The City with an Identity Crisis

View of the Bridge and statue from the Castle

Next stop... Lisbon, Portugal!  This city is great... now I understand why it is one of my brother's favorite cities in Europe!  I do think that it has an identity crisis though.  It has a bridge that is identical to the Golden Gate Bridge, it is a very hilly city, it has cable cars, and an exact replica of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio.  When I first arrived I didn't know where I was because all of these important monuments.  Again the weather was perfect even though it was supposed to rain the whole time.  It is a very tropical city with millions of palm trees and it is the only European capital located so close to the beach!  I was only here for 2 full days so I was a busy little bee trying to see everything.  I think that 3 full days would have been better but you gotta take what you can get right?

daddy?

My first full day I woke up later than usual but I was gone the whole day exploring the city.  I started my day in a nice park... it gave my local park, Retiro, a run for it's money but I still prefer my park!  I stumbled upon a church while waiting for the cable car so I went inside and explored a little bit.  I took a cable car ride from the Bairro Alto down to the Alfama district.   Here I visited the Castelo de Sao Jorge (Saint George Castle) which was well worth the 4 euros I spent.  It is one of the higher points in the city and it overlooks the center and out over the ocean.  You get a great view of the 25th of April bridge (Golden Gate Bridge) and the Christ the Redeemer statue (actually what it is called) and a view of the Vasco de Gama bridge which is the longest bridge in Europe.  The castle also had some beautiful peacocks which would actually let you get pretty close to them.  Outside of the castle I found my next car... daddy?  Then I walked over to the Baixa district and saw the Santa Justa elevator.  Sadly I didn't ride to the top, instead I walked the stairs.  After here I stopped in a plaza and enjoyed a pasteis de nata (an egg yolk custard little pie) and some big fluffy pastry filled with nutella and topped with powdered sugar (i can't remember the name). Yummm!! Afterwards I visited the Sao Roque church which is one of the most boring churches I have ever seen from the outside but pretty much plated in gold on every square inch on the inside.  It was free and breathtaking. 

View of Lisbon from the Castle window

Day 2 started a little further away at the Belem district which is right on the water.  I visited the Jeronimos Monastery which was very pretty on the outside and had some great stained glass windows.  After this I walked over to the Discoveries Monument which was built in memory of Henry the Navigator but as you can see from my photos that there are a lot of people on the monument which include famous explorers such as Vasco de Gama and Magellan.  I climbed the 267 steps to the top which also provided some great views, especially of the monastery and the soccer stadium in Lisbon.  From here I walked along the water front to the Belem Tower and also climbed to the top.  It was built as a fortress to guard the entrance of the harbor.  From here I hopped on a bus and rode over to the very large aqueduct which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere and not nearly as impressive as the aqueduct of Segovia.   From here I took a bus to the Solar do Vinho Porto (the Port Wine House) where I did a wine tasting.  Forewarning port wine has a very high alcohol content.  I planned on tasting 4 different ones which quickly turned into 2.  They have everything from reds, aged reds, rose, and whites.  I only tried a 10 year red and a white and I preferred the white.  I must say that I am partial to white wines in general though.  From here I went to the other side of Lisbon and saw the Oceanarium.  I didn't go in but everyone told me I should have.  Apparently it has five tanks: a circular in the  middle and then four surrounding this with four distinct habitats with native species.  Apparently this is one of the first places to have an environment like this.  And apparently the way it is designed makes it look like it is one big tank.  Sounded pretty cool and kinda disappointed that I didn't go.  Then I walked along the water to the Vasco de Gama tower and the Vasco de Gama bridge.  The bridge did look very long but it was kinda boring.  Nothing special.

Discoveries Monument

Belem Tower

This finished up my time in Lisbon.  As you can see I was very busy and running around the whole city.  It was a very beautiful city and I got very lucky with weather.  Most of the buildings are covered in decorated tile and reminded me a lot of Andalusian style.  But it was really pretty and made the city a little bit more aesthetically pleasing.  It is a big party town so if you don't like parties or noise be cautious of where you stay when you go.  If you do like partying they have some great dock bars (thanks to some information from my brother) that are a lot of fun.  I love the beach and palm trees but I think I am a mountain girl at heart.  I'm in Madrid for a little bit and then it's travel travel travel.  I bought my plane ticket today... wouldn't you like to know when I'm coming home... too bad!!! Maybe next time!

Chocolate, Cheese, and Heartache

"On the road again"... I feel like is the soundtrack that should always be on repeat on my ipod because I feel like all I do is travel.  Trust me I actually do work!  Here's my quote for this post... one of my all time favorites! 

"Not all those who wander are lost" -J.R.R. Tolkien

To start with I had another 10 day vacation!  So Melissa and I decided to head to Switzerland!  Which is one of the reasons why I chose this quote.. because I didn't feel lost at all.  I felt right at home in Switzerland.  The people are so warm and welcoming and the country was absolutely beautiful.  We flew into Geneva and then hopped on the train and headed to Zermatt to see the Matterhorn and then over to Zurich. We were expecting horrible weather the whole trip and believe it or not the weather was great.

Geneva

We flew Swiss Air to Geneva which was great.  We got a meal, free alcohol, and free chocolate on a 2 hour flight.  Well worth it.  We spent a day in Geneva, which I must say was plenty.  Switzerland itself is a tiny country so they cities aren't that big so there isn't a lot to see.  We walked around the Old Town and then made our way down to Lake Geneva.  It was disappointing that the day we were there it was too windy for the fountain, that shoots out of the lake, to be on.  Other than that the view is breathtaking.  Completely surrounded by mountains and the water is almost crystal clear.  The mountain tops still had snow on them and everything else was a very lush green! It was actually a very peaceful relaxing day.  The only other thing we did besides this was go and see the United Nations building which was actually pretty cool!  On a different note Melissa and I arrived late on Saturday and all the supermarkets were closed and they are also closed on Sunday (which is pretty much the case anywhere in Europe) so on Sunday our mission was to find a small market that was open to buy food (everything is bloody expensive in Switzerland).  In a desperate grumble from our bellies we quickly stopped in McDonalds (thinking it would be quick and cheap-- which we needed in our search for a market) and I ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a water and it cost me 12.90 Swiss Francs. For those of you that don't know that is roughly 14 USD.  I almost had a heart attack... How could something that cost me less than 5 USD cost me 14 here.. it wasn't a happy moment for me!

Where the Matterhorn should be :(

On Monday we woke up early and hopped on the train to Zermatt.  We had to switch in Visp and take a special Matterhorn train line up.  The ride was stunning.  We got to ride along the lake with the mountains in the background and even see the Matterhorn from the backside.  As soon as we arrived in Zermatt, whichever forces were working against were now in full force.  Immediately snow/rain clouds came in and completely shadow the Matterhorn.  So we pretty much went for nothing because we didn't even get to see the Matterhorn. Booo... it's pretty much the bane of my existence right now.  Althought that sucked Zermatt is such a sweet town.  No cars and completely overtaken by people to come hike, ski, snowboard, mountain climb, etc.  Definitely on my bucket list to go back.  We slowly got back on the train and made our way to Zurich.  I must say it was a very quite train ride for Melissa and I because we were so disappointed in not seeing the Matterhorn.

View from the tower in Uetliberg

But... Zurich was a sweet surprise.  I would move here in a heartbeat... if it didn't cost me 14 USD for a McDonald's meal that is.  The girl we were staying with lived a little outside of Zurich in a very quaint town that had hiking trails and overlooked Lake Zurich.  The weather was perfect and you have a perfect view of the mountains!  We arrived late so we got to bed and woke up early for a full day in Zurich.  The girl we were staying with was amazing and had some great advice for places to go.  She took us to Uetliberg which completely overlooks the city.  There is a tower you can climb and it was absolutely breath taking.  Her sister actually had her wedding reception at a venue here and I must say that the view was totally worth it.  Destination wedding anyone?  Then we walked around the Old Town of Zurich and hopped on a train/ bus and went to a castle on the outskirts of Zurich.  The scenery was well worth it.  Seeing all the hikers definitely gave me a little heartache and made me wish I was back in Boone.  Made me reminisce and made me realize how much I miss everyone I got to share some of the best days of my life with.  I can't wait to see y'all soon! 

Now on to the chocolate and cheese.... TOTALLY worth it.  They have cheese in Switzerland that can only be produced in Switzerland because it has pretty much been trademarked to that country.  That's how serious they are about their cheese.  I love cheese and I love chocolate and I must say they didn't disappoint.  I might have gained back all of my weight just from eating chocolate and cheese! 

Interlaken

Melissa and I parted ways in Zurich because she had to go back to Madrid and work.  I had a late flight out of Geneva so I spent the day traveling some more across Switzerland.  I stopped in Lucerne, Interlaken, and Burgdorf.  If you are an adrenaline junkie/ love extreme sports then Interlaken is where you need to go.  Also I have never seen as many beautiful flowers like I did in Interlaken.  Sorry Biltmore House but the town of Interlaken puts you to shame (hurts me to say that since it's one of my favorite places) They also have a Hooters in case some of you guys need some more persuading.  Lucerne is a little bit bigger than Interlaken and has quite a bit to see believe it or not.  They have a dying lion statue in memory of Swiss troops who were killed in the French Revolution.  It is carved into the side of a rock formation and is actually really cool to see in person but I must forewarn that tourist specifically Asian were out in full force when I was there and it was really hard to get a good picture.  I went in the middle of the day so maybe if you ever get the chance to go you should visit in the morning. I think it would be more peaceful and enjoyable.  Burgdorf is a tiny town but has some great views.  As soon as I stepped off the train it smelled like the country so I felt right at home.  It's a very laid back town with not much to see.  From Switzerland I kept traveling but you will have to wait to find out where. 

 If you ever get the chance to travel make sure that Switzerland is on the top of your list (and make sure you have a lot of money saved up).  If I come back to Europe I will definitely spend some more time here.  Some of the small towns I went through reminded me of Boone which made it really hard to not hop on a plane and come home then.  Don't get me wrong... I'm having the time of my life and this is the chance of a lifetime but my jitters to come home are really starting to set it.  Not too much longer!  Until next time...