In Which I DO Speak Portuguese

I'm in Lisbon! Okay, well, I haven't actually been out of the hostel in Lisbon yet, for two reasons - first, I got in at like 9 PM and was completely shattered, given that I'd been on the bus from Seville for seven hours. See, there are no direct trains from Seville to Lisbon. I was told there were - I was assured of this. I was told incorrectly. The only options were going back to Madrid and doing an overnight train to Lisbon, which would have left me with one night less in Lisbon. I also probably would have been very cranky. So I took the bus, which was surprisingly comfortable, if a little bit of a long ride. I slept a lot of the way, watched the gorgeous scenery go by, and did some translation for the Australian couple on the bus who had no idea where they were going. It's good to be useful.

The second reason I haven't left the hostel yet is because the hostel is fantastic. Like, not only are the showers so good - giant showerheads overhead like warm rain showers, and I am only slightly exaggerating given how tired and gross I was for having dragged my suitcase up the metro stairs. But seriously - fantastic. But beyond that, they actually have hot cooked breakfast for you. And there was a Portuguese wine tasting last night. Lovely.

Before this I was in Seville, where I met a ton of cool people, had obnoxious philosophical discussions on the rooftop terrace, wandered around the world's largest cathedral with an openly gawking expression, watched flamenco every night at a place in the Barrio Santa Cruz called La Carboneria, and ate tapas at a hole in the wall while watching Spain play Estonia at football. It was every mental image I had of Spain from the time I was little. If you go to Spain, go to Seville. Seriously.

Before that it was Madrid for a week, which was too long and too fantastic for one summary paragraph, so I'll just leave it at this: I will be going back to Madrid. Oh yes.

But now, Lisbon. I am so excited to practice my Portuguese, y'all have no idea. It's already coming back, even if people all think I'm Brazilian because of my accent. And this city looked pretty cool during the five minute walk from the Metro...