Portugal - Belem, Sintra

Our adventures only continued in Belem and Sintra. We arrived at Sintra late night while it was raining with nothing but our backpacks and an address. With no map and no tourist offices open, we went to the nearby Pizza Hut to ask for help. There, we met met Pizza Hut Guy, who was kind enough to actually put on his coat and retrieve his umbrella so he could come out on the street and point out directions. Of course, with him speaking Portuguese, some important bits were lost in translation. All we heard was "follow this road", "curva", "between two buildings" which we took to mean, "Go straight and follow the curve. You'll eventually see two buildings". Alas, what he really meant was "Go straight, and DO NOT follow the curve! Instead, continue straight between the two buildings". Thus, we wandered around in the rain, miserable and tired, for a good 40 minutes. After more help from a gas station and some friendly 'you are here' map signs, we finally reached our hostel.

Sintra was also chockful of interesting people we met.

• Michal, Czech Republic: We went to the Chinese restaurant around the corner from the hostel for dinner and recognized a boy who only 10 minutes ago had passed us in the hallway of the hostel. He was by himself, and so we asked him to dine with us.
• Patricia, Knoxville, TN: A very sweet doctor we kept running into as we toured the Pena Palace and Castle of the Moors.
• Wolfgang, Germany: Our hippy hostel caretaker, Wolfgang. See picture and caption below.
• Sassy waiter at cafe: A young Portuguese waiter who told us to practice our Portuguese when we tried to order in Spanish. [In a bizarre UK accent] "You are Americans, learning Spanish, and trying to practice your Spanish in Portugal!? No no, practice your Portuguese when you are in Portugal!"

Outside the Museum of Contemporary Art in Belem










Our hippy hostel caretaker, Wolfgang.
A well-traveled guy who's spent several years traveling through Europe as an artist and was even a chef at one point.
The paintings on the walls and ceilings in the hostel (including the one behind him) were all drawn by him.


Pena palace in Sintra






I love these types of shots. You might see more of them in the future.


View of the countryside from the Castle of the Moors




Friends Stacy (left) and Laura (right)