Sintra and Beyond

Our morning and breakfast in Portugal began very interestingly when we met 2 guys from the Jersey shore in our hostel during breakfast. Immediately upon meeting them they began comparing their lives to the tv show Jersey Shore, saying it was not as intense as the show, but still pretty similar. They even claimed to have a friend who works at the tanning salon where "the situation" tans everyday. When they found out we were from the midwest, and that none of us really never even watched the jersey shore they were amazed. They asked if we grew up on farms, and what the midwest was like because the furthest west they have ever been and ever plan to go is West Virginia. While I am sure even though we do not live on farms, say y'all all the time, and listen to country music, you could tell no matter what we said to these guys that was how they pictured us. I found that entertaining because everything I would picture from a couple a guys from the jersey shore came true about they. They were part DJ, part hair-stylist, and part mechanic. They loved to hit up the clubs, pump their fists all night long, and pick up the ladies. They even told us the because of the vitamin D, tanning is good for you. It was a complete culture clash. Hopefully someday they make it past West Virginia to see that the midwest is not completely how they pictured it.

For our last day in Portugal we took a very nice day tour to some of the beautiful palaces in the country side of Portugal. Our leader Miguel lead us along the beach and on some very windy roads to this amazing part of Portugal. The view from the palaces and summer homes of some of Portugal's royal family were amazing. You could see the coast for miles, and also see all of Lisbon. At the second palace we went too we all felt like we were in a movie or a fairy tale. While walking through the gardens you can sneak through secret caves, climb tall towers, and hop across streams and creeks. Inside the caves was completely pitch black at points, which surprisingly did not lead to any sibling vs. sibling scare contests. On our day trip we also stopped in the small town of Sintra for a nice lunch. I tried the grilled squid and it was one of the most amazing dishes I have ever eaten, try it when you go to Portugal! The van tour was a great way to end our trip considering none of us had to navigate, or even think about where we were going. After 2 straight weeks of constant touring, it was nice to let someone else guide us and actually drive us to the locations we wanted to see.

When we arrived back at the hostel we only had about 2 hours before the home cooked meal we signed up for that morning. The Lisbon Lounge hostel, probably the cleanest and nicest hostel we stayed in on the trip, offers home cooked meals every night for 8 euro. This dinner was another one of our crazy experiences of the trip, not because of the food but because of who we were eating with. Our dinner was completely dominated by 10 German girls who must have all been traveling together. First they reserved seats at the table in the kitchen, so we were crammed into a small corner section of the table. When we began to sit down they gave us the evil eye, and made sure that no one else tried to sit in the seats they were reserving. When they all sat down though things became even more uncomfortable and awkward because they loudly speaking in German to each other the whole time, and not even acknowledging our existence at the table, it was like we ruined their nice table, and now they weren't going to talk to us. But when the food came, we found out what they must have been talking about because these girls were HUNGRY. Now I have eaten with tables full of high school boy swimmers, but that did not compare at all the how hungry these German girls were. They completely devoured all the food that was set on the table in seconds. The initial bread, gone right away, some of them eating as many as 4 pieces instantly. The hot tomato soup was slurped up quicker than I have ever seen soup eaten. In our corner of the table we were left to eat the scraps that the German girls didn't finish. The four of us just sat in complete awe as they consumed whatever was put in front of them. Aside from them the dinner was very good, and I think even the cook noticed what was going on because luckily he always seemed to have a secret stash of some of the food waiting for us after they had finished.

We finished our meal, and then enjoyed a free concert in the lounge of our hostel, again giving the hostel one of the highest ratings possible compared to everywhere else we stayed. After sitting at the concert and watching the Jersey guys from earlier struggle in the non raging club atmosphere, we were ready for bed considering we had to wake up early for a flight back to the states.