I've been really lucky. Quite honestly, I have no idea what I did to deserve such luck. I had a wonderful host who made me feel completely welcome and who showed me a bit of the city the night I arrived (which was actually the night Porto defeated Barcelona in football, so EVERYONE was out, hanging out of passing cars, hooting, shouting, waving their team's flag). And the river, by night and by day, is beautiful.

The following day, I was left to my own devices and was fortunate enough to hear from Fernando, the couchsurfing king. The consequential events were beyond anything I could have expected. I met up with him for lunch, where we were joined by two other couchsurfers who he was hosting. After the delicious lunch, Fernando's tour began.

We saw everything. EVERYTHING. And we learned the history and the facts behind it all, punctuated by Fernando's many jokes. It was fantastic. We saw the tourist attractions and we saw the local attractions. We tried numerous treats (I think we all expanded during the few days we spent with Fernando) and drank Port and vintage. We crossed the bridge and walked along the river. And by the time our tour was over, it was time for another delicious meal.

I love Porto!

written by  Brigid Jelsma on May 20, 2011 from Porto, Portugal
from the travel blog: Walk a little further to another plan
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Rob (a Polish couchsurfer) and I set off for Guimares, the place where Portugal was born. We wandered around with our free tourism booklet and got lost and ate local dishes and climbed up the castle and got the backs of our heads in the footage of some communist party's interview. It was great fun!

written by  Brigid Jelsma on May 21, 2011 from Guimaraes, Portugal
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I arrived in Lisbon, full of expectations: it's one of the main tourist destinations in Portugal, so there must be something worthwhile, right? Exactly.

So I headed for the metro station, looked at the tube map, and realised that I had absolutely no idea where to go for any of the 'attractions'.

I chose a random stop and headed out into the heat. I was on a main road, so that seemed as good a place as any to start my adventure. I would just find a tourist information office and go on from there. Well, that was my plan.

"Peldonna... disculp... er... English?" Topped off with a helpless look on my face. "Turisma? Er...."

Then the guy responded, in perfect English, "You'd have better luck finding a tourist office in the city centre." He gave me a grin and pulled me out of the road....

Yes, I had been asking someone directions while standing in the middle of a street. I am actually that oblivious.

Anyway, what the guy had failed to tell me was where the city centre actually was. I hopped back on the metro, tried another spot right on the coast - or, rather, what I thought was the coast.

I stepped out, found the shore and ended up chatting to this old couple, and after a while I announced that I absolutely adored the ocean.... It's a river. To be fair, it is a very large river and it is really near the coast, but still. You can imagine how stupid I felt when they corrected me.

Then, I left to go and meet my new host. Rui, who then provided me with maps (tourist maps, clearly marking the tourist attractions), and I was all geared up for an afternoon of exploration.

With the map, I actually discovered which tube stop was in the centre. And then I realised that I had been walking around (almost in circles) around the centre, and that if I had just chosen one road to stick on, I would have reached one of the many massive squares.

Eventually I made it to the massive archway, walked through it and out into a massive quad, centred with a statue of a guy on horseback, and with a view of the bridge, Born Jesus, and the river. I was there just as the sun was setting, and the temperature was also becoming a lot more pleasant, and it was beautiful. Then I dutifully called a few people who threaten to slaughter me if I don't make it easy for them to keep track of me.

That evening I was given a traditional Portuguese swarma - delicious - and a nata from the store that they originated from - absolutely delectible and I could eat a billion of them and never get tired of them, and then I got a bit more of tour and saw one of the most beautiful monastories I have ever seen, accompanied by a stunning park and fountain.

That was day one in Lisbon.

written by  Brigid Jelsma on May 23, 2011 from Lisbon, Portugal
from the travel blog: Walk a little further to another plan
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Sintra is, as Hans Christian Anderson put it, "the most beautiful place in Portugal. It is where fairytales live. Castles and forests and parks and lakes and hidden torrets and mossy stone walls and cobbled streets. The hike up to the castle was highly entertaining as I soon discovered that flip-flops were not invented for high gradient hiking. Slipping and sliding and losing the odd shoe here and there, nearly knocking a tourist over one of the walls, and eventually I made it to the top - where they charged me 6 euros...

At first I was ranting. SIX euros. What the hell would be worth six euros? It seemed ridiculous!

But then I climbed up the stone stairs and looked over the wall, saw the view and realised, Oh, so this is what is worth six euros.

From the top I could actually see numerous castles and palaces scattered in the overgrown forests surround the hill. And I could see for miles and miles. The Moorish Castle - probably the most worthwhile tourist expendature that I have ever seen. I just wanted to settle down there, pull out my notebook and start writing about knights and chivalry and quests and dragons and every other fantastical thing you can imagine. {

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And then I tried to find my way back to the town centre, and again, I got lost and ended up with this lovely guy who walked me right to the centre (with a minor detour into a park because he wanted to show me the view). And there I ate a travesseiro - yet another delicious pastry that Portugal has to offer.

That evening, I ended up going with Rui for a wonderful tour through the hidden spots of Lisbon, seeing the best views, drinking kyporinyas and beers as we walked through streets where the nightlife was just beginning, sliding down handrails, and taking loads of photos (the latter was mainly on my part).

Afterwards it was time for the feature of the night... Brazilian dancing.

And I learned something. Dancing is not my forte. Definitely not. But it was great fun anyway and lovely to watch! But, with the heat, after five seconds of being on the dance floor, everyone was sweating buckets! We ended up hitching the fan so it remained facing in our direction.

All in all, Lisbon has been a pretty fantastic experience. But I need to leave Portugal soon, very soon. This food is way too good. I think my last stop in Portugal is going to be Faro, and I'm heading there tomorrow. It's by the coast (the actual coast), so it should have some great beaches. And then I'll re-enter Spain and make my way up to Barcelona, where I will go and annoy Robert. That should be fun.

written by  Brigid Jelsma on May 24, 2011 from Sintra, Portugal
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My wonderful host, Miguel, has done everything to ensure that Kristi (another couchsurfer), her kid and I are taken care of. He's refused to let us pay for anything, even the mountains of food we acquired at the supermarket and, despite his setting off for Porto this weekend, has given us the keys to his apartment.

Needless to say, we spent all of yesterday and today at the beach, getting sunburnt. And, for the first time on this trip, the water was actually warm! I spent most of the time in amongst the waves or falling asleep on the sand.

This is a vacation, a proper vacation. No one needs to tell me how lucky I am.

written by  Brigid Jelsma on May 27, 2011 from Faro, Portugal
from the travel blog: Walk a little further to another plan
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At the moment I am sitting on a night train to Madrid Chamartin station. I hate overnight trains. I never sleep properly, constantly need to maintain some semblance of consciousness. And the air is always stiflingly dry.

And it doesn't help that I'm sunburnt.

But, I still get the feeling of 'I'm going to somewhere new, I don't know what's there, I don't know what will happen, but I'm sure I'll love it'. And that makes it all worthwhile.

This morning, a hectic packing session was followed by a hectic cooking session - Kristi and I determined to serve a fabulous meal for our wonderful host. He has done so much for us, despite his not being here, and we honestly are grateful. Arriving at Faro station slightly short of time, I managed to grab a ticket and hop on a train. Then, I spent the rest of the train ride (all three hours and forty-five minutes of it) wondering where on earth I was setting off for, as I had somehow failed to ensure that I hopped onto the right train.

Nevertheless, despite that, I managed to get to Lisboa Oriente station a full two hours before the next leg of train travel. I am due to arrive in Madrid at nine in the morning, and I have decided to stay in a hostel for a change. Couchsurfing is absolutely wonderful, but I feel I need a bit of a break from it. And it will be fascinating to see what hostel life is like.

My incomparable planning has left the future completely unmapped. Generally, I think I'm heading for Sevilla in two days. Then Granada. Valencia (maybe, but people say it's not that great). And then Barcelona on the 9th - that date is more fixed. Then up to Montpellier for a few days and, finally, up to Geneva on the 14th (when my Eurail pass expires).

In Geneva, I plan to find some workaway for ten or so days, otherwise I'll just have to couch-hop to kill time while I wait for the parents to arrive and come and pay for everything and take control of the maps and tickets and money and everything. That'll be really nice. Relaxing. And I do kind of miss them. Maybe. Just a little.

:)

written by  Brigid Jelsma on May 30, 2011 from Faro, Portugal
from the travel blog: Walk a little further to another plan
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