This weekend, we went to Lisbon, Portugal. It's a funny story. A couple of months ago, I was searching for a place to take the GRE Subject test in Literature. I was sure I could take it in Madrid, since they proctor the General test here. Unfortunately, I couldn't find it. I skyped my mom and told her my dilemma and she suggested that I look to see if there are any other countries where the test is available. Sure enough, I could take the test in Lisbon. "Why don't you just make a weekend trip out of it?" she said. When I shot the idea past A, he was adamant that I take the test there.
So, we took a quick flight on over to Lisbon Friday morning. I was a little nervous about traveling to a country where I didn't know the language; even going to India is not that bad because I have dad there to translate. All my fears were eliminated when I learned that the Portuguese understand and speak both Spanish and English. It's very easy to get around the place and simply ask for things in English. Thank God.
Here's a picture of a building outside of our hostel window. Many of the buildings had colored tile on the outside. It seemed odd to me, like a kitchen that was inside-out; however, they were unique and quite beautiful. Even the sidewalk had some decor. They were small cobblestones with different designs. Here's a picture of what I'm taking about:
After we settled into our hostel, we decided to go get lunch. Many of A's students recommended that we try Baccalau. This is a codfish dish with vegetables. We stopped in the nearest place to try this specialty. Here's a picture of our wonderful meal.
It was delicious! The fish melts in your mouth. The onions and cilantro complimented the dish very well. As you can see in the picture, the dish was served in a sea of buttersauce, which stayed in our stomachs all day. We proceeded to explore the center of the city and take lots of pictures.
This is a picture we took on our walk towards the center. There are a lot of hills in the city and a large castle/fortress top of this one. I couldn't help but think of Monty Python when I saw it. This is the Castle of Saint George. We didn't have time to go up and tour it, but it is an awesome sight amidst the city!
We went to the bay and saw this statue across the water. It's a replicate of the Jesus statue in Rio de Janeiro.
The next day, I went to take my test in Lisbon. There were 6 young men there who were taking the GRE Subject test in Math, Chemistry...basically, in important fields. The test proctor assumed we all spoke Portuguese, but I had to request to hear the directions in English. Fortunately, the test was all in English!
After the test, I met up with A and we headed over to the Lisbon Aquarium. We had noticed several ads for the aquarium and in our tourist maps, it stated this was one of the world's largest aquariums. That sealed it. We were going.
The aquarium had this huge tank filled with sharks, fish, and this really big thing called the Sun Fish. When you are on the bottom floor of the tank, you can look into the whole seascape. It seemed 3D. My photo doesn't do the aquarium justice, but I think it's a must-see when you're in Lisbon!
After the aquarium, we strolled around the area and saw the Vasco de Gama bridge. It's pretty famous for its unique shape.
I was really impressed with the architecture in Lisbon. There were a lot of creative edifices. Check out these apartment buildings. Don't they look like fish?
Well, that was our fabulous trip to Lisbon. Once I actually clean the apartment, I will post up pictures! I leave you with this wonderful warning picture from the Lisbon metro. Be careful of the doors or you will get cut in half.
You could dedicate a whole site to your photos of foreign signs.
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