Backpacking Portugal

Well, the train ride from Madrid to Lisbon, Portugal was quite uncomfortable.  I didn't get much sleep.  I only booked a seat instead of a bed because they are cheaper.  On some trains, like the overnight train that I took to Switzerland, have reclining seats and are really nice.  But, this train to Lisbon, was like a time machine going back into the 70s.  The seats were completely upright, they did not recline at all.  It was also cold in the cart that i was in but, luckily it wasn't full so i was able to attempt to stretch my legs out.  It's strange taking overnight trains sometimes because they stop at the borders either really late at night or super early in the morning and sit there in the middle of nowhere for an hour or so.  When you peek out of the windows, it's quite eerie.  After a 10 hour train ride, i finally get to Lisbon at 7.30 am.  I only intend to be there for the entire day and then catch an overnight train at 10.30pm to San Sebastian in the north of Spain.  So, the first thing that i do when i get off of the train is go to the ticket booth to get my seat reservation for the night for that day.  But, the rude man tells me that the train is already completely full, except for first class which is like 60 euros extra.  Umm, no thank you.  So i ask about the next day's night train.  Again, he tells me that it's completely booked.  He was very rude and very short with me.  It seemed as if he didn't even take a look in the computer system to even check for seat availability.  I started to get a bit worried because my whole plan from that day on was to catch a night train to San Sebastian where i would stay for a night or two and then take another night train to Beziers in the south of France where i had to catch a flight to London at 3.45pm on December 11th.  So my whole goal was to get from Lisbon to Beziers, France in around 4 days.  I didn't know what to do.  The next train to San Sebastian wasn't until 2 more days which i didn't have the time for.  So i had to rethink my entire plan!

     I knew that i then had to find a place to stay in Lisbon for at least one night but, the problem was that i didn't look up any hostels beforehand because i wasn't planning on staying in Lisbon for the night.  Thankfully it was really early in the morning and i had plenty of time to figure things out.  Luckily, this train station had a tourist information desk, and it was open! what!?! crazy! ANNNDD the lady at the desk was very nice and very helpful! insane, i know.  She gave me a map of Lisbon and a booklet that had all of the local hostels listed in it with their locations.  She pointed out on the map of where the hostels were which was really nice of her.  I left the station and walked to find a hostel.  The tourist guide lady could have found a hostel for me and booked a room for me but it costs more.  So i decided to do it on my own.  I used my map to walk to the main tourist area of the area.  It wasn't far at all.  It was gorgeous outside.  It was fairly warm out and the train station is located beside the ocean and the sun was hitting the water in such a beautiful way.  On my way to find a hostel, i was admiring all of the buildings that i pass.  The buildings in Lisbon are spectacular.  They are very old, dirty and falling apart but in a way that is very artistic.  As i was walking and looking at my map and hostel booklet, a lady came to me and asked me if i needed some help.  I told her that i was looking for a hostel to stay at and she told me that she worked at a hostel herself.  She told me that the one that she worked at was further away so she took a look at my map and walked me to a closer hostel just around the corner.  I  thanked her and went into the hostel.  It was called "Traveler's House".  It was very warm, welcoming and well-decorated.  I was welcomed by a younger girl who came down to open the door for me because i wasn't pushing on it hard enough but i thought it was still locked, it was just stuck.  She led me up the stairway to the hostel area.  I asked her if there was room for just one person for one night.  She said yes and i was relieved.  She told me to take my backpack off and take a seat and get more comfortable.  After paying and checking in, she gave me a little tour of the hostel and explained everything that i needed to know about it.  The only thing was that i couldn't check into my room for another 2-3 hours because check out wasn't until 11am and then the rooms had to get cleaned and re-set and they didn't want new people going in and waking anyone who was sleeping.  So the girl told me that i could put my belongings in the storage closet that was free (some hostels have storage closets but there is a small fee to use it).  There was free internet and a t.v room with big comfy couches and a wide variety of movies to watch.  So i used the internet to look up train times and try to reconfigure my route plan to Beziers.  After a while, when i thought that i had a new plan, i walked back to the train station.  I stopped by the water and took some photos because it was just so pretty.  Once i got to the train station, the same guy was at the booth which i was kind of bummed about.  He wasn't the nicest or most helpful person.  I asked him what about the night train to Madrid the next night.  He said that there were a few seats left.  I booked my ticket back to Madrid, Spain so that i could right away go back to Barcelona for 2 more nights and then early December 11th take a morning train into Beziers, France and then get to the airport that same day.  I just had to really hope that those other trains were not going to be booked! But, i didn't want to worry too much about that. I wanted to enjoy Lisbon.

    I went back to the hostel and hung out in the lounge area and on the computers for a while until i was able to check into my room.  Most people were out and about so it was quiet and the computers were available.  There were big bean bag chairs, a christmas tree, a big red shaggy rug, hardwood floors and soft music playing.  I loved the atmosphere and feel of the hostel.  I felt very comfortable and at ease which i was really glad about.  While on the computer, i met a boy from Seattle who was studying in London.  We hung out for a while.  Eventually, it was time to take my stuff to my room.  One of the other hostel workers walked me upstairs to my room.  It was very clean, big and comforting.  There were six sets of bunk beds, three on each side of the room but, there were only three of us staying in that room for that night.  We got a towel to use for free as well and a safe box under the bed to use if we wanted.  That was nice but i didn't need it.  I went back downstairs and hung out and talked to people.  I didn't want to do very much that day because i was really tired from the lack of sleep on the overnight train the night before and from running around trying to figure out a new route back to Beziers.  I was exhausted.  Plus, i had the entire next day, until 10.30pm, to explore Lisbon, so i didn't feel that guilty about doing nothing my first day in Portugal.

            The staff at the hostel was really nice.  There were three workers, one girl and two guys.  The guys sat around and talked with us.  There were people from all over staying there.  The place must have had a lot of beds that i hadn't all seen because every time i saw someone come through the doors, it was a new face.  It was weird.  There were people sitting in the dining area so i went in there and chatted.  The hostel had free hot chocolate, coffee and tea so i helped myself to come hot chocolate, often.  I met a few people studying in Spain and just traveling for the weekend, some people from the states, some Austrailians and many others.  This hostel, unlike most, did not have an age limit so there were people of all ages staying there.  That was nice to meet older people and learn why they were traveling.  Later on, one of the hostel workers walked me to a grocery store to show me where it was.  I bought some food to make for dinner in the kitchen of the hostel.  There was a keg with all the beer that you can drink for 6 euros and then a bar crawl for a small fee but i wasn't into that.  But i did hang out with everyone and talked while people drank, played card games and just mingled.

     The next morning, i woke up with a cold.  I was not feeling well at all.  I went down for breakfast which was free.  There was a cook at made eggs and toast if you wanted and then there was a help-yourself table with cereals, oatmeal, jam and juice.  I ate breakfast but then just rested in the t.v lounge room.  It wasn't until the afternoon that i went out to see as much of Lisbon as i could.  One of the hostel workers drew a route on my map of how to get to all of the good stuff to see in the area and where to go.  It was really helpful.  I set off first to go see a castle.  On my way, i ran into a girl that i met when i was at the Madrid train station at night waiting to catch the night train to Lisbon.  We stopped and talked for a bit and exchanged contact info and then continued on our ways.  Most of the roads in Lisbon are extremely steep so you're walking straight up and down roads the entire time.  I stopped at a few flat areas to take pictures of the ocean which was gorgeous.  The clouds were hovering over and it was soon going to rain so i tried to hurry a bit.  I went to a castle at the top of the hills then i went back downhill to the shopping area which wasn't far from where my hostel was.  The streets were very slippery from the dampness of the rain so you have to be very careful walking downhill on the roads so it's best to have good walking shoes with good traction on the bottom.
I wanted to buy my mom and her friend a gift so i went into a bunch of souvenir shops to compare items and prices.  There were a couple shops on the way up and down the hill to the castle as well as in the main tourist area which was where my hostel was located.  Most of the shops are alike, carrying the same items.  I wanted to buy a couple of Portuguese scarves so i tried to find the ones that i like best and for the best prices.  Everything there was pretty cheap because the there are so many shops and they all are competing for your business.  The only thing that i didn't like about shopping there was that each store that you go into, the store worker stands close to you and everything that you touch, s/he says "that's the one that you want?".  I tell him that i'm not sure and that i am just looking and trying to decided.  They try to hurry your purchase.  I got really annoyed. 
Later that night, four of us got ready and headed to the train station for our night train to Madrid.  The train this time was completely full so there was little to no room to stretch out or move around.  We met new people on the train and we went to the bar on the train to sit and chat for a while until we got tired.  I wasn't feeling too well since i was sick so i had a hard time falling asleep on the train.We got to Madrid early in the morning.

I really liked Lisbon a lot.  I'm glad that i had to stay the night there.  I loved the hostel that i stayed at.  The people were amazingly friendly and it was such a nice hostel.  I met really cool people and had a great time with all of them.  Lisbon was just beautiful.  I would love to go back again some day and see more of Portugal.