Lisbon

I arrived in Lisbon yesterday after a good flight. Lufthansa provided excellent service, and I was delighted to have flown an A300 for the first time. I like how European airlines still provide meals on flights. My hostel in Lisbon, the Traveller's Hostel is one of the nicest I have ever stayed in. It's nearly like a hotel, and they served eggs for breakfast. I also got my laundry done for a very cheap price, which is good because I had run out of clean clothes. I watched two movies in the evening yesterday, Blood Diamond (terrible) and An Inconvenient Truth (interesting). The hostel staff even gave us popcorn to go along with the film.

Lisbon is very nice, and very warm. When I arrived, I started sweating because I was still wearing my heavy jacket from Paris. Transportation here is also dirt cheap. A metro ticket is only 75 cents. Overall, I like Lisbon. It is a pretty city, and the people are very friendly. Today I went to Sintra, a world heritage site. There, I visited two palaces and a ruined moorish castle. Interestingly, the Moorish castle was reconstructed into a 'romantic' ruin in the 19th century. The first palace was a medieval one first built by the moors, which made it much different from any palace I have ever visited. It was very nice, and the kitchen chimneys were quite remarkable. The second palace was built in the 19th century, and looks pretty from the outside. Unfortunately the inside is much to stuffy, with tiny rooms filled with too much furniture. The palace did, however, have a lovely view and nice gardens. Since I walked up a huge hill to get the second palace I was completely exhausted after my visit and fell asleep on the train.