Day 17: Portugal Here We Come

9:21 am: Fell asleep around 1 am only to be woken up at 3:30 for yet another ticket check. Luckily that guy that was beside me left at 12:30 and never came back so I had the area to myself. I was on and off of sleep all night and woke up at 7 which I was thankful for since my stop was at 7:30. I found the hostel really easily. It looks like an amazing hostel. I read on hostelworld that Portugal has the best hostels in Europe and this one definitely looks like the best I have stayed in. The common room is huge and there's free internet so already its great. It looks like they plan a lot of activities for guests here too. I'm just waiting for Britt to arrive. She's flying in but i noticed online that her flight was delayed. I'm sitting in a cafe right now having a Natas pastry (the thing I was looking forward to most in Portugal). This will be the first of many. Ps they taste the same as the ones at the Portugese bakery at home so at least I know I'm not missing out when I eat the ones there. The stores should be opening soon and hopefully I can do some souvenir shopping before Britt gets here. I can't believe I'll be home on Monday! 17 days have just flown by.

8:00 pm: Britt arrived at the hostel around 10:30 am. We got settled and walked around the city. As a city, Lisbon isn't much to look at. Their squares aren't impressive and maintenance and cleanliness don't seem to be of importance. I have also never been offered drugs by so many sketchy people in any city i've been to before here. We walked to the harbour and around the Alfama area. We took a rickety tram (which was pretty fun) to St. Jorge's Castle (which again, not that impressive). Then we took a bus to Belem and explored the area followed by a picnic lunch where we made a new friend (a dog named Gato). We went to the famous Natas pastery shop that is known all over and I had three of them lol. Just to clarify, a Natas pastry is a flaky tart shell filled with custard and caremalized at the top with sugar and cinnamon (they are amazing). In Belem we saw the Jeronimos Monastery, Belem tower and the Monument of Discoveries. We considered going to the Coach Museuem but decided we were too tired. We got back and napped for a couple hours. We met a girl is our room named Irene from NYC. She was super friendly and we're going to meet up with her later. Now Britt and I are about to go to a restaurant for dinner that my guide book recommended.

Ps as I said earlier, this hostel is amazing. So big and clean, unlimited soft towels, free breakfast, friendly staff. The chef cooks dinner every night for 8 euros. We considered getting it tonight but we want to try something in the city that the locals to go. If i was traveling alone though, the hostel dinner would be a great opportunity to meet people.