What would the Borden's do?

This past weekend the three of us girls ventured out to Lisbon, Portugal. What a trip it was. We caught the bus at approximately 3pm on Friday, and 7 hours later, we arrived to our destination. Being the  savvy travelers we are, we had made reservations ahead of time for our hostel of choice. We hopped on the metro, address in hand. Little did we know, the Palace hostel was a rather unknown residence. After 2 hours of trekking on cobble stone streets asking literally everyone for directions, we arrived at the Palace Lisbon Hostel. We were greeted by the overly friendly German receptionist, who we thought, in the end would kill us. This place was nice, and we didn´t know why. Were we in the movie Hostel? There was no way to know. We checked into our room, and hurriedly got ready for a true Lisboetas night out. Lisbon treated us well that night, with extra large mojitos, literally thousands crowded in the streets, and some nice British men who made us feel a little more at home by speaking English.

We woke up the next morning, and to our surprise we found a naked man lying entangled in bed with our roommate, obviously another classy European.

....We knew it was going to be a good day.

 After the quickest exit from a room known to man, we decided we´d venture out to see a more "appropriate" side of Lisbon. That we did.

We literally spent a full day walking around the entire city. We strolled the streets of old Lisbon, seeing cathedrals, monuments, street performers, a local flea market (thieves market as they call it), and even a castle. Later, we were fortunate enough to experience a less touristy side of Lisbon. Not only did our new friend Diogo inform us of a local traditional music called FADO, he also directed us to where we could hear it for ourselves. We walked for miles to reach the local hot spot of FADO. Let us tell you, making it to this hole-in-the-wall-neighborhood-bar was quite possibly the highlight of our trip. It was fantastic. To say that the Portuguese people left a good impression on us would be an understatement. They welcomed us with open and loving arms and embraced us as the curious foreigners we are.

We had the perfect day touring the city, and it was now time to return to our home, Sevilla. We had booked a two way ticket (again being the savvy travelers we are) and were scheduled to leave Lisbon at 9:45. Unfortunately, due to the excitement from the day, we had overlooked a minor detail. Our departure time. Well, 9:45 became 8:45 real fast. The next thing we knew, we were stranded with empty pockets and little hope.

Luckily, the ever so nice and creepy hostel, kindly took us back for one more night. Don´t worry, no surprises this time; we changed rooms. We woke early to get to the bus station in high hopes of catching another bus home. Apparently, being the only English speakers in a bus station pays off. We stealthily worked our way onto the 9am bus back to Sevilla.

Portugal. Check.

We are young, but we are learning. We are growing older. Listening and experiencing, learning and cultivating. We are attempting to live our lives in fullness, while being loved, and loving others. This is more than just listening to Simon & Garfunkel. This is our life abroad. We hope these stories will give you a glimpse into lives we're living, and a sense of hope for your life, wherever that may be. 

Until next time,

The savvy travelers.