Falling in Love with Portugal

Now that we have been in Portugal for eight days... we can safely say that we are all in love!  Students have truly built lasting friendships with students from all around the country, bonding over our love of Portugal and the wonderful new knowledge we have learned from the teachers and staff here at CIEE Lisbon!

Today we started our day with a trip to Cascais, a city about an hour north of Setúbal, known for its beautiful beaches and ritzy vibes.  After a short tour of the area, students were given free time to explore the town, shop or visit a local beach.  Students quickly fell in love with Cascais and have many souvinears to show for it! After eating lunch at the beach with views of the Atlantic Ocean, we returned to the bus to another beautiful beach called Avencas.  Students were given the chance to explore specimens with the help of their expert teachers.  Let's hear from some of our wonderful participants about what they learned:

Audrey U.: "We got to find a lot of cool critters that ended up trapped in small tide pools as the water receded.  There were snails, anemones, krill and crabs!"

Ian S.:  "It was really fun! I enjoyed learning about the different sea creatures and how they survive high and low tides!"

Ben W.: "It's interesting to explore the creatures of a different land.  You just have to flip a bunch of rocks, if you're lucky, there might be a cool crab or an octopus even."

After our hands on learning, students were given time to relax on the beach, swim and play.  It was truly a beautiful day which has left us all exhausted! With a stipend, students were able visit a local restaurant and enjoy time in Setúbal before relaxing at the hotel and catching up with new friends who feel like old friends.

Check out the gallery to see photos from Cascais, Avencas and Setúbal.  Hard to belive our trip is already one third of the way complete!