Casal das Giestas Sintra

... on North Brazil......in fact I think I am rapidly running out of time and will have to be dragged away and on to the plane soon!! <br><br>Thanks to airmiles/lots of travel we're flying Business, so not dreading the 12 hr (ish) flight ....can't wait to tuck in to the free champagne and relax in bed seats etc.....it really is the way to do longhaul travel.<br><br>See you in Brazil!<br>

So, I left the library and went to Portugal<br>On our trip that we learned the intention of Portuguese maritime explorations was to explore, and not to conquer. I liked that.<br>My DePauw friends who are studying in Spain had a trip planned to Lisbon, and I decided to jump on since I hadn't really done the whole "study abroad see all of Europe" that everyone does. So I took advantage of their plans and had my explore Europe experience. And it was great, and I am so ...

... like the good students we are). We left Madrid early on Saturday and had all day to explore the city. After checking into our hostel, we tried having lunch at the Barrio Alto. Of course, the tram was broken so we had to hike up the largest hill of my life to get to this area of the city. Of course the view was gorgeous, so it was worth it. Nothing was open when we got there, so we ...

... at the shops. Then we continued down to the west cost of Lisbon to the Cabo da Roca, which is the western most point of continental Europe. The view of the ocean was breathtaking! I promise to get pics up soon, I'm hoping it's a problem with the hotel wireless and not my laptop.<br><br>After that, it was a drive along the cost back to Lisbon with a quick stop in the fishing village of ...

... felújítják. Be kell érnünk az emlékmûvel... Az óceánon a bójákat megcsinálták olyanra, mintha pici hajók lennének, nagyon aranyosak. Találkoztunk egy hatalmas doggal is. Majdnem akkora volt, mint én. Aztán hazafelé irányultunk, mert már késõ volt. De azért még megálltunk Praia do Guinchoban, ez egy híres szörfparadicsom, a legtöbb szörfversenyt itt rendezik, mert az óceán egy pillanatra sem nyugszik el. Láttunk kezdõ szörfösöket is, éppen bemelegítettek. A ...

... ja sümbolismi osas, mis pidid endas hõlmama ka keskaegseid ja islami elemente. Peale Ferdinandi surma läks loss edasi tema teise abikaasa Elisa Hensleri (krahvinna Edla) kätesse. Sellele järgnes lossi müümine kuningas Luísile; 1889.a ostis Portugali valitsus selle ning peale vabariiklaste revolutsiooni (1910) omandas see rahvusliku monumendi staatuse ning kohandati muuseumiks. Viimane Portugali kuninganna Amélia veetis seal oma viimased õhtud, enne eksiili minemist. Aja ...

Woke up early and upon a recommendation from my good friend Bruce I went to Sintra for the day. Sintra is surrounded by several historic castles and palacio´s. Everything is built on the side of a mountain so once again I was hiking uphill most of the day. I found it all worthwhile. My first stop after taking in the sights of the town was Palacio de Pena. I spent most of my time there taking in the gardens and vantage points. The highest point of my day ...

It's all almost over. I keep flip flopping between heartbreak and denial. I don't want ot go home. I'm ready, but I don't want all this to end. I'm scared. And sad. And already nostalgic for hte live I've been leading the last 10 1/2 months. There won't be anymore of those "I can't believe I'm here doing this" moments. I can't decide on a whim to change countries or stay longer in a place I love. No more random meetings with itneresting people. No more me, on my ...

... All the whirling, shoe tapping and sweat on the stage made my eyes blurry - could have done with the 2 jugs of Sangria already consumed. As the show ended and everyone cheered we worked our way to the bus station and after some minor worry about missing the bus due to stopping for that last jug of Sangria - we were off to Portugal, ****** but full of smiles- YEAH! And that is where the happiness ended! As the Sangria wore off and the hang-over kicked in, the ...

... place where centuries and centuries ago a Moorish guard stood on lookout for attackers from the North. After we came down from the mountain (and from our cultural high) we found a cute bed and breakfast with great view of the valley. The next day we looked around the town, which again boasted cute little shops selling traditional wares.