Travis July 18, 2013 Lisbon, Portugal Oh, wow I have so much to catch up on! First, I cannot begin to describe how awesome Praia do Guincho was! In fact, we ended up spending July 14th and 15th surfing and also parasailing. I’m still a beginner when it comes to surfing; however I’m actually able to stay on the board for more than 2 minutes! I’m not ready for surfing on huge waves yet, but I’m starting to get the hang of surfing. Yes, I am considering taking up surfing as a hobby, however I have no bloody clue where I’d be able to surf in Scotland, let alone the UK. I’ll find a way though, I need to ask around and mi mates have said they would get back on me regarding great surfing hotspots in the UK. On July 16th, we visited the Palacio Nacional da Pena which is a Moorish style palace that was built by a Prussian architect in 1840. The next thing we did, was the Parque Eduardo VII, which was a pretty park that we just took a walk in and take pictures. The park also had a little zoo which we visited. What can I say, it was a zoo, but it did have a dolphin tank which I thought was really unique in comparison to other zoos I’ve been to. On July 17th we went to an aquarium, apparently its known as the second largest aquarium in Europe. What can I say, it was an aquarium but at least I can say I went to Europe’s second largest. We finished our day by touring the Alfama district, which has lots of charming, historic buildings. Today, we visited the Torre de Belem, which a very important fortress to 16th century Portugal. It was built in order to improve Portugal’s defenses against other European powers. After this, we went to the Museu Condes de Castro Guimarães which was a Moorish house built in the 19th century for an Irish expat. Next, we went to the Igreja de São Roque, which was an old 16th century Jesuit church that was very decorative and pretty. We end our day at the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site; it was definitely the most imaginative buildings I have ever seen; apparently this building was commissioned to commemorate Vasco da Gama’s discovery of a sea route to India. Therefore, this influenced the design of the Mosteiro. We ended our day in this 18th century square that was architecturally pleasing. I believe this part of town is called Praça do Comércio. Good night everyone and stay tuned for another blog entry continuing my year-long journey through Europe! Asrid July 18, 2013 Odense, Denmark For the past six days I have been sightseeing with my new friends James and Tyler. On July 15th, we took a bus to visit Jernalderlandsbyen, which is a village built reconstructed like those during the Iron Age. On July 16th, the three of us, we went to the Kunsthallen Brandts, which is a modern art gallery that focuses on Scandinavian artists. We also visited the Museet for Fotokunst, which is connected to the museum, and features a lot of temporary and permanent exhibits of modern photography. This reminds me, I have heard back from Claudia and the gang back in Copenhagen! They’re all doing well; each of them are working on new projects, including Charles who was ever working on his paintings of all of us as inspired by that afternoon on the beach. I also heard from Cho Hee and Bae; they had a lovely week in Oslo; they visited all the sites I recommended them and more and they just arrived in Bergen yesterday. Now I digress back to July 16th. We finished that day by visiting a park called Munke Mose. Yesterday, we visited the Carl Nielsen Museet, which is a museum dedicated to one of Denmark’s most renowned composers, Carl Nielsen. It’s worth the visit because admission is free and it’s a very informative little museum about Nielsen’s work and life. After the Carl Nielsen Museet, we went to visit Odense’s 14th century cathedral, Sankt Knuds Kirke, as well as the city’s eldest cathedral, Vor Frue Kirke, which dates back to the 13th century. We finished our day touring Nedergade, which is an interesting cobblestoned street with lots of leaning buildings and some interesting antique shops. In regards to what I did today, I will admit absolutely nothing. I just hung out at the hostel, and began to pack and do research regarding where I would go next. Tyler and James were going to stay in Odense for a little longer; however we decided to meet in Hamburg, Germany a week from now. Therefore I began to debate whether or not I should just head to Germany now or if I should visit one more city in Denmark. Well I’m not going to worry about that right now. James and Tyler have invited me to join them for dinner so I need to get ready to go do that. So this is good night for now. Travis July 22, 2013 Porto, Portugal From July 19th to the 20th, we went surfing at Cascais, which used to be an old fishing village that has now been turned into a beach resort. I will admit, it’s very touristy however I am happy that I got to practice my surfing. In addition to surfing we picnicked and sunbathed on the beach. July 21st was our last day in Lisbon. Gavin was really excited about seeing the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian and the Museu Do Oriente because he loves fine art, so we agreed as a group to visit these museums. I would say the highlight for me that day was seeing the Ancient Egyptian pieces at the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian because I got to see mummy masks; what’s not cool about that? This morning the five of us left for the city of Porto....... -Danielle Swisher, selection from The Adventures of Travis and Asrid, Book 1: The Europe Blogs, Create Space Independent Publishing, Nov. 2012
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 23:46:25 +0000
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