Now that we are in Portugal, what's next?

Our flight from Lisbon to Sevilla was cancelled right before we got on the ship and with minimal internet access we were unable to make alternate arrangements. We were able to secure one additional night in the hotel after my parent’s departure, however, later found out that Dec. 8 is a religious holiday in Portugal and many of the hotels were fully booked for the remainder of the week. We stayed our third night in a basic but central hotel and decided to head South by bus today.

Lisbon has unique sights that add flair to a city. For example, the 25^th of April Bridge which looks much like the Golden Gate Bridge and is lit up at night over the Tejo river and the Torre de Belem which blends Moorish and Gothic architectural styles. We would have had more time for sightseeing but I felt a bit homesick on the day that my parents left and we decided to check out a movie instead. The cinema was inside the Colombo shopping mall – one of the largest in Europe. That was a pretty incredible mall – by far, the largest I had been to (and Ian thinks it is as big as the Mall of the Americas in Minnesota). This place was so pretty and had an amazing food selection with tons of restaurants – I know these things seem petty, but it’s quite unusual to find this type of shopping set up in Europe. We even found what is, by far, the largest store I have ever seen. The store (called Continente) was a mix between a Walmart, Target, and Publix – I thought Americans were known for building big, but this was really big!

We hadn’t really planned to visit Portugal for this length of time, but it’s been nice to get a taste for this country and language, which is in many ways similar to both Spanish and Italian. In a couple of days we’ll leave for Sevilla and settle into a nice little apartment for a week before moving on to Marbella.