By Mikelle, Rebecca, Ava
Days “Zero” and One were LONG as we traveled overnight and immediately began our activities, getting oriented to Lisbon.
Some slept, and some watched movies on the overnight flight. We departed from MFS at 6:30 p.m. for our flight out of Philadelphia International Airport at 10 p.m. We arrived in Lisbon at 9:30 a.m. local time, met our EF tour guide Guillermo, and drove a bus to Restauradores Square, where our bus dropped us off.
We walked towards Rossio Square, and on the way we passed a beautiful train station and discussed how the architecture was inspired by Gothic art and Muslim mosques, and how the inclusion of ropes in the architectural details relates to the history of sailors in Portugal. Following that we arrived at Rossio Square and had an hour to roam around the surrounding streets. We split into groups and went to cafes to get coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and small bites.
Then we walked towards the Arco da Rua Augusta (Augusta Arch) and the Column of Pedro IV, which is s monument to Pedro IV. Right after we took a picture in front of it in the center of the plaza, and it suddenly started raining really hard; we all ran really quickly to the nearest building and got soaked in the process. Once we finished laughing from our sprint to get out of the rain, we played a name game so Guillermo could get to know us! Then we walked some more to a really busy indoor marketplace with a variety of different food vendors. We had an hour to wander, get lunch, and try a variety of foods, mainly from Portugal. Many people enjoyed pizza, octopus salad, cod fish cakes, prosciutto, gelato, and some small pastries.
We then walked to the boat station, where we were to board a boat to cross the river to Cacilhas, which is a neighborhood inside of Lisbon with a lighthouse that provided a great view of the city from across the river. Then, when we started boarding the boat, we got soaked again because it started pouring. After the boat arrived, we saw the lighthouse and roamed around a little bit on the island and visited the local stores. After exploring the island we took the boat back to the other side of the river.
When we got back we walked to Miradouro De São Pedro De Alcântara for a beautiful view of the city and saw the old part of the city from afar. We were able to see much of the city from these few points and it was breathtaking! We then walked to dinner at Aldea. We ate cod cakes, salad, and rice. Fish is very popular in Portugal so this is a typical meal for the Portuguese. It was very delicious! We finished it up with the classic, and very tasty, Portuguese pastry called pastéis de nata. We finished up our long, but fun, day by heading back to our hotel. Some students visited the Lidl located just across the street for local snacks, and once they returned everyone went into their rooms and prepared for bed in order to prepare for another fun day tomorrow!