ate a picnic lunch there under the shade of a tree. I think this was my favorite part of Lisbon.

the alfama | click to enlarge

- There were times that Lisbon reminded me of San Francisco.
- Like the day before, it was HOT. I quickly learned the Portuguese word for water... AQUA!

the alfama and 25 de abril bridge | click to enlarge

- Guess what I ate for dinner... Chinese! This was Chinese number 2. The restaurant was down the street from my hotel in the Bairro Alto.
- Portugal is pretty cheap... at least it was in 2000.

15 june // day 2 // lisbon, portugal

LISBON
- I remember that I traveled to an art museum and it was closed because of a strike, or something. I left and headed to a modern museum whose name I can't remember. It was nice but the layout was really confusing. I tried to go up some stairs and a guard yelled at me in Portuguese.
- The Lisbon Metro plays really funny Muzak-type music... very loudly.
- I decided to head to Balém but took the wrong train. I had to get off, walk to the opposite platform and get back on the next train.

inside the monastery | a school group outside | click to enlarge

- Once in Balém, I went to the Jerónimos Monastery which was pretty cool, both literally and figuratively.
- I went to the Belém Cultural Center which was kinda like a design museum.

cultural center | click to enlarge

- I also took a look at the Monument to the Discoveries which looks like the bow of a ship with a bunch of dudes on it and the kinda boring Balém Tower.

monument | balém tower | click to enlarge

- Almost every Portuguese I spoke with knew English (which wasn't the case in other parts of Europe.)
- It was HOT HOT HOT... it was easily in the 90s (32-37c).
- When I left Balém, I took a streetcar then had to transfer to a bus. The bus was packed and I was standing. It got stuck in rush hour traffic for 45 minutes. There was no air conditioning.
- For dinner I headed to a mall and ate at a Chinese restaurant. I know... I should have eaten at some Portuguese place. But, the Chinese place was right there and I was hungry. (This became a personal joke with myself through the rest of my trip as I sought out Chinese restaurants in most countries I visited.)
- There was a C&A in the mall which reminded me living in London.

14 june // day 1 // lisbon, portugal

On Wednesday morning, 14 June 2000, I arrived in Paris at De Gaulle Airport. I made my way through customs and immigration, then to another concourse to wait for my flight to Lisbon.

FLIGHT TO LISBON
- I was in the front row of economy. A man walked on the plane, sat in the last row of business class, turned and looked at me and asked me (in Portuguese, I'm assuming) to switch seats with him since his business partner/coworker was sitting next to me. Of course, I can only assume this is what he was saying. I shook my head like I understood and switched seats. Business class!
- One of the flight attendants looked like "Will" from "Will & Grace."
- The other flight attendant was all dolled-up and was wearing glitter blush.
- We flew over northern Spain and I was super surprised how mountainous Spain is.
- When we landed in Lisbon and were taxi-ing to the gate, I remember thinking how much it looked like southern Florida (palm trees, etc.)

overlooking the alfama | click to enlarge

LISBON
- Once off the plane, I headed strait to an ATM since I needed some cash. None of them were working and I was afraid my ATM card wasn't going to work in Europe. Luckily, a woman saw that I was frustrated and directed me to another set of machines that were working. Like the man on the plane, she spoke Portuguese and I had no idea what she was saying. I just shook my head and said, "obrigado."
- I took a taxi from the airport to my hotel and all the motorway signs were in both English and Portuguese.
- I had a bidet in my hotel room... I have a vague memory of trying to use it but with not a lot of success.
- I was worried at first my hotel didn't have air conditioning, but I did have a fan and it was really all I needed.
- I don't remember what I did this day, other than walk around a bit and sit on a park bench overlooking the Alfama.

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THOUGHTS/TRAVEL TIPS
- Book your first few nights so you don't have to worry about where you are going to stay while you are jet lagged and disoriented.
- Call your credit card companies and bank to make sure they know you are traveling. Ask your bank if your ATM card will work in Europe and if there is a fee.