As many of you already know, I went to Portugal! Why the sudden trip to Portugal? Well... I figured I'd have to visit one time or another and I thought it would be better to travel to Portugal now since it's "closer" in my mind than places like Norway or Finland. I realize now, after having hitchhiked there (total hitchhiking time took about 29 hours, but that included a detour to Andorra), it's actually not *that* much closer than Norway or Finland. Too late to realize that now, but still, I'm not regretting my decision. The weather there was beautiful almost every day; sun shining, clear blue skies, and a comfortable heat in the lower 80Fs (upper 20s). Another reason for coming to Portugal: I suddenly got a place to stay, a week of lectures I could delay and put off for June, and I really needed a tan!
Rainy, gray, and cloudy Strasbourg turned me into a pale zombie. In the mornings, I scared myself sometimes, actually. I mean, I really don't like the combination of features I received from my parents. In the winter, when I don't tan, I can become extremely pale. That can be "OK" in itself sometimes, but pale skin combined with dark hair and blue eyes... it looks scary in the morning, trust me. So, as my sister mentioned when I talked to her on the phone, I needed a tan, fast. While this was happening, my ex-boyfriend and I have recently been trying to be friends. We did sort of enjoy each others' company and I like to keep in touch with people and so, in the midst of our conversation, I mentioned that I was planning to hitchhike to Portugal. He enthusiastically insisted that it was a great idea since I could have a free place to stay there. His best friend (whose wedding I'd attended) lives in Lisbon with his Bulgarian wife. They would be vacationing in Malta for the next week or so and they'd be able to lend me out the apartment if I could get there before Sunday.
Thus, armed with my trusty thumb, a cardboard box, and a permanent marker, I hitchhiked southwest from Strasbourg. I spent a night at a friend's place in Toulouse and the next morning, bright and early, I hitchhiked to Andorra to add to my collection of countries visited. After Andorra, I was in Spain. Spain took a lot longer to hitchhike across than Germany. Still, I was at the door of Alexandra and Ben before nightfall.
I took day trips from Lisbon to places in southern Portugal throughout the week, most notably:
Salema
Lagos
... and Faro
Of course, my base was Lisbon
After my stay in Portugal, my ex-roommate Victor, who's back in Madrid, invited me over to lunch to meet a celebrity obsession of mine, Spanish goalie Iker Casillas! I'm still waiting for pictures from Victor since I dropped my camera while taking a picture in Madrid and it cracked open... I break everything... And the camera was relatively new!!! I only bought it last year, so I was pretty sad about it breaking. In any case, after the fateful encounter (it was actually anticlimactic to meet Casillas since I had extremely high expectations), I spent a night at Victor's place in Madrid. I hitchhiked to Toulouse again and spent another night there on my French friend's floor before heading back to Strasbourg early the next morning.
Now I've been back here in Strasbourg and extremely bored. I want to go travel again!!!
Today's Random Picture:
