Flight and hostels booked

Flight...Check. Lodging...Check. After not seeing any changes in the airfare, I decided to look into flights out of Seattle (I'm in Portland). I figured that I could drive up there, spend up to $50 to park my car and still save money if the airfare was lower. Minimum airfare from Portland: $1506. Minimum airfare from Seattle: $1343. Seems like a no-brainer to me. The flight leaves June 3rd at 7am and arrives in Lisbon (after one stop in Newark, NJ) at 8:20 am on June 4th. The great news is that I have a 7 hr overnight flight from Newark. If I can sleep on the plane, I'll be able to minimize my jet lag and start the trip in a good place physically. I haven't had a jet lag issue in years after I started using my little trick. As soon as I get on the plane at my starting location, I set my clock for my final destination and attempt to start eating and sleeping according to Europe schedule. This sure makes like a lot easier when it is time to land.

 After booking my flight, it was time to plan out my cities to visit and how many nights I would stay at each place. Here's the plan:

Jun 4: Arrive in Lisbon early morning
Jun 4-6: Lisbon
Jun 6-8: Faro (with day trip to Lagos and other surrounding beach towns)
Jun 8-9: Coimbra
Jun 9-11: Porto
Jun 11-12: Lisbon
Jun 12: Fly back to the states

After planning out the dates and locations, it was time to look into hostels. I found and booked some highly-rated hostels that range from $12-23 per night. Each hostel has a kitchen, internet access (wifi or computers), and is located in the city centre. At least one of the hostels even offers breakfast! The hostel I will stay in on my last night in Lisbon has something called Mamma's dinners, which are traditional Portuguese dishes. What a wonderful way to end my trip!

 I am getting more and more excited each day and can't believe I have to wait almost 5 months to go to Portugal. More time to prepare, right? That's what I keep telling myself. Although, once I arrive, I like to have a free schedule rather than have everything planned out. I may have some places that will be on my list to visit, but unlike some who visit other countries, I don't want to have each hour planned out for me. Some of the best times are had when you are open and spontaneous. Ready to go explore new cities!