Lisboa

It is hot. Very hot. Sitting in a pleather chair in an internet cafe with computers from 1999 doesn't help with the heat...



After arriving in Lisbon at about nine, I attempted to follow the hostel's directions. Unfortunately, I got off the bus approxiamately twenty minutes before I should have and then got lost in the metro system (why why why are the tracks on the wrong side of the platform?!). I finally found the Oasis Backpacker's Mansion in the bustling Bairro Alto quarter. It sits at the bottom of a windy little street off the main boulevard in its neighborhood. The yellow outside matches the Ikea inspired inside. It is by far the chicest hostel I've ever stayed in.



I left the hostel and wandered around the city for a couple of hours. The 28 tram line goes all around the city and after mistakenly getting off several times, I got a fabulous ride through the city for what should have been €1.40. Lisbon is hilly and charming and very much an Old World country. The sidewalk is all cobblestone, which is slippery but beautiful. If the old Portuguese ladies can do it, I can!

This afternoon, I was too hot to do anything but nap. I met several other people who were feeling the same way! Tonight is dinner cooked by a Portuguese mom and then going out in the Bairro Alto with the hostel.