Portugal Part 2: Evora, Sintra and Porto

Hey errrryone! I know we just posted a blog BUT we have free computer access at our hostel in Porto so we figured we should take advantage of it! Porto is the second biggest city in Portugal and also where Port wine comes from (from our samplings, it is very very yummy). We are staying at "The Wine Hostel", where a glass of port of any variety is 1€. We also sampled the glorious francesinha or "grilled cheese from Hell" as our American room mate called it. Basically it's a heart attack on a plate; sandwich with roast beef, sausage, smoked sausage and some sort of corned beef thing inside bread that has been smothered with copious amounts of cheese then drenched with a spicy cheesy gravy and mounds of tiny french fries. 5 € fed us for breakfast and I think I speak for both of us when I say I don't think I'll ever need to eat again!

The famous francesinha













Before Porto we explored Sintra and Evora (Ehh-vrah). Sintra is a beautiful city inside what feels like a jungle, with multiple gorgeous castles perched on top of mountains in the town. It's so hard to describe what it's like until you're roaring up through switchbacks in a moss covered forest, seeing ruins of castles whizzing by from as early as 400 AD. The last castle seems determined to outdo them all and is covered in pink and yellow and looks like it's from a Disney movie.

The jungles and castle ruins of Sintra

After Sintra, we went to Evora, which I was very excited about because of the song "Tango to Evora" by Loreena McKennitt, who apparently went to Evora and was captivated by the beauty and timelessness of the city. We met a cool dude from Spain and sat out on the rooftop patio of our hostel with him, drinking rum and watching the sun set over the red tile roofs.

 The beautiful city of Evora at dusk

Anyways, it's amazing here so far, every city we've seen is so unique but beautiful in its own way! We're off to Toulouse tomorrow to pick up our car then going to drive through the 31 roundabouts (literally. I counted.) to Andorra on a whim :) we'll see how it turns out! 

Hope everyone is well, please comment and miss you all! 

~Caroline

OK, the fun one is going to write now. Ms.NoFun has said pretty much everything for the both of us. Portugal has been beyond amazing. When we first planned our trip, we both viewed it is a means to an end rather than an end in it of its self. However, upon arrival we have both been amazed by the people, the fish, and the imagery. Every city is distinctly different from the last yet remains united as Portuguese. 

     The pictures speak more to the country than anything i could say (thankfully "NoFunMolly" is a pretty deece photographer :P) 

Captain Fantastical