So work brought me to Paris & Berlin. . .: Summer holiday time!

I think one of the things I respect most about Europeans is that they believe in vacation and take it! Of course they get a lot more weeks off than us North Americans. . .

Even though I have only been working a few months, I didn't want to be left out so I too headed out of Paris for a couple of weeks :) Though I will say, there is a reason that I don't usually take holidays in the summer months, prices are high and there are too many people for my liking but one's got to do what one's got to do!

First stop was Portugal! It was everything everyone has ever said about it - beautiful, affordable and always nice weather! I headed to Lisbon first and then to the Algarve region. (like Budapest, this is going to be a few separate posts in an effort to keep the them shorter).

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal and has a very long history - predating even Paris! If I remember correctly it's the oldest city in Western Europe. Being a port city definitely helped it over the years (along with the Crusaders). The city is very white and the streets/sidewalks are frequently patterned stones (which makes them a bit slippery!) and it's a little hilly so lots of walking upwards.

The first day I headed to the Belém area to start. This area has some of the oldest monuments and is where many of the explorers departed from. In full disclosure I didn't make inside many of the sites because the amount of people out that day was ridiculous!

Mosteiro dos Jerónimos

In the late 1400s King Manuel I wanted to build a monastery where the Santa Maria de Belém church stood on the River Targus. It was later given to the Order of St. Jerrome which is where it gets its name from.