Lisbon, Portugal

Lisbon, another port city no surprise there. The capital city of Portugal full of history much like all of Europe, conquered by the Moor's in 1175, and largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1755. Portugal made its fortunes on spices, so there should hopefully be some good food here for Melanie and myself to try. I read that Lisbon is a great place to sit and relax at local cafes, and go to the beach, so it may be a nice place to relax and recharge the batteries for a couple of days.


Festas dos Santos Populares

This is an event that looks fairly fun and a good reason to set a goal of being in Lisbon for the 12th of June. This festival if for the cities saints, and is held throughout June starting on the twelveth for Saint Antonio. The entire city is decorated in paper lanterns, streamers and lights, something like Mardi Gras I guess. People exchange special gifts, there are parades, dancing and celebrations everywhere. The traditional dish of sardines cooked over charcoal are cooked in the streets, and the celebrations go until dawn, especially in the older areas of the city that were not destroyed by the earthquake.