Sintra and Cascais

Sintra = Portugal's fairytale town right outside of Lisbon.  Sintra is full of royal retreats, estates, castles and buildings from the 8th-9th century, in addition to many buildings completed between the 15th and 19th century.  The most famous building in Sintra is Pena Palace. Built in the 1840s, it is one of Europe's most fantastic palaces.  I had wanted to visit Sintra for a while, but when I realized that Kyle was wanting to see more landscapes and countrysides I thought we would get great views from the palace.  We bought the day pass that Paula had recommended doing so we could visit Sintra and Cascais all in one day. 
 


So..here it is! Pena Palace...or at least what I had dreamed of it being...

 


Womp womp....it was raining :( I still insisted on us going to it though in hopes of the rain going away but it didn't.  You win some and you lose some right? Oh well. We still got to see the insides and beautiful furnishings from the old times.




At least he looks good but that rain and wind combo was pretty harsh




One of the bedrooms in the palace

We weren't in the palace for very long because of the rain.  However, on a positive note...the famous pastries in Sintra, queijadas, were worth the 40 minute train ride.  I also saw these pastries on a foodie show and I wanted to try them once I heard they were cinnamon and cheese filled pastries. 


Queijadas...Kyle says they taste like pecan pies without the actual nuts..all I know is that I loved them



This is apparently the "original" bakery where these yummies come from

Travesseiros, are famous all over Portugal, and it's too bad that I wasn't hungry when we went to this bakery or else I would have tried this one too (I'm regretting it now). These long, sugar coded 'pillows' are best still warm, and they are freshly made all through the day. The outside is a flaky shell, inside filling is with egg yolk and sugar and almond....


Travesseiros

Also worth mentioning are the Pasteis de Belém, or Pasteis de Nata.  They are originally from Belem near Lisbon but they can be found all over Portugal.  These little cups of flakey pastry are filled with an egg and cream custard, often powdered with cinnamon or powdered sugar.  I prefer them warm but they're usually served cold. They are not attractive and sometimes look burnt but they are good.




Nata pastries.. http://casadovalle.blogspot.com.es/2011/03/as-i-have-mentioned-before-i-frequently.html#!/2011/03/as-i-have-mentioned-before-i-frequently.html

Next stop: Cascais, an old fisherman village. Although we had bad luck in Sintra with the rain, Cascais had better weather and we were able to walk around. We didn't pick up a tourist map or ask anyone for directions, which was nice for a change.  As we walked around we stumbled upon the marina and a nice area to sit down for lunch and watch the giant waves and fisherman fishing.


We made this triangle leaving Lisbon-to Sintra-to Cascais-and back to Lisbon




Cascais

 


Cascais

Throughout the trip I kept telling Kyle what was the "popular" thing to eat as we looked at the menus.  I'd say he tried nearly everything you're supposed to eat when you visit Portugal, minus the sardines.  First, they are the kings of ham and cheese sandwiches (Mistos).  One of the best ham and cheese sandwiches we had was at the bus station.  It was on "God Bread" which is another sweet pastry I love.  It's a soft, sweet bread with coconut....with the ham and cheese it was the perfect combo of sweet and salty.

 Pão de Deus can be translated into “God's Bread

 

Then there was the "Bifana" which is so popular in Portugal that McDonalds has it on it's menu. Basically a slice of pork steak in a roll of bread, the pork having been lightly sautéed, sometimes with garlic and/or other spices, so that the meat is warm and juicy. 


McDonald's adapts to every culture!

Next is Bacalhau, THE dish of the Portuguese. It's salted, dried cod that is said to be cooked a different way for every day of the year.  We ate two variations of Bacalhau.  The first was "Bacalhau à Brás", made with shreds of salted cod, onions, fried potatoes and scrambled eggs and usually is garnished with parsley and black olives.


Bacalhau à Brás. Warning, DON'T add salt to this! It's already very salty

Portuguese also have a lot of meat pies and pastries.  Pastries of Bacalhau are also very delicious.  They are full of mashed potatoes, cod, and parsley.


Codfish pastries

After Cascais we went back to Lisbon for the night and relaxed. On Saturday we went to the thieves market, fish market, and walked around a bit before dinner.  We also went to visit the street art, which was a few metro stops away from the city center.

This one is my favorite.  All the buildings seem to be abandoned but the art is cool.

   The next day we were off to Badajoz to stay in my apartment for a couple of nights.  I asked Kyle to cook for Tara and I, so we went to get ingredients for étouffée.  Tara, being from Montreal, speaks French so we asked what étouffée means, or where it comes from. It turns out to literally mean "smothered" or "suffocated", from the verb "étouffer". I'm pretty sure she will be down to visit us sooner than later after listening to us talk about how good the food is in Louisiana.




Cooking shrimp étouffée and fried cod

On Tuesday, Kyle went to my elementary school to have class with my 5th grade students.  The first class was an ask and tell session where they got to know Kyle.  They had some issues pronouncing his name which was cute, "Kai-lay- Lan-ay".  He made sure to mention Alabama and football during his visit :) After class we went to get ready for the second half of the trip, Albufeira.


We went from Badajoz-to Lisbon by bus and-to Albufeira by train

Kyle made it to Lisbon!

I had a blast in Tenerife but I couldn't help but drift off to think about my upcoming trip with Kyle from time to time.  We had been going on 6 months without seeing each other and I couldn't believe that all that time went by so fast.  I remember waking up super early on Wednesday and taking care of all my cleaning, laundry, packing, etc just because I couldn't sleep.  I left for Lisbon around 3 and checked into my hostel- I had my alarm all set for the morning to go to the airport!


Lisbon is a super hilly city (7 main hills) with look out points scattered throughout.  Lisbon is also Europe's sunniest capital- for the most part we had decent weather.

On Thursday I went and waited at Lisbon's airport, which seemed like an eternity.  He was pretty tired and jet lagged (its a brutal trip) but that's expected.  I didn't really think about our room not being ready until 2p.m. so we had to hang outside around Lisbon until it was ready (whoops).  This was the point that we started to be approached by drug dealers. Later, we researched and found out how lax the drug laws are in Portugal.  Within the first couple of hours we were offered drugs left and right.  I guess this is something Lisbon is known for and it got pretty annoying!  Men just kept approaching him asking him if he wanted drugs and we just laughed and walked away from them. 


I'm not even sure what this building is but I took a photo for some Spaniards and they returned the favor and took our picture here :)

Once our room was ready..we were able to lay down and relax.  Our room was in a bed and breakfast type of place in the central part of Lisbon.  We were perfectly located next to everything which was nice.  This was my 4th time in Lisbon so I had an idea of the layout of the city.  I really like Portugal in general, especially Lisbon. I'm more comfortable there than  in Madrid so I had Kyle fly in there.  Also, its a 3 hour bus ride from Badajoz and I'm familiar with the Oriente station which has the bus, metro, and trains (it's also very close to the airport).  I've been reading about Lisbon ever since we left...


"Lisbon is Europe's second-oldest capital (after Athens), once home to the world's greatest explorers like Vasco da Gama, Magellan and Prince Henry the Navigator, becoming the first true world city, the capital of an empire spreading over all continents, from South America (Brazil) to Asia (Macao, China; Goa, India). The former launch pad for many of the world's greatest voyages is now where modern travelers discover..." http://www.golisbon.com/

10 Reasons Why You Should Go to Lisbon

1. CULTURE: It's one of the world's great historical cities, with characteristic and surprising sights, cultural treasures, and a beautiful setting that make it a paradise for walkers and photographers.
 
2. VALUE: It's one of Europe's best values -- officially Western Europe's least expensive capital.
 
3. LOCATION: It's the closest European capital to the United States and just around a 2-hour flight from all the other major European cities.
 
4. CLIMATE: Its mild climate makes it an ideal year-round destination. Even in winter, when most other European cities are freezing, in Lisbon high temperatures rarely go below 10C (50F).
 
5. RESORT: It is the only European capital located so close to sandy beaches, enabling visitors to combine culture with fun by the sea.
 
6. SIZE: It's a compact and intimate city, ideal for a short city break or a longer romantic stay, with a lively café culture and a nightlife that is one of the most vibrant in Europe.
 
7. VARIETY: Its surroundings offer an incredible variety of tourist attractions, from fairytale palaces in one of Europe's most romantic towns (Sintra), to world-class golf and fun in Europe's largest casino in Estoril, to surfing in Cascais or escaping to a natural park in Arrábida,  to dolphin-watching in Setúbal.
 
8. GATEWAY: It makes a perfect base to explore many of Portugal's most outstanding towns and villages.
 
9. SAFETY: It's one of the safest European capitals. Tourists are always automatic targets in all big cities and visitors should beware of pickpocketing in Lisbon, but serious random violent crime is practically unheard of in this city.
 
10. WELCOMING: It's a friendly city with a cosmopolitan population, welcoming to all visitors and families with children, and open to minorities and alternative lifestyles
 
The last time I was in Lisbon was for my 23rd birthday with Kate.  She brought up a good point that Lisbon is like New Orleans.  It's not the most beautiful city but it has a lot of character and also a street car!  Kyle and I didn't ride it because it had a long line (more tourists where there this time) but I have pictures from when Kate and I were on it.




Us in the back





The inside of the car





Lisbon street car

 

Us at another look out point.  On our way up the hill to Alfama, the old part of the city that has the "Thieves Market" every Saturday. Alfama was occupied by the fishermen and the poor: its fame as a poor neighbourhood continues to this day. The 1755 Lisbon Earthquake caused considerable damage throughout the capital, but the Alfama survived with little damage.

We went out to dinner the first night at a very popular seafood restaurant called Ramiro, which was aired on Anthony Bourdain's T.V. show.  This moment was when we discovered how amazing Portuguese bread and cheese is...almost toooo good!  Excuse me ahead of time for talking a lot about the food during our trip but it was just that delicious.  I ordered garlic shrimp and he got snails and mussels but I think we both would have been happy with the bread and cheese.



Portuguese bread.  It reminded me of English Muffins (which I haven't had since I left the U.S.)

This trip was nice because I was able to relax more than when I usually travel with my girlfriends.  I booked us this bed and breakfast because it didn't have one negative review..and everyone raved about the owner and her impressive breakfast spread (I love breakfast).  When we first got there, we were a little creeped out with the decorations.  I was worried at first that I had made a mistake but once we got to know Paula, the owner, we realized she was a super hard working and nice woman. Our room was an explosion of bubble gum pink, I'm talking everytttthingggg was pink and Kyle's face was priceless when he saw it.   The breakfast was amazing and didn't fail to impress! This woman looked as if she hadn't slept in weeks and I'm sure she hasn't slept properly in years because she cleans during the day and baked goodies at night while the guests slept.  We woke up to an array of cakes, cookies, fruit, pastries, meat pies, bread, eggs, coffee, juice...you name it.  I was in heaven because I only get dull food at hostels so this was a big upgrade, plus I have a serious sweet tooth.



This was a crushed cookie and coffee cake called "bolo de bolacha".  It had layers of cream and crumbled cookies with cinnamon and coffee flavors




Her dining room looked like it should be on an episode of hoarders but once you found the food it was yummy

A special cake for Easter Sunday

The cake on the left is a traditonal Portuguese cake they eat on Easter

I left Paula a great review like everyone else because she was a sweet woman and gave us her recommendations for local restaurants.  We went to one of her restaurants and Kyle ordered rabbit (right before Easter) and I ordered soup.  Paula also gave us a heads up about buying our tickets to Sintra (next post) which ended up saving us money.

Tenerife

Another month has blown by! I'm not sure why time is going so fast but I'm now happy to say Kyle has made it to Spain to visit. Before his arrival I went to the Canary Islands with my roommate Tara for 4 nights.  On Friday we missed school and got a head start on our flight to Tenerife (one of the seven islands).  Tenerife is the biggest of the islands and also has the volcano Teide, which is the 3rd largest in the world.

We stayed in a hostel called Lagarto, which is owned by Italians.  Although the hostel was in the middle of no where, we had a nice time there.  Tara and I had just been to Valencia the weekend before this trip so it was nice to escape the usual tour of a big city.  Instantly from the plane ride I thought of Costa Rica when touching down in Tenerife.  I hadn't seen landscapes similar to those in Costa Rica since I left in 2010.  We instantly felt calm and relaxed once we arrived, transitioning into a pure vacation mode!


Tenerife landscape

 


Beaches in the north

The first day we wandered around the area of the hostel and discovered a beach with natural pools.  The water was super cold so I didn't go in but Tara did. 


The natural pools- with the ocean water flowing in and out

More natural pools..and some super powerful waves

 


Anyone who knows me knows that I don't care for swimming but even if I did...I wouldn't mess around with this water! It was freezing cold and super strong.  It makes for good pictures though :)

Tenerife was a trip of firsts.  It was our first vacation away from major European cities.  We hitch-hiked for the first time (don't worry it was super safe else we wouldn't have done it).  We also relied upon www.couchsurfing.com to help us since we were so secluded.  Neither Tara or I had used couch surfing before, which is usually used to sleep on random peoples' couches for free in exchange of meeting new people around the world.  It is a popular website that uses various ways to verify the hosts and surfers in order to guarantee a safe and happy experience.  Tara had booked our hostel in Tenerife but we knew we should have rented a car, so I decided to contact couchsurfer hosts in Tenerife to see if they had free time to show us around the island.  I got three responses from hosts and decided to choose one named Rayco.  He's a local from the island and a working artist.  He offered to come pick us up and show us around for the day (driving his car of course).  We had no other way of really exploring the island by foot so we went with it! Guess what? It was an awesome experience.  Not only was he super friendly and easy to talk with (in Spanish) but he was generous and didn't charge us for gas or anything.  He drove us up into the Anaga mountains and around Santa Cruz (the capital).  He literally spent all day showing us around and we stopped for lunch and gelato too.  He even offered us to stay at his place for free...but we already had our room at the hostel so we passed.  We wouldn't have learned about Tenerife from a local's perspective if it weren't for Rayco, we are very appreciative of the time he spent with us.


I was probably way too close to that cliff but it's a great shot!




The "Lion head" rock in the Anaga mountains

 


It's pretty cool! Looks just like a lion huh?

Me on one of the "black sand beaches" the black sand is from the Teide volcano.

A fisherman's bar where we ate after we had been walking for hours

Tara and I had walked all day alongside the coast and ended up at this restaurant by the ocean.  It is one of the most popular in the area and had about a 45 minute waiting list, worth the wait!  We ordered what everyone else seemed to be ordering, which are the dishes below.


This is Gofio -  produced locally and is added to many foods and also to warm milk as a drink. It is made by grinding toasted cereals such as wheat flour, barley, corn or chickpeas. This is combined with water and made into balls, called pella. It takes the place of bread in a meal. It can be used in soups.

 


Typical food of the Canary Islands tends to be simple dishes of grilled meat and fish with papas arrugadas (salted potatoes).  It's typical to put "MOJO" on the potatoes.  Mojo - This is a piquant sauce which may be orange, red, or green depending on its ingredients that is eaten with fish or meat or potatoes and is the most typical food of the Canaries. This dressing has olive oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and spices. For red mojo, the spice is paprika. For green mojo, the spice is coriander, and it may contain cilantro and parsley.

Remember when I said I don't typically swim or even get in water?  Well I still can't believe what I'm about to say...I went scuba diving with sea turtles.  Yeah, diving! No formal training or preparation was included in the price either. Just a quick run down in Spanish, a little translation help from an Italian, and there you have it...scuba diving.  The owner of the hostel is the guy on the right (Matia from Italy) and he asked us if we wanted to go on this diving with turtles excursion.  For 50 euros (transportation, professional diver, equipment, air tank) we signed up!  I've been snorkeling in Costa Rica before, but never diving.  The professional explained how to breathe with the oxygen tank and went over a few hand signals but that was about it.  We went to the south of Tenerife for the diving because there are always sea turtles in that area.  I'm not sure where I sparked up the courage to do this considering I thought I almost died once white water rafting and swore never to put myself in scary positions again.  Whatever, I did it! 

The instructor and I giving the "everything is okay" sign

 


Tara getting in the water ready to dive

It was a good thing that it was just Tara and I because we sure needed a LOT of time to adjust to the breathing.  We were both terrified at first and almost chickened out and went home.  It was very hard to get over the concept of only relying on the oxygen tank while being submersed below the water.  Tara tried to go diving first but had a little anxiety about the situation and ended up stepping out while I went under. Once I finally got the hang of it (and the instructor calmed me down), I went under and stayed under for about 30-40 minutes.  It was amazing! I saw lots of fish and before I knew it....a giant sea turtle.  The instructor had a hold of me the entire time and swam me over by the turtle.  It literally got an inch or two from my face and he told me to touch it but I freaked out and said no.  It was so awesome to be so close to it though! Matia (Italian) was taking underwater photos the whole time.  I am currently trying to get those pictures back from him! I really hope that the one with me by the turtle turns out well because it was a great experience.


The volcano Teide (with snow on the tip) from the plane



View of the island from my plane

Overall I stayed in Tenerife for 4 nights and left Tara early to get ready for Kyle's arrival.  We had a great time and saw a lot of the island.  Teide (the volcano) wasn't open for the public to hike it because it still had snow on it while we were there.  You could see if from certain angles though which was beautiful.  The landscapes, mountains, the ocean, the food, hostel..everything was amazing.  We even tried to have a night out with 4 Italians one of the nights but it ended up being a bust and the night life was a little strange.  I left Tenerife on a Tuesday morning, landed in Seville, caught a bus to Badajoz, stayed there for the night and headed of to Lisbon the next day. Kyle was due to land on Thursday, March 28!