Lots of Love for Lisbon

Midterms are over so it’s time to catch back up on real life. 

Lisbon has been one of my favorite trips so far…the other one being Porto, Portugal. In conclusion, Portugal is a MUST visit destination.

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FRIDAY

Left Salamanca, Spain at 1am and got there at 7am with no sleep in between because it was so hot in the train, there was no way to catch some shut eye. Alas, my group and I trekked on and squeezed in as many activities as we could that Friday.

Just on Friday we…

• Checked into the neatest hostel called Look out Lisbon! that couldn’t have been more perfect. The breakfast in the morning included the yummiest bread you’ve ever tasted with homemade jam, the place had a beautiful overlook of the city, and the place had hospitable staff who took us on our own private excursion to Sintra (which you’ll hear about later) and let us choose what we wanted to do.

• Right next door to our hostel was an Asian buffet where you could fill a box with fried rice, sushi, and all sorts of fabulous things for 3 euro and ended up eating there for two nights in a row! It was too good to resist.

• Went to a famous pastry shop called Pastéis de Belém with Pastéis de Nata (custard tartlets) that pastry shops all over Europe try to recreate…sadly they can’t recreate the tartlet and the ten-minute line that wrapped around the side of the building.

• Visited the Belém Cultural Center with an amazing contemporary art exhibit that we had fun at.

• Hiked up a mountain to the Ajuda National Palace that I plan on moving into next week 🙂 it was beautiful beyond compare.

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 SATURDAY

We came across lots of rain but it’s a city that is so gorgeous that the rain doesn’t even faze you until you almost slip and fall to your death (and no this didn’t happen to me:).

• Sao Vicente de Fora: this is the flea market we hiked up another mountain to get to. There were tons of different things that they were selling but the gold, silver, and copper kitchen ware stuck out to me immediately. It was beautiful when the drops of rain hit the fragile pieces and made different peaceful sounds on them. This flea market had Chanel and Dior perfume for dirt cheap but we were too rushed I didn’t get to buy anything.

• Then, we ventured off in an old old Land Rover to the fairytale town of Sintra!
• I will just show pictures of this place because words can’t describe how magical this place really is…

• We ended our Sintra trip at the Western most point of Portugal called Cabo de Roca which made me really want to head to the beach…a warm beach.

• Then, after we got back we all went to the Asian buffet for the second night in a row and stopped at a restaurant to listen to some Fado music that was so impressive that we could’ve stayed all night to listen to it!

 

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SUNDAY

• My two friends and I went for a run in the morning by the Port and came across the most beautiful rainbow ever.

• Then for lunch we went to a traditional Portuguese lunch with lots of cod, bread, rice and vegetables. This lunch was easily one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time, they really value the quality of food here.

• This day started and finished with the mindset of eating yummy food. We ended our day at a famous indoor market called Time Out Market where the best restaurants in Portugal had booths with all sorts of different food and desserts.

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If anyone ever goes to Europe you HAVE to come here!

The people, food, and places are all off the charts awesome!!! I would visit again:)

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Sold on Salamanca

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 Time to update the fans:

I absolutely love this place.

It’s been awhile since I blogged so I am just going to write as many things as I can remember from this past month…

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People

I love my suitemates! They are from South Korea, Sweden, and the U.S. I couldn’t be any luckier:)

Also, the people here are old haha Salamanca has one of the oldest populations in Spain. But just because they’re old doesn’t mean they’re not active. They’re constantly walking around or taking multiple workout classes.

The babies are treated like royalty. The only strollers that seem to be available are the high end ones that you would see a celebrity strolling their baby around in.  Every other person you see has a chihuahua, yorkie, or little white dog. I think it’s fair to say that Spain is associated with sunny warm weather but it hasn’t been that way yet. People are bundled head to toe and the women love their fur coats that are really cheap here but look pricey.

No one speaks English in Salamanca and don’t seem to be interested in learning it either… so my Spanish has improved! If you try to speak Spanish they will respect you a lot more.

Con mis amigas en La Plaza Mayor

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Places

• There is always somewhere new and exciting to discover, whether it’s an old building, grocery store, tapas bar, or shoes store
• People worship Zara here, it’s packed every hour of the day that it’s open
• There are pastry shops and cafés on every corner
• There is no Starbucks but “Salamanca Coffee” is very very similar
• I love the gym that I go to here, I only have to walk downstairs and it’s right next door!
• Most of the places I would tell you about are food places (not a surprise I know) so there are more details on food below haha.

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Food

Typical Spanish meal times: 8-10 breakfast, 2-4 lunch, 8-10 dinner (and no snacking)

Everything is under 3 euro here and if it’s over, people reconsider (or at least I do) if they really need it or not. Example, I can get a pack of four yogurts for 1 euro, a big box of strawberries for 2.25 euro and beer/wine is cheaper than water here. Sometimes, tapas are free if you order a beer or glass of wine…which is 1 euro. In conclusion, eating out in Salamanca is the same price as eating at home or less. Salamanca has amazing tapas but you definitely need to enjoy the following ingredients: fish, ham, cheese and eggs.

This is going to shock anyone who knows me well but the McDonald’s here is amazing. They make everything fresh for you (from the bun to burger to fries) when you order. It also doesn’t leaving you feeling regretful and sick because they make their product different than in the U.S.

The common labels you see everywhere are sin azucar (w/o sugar), sin lactosa (w/o milk), and sin gluten (you get the picture). I feel like the “without sugar” label is so popular because their sweets have plenty of sugar in them to make up for the rest.

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Fiestas

• It’s true that people don’t go out until around 1am and stay out until the sun comes up
• You’ll hear more American music than Spanish songs
• It’s easier to eat later here because most people will grab a tapa and drink at one bar and go to the next bar until it’s time to go out and stay out
• Club doesn’t open until 3 or 4am
• I don’t go out unless it involves food

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Additional thoughts

• No one wears shorts to the gym
• There are no water fountains anywhere so people walk around with a 1.5 L water bottle
• No one pays for music here they illegally download everything and so you’ll be working out to Sorry originally by Justin Bieber and they’ll play the same song but always someone else singing it

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Start of Salamanca

 

I have been dreaming about studying abroad in a Spanish speaking country for as long as I can remember AND I can’t believe it’s finally here! I am excited beyond words!

A little bit about myself…

I am from Overland Park, Kansas but decided to explore universities outside of Kansas. After going to Kanakuk Kamps (a Christian camp) for seven years, I became great friends with counselors from the U of A and knew that I would love the community at the University. After touring campus, I knew that the University of Arkansas would provide me with the most amazing opportunities, and has continued to exceed my expectations over and over again.

As a recent Retail major and International Business minor, I am thrilled to immerse myself into a new culture and finally pursue my dream of studying abroad. I will be taking business classes while I’m there, along with participating in an ‘intercambio’ program. This will improve my Spanish with the help of speaking Spanish with a Spaniard who I can help improve their English as well. I hope to come back bilingual and better market myself for potential employers.

During my internship hunt, I hope for the opportunity to further my passion of working for a fashion company and apply my international business knowledge.
Hablaré contigo más tarde : )