wandering around

6/28: happy birthday dad!

today i woke up late and enjoyed my free hostel breakfast (i always eat a ton of the free breakfast so i can skip lunch and just buy one meal a day, even if its from the grocery store). then i was going to go with my new turkish friend, hulya, around lisbon, but she wanted to go up the castle where i had already been, so i took a pass.

the weather was not great, but i grabbed my umbrella and walked to a few museums. even though i dont love museums, most places are closed on sundays and that is the one day most museums are free. then i hiked to the top of Eduardo VII Park, where there was the postcard view of the city of lisbon. afterwards, i walked to the Basilica Estrela, one of the most famous churches in the area - it was beautiful, and the adjacent park made for a very nice stroll. then i took a break for a glass of wine and stopped at the grocery store on my way back to the hostel (i was not going to munch on bread for dinner tonight). i picked up some eggs, yogurt, and a bottle of wine. i was eager to meet more people tonight, and figured a bottle of wine might help.

i arrived at the hostel at about 5 oclock, riiight before the rain got really bad. i relaxed and read for a few of hours. then i connected with caitlin online and booked our hostel for our first two nights in madrid. that meant i knew exactly where i would be sleeping for the next FOUR nights (i had already booked a BED on the train back to madrid for tomorrow night)!! wow. it was kinda nice.
later, i made some dinner and split my bottle of wine with Anne Claire, a new friend from france. we talked for a few hours and made plans for the next day to go to sintra, a nearby town.

all in all, a good, relaxing, day :)