Portugal was super lively always with something to do! Our first stop was Porto in the north of Portugal. The city is set up high with a river dividing the two sides, the view as you arrive by train from the bridges looking down is amazing! We were right next to the 'night spot' of Portugal & by day you'd never be able to tell. We met some locals while drinking sangria in our hostel & we tagged along for a proper Portugal experience. Street drinking is legal, so the first thing you notice is the hundreds of people lining the streets with their drinks & thankfully so since most of their bars are the size of a shoe box! We were taken to a bar that is famous for being the cheapest in Porto.. 1lt of beer will set you back a mere €1 and 700ml of vodka with 1.25 lt of mixer a whole €7 so you go in and ask for a vodka & lemonade and come out with enough ammo to send you to hospital..... And all for only €7!! Great if your in a group but I think I'll stick to beer, I'd like to see this night through!! We also met some colorful characters that were cycling their way around Spain & Portugal just for something to do but they had some great stories! Maybe Kael & I should of done that & we'd go home 10 times fitter than before left instead of the other way round lol!! The other thing to notice is a lot of the bars don't open until midnight-1am so some streets appear diserted by day now become bubbling lively night spots splitting at the seams.. We were told if you've come to Porto to sleep your in the wrong city & they werent lying! The bar outside our room window was going off until 7am (I must be really old or just really lame but that's a little too late/early for me).
During the day we took the scenic bus route along the coast to the beach where we met a university professor who gave us a free guided tour along the way! Porto was rich with history which was visible just by looking around, we'd planned to do a walking tour of the city after the beach but conveniently their was a strike in centre town so we couldn't. The strike was however a peaceful protest that was happening nation wide I believe it was something to do with the banks from what I could gather from one of the locals.
Lisbon had us lost, lost, lost.. Right about now i feel the need to thank all those people on the world that help lost souls such as ourselves it's always such a relief to be pointed in the right direction by a kind stranger - Thank you. Our first night consisted of amazing Japanese food and drinks in 'Bali Bar' where we got a free strip show from a crazy american hippy chic that 'didn't need alcohol to express herself'.... Although we were convinced she'd had something much better!! Lisbon so far was not disappointing at all! We did a 'free' city walking tour with a really nice local guide he was very knowledgeable of the city's immense history.
We'd been really looking forward to Lagos as everyone we'd met had been raving about it & it was exactly the type of place Kael & I love, a small beachside town with a relaxed vibe and cool little bars & restaurants. We were in immediate heaven, we found a little English bar that sold magners cider and settled in for the long haul! During the day we'd walk along the coast to find new little coves of beach to sun bake and frolic along.. this is what I'm talking about!
Our hostel manager took us out on Friday night for a Lagos experience with our other fellow hostel crew & it was a really good night, I know this because I don't remember much ;) we stumbled in about 4am wishing we never had to leave this place! a beach holiday quickly takes for a special place in the hearts of South-West Australians such as ourselves. I've noticed we're never more content than when we're by the sea & it's not a bad way to be if I do say so myself!
Our long journey to Morocco was ahead of us, Portugal.. We'll no doubt be back one day our love affair with you has only just begun, I'm sure!
Salutè