Merida: This city is super cool because it is filled with Roman ruins. We were able to visit a amphitheater, theater, graveyard, and a temple. I have had the opportunity to visit Rome, and Merida was very comparable! Obviously, Italy is a whole different story in itself, but I really did enjoy the ruins in Merida. I loved seeing the ruins of old homes and the cemetery. The family/human life has been basically same throughout all time. It was interesting to think about how these families lived, what jobs they had, and the challenges that they faced. We were able to sing hymns together in the theater, and it made me think about what different productions were performed there!
Evora: The bone church was the main attraction in this city! Yes, you heard me right--a church made completely of bones. Basically, there was a graveyard where three monks wanted to build a church. Instead of getting rid of the graves, they decided to use the 500 bodies that were there to help create the church. I was able to find most all of the human bones, except hand, feet, and patellas. It was definitely an eery feeling walking into a church made completely of bones. But, I thought it was super interesting since I had never seen anything like it! Evora was beautiful in itself--the streets were colorful and winding, and the pastries we ate were delicious!
Lisbon: I LOVED THIS PLACE! We did so much here, its hard to sum up all that happened. Lisbon reminds me a ton of San Francisco. One of the main modes of transportation is the tram system, so we got to ride one! Its a city right on the beach, but is very close to the mountains (kinda like San Sebastian). The buidlings are bright hues of blue, yellow, pink, and red. It brings so much life to the city! We got to see two different towers while there--Tower of Belem and Descubrimientos. The first one was a jail, and then held the first rhino to come to the Iberian peninsula. The second tower has carvings of all the discovers of Portugal. I'm pretty sure it's one of the tallest buildings in Lisbon, so we got to see a beautiful view of the whole city. We also visited the Jerominos Monastery, which was very beautiful. It had incredible carvings throughout the whole building, and a huge cathedral was attached to it. We also visited the Carmo Convent, which is basically a skeleton of church. There was an earthquake and fire, so only a skeleton of the church remains. It was incredible at night--my jaw couldn't stay up! To end the night, we went to a Fado restaurant. Fado is traditional Portuguese music--there is a singer, guitar, and Portuguese guitar. It was very beautiful, and I really loved listening to it!
Sintra: Absolutely mind-blowing! We saw two places here. The first was Pena Palace. It was home to Portuguese royalty for a few years. To get up to the castle (its basically on the side of a mountain), we took tuk tuks. If you don't know what those are, they are small vehicles that are bigger than a motorcycle but smaller than a car. They are used a ton in India. It was so fun even though I felt like I was going to die! Ha ha! Anyways, the Pena palace was beautiful! It is super colorful (more than the Lisbon streets), and the inside reminded me of the Royal Palacio in Madrid. Every palace that I have been to has the same type of rooms (green room, Asian tea room, great hall, dressing room, study, etc). I really liked the palace because it was unusual and new! Most palaces don't look like something from a Disney movie. We then visited a millionaire's estate. It was built to basically impress the public, and it definitely fulfilled its purpose! The grounds of the estate are incredible--we visited the inverted tower. It is a tower that was build underground instead of above ground. After walking down the tower, we walked through underground tunnels beneath grottos and a waterfall. We also got lost in a labyrinth, and toured the millionaire's mansion. Definitely one of my favorite places!
I loved Portugal! I was sad when we had to change our trip to Barcelona. But, I am very grateful that I had the chance to visit another country on this trip. I ended up falling in love with a new place and culture!
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