Portugal=Perfection!

Well Im back in the rhythm of backpacking but still dragging my feet. Shitty flight from Barcelona to Lisbon after a 3 hour delay and I dont get into town until after midnight. Of course city transport has stopped. Yes I would love to pay for a taxi into town. 20 euro, no problem(only a 2 day food budget). Well I turn around to see my angels. 3 Aussie girls with backpacks also heading into town. Ahh wonderful. My hostel is right in the middle of town and has a fun vibe. Tacky decorations, every color imaginable, fur on the walls and even a giant cat poster. This is going to be a good place! The next morning I meet Jana(pronounced yana) from Munich who is also solo traveling. We go to a huge monestary, climb a waterfront tower(which we have decided we will buy and throw the best tower parties ever!-completely logical, just need to clear it with UNESCO). We cook an amazing dinner and have a few bottles of wine for 6 euro total. It is so thrilling saving money. We find a girl sitting solo and chat her up. Lou from Paris is also traveling solo. Finish the wine and head out to see the town. The small streets are packed with bars and even more packed with people partying on the streets. This would never happen in the states and I love it! The next day Lou and I wander the streets and find an amazing(and free!) art museum with an Andy Warhol exhibit. The city is so pretty. People are relaxed and polite. Touristy but not unbearable. The vibe is hard to describe, but I really loved it and cant wait to see more of Portugal. Ironic because this was the country that I almost didnt make it to. I want to see it all now. Spain was nice but Portugal wins for sure. There is a replica Golden Gate Bridge, seriously looks just like it. The same company built them both but I have yet to find out which was first. Also the same Cristo statue that is in Rio De Janiero, Brazil. Mmm so worldly! Back to the hostel where us three girls set a record low priced amazing dinner and wine drinking at 2euro each. Yea, not bad! No craziness as Jana and I have a day trip planned to Sintra, a city an hour train ride away. Sintra, so f-in touristy for a small little place, but I can see why. Trees everywhere. Located in a big valley. After a few hill climbs and declines(just getting our exercise) we find the famous park. It was originally an estate of some rich Brazilians. Now it is endless walking of trees, flowers, statues, and caves. The caves were so cool. I have never been in anything like that. We were crouched with a small phone light getting dripped on from above. Through one trail we ended up at the bottom of a dried up well. Nature's Disneyland. Awesome! Back to Lisbon for another cheap meal. Veggie curry, rice, and 3 bottles of wine for 2.50 euro each. We are getting better at this(and drunker!). There were free outdoor performances that we checked out. Last night, Fado- a type of portuguese song. Tonight- 4 musicians in 4 different elevated and lit up enclosed bubbles playing music along with a fireworks and light show. Hard to describe but like nothing i have ever seen. We happen to be on the waterfront so we spend some more time there before going back to the crazy party streets. I loved these girls. We were all from different countries. All solo travelers. We never ran out of things to say. Sharing stories, music, language differences. It was also great having someone ask where we were from and going down the line- France, Germany, US. Love it! We hugged of course and were all headed in separate directions the next day. I still had the day to kill before my flight to Madrid. Dominik from Austria and I headed in search of the huge flea market. It was quite a search but the marked was well worth it. After that we headed to the Oceanarium and one of the main sites of the 1998 Expo. Absolutely amazing. This solidified Lisbon as one of my top three European cities- Amsterdam, Budapest, and Lisbon...I love you and will be back:)