Lisbon

So far we are in Lisbon. We arrived here Tuesday morning after a long flight through Frankfurt, and are heading to Madrid tonight on a train. This city is beautiful (as you will see) and very green with a lot of nature. If I could sum it up in one word I would say "castles." Yes, we have visited a variety of castles and palaces dating back to Portuguese royals who one occupied them. Today we went to Sintra--a town about 30 minutes outside of Lisbon--and hiked up to some beautiful monuments.
Food wise, this city isn't really anything to brag about. Our first meal was re-hydrated salt cod served with different ingredients, such as chips, olives, onions, etc. It was good, but nothing amazing. They do have some really good pastries here, like custard tarts. We did have some tasty roasted chicken for lunch yesterday (very similar to pollo a la brasa) with fries...juicy and yummy crispy skin.
The neighborhoods here are quite beautiful and remind us of what we've seen of Morocco in movies, a lot of stoney streets and very colorful buildings. We even saw this old Portuguese woman send down a basket attached to a rope from a 2nd story building to receive her mail, which was pretty cool and old fashioned.
Our hostel was awesome--really clean and accommodating with friendly staff and a variety of travelers. It was right in the middle of the city and close to all kinds of transportation.
Ok, so that should be a brief summary, hopefully not too long or boring. We will do our best to add to this blog in each city, depending on the internet situation. We hit Madrid in the morning, followed by Barcelona and then Rome. We miss you guys, but are having a great time so far! Please add comments so we can communicate with you. We will be sending various post cards when we can.
Love, Jenny and Ethan