Although Portugal is considered one of the most poorly developed countries in the UE, this is the most beautiful country I have ever visited, with the most spectacular landscapes and with the kindest people.
As soon as my family and I landed in Faro, we were taken aback by the exotic view. Although it was at least 30 degrees Celsius, we found the strength to visit the city as much as we could before we had to catch the train, each of us with a heavy backpack in our backs. Everything was perfect like in a fairytale until we got into the train to Alvor. You all know the saying “It’s too good to be true”, right? Well this is exactly how we felt when we entered what it looked like an old train from the Indian movies. What seemed like an impossible 2 hour ride, in unimaginable heat along the fact that we had to wear masks, turned out to be lots of fun when the whole wagon would take off their masks and the controller would come and catch us and we all laughed about it.
Alvor is a former fishing town, with the largest beach in Portugal. Although it is a city made up of ramps and valleys, it is filled with bars and restaurants among gift shops, and if in the daylight it is quiet and all the people are at the beach, at night the streets are full of people of all ages that just go out and have the best time of their lives.
If you are in Alvor, you cannot leave until you go into at least one boat trip to see the famous caves surrounding the coast. They are surreal.
After four days in Alvor, we took a bus to Lisbon. As soon as we got there you could feel the difference. The shift from a quiet small fishing town to the capital of the country, filled with people was overwhelming. Even today, I think that in Lisbon are the most people, otherwise I cannot explain how you have nowhere to sit on the side of the sidewalk without being pushed to move by the waves of people of all nationalities.
The most exciting part, for me, was to discover that in Lisbon there is the oldest bookstore in the world. The most fascinating part was that it seemed to be turned into a coffee shop with a few books, but in fact that was just a façade, as the original bookstore is in the back, formed by a tunnel filled with old books.
I recommend visiting Portugal for all the people who are ready for extreme temperatures, for the people of all nationalities, especially in Lisbon, and for a lot of walking on foot, as in my opinion it is the best way of discovering this beautiful country.
Bianca Leoveanu, XII A