Vamanos a Portugal!

The week after we came back from spring break our program went on a trip to Lisbon, Portugal. We left Thursday morning and made our way to Extramadura, a region in the west of Spain. We stopped at Trucillo for lunch and then at Marvao to see a castle that resided on the border of Spain and Portugal and to spend the night.

Friday morning we made our way into Portugal and stopped at Sintra, a town an hour outside of Portugal. We did a walking tour of the city before we made our way to Lisbon. Friday night in Lisbon we were free to do as we pleased but it was pouring so we didn't get to explore much of the city.

Sintra, Portugal

Saturday morning we had a tour of the city where we walked the old city and drove to Belem. In Belem we visited a monastery which held the body of Vasco de Gama! Belem is also known for its pastries and the pastry shop, Pasteis de Belem. The pastries are like little cheesecake things in a pastry dish. Its very hard to explain but they are famous for it. I talked to the security guard in there and he told me that they made over 9 million a year! They also have a shop in Queens.

nom, nom, pastries!

paino!!

Saturday afternoon we had free to do as we want and while a lot of people went back to the hotel to take a nap, my friend Rachel and I ventured across the city to the modern part of the city and took a cable car ride along the river. There was also a park that had giant outdoor musical instruments that we had fun playing with while it was pouring out. Unfortunately the whole weekend the weather kind of sucked with all the rain and wind, but we tried to make the best of it.

SUNY Albany Spring 2012