Travelling from Lisbon to Tui - Holy Cross College, Ellenbrook

Lisbon has been amazing. The lights, the music and the atmosphere seemed to radiate such joy and inspiration. Everything about Lisbon was luring and brilliant, but crossing over the bridge into Spain it was as if we could draw a physical line between the two countries. Seeing the countryside from the train inspired me to write and journal the moment. In Tui, I feel a sense of calm, and slowness unlike Lisbon.

In Tui everything’s at a slow pace and that aura came to us when we arrived at Salvado’s statue. The area seemed still and calm although people surrounded us. Most of the time I was amazed by the fact that such a hidden gem rested right outside the fast life in Lisbon we had been experiencing.

Due to the day being my 16th birthday, I enjoyed everything that I experienced, from seeing the Camino shells that were made out of lights and were hanged over the streets, to the amazingly beautiful church down the road. Realising the church was thousands of years old was incredible and just being in its presence astonished me. It’s structure was designed like a fortress and seemed to be protecting such a sacred place, the church. Although leaving Lisbon was disheartening, arriving in Tui has sparked in me a sense of curiosity, and eagerness to experience new things.