Have you ever seen Navy boys cry from eating spicy tacos?? Now I can say that I have. Welcome to this week's blog on Lacey's abroad adventures!!!

Last weekend, I went to Lisbon, Portugal with three friends from Tulane. We planned this trip way back in August, so it was a long time coming. We found a sweet hostel for only 14 euros a night. The breakfast was included - fresh, handmade crepes with your choice of topping (Nutella, jelly, butter, etc.) They also had a quality coffee machine. There was a trampoline, ping pong table, pool table, and a bunch of hammocks that brought out my inner kid. The beds were comfy, and the staff was so nice and helpful. 10/10 stars!!! Maybe I'll write my first review on Hostelworld. It was probably the best hostel I've stayed in yet.

Another thing was that the hostel connected to the train station. It used to be the space where the king would wait for the train - pretty neat. So, when we went on our day trip to Sintra, we walked out the door and walked a few steps to get on the train.

On Thursday, we explored the city by taking the tram. It reminded me of the streetcars in New Orleans, except these were smaller and faster. The roads in Lisbon are insane. I learned that they kept the same ones from the 15th century, which is awesome and all..but whew, it was A LOT of walking uphill and downhill. And don't get me started on Google Maps. Because of all the hills, the city seemed very big and spread out, but then we would keep passing the same landmarks. I don't think it was as big as we thought.

What were some other highlights? Well, I finally got to taste the delectable pastel de nata. I had been waiting for so long. The recipe is simple - it's just a Portuguese tart pastry with a rich egg custard. But it was soooo soooooooo good. I also tried chestnuts for the first time. Not a big fan to be honest. But I can see the appeal. Oh, and I can't forget about the ginjinha, or "ginja" a Portuguese cherry liquor. We had it out of a chocolate cup, and it tasted just like a chocolate covered cherry.

One of my favorite parts was hanging out near the Tagus River. The weather was perfect during the day, but once the sun went away, it was super chilly. I love the water, and Madrid is pretty landlocked. So it was a nice change. On the water, there is the 25 de Abril bridge that connects Lisbon to Almada. The bridge is all American parts, which is maybe why it looks like the Golden Gate Bridge. Our hostel recommended to take the ferry to the other side, so we did. We saw the sunset on the water, but there was nothing to do on the other side except finding a place to eat. It was all residential! But, when we were waiting in line for the ferry back to Lisbon, someone noticed our English and came up to us. He turned out to be someone from the US Navy doing an exchange in Portugal. He was with two friends from the Portuguese Navy. We talked to them on the trip back, and then we decided to hang out with them for a little. Like I said before, we went to a taco place, and for some reason, they ordered the hottest tacos that you can get. Hence, the crying.

It was nice that we had some extra time so that we could squeeze in a day trip to Sintra. Some people that I know that went to Lisbon raved about Sintra. We got to see Pena Palace, which was beautiful. This Romanticist castle lays on top of a hill in the mountains. With the copious trees and crisp air, it was the first time in a long time that it felt like fall. The palace was gorgeous. I loved the primary colors - reds and yellows from the building paired with the deep blue sky made it look absolutely stunning. Danielle and Abby brought their professional cameras and captured some great shots.

If you find yourself in Lisbon, I would recommend going to Sintra. There are some more castles there that we didn't have time to see, unfortunately. But we did a lot in Lisbon. Other fun stuff we did was eating in Time Out Market, a huge food hall with tons of choices, going to an archaeology museum (there are real mummies, beware) and a converted shopping mall (so hip, used to be a palace).

One hour plane rides made traveling so easy. I also got to board a plane from the ground for the first time.

We think Portuguese sounds like Spanish in reverse. Speaking of Spanish, I'm about to be late to my Spanish Lit class. Yay abroad, bye!!!