Italy: Day 2

After an uncomfortable night's sleep in a damp, dark and stuffy hotel room we were happy to get out and visit the sites. The first stop of the day was just a few blocks away from our hotel...the market. It was a bit colder today so a hoody was necessary and to make things worse, it was raining as well. Luckily the rain was not too intense and let up after a short while. As we walked our way to the market we passed various storefronts full of people. Book stores, grocery markets, laundromats, and more.

We exited one alley into a large opening surrounded by buildings and what we found out later was a church, San Lorenzo, famous for its unfinished facade. The Basilica di San Lorenzo (Basilica of St Lawrence) is one of the largest churches of Florence, situated at the center of the city’s main market district, and the burial place of all the principal members of the Medici family from Cosimo il Vecchio to Cosimo III. It is one of several churches that claim to be the oldest in Florence; when it was consecrated in 1393 it stood outside the city walls. For three hundred years it was the city's cathedral before the official seat of the bishop was transferred to Santa Reparata. San Lorenzo was also the parish church of the Medici family.

Lining the streets surrounding the church were rows and rows of tents and various goods ranging from pasminas to leather boots to our every day touristy stuff like magnets and t-shirts. We grabbed a bite to eat and had some intense Italian coffee at a small corner cafe before heading down one of the many narrow streets. As our first full day, we knew it would be a day of figuring out the layout of the city. Luckily we found a small map of the city and kept it close with our Italian phrase book.

As we rounded one corner I gasped at the sight of Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as The Duomo (The Dome). More than 600 years after the dome's construction , it is still the largest dome built out of brick and mortar in the world. The facade of the basilica is made of marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white. It is absolutely beautiful. This cathedral was the largest in Europe when completed, with room for 30,000 people. It is now only exceeded in size by Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City, Saint Paul's Cathedral in London, the Seville Cathedral, and the Milan Cathedral. The inside of the basilica is truly breathtaking. You enter through enormous doors into a white walled room with ceilings as high as you can see. Ornate paintings of religious leaders of the Catholic faith line the walls. We got up as close as we could to see up into the dome. Covering the inside of the dome are unbelievably detailed paintings of angels and other biblical figures. After walking the outside of the main room Kim and I found a stairwell at the back that descended into the basilica's crypt. As you get to the bottom of the stairs you are forced to walk among large rocks jutting up from the ground. At one end the cardinal crypt and the other a small bookstore. Although I am not a spiritual person, I did feel something strong in this amazing place.

Exiting the main building from a side door we emerged to see Giotto's Bell Tower, which stands just to the side of The Duomo. Thinking it would be fun, we decided to see if we could walk to the top of the tower...it didn't look too daunting. Hah. Just as you enter the small room on the ground floor reads a sign..."No Elevator." Ugh. I grabbed a brochure and read out loud, "414 steps to the top." We looked at each other and basically said what the hell. I mean, when else would we ever have an opportunity like this. We began our long, exhausting ascent to the top of the tower. As we entered the stairwell, it was only about 3 feet wide with extremely small cut outs for windows. If someone was coming down the stairs you had to turn sideways and squish yourself up to the wall. At one point light filled the stairwell. Could it be the top? Nope, one of the three levels with balconies overlooking the city. By the time we made it to the top we had stripped out hoodies, hats and scarves off to try and cool off. I sat for a few minutes to catch my breath and then we made our way out on to the top of the bell tower. From the top we could see for miles. Just behind us we could see people who had made it to the top of The Duomo. As the rain started again I just could not get over that I was in Italy.

After getting all 414 steps up and 414 steps down we were a bit exhausted but decided to keep walking throughout the city. Across from The Duomo we found a narrow side street and followed it passing more small shops a few art galleries and a hair salon. Out of the blue Kim finally made the decision to cut her hair off and what better place to do it in than Italy. We walked into this very modernistic salon where we were greeted by four women who all tended to Kim while I waited and flipped through American magazines on a bench. An hour later she was all done and looked like a totally new person. After a few pictures with the stylist we were off for the next site.

Somehow we made it down to the commercial section of the city and out onto Piazza della Repubblica. This expanse is full of modern art sculptures, high fashion stores, gellato cafes and even a carousel. From here we took a left and began to make our way down to the river. First we walked past another market and made our way through all the leather goods, glass blown animals and scarves.

Just past the market we entered Piazza della Signoria, an L-shaped square in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, a Tuscan Gothic town hall built in 1299. The square is the focal point of the origin and of the history of the Florentine Republic and still maintains its reputation as the political hub of the city. It is the meeting place of Florentines as well as the numerous tourists which we were among. We pushed through the crowded square to get a glimpse of the fountains and sculptures dating back centuries in The Loggia dei Lanzi gallery on the edge of the Piazza della Signoria. Truly incredible. At one end of the square sits the Palazzo degli Uffizi, home of The Uffizi Gallery, one of the oldest and most famous art museums in the world. The Uffizi is home to the incredible works of such artists as da Vinci, Botticili, Michelangelo and Raphael. Unfortunately it was a very busy day for the Uffizi, much like every other day when the wait time can last up to 5 hours just to get an appointment for a visit.

Through the hallway just outside the Uffizi we walked our way down to the Arno river and pushed through the hundreds of people to get to the overlook. From here we had an amazing view of The Ponte Vecchio, which dates back circa 996. That's right, I said 996. It was destroyed by floods twice before it was built as it is today in 1345. As was once common, the bridge was lined with shops, originally butchers, but now jewelers. The bridge is absolutely beautiful and is what comes to mind when I think of Florence. It represents so much history.

After taking some great pictures of the Ponte Vecchio we made our way down the crowded side walk just in time to see a bike ride out in front of a scooter being driven by and old man with his wife on the back. Pretty much a head on collision and the scooter just fell over on its side on top of all three of them. Pretty soon after the accident a beautiful Maserati drove by. I was speechless. Somehow we made it through some more narrow side streets dodging scooters.

As we made it back towards the opposite side of town we found the Tempio Maggiore Israelitico, the synagogue. The Synagogue was built between 1874 and 1882 to a design by Marco Treves. Its structure is of travertine and pink pomato, in the Moorish style, centrally planned, with a great dome and towers topped by smaller domes. It is of the kind known as of the emancipation, as it was designed as an independent structure rather than being incorporated into dwellings, as was the case in the ghettos. The central dome is sheathed in copper, which has tarnished to green. The interior is covered with decorative motifs by Giovanni Panti, consisting of red and blue arabesques. The doors of the Holy Ark - before which a lamp burns perpetually - still bears scars inflicted by Fascist bayonets.

We grabbed a cappicino at a cool little cafe and then headed back to the hotel to warm up before going to a late dinner. We went to Ristorante la Giostra as recommended by or friend Jen. We were supposed to meet a friend of Jen's, Miri who she met while on semester abroad in college. We managed to figure out who he was and luckily made sure he was our waiter. We had some intense and delicious vegetarian eats and a nice cheap bottle of Italian wine. We also made plans to meet up and tour the city with Miri later on in the weekend. It was one hell of a day and I was exhausted so to bed I went.

Italy: Day 1

We entered the Tuscan area of Italy via plane from Barcelona. We arrived at a very small airport on the outskirts of Florence. As we disembarked and entered the small baggage claim area I noticed a policeman with a beautiful German Shepard at his side. Minutes later the dog was sniffing out each and every one of our bags for narcotics or explosives or something illegal. It was an interesting experience. On the way out the airport we didn't really have a plan. All we knew was that Florence did not have a subway and thus we would have to catch a taxi into the city to our hotel. Yes, I did say hotel. We had major difficulties finding a hostel in this city and instead found what loked to be a decent hotel. We were sadly mistaken, but I will get back to that later. After a long ride into the city we found our hotel and checked in. We threw our bags in the room and headed out for the sites.

By the time we got situated and headed out it was early evening and of course we were starving so we walked a few blocks and found a corner bistro and had some incredible pizza and some fancy Coca Colas. By fancy I mean little glass bottles. After dinner we walked around for a while and then decided to find an internet cafe to keep up on our correspondence and Kim's need for celebrity gossip. After an exhaustive day of hungover traveling I was all for getting to bed early. Lucky enough we had an incredible room, with a dewpoint much like Florida in the summer, black mold growing on the ceiling and a disgusting bathroom. At this point I was too tired to care and quickly fell asleep.

Spain: Day 3

Our third and final full day in Barcelona we spent on the eastern part of the city touring through Ciutadella Park. Entering the park off of Passeig de Lluis Companys, we stopped for pictures under the Arc de Triomf. This arch was built in 1888 to serve as the entrance to the Universal Exhibition of the same year. Each top side of the arc is crowned by the royal coat of arms. The detailed carvings are beautiful and ornate. As we walked through the arc we could see down the long stretch of pedestrian walkway down to the main park. To the left sits the Palau de Justicia, or Justice Palace that rises up out of the trees with eight stone towers. The palace was built between the years 1887 and 1907.

At the end of Passeig de Lluis Companys is the Ciutadella Park, the second largest park in Barcelona. The park restson the site of the former citadel of Philip V's troops and was later used as a prison. The citadel was originally built in 1871 but was demolished to build the park. As I already mentioned the 1888 Universal Exhibition was held in the park and featured the following art installation.

We walked on past the installation and found our way down a small dirt path to a large opening directly in front of the "Cascade," an enormous fountain with waterfalls, dragons and lush greenery growing among all the sculptures. I wish I had a decent picture of it as I know if I had one it would be very recognizable. Unfortunately, it was under construction. Argh! Just past the Cascade sits an enormous mammoth statue. Of course Kimbo had to get her picture hanging from its trunk. Just across from the mammoth is a lake full of flowers and lily pads. Just up the path is the Catalan Parliament building across from the central square inside the park, Armes Square that contains an oval pond with "Desconsol" (Grief), the most famous of works by the sculptor Josep Llimona. Also within the park we walked by various natural science museums, including the Geological Museum (Martorell Museum - the oldest in Barcelona) and the Zoological Museum. Lastly, the Barcelona Zoo, which was founded in 1894 and is known as one of the finest zoos in all of Europe. Previously, the zoo was well known for its albino gorilla Floquet de Neu (Snowflake), the only primate of its kind ever found. Snowflaked arrived at the zoo in 1966 at age 3 and died in 2003.

Leaving the park we began to search for the post office to mail out a bunch of post cards to friends and family back in the States. What seemed to be miles later, but was only blocks, we came upon Passeig de Colom and the Moll de la Fusta on the port overlooking a mass of sailboats. The area, which was recently renovated, sits atop what was once the sea wall. It was demolished in 1881 and is now home to various modernistic sculptures, such as a giant lobster. Still no luck finding the post office. No building in our vicinity looked like a post office and just as we were about to give up there across the street we noticed a sign reading something Telegrafos on the facade of a huge building. Yep, it was the post office and the nicest looking one I have ever seen. When we walked into the main room of the post office it felt like we were walking into Grand Central Station. A large glass dome rests at the top of the building. It was truly incredible to see such a large structure with what seemed to be no support.

After mailing out our post cards we headed back up La Rambla and caught a beer and watched a street show. It was an awesome way to spend the last day in Barcelona. So relaxing to sit back, kick up our feet and have a nice cold beer. I decided it was my goal for the night to find a pub some where that would be shoing the World Series so I could support by Bo'Sox. Luckily not to far from our hostel on La Rambla we found a cool Australian pub. Due to the time difference, the game didn't begin until 3 am Barcelona time so we got to the bar around 2 am and chatted with a group from New Zealand and made friends with the bar tenders from some Eastern European country. I was pissed to find out that the bars closed at 3 and thus I would miss the game. I was not a happy camper but we found some kids our age to hang out with while finishing up our beers. As it was too late to get any more alcohol from the bars Kimbo remembered that our hostel had the best invention ever...a beer vending machine. We gathered all the change we could find and Kim ran off with a few of our new friends and came back with handfulls of Estrella Damm. We grabbed the beers and walked back down to the pier. We had a blast hanging out and talking politics and everything else with our new friends. Before we knew it, it was 6am and Kim and I had to be at the airport at noon to catch our flight to Florence. Ugh. We barely made it to the airport in time and then were rejected when we tried to check in. Finally, after pleading with them, we made it through check in and through security. We made it, hungover, but we made it. Off to Florence!

Spain: Day 2

After a night of awesome paella and sightseeing we were ready to head out to see more of this great city of Barcelona. We walked over a few blocks from our hostel just off La Rambla to a section of the city containing government buildings. Then down a small little street on to Cathedral Avenue, home of some incredible sites, including the Catalan Architect's College featuring a giant mural by Picasson on its face. Across the street stands the impressive Church of Santa Maria del Pi (built in 1298). Unfortunately, like much of the landmarks we had seen thus far, the church was covered by scaffolding and fabric as it was being repaired.

After stopping at a small cafe for some coffee we made a circle back toward La Rambla and into The Boqueria Market (of Sant Josep). The market, originally opened in the 18th century, is housed in an interesting Modernist building with a transparent and glass roof. This, and the bustling atmosphere inside make it well worth visiting, even if for only a moment.

After walking through the market we headed up La Rambla past even more historic buildings. First, the Vireina Palace, an 18th century Baroque building originally commissioned by the Viceroy of Peru, Manuel de Amat i Junyeat. From there we walked up to Catalunya Square, known as the nerve center of the city. On the way walking up La Rambla through the streets lined with flower shops, cafes and restaraunt. In the center of the square is a large park with fountains, benches and lots of pigeons. We made our way through the square and back down towards the ocean near our hostel via a different route. This time passing through Placa D'Urquinaona and down Via Laietana. Off this thoroughfare sits Palau de la Musica Catalana (Catalan Concert House) built between 1905 and 1909. The Palau quickly became part of the cultural life of the city and became the natural venue for all expressions of national culture. The facade of the building is incredibly beautiful. Made of bright red brick and lined with ceremic mosaics and elaborate sculptures, it definitely dwarfs all the buildings around it.

We spent the evening venturing up and down La Rambla trying to find a store to buy a winter jacket in as we heard the weather for the remainder of our trip was going to be fairly cool. Great, another five pounds to add to our already stuffed backpacks. Low and behold we found an H&M with some sick deals and bought ourselves some decent warm jackets. La Rambla at night is a sight. Bright lights and thousands of people wandering the street. In and out of cafes and restaraunts. We had dinner at some expensive Catalunyan place. From what I remember it wasn't anything spectacular. Then we headed out to La Rambla again and caught a mug of hot chocolate, coffee and pastries at one of the many cafes before going back to the hostel to catch some sleep.

Spain: Day 1

Once we landed in Barcelona we jumped we walked around aimlessly trying to figure out how or where to catch the subway to get into the city. Let's just say we weren't successful at finding the train. Instead we found a nice long line and waited for the bus. That's right, a bus, after traveling a few hours on a plane. Bogged down with our somewhat heavy bags we squished our way onto the uncomfortably hot bus and held on for dear life packed like sardines with other travelers. At some point we figured out what stop to get off at, Catalunya Square. Well, we got off at Catalonia Square instead. Woops! I noticed stairs down to the subway only to find out from a man sweeping the street that the subway stops service at 11pm. Across the huge traffic circle was a line of cabs. We ran over and jumped in. Just a short ride away we were dropped off right in front of our hostel, just a few hundred feet from La Rambla, the main pedestrian thoroughfare in Barcelona. After an exhausting day we made our way up the dark stairway to our floor and found our room with two sets of bunk beds and a set of lockers, a sight we would get used to. We hit the sack but not before realizing that there were hardly any springs left in my bed and when I jumped in I sank down almost to the floor. It was pretty damn hilarious. Kim has a picture of it somewhere.

The next morning we got up and decided our first outing would be to the famous cathedral, La Sagrada Familia (or The Holy Family). Construction on this basilica, pictured above, began in 1882. Famous architect Antoni Gaudí, who replaced the original architect, worked on the project for over 40 years, devoting the last 15 years of his life entirely to this endeavour. After Gaudí's death in 1926, work continued under the direction of Domènech Sugranyes. It is a truly marvelous sight, something unlike any other. It was incredible to ascend up out of the underground from the subway to turn around and be dwarfed by these unbelievably elaborate spires soaring into the sky. The Church will have three grand façades: the Nativity façade to the East, the Glory façade to the South (yet to be completed) and the Passion façade to the West. The Nativity facade was built before work was interrupted in 1935 and bears the most direct Gaudí influence. The Passion façade is especially striking for its spare, gaunt, tormented characters, including emaciated figures of Christ being flogged and on the crucifix. The detail in the thousands of carvings is exsquisite. I took some incredible pictures of this masterpiece that I have since had printed and they are beautiful.

From the basillica we decided to make our way up to Mount Carmel and Park Guell. After an intense hike up the steepest hill ever we made it to the line of escalators that climbed to the top of Mount Carmel just outside of Park Guell. Atop this mountain is a monument of stone with a large cross on top. The 360 degree view was unbelievable. It was a gorgeous sunny day and after the tiring hike it was incredible to look down across such a beautiful city.

After taking in the sights we descended down the steps of the mountain into Park Guell. The initial plan for the park was to build an English-style garden city with 60 one family houses. In the end, only two of these were built, the architect himself (Gaudi) living in one until he moved to the Sagrada Familia. In this park Gaudi's creative genius achieved an architectural space in perfect communion and harmony with nature. Close to the park entrance is a wide double staircase with, at the meeting point of the ttwo sections, small spaces with waterfalls and sculptures, including a colorful mosaic-covered dragon, which has become a symbol of the park. The steps lead up to what was originally planned to be a 100-columned chamber where the market was to have been placed. The columns support spherical domes, and above the chamber is the huge circular main square surrounded by a mosaic bench. Walking around on top of this square was great. Palm trees ad flowers line the sides of the square. A bunch of kids were running around playing soccer right next to the sign that said "No soccer." We walked around the park a bit longer and saw some interesting people, crazy looking dogs and some incredible architecture before trekking back down the streetlined mountain back to the subway. On the way stopping at a few souvenir shops, one in which Kim stepped on a plate and broke it and then modeled a disgusting tydyed shirt with a giant head of a bull on it.

Portugal: Day 5

Our fifth day in Portugal was pretty low key as it was our last and we were flying out to Barcelona. We packed our bags and prepared for the next leg of our adventure. I honestly was pretty amped but really didn't want to leave Portugal. Lisbon was incredible and Cascais was possibly the most beautiful place I have ever seen.

Some how we managed to cram everything back into our bags and lug them out to the curb to wait for the taxi. We went out to the street and zooming up the street came the 90s style white Mercedes that we had become accustomed to a our taxis. Luckily this one didn't smell to bad. Our cabby dropped us off at the train station just in time to catch the quickest train into Lisbon. It was another gorgeous day. The sun was beaming, nice breeze, 80 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

Kimbo and I really had no clue how we were to get to the train station. We guessed that we could take a taxi there as there was no metro line that went that far. All I knew was that I didn't want to get stuck on a bus for hours. We made our way through the maze that was the main train station. We walked out of the station into a line of people and an even larger line of taxis. It was kind of an eeny meany miny moe situation and we through our bags into the trunk and jumped in. Twenty minutes later driving through the industrial side of the city we were dropped off directly in front of the terminal. It was smooth sailing...that is until we boarded the plane and realized that there was some sort of Portuguese sports team on board. The entire few hour flight they shouted "Sporting Portugal" over and over and over again. Ugh. It was funny at first seeing them wave their signs, banners and scarves and then it got to be a bit much. Oh well, pretty interesting nonetheless.

We finally made it to Barcelona.

Portugal: Day 3 and 4

On our third day in Portugal we decided to venture into the city of Lisbon. After having a nice breakfast and some coffee at a little cafe in Cascais we hopped on a train and headed into downtown Lisbon. Again it was another gorgeous day, thus the train ride along the coast was pretty fantastic. Off in the distance we could see loads of sail boats, fishing boats and barges.

We rode the train to the last stop at Cais do Sodre where we some how translated the signs and the ticket machine to make our way onto the metro. We got off the metro in Rossio Square. A somewhat quiet square compared to what we had seen previously in Belem but nonetheless beautiful. The square is surrounded by shops and cafes and a few street performers. At one end stands a statue of King Pedro IV and at the other the National Theatre D. Maria II and in the middle a enormous fountain. Of course we were parched from our long train ride so Kim and I found our way to Cafe Nicola for some Sagres beer. This was a great place to people watch. Men decked out in suits with slicked back hair trying to sell you fake Armani sunglasses while little girls just begged for money.

From Nicola we decided to head out to some of the monuments. We found our way to Rua Augusta, another street lined with shops. Rua Augusta is the main artery of what is known as the Pombaline Baixa (lower town), rows of perpendicular streets with uniform facades that were built after the earthquake of 1755. At the end of Rua Augusta sits an impressive monument, the Arco da Rua Augusta. This archway acts like a gateway into this privileged section of town. At its front lies a large open square, Terreiro do Paço, that reaches all the way to the waterfront. Here we also found the equestrian statue of King Jose I. We walked around here for a bit and took some great pictures while people watching.

From the square we began our trek up to the top of the hill to see a Romanesque Cathedral on our way to Castelo de S. Jorge (St. George's Castle). The castle is part of a larger fort known as Catelejo. It brings you back to medieval times in a sense with the design and layout of the grounds. While inside one walks among olive, lemon, lime and orange trees. The views atop this mountain were unbelievable. You could see practically all of Lisbon and beyond. We both got some great pictures here and as soon as either of us gets our hands on a USB we'll post them somewhere.

We left the castle and made our way back down into the city to find a place for dinner. Walking through narrow, winding alleys we found some great graffiti. Bells began to chime from one of the many churches and a small dog appeared out of no where to bark and howl at each chime. We finally made it back to the main square where we began and walked through heading for Baixa, where a local recommended we eat dinner. Well, let's just say our navigating skills were not successful. These streets can be tricky! We walked and walked and walked and walked. No restaurants. Eventually we started back on the right path back towards Baixa after making an entire loop. We didn't make it however as we stumbled across Chiado, another quarter, first. There we found a small cafe and had some dinner and drinks. After dinner we stopped at Haagen Das for some coffee and ice cream and then headed down what seems like 10 stories into the ground on an escalator to get back to the metro. We made it back to the house safe and sound this night but absolutely exhausted!

For our fourth day in Portugal we slept in. Can you believe it? Kim and I sleeping in? Who would have thought that either of us would need naps, etc.? Ha ha. Alex's girlfriend Rita came and picked us up to bring us to the beach at Guincho. We had an awesome lunch at this beach side restaurant and then walked to the top of the cliffs to get some great pictures and videos of the area and the surfers. It was an amazing site. The beach was beautiful. Of course we looked like total tourists as the only clothing either of us had that was still clean was long, dark pants and shirts. It was a bit windy so it didn't turn out that bad.

We also attempted to do laundry this day. Key word is attempted! On our first attempted our clothes were washed for out 20 minutes in only fabric softener. Woops! Once we thought we had figured out the washer our clothes washed for what seemed like an hour. Oh well, no one said this would be easy! We have clean clothes, although they are still not dry yet. We had to hang them outside as it is very uncommon for one to have a dryer.

The rest of the evening we spent in downtown Cascais walking along the streets and finding a few goodies to bring home with us. We also found a cool little restaurant to eat dinner at. After dinner we headed to an Irish pub for more drinks (and more drinks) to listen to some Irish music straight from Ireland. We were both pretty sloshed by the time we got back to the house. Of course we couldn't get in through the gate as the latch was some how broken and the key wouldn't work. I had to boost Kimbo up over the wall for her to let us in. It was an adventure, but a fun one at that!

Lisbon, Portugal: Day 1 and 2

Hello everyone! For those that do not know, I am currently backpacking across Europe until November 7th. I am traveling with Kimbo. We left Tallahassee on Wednesday, October 17th at 11:15 am and eventually left the States via Philadelphia at 8:45 that evening. We arrived in Lisbon, Portugal the following morning at 8:30 am (Portugal time), which is 3:30 am U.S. time. It was a bit rough but as soon as we landed the adventure began.

We ventured off the plane and boarded a bus headed for the main terminal to check though the passport area and get our stamps before grabbing our giant backpacks at baggage claim. Then we hailed a cab and headed off towards downtown Lisbon to meet up with a family friend of Kim´s who we´re staying with. The cab ride was unbelievable. The traffic was horrible and if you think rush hour is bad in the States you haven´t seen anything until you´ve tried to get through the narrow streets of Lisbon! Not only do the cars drive so close you can literally touch them but they drive very fast. At one point before we got to Alex´s (Kim´s family friend) restaurant we turned on to this very narrow street and before you knew it we were traveling at 65 kmph barely missing pedestrians and the loads of cars just pulled up and parked on the sidewalks.

After meeting Alex, Kim and I decided to walk around the neighborhood while he had a business meeting. Luckily he offered us some amazing coffee to wake us up. We eventually piled into Alex´s Mercedes convertible (seems like everyone has a Mercedes here) and took off to Cascais, a small beach town about 25km west of Lisbon, to Alex´s house. These Europeans drive extremely fast!

We spent the rest of the day in downtown Cascais checking out all the little shops, the beach, the mall and all the other sites we could find. That evening we haded back to the house for dinner and lots of drinking with Alex and his girlfriend before heading to bed and preparing for the next morning.

Today we got up and went down into Cascais for coffee and pastries and then jumped on the train to head the Belem (town just outside of Lisbon). After a brief encounter of not fully paying attention to the train ticket we purchased we found our was to Belem. First, the weather has been nothing but beautiful, at list 75 degrees at the coolest during the days and roughly 65 at night. Absolutely gorgeous. I think we even got some slight sun burns today. Yep, I got a sunburn in Portugal! Who can say that!?

Our first site was the Monument to the Discoveries, right on the banks of the Tagus River(Pictures to come soon.) The monument celebrates the Portuguese who took part in the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, including Vasco de Gama, Henry the Navigator and Bartolomeu Dias.


From there we walked down the river a ways to Belem Tower. It was build in the early 16th century to commemorate the expedition of Vasco de Gama. The ornamental beauty of each carving atop each pedestal, the ornate floors and ceilings, the narrow winding staircase that rises all the way to the 5th floor all add to the amazing experience of this site. I got some awesome pictures of this place and will post them as soon as I can.

We walked around and hung out to rest in a park nearby before walking in the opposite direction to check out the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos (Jeronimos Monastery). A pretty amazing site that boasts the tomb of Vasco de Gama among others. Beautiful architecture and ornamental religious figures adorn the walls. Another place I took some great pictures.

From the monastery we grabbed some lunch before heading back to the train to go into Lisbon to catch a ferry across the Tagus River to Calhas and Almada to see the Cristo Rei or Christ the King monument. Inspired by the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the 92 feet tall statue of Christ stands atop a 264 foot tall base. We made it all the way to the top of the base to the observation deck by elevator to look over all of Lisbon. It was truly unbelievable. Again, more great pictures to come - FYI I left my usb at home. Doh!

We have only been here for two days and it has already been an incredible trip. I cannot wait to see what the rest of this trip has in store for us. Tomorrow it is back to tour around downtown Lisbon or possibly up to Sintra in the country to check out the palace. Whatever we do I know it will be great.

P.S. We´ve even met a few Americans over here!