Portugal was amazing.
The climate was incredible even in the winter, which is one of the reasons it is such a great wine-making country. It has a Mediterranean climate similar to California while at the same time having vast mountains in the north. The number one thing that surprised me about Portugal by the end of the trip was the diversity of landscapes depending on where you were. You could really see the effects of the coast in terms of both temperature and setting.
Every town we visited had a separate subculture incumbent on the kind of goods the region produced. The wine regions felt more in tune with nature and relaxed whereas the textile regions felt more matter-of-fact and performance-focused. The highlight of my trip was visiting the Douro Valley and visiting a winery. The views of terraced mountains for miles were such a contrast to the intensely compact city of Lisbon and it was a nice change of pace. The people were incredibly friendly and the Port wine was extremely unique. The wine was both sweeter and more alcoholic than the typical wine (ranging from 18-21 AC!).
To finish out the trip we returned to Lisbon after spending six days in Porto. It was bittersweet because I was excited to come back home but knew that I was finishing out this incredible experience. We had a group dinner at an extremely nice restaurant with a grew view and said farewell to our amazing tour guide. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime trip and I will never forget the people, views, and experiences I had along the way.