Pictures, Pictures, Pictures.

Lisboa

Last week, we spent some getting to know our way around Lisbon and getting a feel for Portugal. We must admit that we felt a little touristy, but it was good to discover a bit more of the city. Let me just say, that I have fallen in love with Europe. I will definitely be leaving a chunk of my heart in this place.

Took a walk down the high fashion area. It was awesome.

No purchases have been made here yet...

The architecture here is incredible. That's all I have to say about that!

Palm trees are everywhere here. It's kinda nice.

This is a monument of the promise that was made between Portugal and the Jews saying that Portugal would no longer persecute the Jews.

Us girls and our tour guide/teacher of all of the ways of Lisbon, Ines

Have I mentioned that I love this place???

Down by the river. This was the original gate that people would pass through when they came by ship to be in Lisbon. This was the gate to the city.

We explored some ancient Roman ruins under the city. After the earthquake in 1755, Lisbon was rebuilt on top of the old city. There is a lot still left underneath the city. Once a year you can go down the man holes in the street and explore the old ruins. We went underneath a bank to see these particular ruins. It was pretty neat, but not meant for people over 5'6".

The view of Lisbon from a famous elevator in the middle of the city. 

Sintra

Another day last week, we had a team fun day where we headed 20 min away to a small city called Sintra. The place was incredible. So much history and character in this place.

This is a city known for its monastaries, castles and palaces. We never got to see them all in one day, but this will be a place we revisit again in the near future.

Rachael & Aleah enjoying lunch in the park.

We got a little confused sometimes in where we should be going. We figured it out though.

Beautiful Heidi

This is an old mansion called the Quinta da Regaleira. It was used to connect the Royal Palace to the Palace of Seteais. It was also the home of the Carvalho Monteiro. It was built in 1697.

We explored the grounds for a number of hours. I'm not sure about the exact size of the estate, but if I had to make a guess, it would be something like 20ish acres or so???

Part of the estate included walking through underground caves. Seeing as none of us typically carry a flashlight in our bags on a regular basis, we relied on our camera flashes to light the way because it was complete darkness down there. Many good laughs were had.

This was a librairy in the mansion. This would be a dream of mine to have one day. It was incredible.

Exploring and getting a feel for the country has been a lot of fun and I am looking forward to knowing more about the Portuguese people and their culture. More pictures will come soon.