Lisbon

I met my Brazilian friend Fernando in Frankfurt airport, where we got on the same Lufthansa flight to Lisbon. In Lisbon Fernando booked us into a small hotel in the Bairro Alto neighborhood. We visited Sao Joao's fort on top of the Alfama neighborhood, walked around in Bairro Alto, and took a tram to the Belem neighborhood, where the Belem Tower is a beautiful representative of Manueline architecture during the heyday of Portuguese Empire. We also hang out in the Park of the Nations, a modern shopping and entertainment center.

We took a side trip to beautiful Sintra, a former royal retreat in the lush foothills west of the city. We visited the renaissance-style old palace and climbed up the Moorish Castle on top of its crenellated walls overlooking the green coastal plain. The weather was marvellous and much like Northern California. My impression of Portugal is the earthy traditional culture that isn't very trendy or outgoing but homey and delightful. Alfama's medieval streets are not prettified for modern taste, it's an authentic look into old Mediterranean Europe.