Last Night In Europe...

Well this is it ladies and gentlemen, the last FULL day of our grand adventure!! 

Even though we'll get a last glimpse of the city before we head out to the airport tomorrow, today is the last day we have to go sightseeing and soak in what we can of Portugal before we say our final goodbyes. 

The morning started out with us sleeping in again - I know it might sound lazy of us, but frankly we didn't care - and then we made ourselves some breakfast, watched a little of the Olympics, and headed out! After waiting at the bus stop near our hostel for what seemed like an eternity, we finally made it on and rode over to the Coaches Museum was. Inside there is one of the biggest collections of carriages and we were super excited to see what they all looked like! Unfortunately, however, we hadn't really been keeping track of what the days were - just the dates - and turns out that today was a Monday. Mondays are the worst days to go visit museums of any kind because it is the day throughout Europe that most museums take off. So, as soon as we showed up at the doorstep and read the hours sign, we suddenly were hit with this realization and did a couple of forehead slaps. Our last day in Lisbon and we probably won't be able to get into ANYTHING. Awesome. 

But we didn't give up just yet and turning sadly from the carriage museum, made our way across the street to the coastline to try and seek out the other sight we wanted to visit - the Tower of Belem. Before we made it there though, we had to walk a ways alongside the side of the Tagus River and were very glad we did! We got to see some Portuguese fishing boats, tons of little fishies feeding off the algae-caked sides of the harbor walkways, we saw the huge Golden-Gate-esque bridge that connected our side of the river bank to the other, we glimpsed the grey outline of the huge sculpture of Christ known as the 'Cristo-Rei' (which was modeled after the statue of Jesus in Rio de Janeiro and stands about 260 ft. high) on the opposite coast, and we even got to gaze up at the really cool-looking monument/tower known as the Padrão dos Descobrimentos or 'Monument to the Discoveries'.

The monument was created to honor the exploration age (15th-16th centuries) of Portugal and features many statues of explorers, monarchs, scientists, etc. all facing out towards the water with Henry the Navigator at the edge. Also, in front of the huge tower is an equally large marble compass/map that was given as a gift from the South African government. It shows the entire world and features some images from 16th-century maps as well as place names and dates!

After we finished walking around the monument, we broke for a little snack of a delicious pastry left over from the night before. Seriously people, go to Portugal if for nothing else but the pastries! They are AMAZING!!! Then, when our tummies were happy, we continued on our way over to the Tower of Belém. When we arrived, we were definitely impressed. The tower is so neat!! It literally is surrounded on all sides by water and emerges out of the blue waves like an imposing white giant. 

The tower was built in the 16th century and was constructed for defending the Tagus River as well as a gate of sorts into Lisbon. Unfortunately, like we had expected, it too was closed for visits. But many of the other tourists were hopping over the chain blocking the entrance....and so we followed suit. Even though we still couldn't get in the building itself, we at least were able to walk onto it and sneak a peak at the cool, old door...

Afterwards, we wandered over to where there was a little beach and set of stairs that led right down into the water! We took a few minutes to dip our feet in and work on our tans (ok, really it was just me...darn Toms! Givin' me such a horrid tanline!). We also were quite entertained with how the waves would come up along the stairs. Because the stairs were curved in a semi-circle, the water would flow in, slam into the stones and then create this rippling spray as it moved along the steps. Tibby said it reminded her of how the water was in Jaws when the shark pulled the barrels through the ocean...of course, I immediately thanked her for the reference to a ferocious, man-eating monster while I have my toes in the water! Nonetheless, we hung out in the sun for a few minutes more before making our way back towards the bus stop. We also caught a glimpse of the huge and gorgeous Jerónimos Monastery which also houses a lovely museum inside. *sigh*

Anyways, once we caught the bus we got off back at our hostel and for lunch decided to try and finish up some of the food we had bought at the grocery store nearby. We made BLT's - just without the L - along with fried zucchini, some hard-boiled eggs, and fruit juice! Not too shabby! Afterwards, we decided to try and squeeze in one more sight before having to face the music and pack up for tomorrow. We decided to try and see the Castle of São Jorge which was located at the top of this hill not too far from our hostel. At first we tried to take one of those cute trams up and I gotta say even though we missed the stop to get off, we had tons of fun at one point watching a couple of young boys suddenly jump onto the back of the tram and precariously ride it up for quite a ways before hopping off and sauntering away like nothing had happened. It was soooo funny!!!!

 Also, some lady standing next to us gave us both some Lisbon postcards - maybe because we were giggling so loudly or just being silly tourists, who knows. But she didn't ask for anything in return so we said thank you and smiled brightly at her before she disembarked. When we began to realize that the tram was heading back down to the station we had got on at, we tried to ask the driver to let us back on and try to catch the right stop again. But she was having none of it so, instead of paying for another ride, we decided to hoof it. Actually it wasn't as high as I had thought it would be, but it definitely gave our calves and thighs a good burning workout! When we did reach the castle - which involved a few wrong turns here and there, but some pretty sweet pictures! - we bought a couple of tickets to enter and just strolled about, enjoying the amazing sight! It was seriously cool. Although remains from Romans, Celts, Phoenicians, Greeks, and numerous other ancient peoples have been discovered on the site, the Castle as it is today is of Moorish origin. However, additions and renovations took place throughout the Middle Ages so essentially it's a Medieval castle. It's name was given by the 14th century king of Portugal who had married an English princess and comes from the warrior/saint, St. George/São Jorge, who was a popular figure in both Portuguese and England. Overall, it's still looking pretty darn good for having such a long history! And we were able to walk all over and through it - even up into the towers and on the fortified walls! They even had some old cannons still set up and there were at least half-a-dozen peacocks strutting about - some of them with their chicks!! I've never seen a peacock baby chick before, but both Tibby and I agree they are pretty darned cute!! 

Later, when we had our fill of the old remains, we wandered down the hill, stopping in some souvenir shops on the way. Everyone was very nice, but we both particularly loved talking to the owner of a Portuguese tile shop. He was so friendly and welcoming and personally helped Tibby pick out some Port Wine that was made locally - even compared the bottles to car brands in order to help her decide which one to get and gave her some tasty samples! He then spent a good long while talking to us about his tile-making business and how he was never in the store because he was always in the workshop! How lucky are we, huh?! He also talked to us about US politics, languages (he knows 5 by the way), and various other things. He even recommended what to look for in a good restaurant, but we already had plans to finish our store-bought food back at the hostel. So with a heartfelt goodbye, we left the warmth of his shop and headed back down the hill. 

Both Tibby and I agree that it is times like those and people like him that make traveling so awesome. When you get to reach out and connect with folks you never would've met back home - whose lives are so unique and different from ours, but with whom you can find a likeness of soul. I definitely will miss that when we leave. 

But before I get all sappy-sobby here....

When we finally made it back to the hostel, we whipped up the last of our groceries. We made the last two turkey burgers (which were quite tasty actually!), some more zucchini, and Tibby's version of home-fried-potatoes! Afterwards, we had a little chat about all that we had done and see and how we both have learned alot about ourselves and each other. No, we didn't cry, but it was good to have that conversation and realize how lucky we both are to have had an experience like this. Of course, we couldn't spend all night talking and eventually we hunkered down in our room and loaded up all our belongings for the last time! It definitely took some time and genius-level packing skills, but we got it done! Then, with a prayer we wouldn't miss our alarm tomorrow we closed our eyes and went to sleep in a European bed for the very last time...

"I don't want the Chinese girls looking up my pants!"

Hey everyone! Kyla is off to sleep, so I'm filling you in on our day!
June 29th began as comfortably as possible. We let ourselves sleep in and we took our time getting up and getting ready for the day. Our plan was to find a specific railway station and take a side trip to the town of Sintra. Sintra supposedly was a beautiful place with castles and from there you could catch an easy bus ride out to the westernmost point in mainland Europe, Cabo da Roca.
So, I studied our map of Lisbon to find the train station we were looking for, and turns out it was only a few blocks over from us! So, we grabbed our purses and headed out the door! We only made it a block before I realized I had left our map back in the hostel. Oops. But I told Kyla that I had studied the map enough and knew where to go. Plus, I saw that there was a tourist information office nearby the train station, so if we couldn't find the train station, we knew we could probably find that. Welllllll, as most things go on our trip, it wasn't that easy. We ended up walking for far longer than I thought we needed to, and we couldn't find the train station or the tourist office. We were however next to a metro (subway) line, so we just looked at their map and that began to get us on the right track. After backtracking, we happily stumbled upon the tourist office and they directed us towards the train station. We found the station and we were easily able to buy tickets and get on the train.
The train ride took about 40 minutes, which is a very quick train ride compared to what we are used to! We arrived in Sintra and sadly, the tourist office in the train station was closed! We were not able to get a map, but they had a map posted in the window. So we just studied that, and figured out how to get into the center of town where another tourist office was where we could ask a few questions and get a map. We then began our quite lovely stroll towards the center of town.
Sintra is BEAUTIFUL!! It's all hills with huge, green, leafy trees that give it a very "magical forest feel", if you will. Along our walk into town, I glanced at a tiny little bakery that we were passing and noticed that there was a sign that said it was started in 1756. That stopped me in my tracks! A little bakery in a small town in Portugal that is older than our NATION!!! AH!! I quickly pointed it out to Kyla to which she immediately suggested we stop and get a little something from there! We walked in and looked around at this little place, and noticed that they had all of these extremely old photographs of the place and of the people who initially started it. It was so cute! We had no idea what type of pastries we were looking at, so Kyla pointed at one, and I pointed at one. We payed only 2,15 Euros (and no, the coma is not a typo; that's how they write it in Europe!) and we were out the door with our treasures! We snapped a photo or two and then we devoured them! My pastry was quite sweet, while Kyla's ended up being savory! Mine was coated in sugar and then the inside was filled with some sort of filling, somewhat like applesauce. Kyla's pastry was almost like a chicken salad, but without the salad. Needless to say, the 250 plus years of their existence has allowed them to perfect their pastries because both were amazing!

Yummy!!

The bakery is the white building with the white awning. 

Once the pastries were snarfed down, we then continued our walk towards the center of town. It was just so pleasant! We looked around a bit and took some more photos before we headed into the tourist office to get a map and some needed info. One of the things they helped us with was how to get out to the place called Cabo da Roca, which, as I said earlier, is the westernmost point in mainland Europe. We had to take a bus to get there, and she gave us the bus locations and times. At that point, we had a little over an hour before the next bus left for Cabo, so we did a little more perusing and sightseeing before walking over to catch the bus.
Along our way back to the bus, we just simply couldn't help getting a second round of pastries from the place that's older than the States. For this round, Kyla got what I had the first time, and I got an interesting looking loaf that looked like it may be stuffed with something. Turns out it was just a loaf, but it was so good!!

We caught the bus and were on our way out to Cabo da Roca! The drive out was again, very beautiful. This part of Portugal is really pretty!! We took it all in as we wound around through the hills and tiny towns. The streets are EXTREMELY narrow, so it was astounding to be in this city bus that just took over the road. There were parts where the roads were really only wide enough for two European cars to squeeze by each other.

We finally arrived at Cabo da Roca and from the moment we stepped off the bus, we were BLASTED by the wind. It was so intense and crazy!! At one point, Kyla was even holding her shorts down, yes her shorts. I laughed at this sight, and asked her why she was doing that. Her response? She gestured towards some near by Asians and exclaimed, "I don't want the Chinese girls looking up my pants!". Oh my, that made me laugh!!!
To give you another indication of just how intense this wind was, when the gusts were just right, Kyla could pull off a pretty amazing Elvis look!!

Anyways, we made our way over to the cliff edge and just gaped and awed at the view before us. Just the cliff edges, straight down into the water. And then the water was just so blue and went to the horizon. It was just crazy to sit there and think that there was NOTHING beyond where we were standing and if you were to get in a boat and head straight out, you wouldn't hit land until you reached the Americas. How crazy is that?!! So we took our time at this point, just trying to take it all in. The wind was crazy and quite chilly, but it added to the experience. We of course paused for a few obligatory photos of the monument signifying the western most point in mainland Europe!

Having felt that that was accomplished, we headed back over to catch the bus back into Sintra. We had plans to spend the rest of our afternoon checking out a Moorish Castle perched high on a hill over looking Sintra. Little did we know, adventure was still waiting around the corner.
The bus arrived and we got on and sat down for the 30 ish minute ride back through narrow, winding streets and beautiful, forest hills. It was about 10 minutes in that we entered a part of the road where it is extremely narrow and steep (we were heading downhill), with only a couple hairpin turns that have shoulders. After beginning the on the second turn the bus suddenly stopped, and all the passengers eyes shot forward to see what had brought about the abruptness! We were met with a scene of a line of cars that continued beyond our line of vision around the corner. The bus driver immediately pulled over as much as he could, put it in park, and jumped out to go and investigate what was going on. For a hot second, Kyla and I joked that this was just another bus strike like we experienced in Siena! Haha! Luckily though, after a minute or so, he returned and said something to the extent that there had been some sort of accident and it was going to take about 10 minutes before he would be able to get the bus through. Well, as we all sat there waiting, cars from behind us kept going around us, and traffic slowly crept down the hill. Every now and then, a car or vespa made it's way up the hill, passing us as they went by. We figured that even the slow, creeping movement was good because at least it was movement. Well finally, the bus driver decided he could finish the turn and head down the very narrow road. He began to round the corner and make our way down the street towards the next hairpin turn, when the ultimate movie scene happened! Another bus was coming towards us and it rounded the hairpin turn first and came face to face with us! Now, the real fun began because this road was so tiny that there was NO way that these buses could even begin to pass one another. Someone had to back up. And that meant making the huge line of cars behind them back up. The drivers talked for a second and the decision was apparently made that our bus needed to reverse back up the hill to the turn where we had a shoulder to back into! EEK! So, the driver of the bus facing us ran up behind our bus and started getting the whole line of cars to back up so that our bus could then back up. It was nuts. It took several different angles of reversing this city bus up the incline before our driver could give the other bus enough space to pass us. And that pass was slightly terrifying to watch. But by the grace of God, it all worked! And then our bus driver continued to display his mad skills as he then wound his way down the hill and eventually out of the chaos. Let's just say that he was well applauded for his talents of maneuvering that bus!
I drive a mini bus for work and that thing is quite easy to drive. I'm pretty proficient at moving that thing around. But my goodness, I would never want to drive in any sort of bus up or down that hill, and this guy did it with quite the challenges! What a stud!

You can see the bus right in front of us!

Needless to say, it took much longer to return to Sintra than expected, and due to the bus adventure and late hour, we decided that we would skip seeing the castle and head back to Lisboa. So we boarded the next train and came back.
Upon arrival in Lisboa, we began walking back to our hostel and we ended up walking by a cafe/bakery that had an amazing window display! We decided that we needed to make a few purchases and eat them for dessert that night! So we did!

The beautiful window display!

The goodies we purchased!

After that, we headed over to the grocery store near us and bought food for dinner and whatever future meals may come. We cooked ourselves some burgers (turkey burgers because they had no other meat!), some fries (yes, I made fries!), and some delicious zucchini that Kyla cooked us! The burners in our hostel's kitchen are SO slow, so it took a long, long, long time to cook all of our food. We had to eat in courses, but it was all yummy!! And then of course, we had our pastries for dessert! Those pastries were a sweet ending to a great day!