Viva la Vida Europa: La Feria y Portugal

I got back to Sevilla yesterday from Portugal. We left Thursday at 9 am, and I slept pretty much the whole way there since the night before I was out with Nieves and Meagan until like 4am at the feria. So therefore, first, let me recap the feria. Monday night, Meagan and I went to see the opening lights at midnight. There were tons of people waiting to see the entrance light up- Sevillains LOVE the feria. Everybody was dressed up - women in fancy flamenco dresses - and people were talking and flamenco dancing in the street. In fact, the moment after the lights went on and we entered the fair grounds, we got caught in a circle that had formed around a couple who had randomly decided to dance flamenco. The people in the circle cheered them on, and clapped and sang a flamenco beat...Check out the video!

Anyway, when you first enter the fair grounds, there are casettas EVERYWHERE. (Casettas are like tents where people can eat, drink and dance flamenco...most are private, and you need to be on a list to get in. However there are some public ones as well). Then after you walk a while, you enter the amusement park section of the fairgrounds, and there are games, rides, merry-go-rounds, popcorn machines...etc. We didnt go in any casettas, because we couldnt tell which were public, so we came back with Nieves Wednesday night and she took us to her families private casseta. Here are some pictures....

Entrance to fair grounds...

rides and such...

Kirstianna the Sevilliana

Nieves and Meagan inside her casetta

Okay so now Portugal. I think i had a bit of a bipolar relationship with portugal. I absolutely LOVED sintra, Cascais, and Lagos, but Lisbon and I had our disagreements. First of all, we stayed at the worst hostel ever, with repulsive bathrooms and a "breakfast" that i wouldn't give my dog. The coffee was seriously worse than mud. (Not that i have ever drank mud, but you know what i mean). Our rooms werent ready when we arrived, so we had to leave our suitcases in the breakfast room, which i was extremely nervous about. But anyway, then we got back on the bus and went to the Tower of Belem and it was seriously gorgeous. I guess it was built during the Age of Discovery to commerate Vasco de Gamas expedition. I think it would be such a pretty place to get married...you could walk up the aisle on the boardwalk and get married right over the water, at the edge of the continent, facing the direction of the New York city and the "New World"....kind of symbolic in a way.

Anyway, then after the torre de belem, Lisboa y yo empiezamos nollevar bein otra vez. I mean, i knew from my guide book that Lisbon was built on seven hills, but i never realized exactly how hilly it was....our tour bus made its way through the very high, windy, narrow streets, with all of us passengers hanging on for dear life. I think about half the bus got carsick....and the other half got very close. And when, the bus couldnt go up anymore, because the streets didn't permit cars, we put our calves to the test to visitthe barrio alto, the saint george castle, and the Santa Justa Elevator. Lets just when we finally did get back to our hostel in the city, we were much more appreciative of it. But the next day, we went to Sintra and that was great. First the bus dropped us off at another castle, and then after about an hour there, we got to to explore the little town. I loved it! First, Tracy, Laura, Meaghan and I, on Lery's (our guide) recommendation stopped at a cute little pastry shop to get some Portuguese pastries. We all got different ones, but mine was by far the best. I suppose this is because i take after my father in my ability to choose delicious desserts, but my mother in my loyalty and love chocolate. OMG. I have never eaten anything so delicious in my life. It was so rich and moist...Its a good thing i didnt study abroad in Portugal or i would weigh a thousand pounds just from eating them.

Then we explored the town a bit...(such a cute town!) and then headed off for Cacais and the costa de estoril. Cacias was kinda similar to Sintra in that it was quaint and small, but i think i liked it even better because it was right on the water - literally the restaurants and shops were like 30 feet from the beach. It also felt a little more open and summery...vendors were selling seashells and seashell jewelry, and families were enjoying lunch at restaurants on the water. We checked out of our hostel in Lisbon Saturday morning and then headed to Lagos for the more relaxing part of our trip. I really liked Lagos. We had beautiful weather both days. Saturday, Meaghan, Laura, Elina and I went to the beach...though it was too cold to go in so we just layed out in the sun and got some color. Then, around 5:30 I headed back to shower and Meaghan and I met up to walk around the town before heading back to the water to see the sunset. We didnt get back to our hotel until somewhat late, and when we did the supermarket was closed, so we walked to the Chinese resteruant and got food to go. That's okay tho, It felt like I was back at college - watching movies and swapping stories with friends while sharing take-out. I've become quite close with Meaghan (well both Meaghan and Meagan actually) while i've been here, and i'm going to be sad to say goodbye. But i've learned that in this day and age a few states away isnt really far at all. From Chitown to Espana...now thats a hike. Anyway, thats portugal en resumen...Here are some pics...

Cascias