Make Time: Road Trip to Portugal

I head out of Sevilla in my Audi A1 - a car which I don't think you can even buy in the US. Oh yeah, it's brown with a silver top. Ha. Classic randomness ensues. The drive is really really amazing. I wish I had pics of it, but the countryside in both southern Spain and Portugal is breathtaking. Saw some huge sunflower fields, rolling hills, wineries, and plenty of coastline. I listen to music, sing, think, and just have a great road trip. There are a bunch of tolls in Portugal, which kinda suck, but not as bad as how expensive gasoline prices are. I've never owned a car so I don't really know how much it costs to fill up in the US, but this small car costs about $80 to fill up here in Portugal. Ouch. Anyway, I eventually make it to the beach town of Ericeira, which is about 30 minutes north of Lisbon. I drive into this tiny town, with very tight streets, and land upon a very beautiful tiled house where James and his friends are staying. I know James because we both worked at a company a few years ago. He is from London but was living in the US for a few years while working at this company with me, so we became close in that time period. I've also gone to London to visit him as well - always a good time. So I ring the doorbell and James is very excited to see me. He was actually worried about me, because he thought when I texted him that I was leaving Seville, that I was leaving Lisbon. Ha. I come into the house, which is absolutely amazing, and meet his girlfriend, a childhood buddy of his, and that guy's wife as well. All very good people. The house is three floors and has four bedrooms, of which two are open. SCORE. I throw my bags into one of the rooms and then we run off to a great fish dinner in town. Such a cute little beach/fishing town. We have a great meal and laugh about everything from my travels to their surfing. We have an after dinner drink at another bar and then call it quits around 1am. The next morning James and his buddy get up early and head to an adjacent town called Foz do Lizandro to do some surfing. I sleep in a little more, then jump in my car to meet them. Lizandro is a huge surfing place, where tons of tourists come to surf and learn to surf, so it's pretty packed when I get there. Granted, the beach is not packed, but the water is full of surfers and wanna be surfers. I took some great pics, which I hope you enjoy :) After they finished surfing we head back to the house and have some brunch before I say good bye. It's been a very short stop in my journey but it was amazing to see James again. He's a very kind and generous guy, and we had some great conversations. It was amazing to stay in such a nice house for free, and hang out with such nice people. A great stop off and a great beginning to my time in Portugal. I jump back in my ultra-wicked-sweet-two-tone Audi A1 and make the 30 minute drive into Lisbon...