Lisbon Portugal- Castles, Street Parties and more Castles.

We took an overnight train from Madrid to Lisbon, Portugal.  Our initial excitement of the overnight adventure was let down by the tightly cramped gender specific rooms.  Sue’s room had a toddler that unfortunately got motion sickness all over their compartment floor at about 2 am.  Needless to say we were relieved to get some fresh air in Lisbon.

Portugal is relatively less expensive and reminded us a little bit of South America with its slightly more laid back feel than the hustle and bustle of the rest of Europe.  

Castello de Sao George perched above Lisbon

Trolley cars in old town. 

 View from Castello De Sao George

 The outlines of arches you can see are from the Carmo Convent. Built in 1389, the Convent’s arches were practically the only thing left standing after a massive earthquake in 1755 that completely leveled Lisbon. The arches were left bare (no roof) to serve as a reminder of the earthquake.

The alter at Liceu Gil Vicente

The entire month of June is a festival in Portugal and we happened to arrive in Lisbon on the first night.  The streets were brightly decorated and lined with drink and seafood vendors.  Locals were out dancing, drinking and celebrating in the streets.

We took a day trip to Sintra, a historic town 30 kilometers away from Lisbon.  The town was home to a Moorish military fort believed to date back to the ninth century during the period of Arab occupation.  Parts were later rebuilt and maintained by the Portuguese kings from the 12^th- 19^th centuries.

 

Walls of the castle with the Palace of Pena in the background

The Palace of Pena was built in the 1800’s by the King and Queen of Portugal and housed the Royal families until 1910.  We took a tour of the palaces rooms with an eclectic and surprisingly tacky collection of furniture (sorry no pics allowedJ)  

We headed south from Lisbon to Lagos, a little beach town on the south tip of Portugal. We spent 3 days lying on the beach there and not much else, so we're not sure how exciting a blog post would be....might put a couple pictures up, we'll see. After that we're headed back into Spain to visit Seville.