Lisbon (Part Dos) and Sintra

Our first full dia in Portugal, we saw everything in Lisbon. Okay, that's not completely true, but we did get all the grande sites checked off our list (Yes, there was a list. Thanks to Meghann, there's always a list. Even lists of "foods to eat".) So, the next day we drove up to the hilltop town of Sintra, just outside of Lisbon. After parking the Mini, we caught a bus to the very top to explore the Castelo dos Mouros, an 8th-century Moorish castle. 

Semana Santa Procession

Easter in España is a major holiday. The country is predominantly Roman Catholic (Wikipedia says 94%) and that means Easter isn't just religious, it's also cultural. Many businesses close not just on Easter Sunday, but for a large part of the week before, and it is spring break for most school children. Each night of Semana Santa, or Holy Week, features church processions through the streets. Sevilla has the most well-known and largest processions, but most towns in Andalucia have their own. We went to downtown Puerto last week for some Tuesday night tapas hopping and to see one of the processions.

Lisbon, Part Uno

After our unexpected stop in Castro Verde, we made it to Lisbon in the early evening, checked into our hotel, then hopped on the metro downtown to find something to eat. And drink, of course. The area around the triumphal arch is called "Baixa" and most of the streets are pedestrian. 

Shoppers and people just out for a stroll on the Rua Augusta.

Rainy dias

The rain in Spain...doesn't just fall on the plain. It falls in Puerto, too. The weather here has been a combination of windy, gray, rainy, and generally dreary for a large part of the past week. It's not always sunshine and walks on the playa. And that also applies to our life aqui.

Puddle outside of our front door. Boo.