I took the train into Belgium on Saturday.

Now, you may think "hmm... exciting", with a twinge of sarcasm. And I'll whole heartedly agree that there's nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary about the above statement, especially here in Europe. But for the non-European readers out there, permit me to continue in my rambling. (I say non-European readers, because what you're about to read is, again, nothing spectacular or out of the ordinary -- if you were born and bred in Europe).

I caught the 7am train out of Amsterdam Central Station. 15 minutes later we were at Schiphol International Airport where 2 girls entered and sat in the seats in front of mine. 45 minutes after that, in Den Haag, the 2 girls were joined by 4 others... all giddy and excited - like most young 20-somethings when taking a road trip. Another 20 minutes later, in Rotterdam, a few more girls joined their group. And so it continued at every stop throughout the Netherlands.

By the time I changed trains in Antwerp Belgium, the group had swelled from 2 girls to at least 16. My thoughts, when watching the exchange, ranged from - 'you definitely can't do this in the US', to 'wow, they just keep on coming!" How they all knew each other from across the country is beyond me. (Granted Holland's size is equivalent to that of a US state).

But, where else can you take trip into another country and have friends join you along the way other than in Europe? Man, this continent is awesome.

"Mommy, look what I made!"

So your 5 year old just painted their latest masterpiece, huh?

Well.... take a look at what I made.

I win!

Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!

The last time I'd been to the zoo was 5 years ago in Brazil. Although, I don't know if I'd even call it a zoo - as it seemed more like a glorified animal shelter. We paid 2.50 reis (the equivalent of 1 dollar) and were granted access to see an orangutan, a few exotic birds, rats, a giant rock in the shape of an elephant, a couple stray dogs and two tigers. The tigers can actually be seen from outside of the complex, and I admit that I'd occasionally catch a glimpse of them through the fence while walking by since I lived near it for a few months. It's just a shame we didn't realize the best part of the 'zoo' could be seen just as easily from the outside of the complex until after we had entered initially-- though I'm sure the rats benefited from our 2.50 reis entrance fee. But before I give the wrong impression, I should clarify that there are real zoos in Brazil... I just haven't been to one.

Ok, back from my moment of nostalgia... . I often ride by the Amsterdam zoo, which lies in the middle of the city. Since arriving I've had a desire to go inside the zoo which is fully surrounded by 200 year old buildings. The thought alone of a zoo enclosed by historic buildings is romantic and I was itching to experience it. The only problem was, I never seemed to have the time to go, until last month- thanks to a public holiday.

The weather was perfect, the animals were great subjects to photograph, and even though the zoo is a bit smaller than I was hoping, it was easy to spend a few hours there.

A Sorta Fairytale

If I was living in my own dream reality, or had I been born into royalty, I'd know exactly where I'd want to spend my life. All my days would be spent in the Pena Palace. It's situated high above the hills of Sintra with breathtaking views of the landscape below in all directions. On a clear day it can be seen all the way from Lisbon. There are acres and acres of gardens surrounding the palace, and even more acres of a tropical like forest to explore. But the most striking feature of all is the palace itself. The design, the color, the beauty... no wonder it's one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal.

But neither fairytale character nor royalty live in the Palace any longer, since Portugal is now a Republic. The current descendants of the royal family live in the valley of Sintra. Instead the palace is open to the public, so that as they tour the palace they can dream of a life that would actually allow them to live there... even if it only were for a week.

The city of Sintra the perfect backdrop for the Palace. The quaint city is full of character and plenty of delicious pastries to boot! Since it's located at the bottom of the hill, you're provided with two options of reaching the palace and Moorish Castle which is just below the palace, if you don't have a car. A) You can hike up the hill for 5 miles, which some gung-ho tourists do, or B) take the lazy route and pay for a bus ride up. And even though the cost of the bus ride is as much as the round trip train ticket from Lisbon to Sintra, we can attest that it's worth every penny.

"You haven't really visited Lisbon without eating a Pastel de Belem"

Like I have stated before, there's nothing better than combining my love of travel with my passion for food, and I discovered that Lisbon is my haven. The food there was phenomenal; from the most inventive and delicious soups to melt in your mouth steaks. And every city in Portugal, as it seems, has it's own signature torte.

So what better way to discover Portugal than by eating our way through it. (side note: Between the times that I feel the need to lose 5-10lbs, I find myself so grateful that I don't weigh 75lbs more than I do). We started Saturday morning off right by eating at the city's historic bakery, the Brasileiro, before walking a few miles along the river to Belem.

Now, the city of Belem is most widely known for 2 things: the tower and the torte. The tower, built between 1515-1521, was the city's fortress for a few hundred years. The main level of the tower was where it housed it's military defense. The tower itself is a few stories high, and only has one stairwell - narrow and circular at that. I'm sure that was no problem back in the days of it's glory, when most of the militia stayed on the bottom level, but when there are hoards of tourists going up and down the stairs it gets a little tricky. The views from the top were breathtaking and the inside of the tower was quite neat, so smashing yourself up against the wall in order for someone to make their way down the stairs was quite worth it.

Lisbon locals will be the first to tell you that although you're walking around their city, if you haven't eaten a pastel de Belem, all that walking will have been in vain-- because you can't experience Lisbon without trying one. And of course we had our priorities straight! So before we toured the tower we stopped at the nearby restaurant and had the torte. Words can not describe it's goodness, so I pried my mouth away from the dessert long enough to take a picture, and let the torte speak for itself. Yummy!

Where in the world is Carmen SanDiego?

Lisbon is located at the mouth of the Tejo River, so it has amazing water views from any of the the million and one hills in the city. The hills themselves were such blessed sights to behold, and were definitely a welcomed treat. Oh! how it allowed us to work some muscles that, for me, have been on hiatus since arriving in the Netherlands. And our room, which was in what's considered a B&B (without the breakfast), was located on the most famous hill- the Barro Alto.

Now, before I go on I have to admit I had a hard time remembering the fact I was in Lisbon. It was so easy to feel like we were climbing the hills of San Francisco, with it's cable cars and the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. Or, that we were across the water from Pao de Acucar looking at the Christus in Rio de Janeiro. Or even that we were strolling the streets of Jerusalem while inside the Sao Jorge Castle walls. To be quite honest, I'd often stop and exclaim "this is totally tripping me out!"

We spent the first afternoon relaxing at the look-out points, walking the streets/hiking the hills of Lisbon, and discovering the multiple views of the city from the castle walls. We were actually amazed at how much we had seen in just a few short hours. The city is absolutely beautiful and completely charming.

Tile work graces almost every building and the rest of the city is painted in vibrant, albeit chipping, colors. Guitarist serenade you where ever you are, old men play cards under shaded trees, and it takes every ounce of willpower imaginable to not eat your way though the city - because the food is just THAT GOOD.

Fala Portugues?

I often find myself stopping to think of how fortunate I am to live in Europe. The beauty, the varying cultures, the history, the food, ....the weekend trips to Portugal. "What?"- you say, "weekend trips to Portugal?" Ok, so let me rephrase: the beauty, the varying cultures, the history, the food, the occasional weekend trips -- this past one being Portugal. There really is no better way of life.

We arrived in Lisbon on Friday afternoon and I was basking in the sound of the Portuguese language from that moment on. I loved.... LOVED... walking down the street and hearing nothing but Portuguese being spoken. And, since my friend Mathea doesn't speak the language, I was able to play translator the entire weekend.

That said, Brazilian Portuguese and Portuguese from Portugal differ slightly in a few words, and a lot in pronunciation. The Portuguese make a lot of "sssshh" sounds when they speak, so I had to listen carefully and filter out all the excess "sssshh-ing" in order to understand everyone. I'm sure if we had spent more than 3 days down there my ears would have acclimated and I would have understood every word. But, that just provides yet another reason to return.