Beixi Li

This castle had walls that were like mazes. You could walk through and, all of a sudden, find dead ends. The boys stood across from this section of the wall and took a picture of us perched on the edge of these scenic ruins.

Lisbon

We stood at the overlook and peeked out across the river that flowed into the ocean. Somebody remarked that it looked like the Golden Gate bridge in the distance.

Obispo

The wall that circled the city can be seen like the ridge of some animal spine and the sleepy village with narrow streets slumbered on in the early hours of the morning. We were the only ones traipsing around, taking picture after picture.

We found this arch and absolutely needed to take a picture. Looking back, I'm so glad that we took the time to capture this moment at a beautiful place with beautiful people.

Boca de Inferno

On our bus ride to the seaside city of Cadiz, we stopped by the Mouth of Hell, soaked in the sun, gazed into its depths, and posed.

Obispo

The magenta flowers and white walls contrasted so well here it reminded me of what I imagine Greece would look like. Everything I saw on this trip was really like something out of a fairytale story.

Overlook of Lisbon

We climbed to the highest point of a lookout tower and as the wind whipped our hair into a frenzy, we gripped onto our cameras as tight as possible, reaching through the bars to capture this shot of Portugal.

Lisbon Street

Paper fish floated above us and tourists wandered through the streets, shopping and eating, absorbing the day, enjoying their time.

Lisbon

2am in the morning and we're out mingling with the best, finding restaurants that will serve us before the sun is up, and walking through streets filled with people. The culture is late and we're right there with it.

First Day

First day in Portugal. After a 7 hour bus ride, we're in the main square of the capital, and of course, we all smile into the camera, as we will for the next few days constantly.

I wish I had kept an ongoing journal and kept down names of places. So many beautiful palaces, courtyards, fountains, and cities. Everything is so old, so beautiful, we're modern thinkers taken back hundreds of years.

I ask Europeans to do a silly picture and this is what I get.

This is the tower we would eventually climb to look down on all of Lisbon.

How fantastic would it be to live here? Another royal palace and we were here just as the sun was setting.

I'm obsessed with street shots. There's something about how the alleys curve, how the cobblestones are uneven, I could spend all day just walking through a city like this.

Another picture of the castle, these places really were magnificent, perched on the highest point of the city, overlooking water and land, guarded by canons all around.

Delicacies

And how could we forget the food? There was a certain type of treat that was a specialty and we made ourselves very familiar with it by the end.