Lisbon

06.07.2011

Our last destination on this trip was Lisbon. We caught a night train out of San Sebastian and spent the next 14 hours heading south to Portugal.

Lisbon is an interesting city. At first sight, it seems to be a tired place. The buildings are crumbling (although somehow still have a cheerful demeaner) and there isn't a level sidewalk or road in any inch of the place.

That said, on closer inspection one realizes that Lisbon has a very artsy soul. In all the run down buildings are art colleges, architecture firms, furniture designers etc.

In addition to this, the people in Lisbon are supremely laid back. Everyone seems to stroll around with no cares in the world. It was refreshing to be around such a mellow community. A bonus was the plentiful and very cheap vinos to enjoy!

For our last day in Portugal, we took a train to the coast (Lisbon sits on the banks of the Tagus River) to spend a day in Cascais. It's a small and very charming beach town about an hour away from Lisbon.

We followed the coast out of Cascais for awhile to find some very unique geography. This area is full of volcanic rock and the coast was quite impressive to behold.