Loving Lagos

Okay, so I FINALLY was able to get pics up on the blog, which I know for most are way more interesting than my mile-long stories about my trip. In any case, it's almost over (the trip and therefore the stories) and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to coming home.
Regardless, I have been having an absolutely awesome time! Every time I leave a place, I find myself wondering how the next stop on the trip could possibly better than the last. Every time I have had more and more amazing experiences and met countless awesome travelers who have made this travelling solo ordeal effortless.
I went from Nice to Lisbon, where I met up with Stefo, a friend of Karolina's from home. He teaches kitesurfing on a beach just outside of Lisbon. It was so nice to see a familiar face! On top of that, he treated me to amazing food - fresh Portuguese buns and cheese every morning for breakfast and home-cooked dinners in the evening. It was a full house - he lives with two other Aussie guys but there were at least five other people from different places staying in the house as well. It's an unofficial hostel, really. Went to the beach the first day which seems to stretch on for miles and has soft sand and real waves. Wow, the Atlantic is FREEZING compared to the Mediterranean. I played around with a kite on the beach, and read my book and chatted w/Stefo. So relazing. Then we went out Salsa dancing that night which was awesome! I expected it to be quite different from back home, but actually it was really similar. The next day I went into Lisbon by myself and wandered around getting to know the city. It is more open it seems than some of the other cities I have visited. A lot of plazas and more greenery. I went to visit the castle in the centre of the city. Really cool. I figured I should see a castle at SOME point in my Eurotrip, seeing as they are absolutely everywhere! After a whirlwhind day tour of Lisbon and another great dinner and relaxing night, I headed to Lagos.
Lagos, Lagos., I can't even begin to describe how much I love it! I arrived on the train not knowing where I was going to sleep at night. I met a girl with a Canadian flag on her backpack when getting off the train. Her name is Carla and she's from Prince Rupert. She gave me the number of the place she was staying at and then we went searching for it together. The place was absolutely amazing, with the most beautiful rooftop terrace I've seen on my whole trip. We hung out that night with each other and went grocery shopping for food (the hostel has two kitchens for making your own meals) and out for dinner that night because we were too hungry to wait. I went to bed early the first night, tired from the long train ride. The next day Carla and I went on a Kayak tour through the grottoes of the Algarve. The pictures totally can't do it justice. It was nice to be out on the water and doing something active for a change. That night, we made a delicious home-cooked pasta meal and sat up on the roof with Zoe, Tommy, Joanne and Stina. Dave joined the group soon after, a fellow Vancouverite. It was nice to have a home connection, talking about Vancouver and what we missed. We all went out that night and partied in the various bars in Lagos, none of which you have to pay cover for. Every night is an improvised pub crawl in Lagos! SO fun! The next day Dave and I went on this walk from hell in search of a beach cut out of the grottoes. We got lost in this Pleasantville type condo area, but after an hour or so managed to find water, and the beach we were looking for. It was a rough day from then on of lying on the beach. That night, we all arranged to meet up for a big shopping trip in order to cook a big dinner for eight. Dave cooked us up prawns, steak and potatoes with a side of fresh Portuguese buns. We ate and drank out on the terrace and went out again that night for Zoe's birthday. I was having such a great time in Lagos that the others convinced me to stay for one more night. I had to cut out my plans for southern Spain, but as I near the end of my trip, I'm more keen on staying in one place for a bit longer than hopping from city to city every day. The next day we went back to the same beach and out for an unbelievable fish dinner that night. I had Grilled Salmon and, shoot just talking about it now is making my mouth water! Some of the best fish I have ever had.

Anyways, we all left Lagos on the same day, so it was nice not leaving anyone behind. I am now in Sevilla, just for the day. I arrived last night and had a Spanish family drive me to my hostel when I asked them how to get there! How's that for first impressions! As soon as I got into the hostel I recognized one of the guys who was staying at our hostel in Lagos. I tagged along with a group of Californians and Aussies to a flamenco show. This time though, it wasn't professionals. It was this hidden away locals bar with a smaller, more quaint feel than the show in Barcelona. It was awesome to be somewhere lacking in tourists and get a true cultural experience. I went to bed at 3am last night. I hadn't even planned to go out but it was a great experience. Today I am wandering around the city taking in certain sights I stumble across, but not in a panic to cram in sightseeing. It's beautiful here in Sevilla, and I love that I am able to get some more Spanish practice in! Tonight I will take a train to Madrid that arrives at 12:30am, then go to Madrid airport where I will catch a 5am flight to Paris. After four days in Paris I am off to Bristol to meet up with Luke, a friend i met in Australia years ago. Then I will have a night in London before flying home to Van! It's been flying by lately, and I am so happy with all of the experiences I have had. Okay, I'm off to see more of Sevilla!

If I don't write again, I'll see you all in a week! Woohoo!

Love always,

Lauren

Me and Stefo on the balcony of his place in Charneca da Caparica, a beach town just outside of Lisbon.

This is at the beach we stopped at during our kayak trip. We paddled in between rocks (grottoes) similar to the ones in the background. Super cool!

Proof that I actually was kayaking!

The group of us feasting on our meal: from left- Zoe, Dave, Me, Tommy, Joanne, Carla and Stina. Yum!

This is us out at Inside Out, one of the many bars frequented during our stay in Lagos! (From left Carla, Joanne, Me, Dave)

Nice is... very nice!

Okay, seriously the people that live in Nice must get so tired of hearing that. I was sick of it after being there for four days! But wait- rewind..

Marie and I went from Venice to Cinque Terre, with big expectations because of all the hype about how beautiful it is. Before making it to Cinque Terre though, we had a day full of riding on trains to see the infamous leaning tower of Pisa. We must have been traveling for 12 hours on trains in total (five different trains). We spent an hour in Pisa. Ha ha, it was cool though. Took the classic ´pretend-you´re-trying-to-hold-the-building-up´ picture. And then jumped on the train.
We immediately loved Cinque Terre. It was exactly how people had described it- quaint and scenic, right on the ocean, and a nice break from all of the big cities in Italy. We were pretty exhausted, and even more hungry, so we went for dinner at oneof the reccommended places for some seafood pasta. It didn´t disappoint. Yum! Proud moment - I had stuffed mussels, a big step for me in the world of adventurous eating. Even more impressive - I loved them!
The next day we got up early to go in the much talked about hike from Monterosso (where we were staying) through the five towns of Cinque Terre to Riomaggiore. We hiked through vineyards the grew up steep sides of the hills, through the ´jungle´region of the vegetation, and on trails that bordered the ocean´s edge. It was absolutely beautiful- and the best workout we had had since we left Vancouver! We stopped in each little town for a visit. We checked out the various swimming holes naturally created among the rocky cliffs of the trail (didn´t bring our bathing suits though -dammit!). It was absolute paradise, and such a perfect way for Marie and I to end our trip together. How romantic! Ha ha. We went for dinner at the same place we´d eaten the previous night because it was just that good.
Marie left the following morning *sigh*
I spent another night in Cinque Terre, which was extremely quiet and a little boring. Still, I slept most of the day (because it seems I´ve been fighting a cold for weeks) and spent the rest of the day at the beach. By the time I left Cinque Terre, I was looking forward to Nice and a hostel filled with lots of people for me to chat with.
I got exactly that in Nice! I met people on the bus before I even got to the hostel. It was a huge place with tons of friendly backpackers and a giant common area for everyone to gather and socialize (aka drink). I met some girls from Australia and visited with them for most of the first night, along with a giant group of others. I think in my excitement to socialize and ´make friends´I drank a little (or a lot) too much wine and found myself in extremely rough shape in the morning. What an idiot! I wasted most of my highly anticipated beach day in bed, not making it to the beach until about 3. Oh well, lesson learned!
Nice was beautiful, though I think a lot of my experience of the city was shaped by the people I met. I spent the days checking out the beaches in the surrounding area of Nice. At night a group of us headed down to ´Old Town´Nice to hit up a bar where we danced on the tables until closing. SO fun! I got my dancing fix for the next little while. I hung out with some Edmonton boys for a lot of the time I was there. We checked out Monte Carlo, Monaco, the swankiest city and country I´ve ever seen. They appreciated the millions of dollars worth of cars more than I did, though it was still pretty amazing to see a place so obviously ooozing in wealth. When my time was up I was sad to leave Nice, but looking forward to Portugal too ...
Next stop -Lisbon! Well, no. Actually, from Nice to Barcelona, Barcelona to Madrid, Madrid to Lisbon. It took me two days to get there.. ugh, I can´t tell you how much I miss my car and how badly I never want to see a train again!
Okay, I´m going to stop here because it´s beach time and that takes priority over pretty much everything these days. However, I´m in Lagos, Portugal and just extended my stay here by another night because i LOVE it! The hostel is amazing with an unbelievable 360 degree rooftop terrace (an actual nice one though, Marie, not like ROme!) and awesome people! Tonight we´re going in on a barbeque steak and lobster dinner. I think I might be in charge of dessert. I´m having a blast but looking more and more forward to heading home. Living out of a backpack is only fun for so long.. haha no I´m loving every minute!
Love to all back home, hope your summer are awesome!
Laur

Corniglia, one of the towns on our hike through Cinque Terre.

Marie and I sitting on a bench on 'Via dell' Amore' -aka the 'Walk of Love'. Haha, this is the kissing bench. We never cease to find the most romantic spots!

A view of Monterosso, the town in Cinque Terre that I stayed in for three nights (Marie for 2).

This is a beach just outside of Nice called Cap D'Ail, a small, more isolated beach with more sand and less rocks than the beaches of Nice. You'll notice there are a lot fewer pictures with me in them during the portion of the trip where I am travelling solo. Some beautiful places though!

This is me in front of the Monte Carlo casino, one of the swankiest places I've ever seen. The Edmonton boys said that there are millions of dollars worth of cars in front of the building. I mean, I could've have told someone that, but they had much more of an appreciation for the cars than I could share. Still, pretty sweet!