Firstly, our Tech group got back from Lisbon, Portugal Sunday afternoon. We were there for 4 full days about, and it was incredible!
Dr. Inglis (the head guy in charge of the Tech Center in Sevilla) told us right when we arrived that he thought Lisbon was the hidden jewel of Western Europe, and I think he is dead-on. When people talk about visiting Europe, they always want to go to Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, London, Amsterdam, Berlin, etc. They rarely want to go to Lisbon. But Lisbon was one of the coolest cities I have ever visited. It is about the same size area wise as Sevilla, but the population is larger, and there is so much to do.
While in Lisbon, I...
-Visited a sweet monastery/cathedral right next to La Casa Rosa (the Portuguese version of our White House)
- Went up into the Cristo Rei, a giant Jesus overlooking the city on a hill, similar to the one in Rio de Janeiro
- Toured the Tower of Belem (I think that's right), a defense tower on the river used back in the day to fire cannons at enemy ships
- Ate lunch in downtown Lisbon amidst lots of drug vendors on the streets of Lisbon (just ignore them if you go, they will go away eventually)
- Had a very fulfilling dinner, churasco style (Brazilian meat house) at this nice restaurant
-Toured the Castle of St. George, this was awesome as the castle is huge and lots of fun to run around on!
-Went out late at night on the Docks of Lisbon, which are literally these docks filled with bars and clubs (this was sweet, except that there were some Welsh guys there who were being jerks to our girls from Tech- Violence almost ensued. Thankfully it all worked out peacefully)
- Got to see the Oceanarium! It was everything I thought it would be and more. This was by far my favorite thing in Lisbon. HUGE!
- Visited the nearby town of Sintra, and toured the oldest Romantic Period palace, Palacio Pena
- Experienced the subway! Lisbon's Metro system is pretty legit. I hope Sevilla puts one in place like the one in Lisbon.
The trip was wonderful, overall. I still think I liked Granada better, mostly because of the skiing, but Lisbon is definitely second. That being said, Portuguese was difficult. The most I ever really learned in those four days was "Obrigado", which is 'thank you'.
This week we started our new minimester, with a new teacher and a new kind of class. Now we are in Spanish 2, and things are starting to get more difficult. Hopefully it will "click" in my head soon and I start to really get this whole Spanish thing. Also, I played soccer tonight (instead of basketball)! There is not as much complaining about fouls in soccer here, so this may be a better option for my heart, as my stress level won't be as high playing soccer, haha. Those Spaniards really know how to tick someone off when playing basketball!
My brother Nathan is coming into Sevilla on Wed., and I am super pumped. I love him to death, and I know we will have a great time here in Sevilla for two days and then in Barcelona. It will be another great weekend, and I am so thankful to have some family coming here to experience a few days of this crazy life I have lived for the past two months.
Well, until next time... Adios!
The Cristo Rei, picture taken from the viewing deck at Jesus' feet
Me, at Jesus' feet, with the river and the city of Lisbon behind me
Me at the "entrance to downtown" Lisbon
I love this photo! Colby, Tyler, Warren, Humberto, me, Ryan, and Clint posing at the Castle of St. George
In front of the giant tank in the middle of the Oceanarium
Peace, love and God bless,
Noel
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