Last weekend I went to Lisbon, Portugal with some friends. First of all let me say this: Lisbon stole my heart! It's a very old city with so very much charm. It's colorful, lively, and near the water. Situated along the Tagus River, Lisbon is a port city whose main exports are cork, wine, olive oil, and ceramics. The people of Lisbon were so charming. Even though I didn't speak their language I felt so at home wandering the winding streets of this city. The people are just as friendly as my fellow Texans! They smile and say Olá (hello in Portuguese) as you walk by. The older people are of course my favorite! So here's to Portugal.
We flew out of Madrid-Barajas Aeropuerto at 12:30 and arrived in Portugal at 12:20. No, the flight was not -10 minutes long; Portugal is one hour behind Spain. I'll pause here and let y'all in a little secret. There is quite the rivalry between Spain and Portugal. And they'll let you know. It goes way back -ya know, to Columbus and America etc. In fact, they hardly accommodate the Spanish at all. The flight was conducted in English and Portuguese. That's one cool thing about Portugal is that unlike, Spain, the majority of the people speak English. And the Portuguese accent in English is one of my favorites. It's up there with Australian and South African accents, but I digress. The plan is that after I become fluent in Spanish I will learn Portuguese. While the languages are very similar, and I was able to understood a bit of what was said to me, Portuguese poses it's own challenges to non-native speakers.
After arriving in Lisbon, Mandy (a fellow Baylor Bear) and I set out to find our hostel. We took the bus to Rossio Square and decided that since the weather was warm we should attempt to walk the rest of the way. As soon as we exited the bus it began to rain. Slick cobblestone streets + a small suitcase + my clumsiness = no bueno. In the process of walking up one of Lisbon's many hilly streets I slipped and busted my bum. After realizing that some streets in Lisbon were no more than sets of cobblestone stairs, we made a wrong turn onto a dead end. A kind old Portuguese man saw our puzzled looks and called us over. "Oye, oye, bambinas oye." As we approached him he smiled and from what I could gather (as I don't speak Portuguese) he told us we shouldn't go down there because of Heroine addicts, and that we should keep our money in our underwear. I asked him if he spoke Spanish or English, and he said a little bit of Spanish, but since he's from Portugal he speaks Portuguese. (Once again all translations are approximate.) He couldn't believe that I didn't speak Portuguese, because apparently I looked like 3 bambinas from Brazil that he knew. After a walk down memory lane he pointed us in the direction of the river, and we continued. I decided to ask someone else for more directions, and the next person I approached I said "Perdona-" and before I could finish, the woman's eyes got big and she yelled "No no please, English!" I smiled and told her not to worry, because I speak English. She seemed rather flustered, and told us that she was terribly lost and didn't know where anything was. Eventually we found the tram line that the hostel is situated next to and within a few minutes we were home.
We stayed at the Alfoma Patio Hostel in the Alfoma Barrio of Lisbon. This hostel has one numerous awards and is one of the BEST in all of Europe. The hostel is situated around a grassy patio with a cozy hammock and outdoor dining room. The staff speaks English, Spanish, French, German, and of course Portuguese. We were greeted by their Portuguese Water-dog, Tagus (Teh-shzoo,) named for the river. We set our things down in the living room and were given a grand tour of the hostel. It was absolutely adorable! It felt as if we were spending the night in the home of good friends.
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| The cat who greeted us as we entered the gate to the hostel. Her owner shouted out to us to tell us the entry gate to the hostel was right behind us. |
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| The patio and outdoor dining room! |
Our room was an all female 6-bed dorm, but we had the entire thing to ourselves that weekend. The bathroom, I'm sure, was once a closet. It was extremely small, but very clean. The soap dispenser and shower curtain were really pretty! Our beds had goose-down comforters and nice, soft sheets. As you see, this wasn't your typical hostel. Breakfast was free and consisted of pancakes, bread, cereal, coffee, tea, juice etc. Dinner was 7 euro, and well worth every bit! We were served chic pea soup with spinach, bread with olive oil and herbs, Portuguese wine, and vegetable lasagna. All made with love by a sweet Portuguese lady. One of the hostel hosts, Helena, who is half-German and half-Portuguese talked to us about how much better Portugal was in general than Spain -although she really does like Spain a lot. Because the weather was AWFUL on Friday night, we stayed in and rested up for our the long day that was ahead of us on Saturday.
On Saturday we took a tour of Lisbon and surrounding areas with a very unique tour company. WE HATE TOURISM TOURS. This tiny company takes their guests around in these really cool vans with mustaches in the windows. The vans only seat 8 people, so the atmosphere is great. Our group included Lauren, Mandy, Joanna, Lindsay and me. Also a Canadian couple who had been to 27 countries in 7 years was in our group, along with a guy training to work for the company. Marta, our tour guide, was more like our big sister for the day. She had live in Lisbon her entire life, and worked as a journalist until she came to work for WE HATE TOURISM. The second driver for the other van was Ricardo (the cutie who was quite representative of Portuguese guys). Another side note: (and don't tell the Spanish) but Portuguese guys are cuter and more charming and Spanish guys...I didn't think it was possible!
Our first stop was the town of Sintra. On the way to Sintra David told us about the economic woes of Portugal and how much the country has struggled since converting to the Euro in 2002. It was interesting to get real insight in to the reality of the country and see more than the pre-packaged sights and information that most tourist agencies put on display for you. When we arrived to Sintra the first thing you notice about this place is the smell. It was a fresh, light, happy scent that I wished I could have bottled up and made an air freshener with! We stopped at a little cafe to try the pastries. Portugal is famous for her pastries -and with good reason! Marta recommended the Queijada and the travesseiro (which literally mean "pillow" in Portuguese)
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| DELICIOSO |
After partaking in these sweet treats we walked up the road to a shop that sells another famous Portuguese treat: Cherry Liqueur w/ chocolate shot glasses. They were quite delicious! The next stop was the Palace at Sintra. It was like Disneyland meets Lord of the Rings! It was beautiful.
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| Why, yes there are indeed books in this tree. |
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| Ceramics is a famous export of Portugal |
After the palace we hopped back into our pimped out rides and went deeper into Sintra to a farmer's market on the side of the road. While we perused the farmers market, Ricardo and Marta ordered our lunch from the food stand on the side of the road -similar to the taquerias on wheels that you see in The States. The market was so lively even though it was run by mostly older people. They were all so kind and friendly. I passed by a lady who was selling jam, and she called me over and told me that she had jam for only 2 euro. Not knowing any of the names of the fruit on the jars I smiled and moved to the next stand. I passed back by her table to look at some other fruits in another stand and she called me over again. I tried to explain that I didn't know what the fruits were, and I kept on to another stand. The third time I passed by she got me though. I just couldn't say no! She was so sweet. So finally I picked up a jar and pointed at the fruit stand across from her and she called to her friend to show me the fruit that matched it. After going through all of them I found the ameixa (plum) jam, and couldn't resist! I'm a sucker for plums. I paid her for it, and then when I found my friends I brought them over and asked her if I could take a picture with her. She smiled and said yes. Afterword she grabbed my face and gave me a kiss on the cheek and a hug and wished me well in my travels. By the way, that was the BEST plum jam ever! I should have purchased the fig as well.
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| My Portuguese Grandma :) |
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| Nothin' runs like a Deere! I love seeing John Deere all around the world. |
After lunch we headed off to Cabo da Roca. The FIRST end of the world. Cabo da Roca is the westernmost tip of Europe. Marta told us that this was the closes we'd ever be to America from Europe. Originally people thought this was the end of the flat earth. The Portuguese bravely set out to disprove this! I mean it was either go east to chill with Spanish or see what was really out there in all of that water. Of course they chose the latter. Cabo da Roca was one of my favorite places in the entire trip. It was so peaceful to watch the waves crash into the cliffs that hugged the Atlantic Ocean. It was nice to be "close" to home. It was here that our little tour family got a little bigger. A guy from Massachusetts joined us here for the rest of the tour. He was in town touring with Pink Floyd as a set carpenter. So 5 college kids, a carpenter, and a wealthy Canadian made quite a fun travel group!
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| Lindsay, Joanna, Lauren, Mandy, Me |
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| The Atlantic Coast of Portugal |
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| Don't judge the pants rolled up. The streets of city were very wet. |
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| After taking the picture above, I laid on my stomach on the rock and pointed my camera straight down. It was a LONG way down! |
On the way to our next stop -the beach- we stopped at Boca del Diablo (Devil's mouth). This is a pretty dangerous place to be caught down in if a very large high tide comes in. Many fisherman and surfers have met their maker in the mouth of this beast!
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| My butt was wet for the rest of the day!!! |
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| Best ice cream in the world? Quite possibly. |
After Cascais we headed to Estoril (Esh-tor-eel) to see the cathedral and monastery at Belém. It was there where we had the most famous pasty in all of Portugal. Technically name Pastel de Nata...this pasteleria is so famous that their Pastel de Nata gets it's own name: Pastel de Belém.
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| I can't even explain this little cutie pie! |
After our last dessert, the gang dropped us off near the center of the city and we bid our farewells. They recommended some sights to see and drinks to drink. So we wandered around the shops and plazas of Lisbon. I bought the cutest little cork coin purse and a bottle of the staple Portuguese wine along with several post cards.
There was a protest held by the youth of Lisbon against the poor wages and difficulty in finding work in their country. I was talking with a few people from Lisbon, and they telling me that many young people have no concept of a future in their own country. Many of them see their only way to success in going abroad.
After seeing the protest we saw a group of men all dressed in black and yellow and carrying instruments. I found it so odd, so we decided to investigate. They were a traveling band from Spain. I realized this when I realized that I could understand the lyrics of their music. As it turns out, I sat next to one of the singers on my flight back to Madrid from Lisbon. I didn't realized this until after I saw the photos that I took of the group.
Later that night at the hostel there was a BBQ/Sangria party, with a DJ from Madrid. I met so many people from all over. I met a French couple, a group of Mexicans from France, 2 German girls, and 3 French Canadians. It was quite an interesting night. We ate, drank, and danced till around 12:30. And you know I had to show 'em how we get down in the dirty south! After that we went to two discotecas along the Tagus river. I went to two different discotecas and still spent substantially less money than I did at one discoteca in Madrid. On the way back to the hostel I started talking to one of the French guys in Spanish, because I had heard him speaking Spanish earlier in the night. When he asked me where I was from and I told him the US, he asked if I spoke English, and I told him yes. He told me that he spoke English too, but we continued the conversation in Spanish. Rule #1 to learning a new language: Don't ever pass up an opportunity to practice it. The next morning I was exhausted from all the dancing, but I woke up in time to wander through the streets of the Alfama Barrio. Mandy and I happened upon the Military Museum, and we entered to have a gander.
After wandering around a bit we headed back to the hostel to relax a bit in the lounge and grab our luggage. We started talking to one of the hosts at the front desk, and he told us tons of great stories about Lisbon. Hearing about all the hospitality and warmth of the people, I couldn't help but feel so at home. And having seen it for myself! Ahh, Portugal stole my heart. I posted that same statement on the WE HATE TOURISM Facebook page, and asked if they had a love button for their page! By the next day, they had personally made me a love button for their Facebook page. Obrigada :) I told them all that if they come to Texas we'll show them even more hospitality!
So if it's one thing I learned it's that a great tour and a great hostel can really open the door for you to meet new people and have a wonderful experience.
Dear Portugal,
I will be back one day.
Love,
Asha
And finally, the most charming sight of the city: the tram! It's very very old, but it's rather convenient and interesting to ride. Definitely a must do when you visit Lisbon.
So if you ever get the opportunity to visit Lisbon, take it! You'll be glad you did.
Here are the links to ALL of the photos I took in Portugal. Have a look. You'll like them :o)
Lisbon Album #1
Lisbon Album #2
Hasta luego,
Asha.
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