Expedition Edition 1: Lisbon, Portugal

Maggie and I left our jobs a couple of weeks ago to go traveling across Europe and Asia through the Fall. It wasn't an easy decision, and I'll spare you the details surrounding our restless nights debating and planning our one-third-life crisis, but just know that we're traveling, and I'm going to post about it here.

The first stop on our trip was Lisbon, Portugal, where we spent the first four nights of our 74-night journey. Lisbon is beautiful, and the people have been nothing but kind. A few observations about the city itself:

1. It's a lot like San Francisco, which makes for an odd choice for a getaway from the San Francisco area. It has lots of hills, a touristy trolley system, and even a Golden Gate Bridge. Where it differs is that the seafood is better.

2. They're all about tiles and cork, and will sell you tiles placed in cork if you don't want to buy them separately.

3. They don't drive as recklessly as I would have thought, though putting around in a three-wheeled buggy through downtown was a little stressful.

Long story short, if you're wondering whether Lisbon is worth a visit, it absolutely is. The seafood is great and cheap, and the people are very nice, accommodating, and not overly serious.

We also made a day trip out to the town and area of Sintra, which has some of the country's finest castles and most abundant fog. The lines were long for the Pena Palace, but visiting the Castle of the Moors was a highly underrated experience, and the extremely limited visibility and lack of crowds gave it an eerie vibe that I liked.

Enjoy the photos and thanks for reading!