in the meantime....

while you're all desperately waiting on the edges of your seat to hear about Conor's news, and since he's been a little slow to the computer the last few days, I'll fill you in on what we've been up to for the last week. After a fun night out with Tyler Joosten, sampling various tapas and beverages in the Plaza Mayor and other sections of Madrid we flew to Lisbon on Sunday. Wow, what a surprise Lisbon was. It's not that we didn't think it would be great, but it's one of those places no one ever talks up, so when you actually see it, it's such a great surprise. Our hostal was located right in the heart of the old town called the Baixa. This is all tiled streets with restaurants pubs, neat architexture, and a huge plaza along the water. We did a quick tour around our neighborhood before crashing for the night and enjoying some awesome indian food (its nice to finally have some variety! minus the jamon jamon jamon which is everywhere...like we somethign else to dry us out besides our beers!)

On Monday we put on our walking shoes and did what we do best.....seeing everything from a foot. We began the morning by visiting the huge fort/caste (Sao Jorges Castle) that overlooks the whole city of Lisbon. It was really fun to imagine what it must have been like, and its fabulously intact. There are also great views of the atlantic, river, and the terracotta roofs below. You can also see the old moat that used to be around it. After also seeing the Medival neighborhood we had some cafe con leche (since we're addicted...thank you all of south america) overlooking a beautiful old church and the city down below. In the afternoon we walked along the water and went into the Chiada and Barrio neightboors that have tons of character and cobblestoned streets with trolleys crossing left and right and up and down the steep hills. We could have spent another few days seeing the city but we wanted to make sure we got out to Sintra on Tuesday.

Sintra...wow...it's like a fairy tale castle..almost seems fake its so pristine and clean. Pretty touristy, but not enough to draw you away. It was a quick 40 minute train ride out into the mountains, and a great little town to walk around. First we visited the Sintra Palace, which is also still intact and filled with amazing views, rooms, and artefacts. There was one room in particular that overlooks the atlantic and myth has it that you could see ships from india, brazil, or africa approachin on the horizon. After lunch we visited a fabulous residence and garden estate...amazing, with underground tunnels, private chapels, and more. The day was getting late, but of course conor and I tried to fit in a final visit up to the fort and castle above the town. But when we got up there we missed the final entry by 10 mintues...grrrrrr, but this lead to one of our best tours...we found a hidden trail behind the fort that lead us town into the town, with great views and through the back streets of the village of sintra.

After Sintra and Lisbon, it was time for some R&R, and we traveled down to the Algarve region in southern Portugal. This is the land of beeeauuutiful beaches, golden cliffs and natural blue water. We set up camp at a guest house we reserved in the heart of one of the main town's, called Lagos. Lagos is filled with windy tiled streets, TONS of bars, resturants, surf shops, cafes, tourist traps, and the like. Even though it was a little cheesy, it was great to feel like we didn't have to hurry to sightsee or get everything in. Plus, the weather was gorgeous! We spent two fabulous days at the beach, wandering around the city, checking out the cliffs, and recharging for the next portion of the trip. Luckily we had a great hostess at our hostal in Lisbon, so she helped us plot some of our upcoming adventures.

Sadly, we had a casualty while in Lagos. Our poor little baby Canon, the first purchase Conor and I ever made together, finally bit the dust. Which reeeally sucked. So upon our arrival here in Sevilla, we had to break down and purchase a new camera....which as painfully expensive as it was, we couldnt go without...and at least we have a new toy to play with! So look for some new and improved pics to come.