Last day in Lisbon

Last night I planned to coordinate with Yoshiko to do the famous Tram 28 and Castelo Sao Jorge so after getting myself organized and having a so-so breakfast, we headed out to try and find tickets and the tram. 

Tickets are obtained via the Metro station and we get day passes. The start of the tram is a little more challenging because neither of us have good senses of direction so we kept going in circles but we found it. We waited for a couple of trams so we would have a seat with the intention of riding all the way to the end and back. 

This and a few other tramways still use the smaller traditional tram cars because they can fit in the narrow winding streets. We pass close by the tile walls of buildings, trams going the other way and around narrow corners avoiding pedestrians and wayward autos. At Camoes, we are suddenly told to get out. The tram is not continuing. Turns out they are using minibuses for the last half, which is not as fun. The remainder of the journey is in heavily residential areas. When we get kicked off the minibus, we take a minute to gather ourselves and I find a different tram routes that will take us near our hotel. This route goes a slightly different way, along the river. 

When we finally get back to our hotel, we circle the block a few times to try and find a bifana restaurant that Gerardo recommended. It was so simple but delicious, just garlicky pork on a soft roll and a pile of French fries. 

It really hit the spot after our morning excursion. 

Our afternoon adventure will take us to Castelo Sao Jorge which is uphill so we're Ubering. The Uber drops us off at the bottom of the walls surrounding the castle. A short walk takes us to the ticket office and inside the castle itself. The visit consists of a plaza with more great views of the city and river

A museum with artifacts discovered over the years, an archeological site and a walk inside the castle ruins and along the walls for more amazing views.

On the property of the castle is a flock of peafowl: several peacocks, peahens and their chicks. Some of the peafowl have white spots!  And the peacocks are loud! You can hear them screaming bloody murder all over the place! They attract a lot of attention (as they should) for photo ops and they don't seem to care all that much. 

This turned out to be a fun stop and worth a visit. 

Uber takes us back to our hotel where we will have the afternoon to rest before meeting the group for our final dinner. 

 

Dinner with the group is at a restaurant on top of a department store! We were all a little taken aback to walk into a darkened store with no one around. So weird! The restaurant itself is quite nice with a nice balcony, library in back and elegant decor.

 

 The menu is quite nice and they actually have a decent vegetarian section (Jyothi is vegetarian and has had some problems getting a nice meal in some places). I decided on the zucchini lasagna, since I was feeling 'cod-ed' out. The dish consisted of a puree of something with grilled slices of zucchini and what looked like kabocha squash. Quite delicious. A few of us shared a chocolate mousse which was dark, rich and a highlight of my meals in Portugal.

 I'm leaving quite early the next day so goodbyes are said. Some folks are staying in Lisbon for a few days, others are traveling onward. Gerardo has a few days off before picking up his next group tour. I hope to stay in touch with some of these folks but who knows! I've enjoyed this little taste of Portugal. I found the small towns and villages particularly charming and feel like those are the places to spend time in should I return.

1st full day in Porto and joining the tour

I have a cooking class booked for later this morning and found out last night that the location is literally a few doors down from the hotel. 

I relaxed in the morning and just wandered around the area a bit. 

The cooking class was so fun! There was a couple from Florida along with her distant cousin from Sweden/Africa. Chef Tania is Cordon Bleu trained and her daughter Barbara assisted.

Our menu consisted of a pastry with Portuguese sausage and apple, bacalhau a Bras, which I had for dinner the other day, and french toast with port wine reduction.

We started with the pastry by cooking onion & garlic, then adding pieces of the sausage. The pastry is a pre-made dough that we put some egg yolk on the edges, adding the filling, sealed the dough and then brushed more egg yolk on the top. 

Chef Tania added dried rosemary to the top.

Dish 2 started the same with onion & garlic, but then we added chopped up cod. Once the cod was done we added skinny fried potatoes. Finally, scrambled egg is added while stirring, hopefully making it smooth (although mine was not that smooth). The entire thing is crammed into a metal ring then garnished with parsley and fries onions before removing the ring.

We ate the cod and the pastry before making dessert.

We used small pieces of french toast dipped in the usual milk/egg mix and out that in olive oil to fry (instead of butter). Once the french toast is done on both sides, they go on a plate and sprinkled with a mix of cinnamon and brown sugar.

A pan with port wine is heated up with cinnamon stick and orange peel and brought to a boil. Once it's boiling, we put a pre-cut circle of parchment on top to help speed up the reduction. Eventually the bubbles slow down and get bigger and we know the sauce is done. Remove the cinnamon stick and peel and pour over the french toast. We were served a white and red wine with the meal and it was a great experience.

After lunch I needed to walk off the meal so I went to the Clerigo area. I debated visiting the church and tower but decided I didn't want to climb the stairs. I stopped by Livraria Llelo without going inside (the line was too long) and ended up at Igreja de Carmo.

This is another church with a blue & white tile facade. I chose to buy a ticket to tour this one. Inside there is also access to this tiny little house built between this church and a neighbouring one! They also have quite a few artifacts displayed and we were able to climb to the roof to get a view. 

From the church, I walked thru Sao Bento train station to get back to the hotel. The station is covered with tiles.

The Intrepid group meets this evening so I rested until then. The group consists of Leo from NYC, Lisa from Australia, Lori & Melissa mother and daughter from upstate NY, Yoshiko, Japanese-American woman from Texas, and two Indian-American ladies, Aruna & Jyothi, from Boston and Philadelphia respectively. Jyothi will be my roommate. Gerardo is our tour leader, originally from Mexico, has a PhD in Anthropology and working tours like this in between projects.

After getting some trip info we all head to dinner, get to know each other a little. 

Cascais, Cabo de Roque, Sintra

Today was my day trip to Sintra with Cascais and Cabo de Roque. Sintra is home Pena Palace, a location often mentioned as a must see on Portugal/Lisbon travel sites. 

One thing I noted from many of those sites is that there is a complicated set of instructions to reach the site. Since I had some reward money from work that included travel experiences, I used some of that for a guided trip. I found one with Ricardo that seemed like a good balance of inclusions. 

In the morning, my instructions were to travel to a nearby train station to meet up, but I received a text from Ricardo that he would pick me up, which was fantastic! We were riding in a car and after picking up 2 ladies from Kitchener, Jackie & Jane, headed out of Lisbon.

Ricardo told us we were going to do Cascais first, then Cabo de Roque followed by Pena Palace in the afternoon, for better traffic and crowds. On the way to Cascais, he took us on some more scenic roads than the highway and gave us a little history. We passed the small town of Estoril which has the only casino in Portugal, and where Ian Fleming lived during WW2 and may have been inspired by the int'l crowd who were in neutral Portugal during the war. 

Cascais is a home to the wealthy set and on our way into town, we drove by some pretty large mansions. The town itself is small with palm tree lined streets and kind of reminded me of some of the small SoCal beach towns. We had some pastries and coffee (and restroom break) before wandering around a bit. 

After Cascais, next stop is Cabo de Roque, location of a large lighthouse and also the western most point of continental Europe. If it wasn't for the curvature of the earth, looking east you would be able to see NYC. 

Finally we arrive in Sintra. We stop to find a lunch place, recommended by Ricardo, pretty touristy but I had a nice cod croquette and tomato rice dish, then wandered a bit on the hilly streets, past the conical National Palace, searching for the traditional pastry travesseiro ('pillow') and admiring the views. 

Ricardo picked us up again to continue the climb up to Pena Palace. The road is windy and steep. Past a certain point, we are allowed only because we are a tourist vehicle and there are a lot of people climbing up and down the hill. Finally we arrive at the gates. Getting in is easy with Ricardo having pre-bought our tickets. There's also a shuttle to go from the gates to the actual palace. Jackie and Jane wait for the shuttle while Ricardo and I walk up. The grounds of the palace were planted by King Ferdinand with plants and trees from around the world. He missed the forests of his native Germany. So we see redwoods, cedar, sycamore, camellias, just an incredible variety of trees. The weather is cool but sunny so perfect for the short hike. 

Before actually entering the palace grounds, Ricardo gives us a little history. King Ferdinand built it with his own money. He used inspiration from sources all over Portugal and even southern Spain to try and build a connection to the local people who were suspicious of the tall blond king who had married Queen Maria. It was really helpful to learn about the various design inspirations to better appreciate the incredible details we see.

There are incredible views from all around the palace and a wall walk that takes you around the perimeter of the building. Some of the details are actually plaster made to look like carved stone or painted tile rather than inlaid. 

The interior is intact from when the last king escaped with his family in the early 1900's, with original textiles and furniture. Amazingly, the complex was turned into a museum almost immediately. 

It's a really remarkable place and definitely exceeded expectations for me, made even more meaningful by having a great guide. 

Leaving Sintra, we drive back to Lisbon, drop off Jane & Jackie and then me. By the time I'm back at the hotel it's 7p and I'm too worn out for dinner. 

Lisbon day 2

My morning started earlier than yesterday and I can see that Lisbon is not an early morning town! I have a Pilates class scheduled with Briana who helped me with my hotel booking and also helped me with part of my Spain trip a few years ago.

She's an awesome Pilates instructor, asking detailed questions before we start as well as providing very detailed corrections and adjustments along the way. After class we grab coffee so I can hear about her expat life and it's challenges.

After coffee I head back to the hotel to shower, change and figure out my afternoon. The plan is to go to Jeronimos Monastery, Torre de Belem and check out the Maritime Discoveries monument. I assumed I could grab lunch nearby. What I didn't realize is that there is a large park in front of the Monastery and I'm rather hungry. I grabbed a hot dog from a cart and when the guy learned I don't want condiments he gave me a pile of skinny crispy fries to go on top. Not the must luxurious meal but it hit the spot. 

Then I found out the Monastery tickets are sold out for the day. D'oh! So I walked to the Torre, and took some photos (the tower itself is closed for reno), took pics of the Discoveries monument and walked over to Pasteis de Belem for what are reported by many to be the best pasteis de nata. They give you packets of cinnamon and powdered sugar with your to-go order. 

I decided to take mine back to the hotel to eat, but I sat in the garden for a bit before grabbing an Uber. 

I've got an early day tomorrow so afternoon and evening will be a quiet one. I'll have to figure out someplace for dinner later. 

Update, the hotel clerk suggested a couple of places up the street (and when I say 'up' I mean literally) one a more traditional place the 2nd more modern. I decided to check out the more modern place, Faz Frio. I grabbed a seat at the bar (tables were slow and I think it was a little early for dinner) and grabbed three starters: fish soup, tempura green beans & shrimp, accompanied by porto tonico. The drink was very refreshing, light and bubbly. The food was all great. Fish soup was brothy with good chunks of fish and heavily scented by cilantro (coriander). Green beans had a nice light coating and came with a sauce that looked like romesco but I didn't eat it. Shrimp was in a tomato-y broth. Perfect single person dinner.

Benefit of walking uphill for dinner is going downhill to get home. 

1st full day in Lisbon

Last night I went to bed early due to jetlag, woke up at 10:30p ish, went back to sleep, woke up again around 3a, must've fallen back asleep because my alarm went off at 8a. 

Got myself ready and went down for breakfast. They had a nice spread of yogurts, fruits, cereals, cheese/meats etc. I did yogurt, fruit, some chia & flax seeds, cup of coffee with hot milk. The dining area is open to the courtyard, quite nice.

I decided to take in some sites in the Chiado area. First on the list is Carmo square and museum. The museum is located in a half destroyed convent church. The main apse area is roofless and the walls are filled with artefacts while the center had modern art pieces. Quite an interesting juxtaposition. 

In the intact rooms in back are additional artefacts of various kinds. There is also a room showing a video of the history of the building, including the earthquake in 1755 that destroyed it and how it came to be preserved in its present state. Neat re-use of an old bldg. 

From here, I walked a short distance to the Santa Justa elevator. There seems to be a few of these in the city. This one is closed for renovation (as is so much of the city) but it's interesting to see. 

Next stop is Praca Rossio where I grabbed lunch nearby, rice with salmon & shrimp, before heading to Igreja Sao Roque in Bairro Alto. The interior is quite elaborate with a painted ceiling and niches with important statues, art works and relics. 

In the evening, I'm taking a boat cruise so I rest at the hotel in the afternoon. There are many lounge areas and there are snacks laid out for free in the breakfast room. 

In the late afternoon I head to the dock area to catch the boat. It's quite a nice dock area with a stretch of restaurants, a bridge that looks like a mini Golden Gate bridge and views across the water to a sculpture inspired by the Jesus statue in Rio.

Our boat is a catamaran and most of us find seats in the front. The sky is very overcast so I'm not expecting to see much of a sunset. But I enjoy catamarans for how smooth they are. I happen to be sitting next to a couple from Orange Cty so we chat a bit. We are offered wine or juice, I took a glass of rose. The main deckhand, Maria every once in awhile pops by to tell us about some sites we are passing. There are other boats on the water - yachts, sail boats, rowing shells, etc

We sail up the Tagus along one bank then turn around to the other bank. Maria points out a maritime sculpture & the Torre de Belem. By the time we are heading back to dock, the sun has fully set and it's windy so we're all huddled under blankets. It's a lovely way to spend an evening. I grabbed an Uber to get back to my hotel, and wound down for the night.

Charleston

The remaining tour stops are all fast one night stays. Charleston is a quick 2 hour drive from Savannah but as we leave Georgia, the cypress swamps reward us with glimpses of heron & egrets. 

Travis tells us that Charleston was a slave trading port so has been very wealthy. We stop for lunch at Brown Dog Deli for a tasty sandwich surrounded by retro movie posters and a ridiculously compelling video (no sound) of two hands with red painted nails crushing what looks like soaps or candles. We tear ourselves away from the video to drive to Buxton Books to meet our guide for a Black History tour. The bookstore is small and cute but with a nice selection and a banned books display front and center.

Our guide Damon Fordham finally arrives a bit late, starting us off at an adjacent parking structure. I finally understand why when he pulls out a mouth organ to play a bit of Summertime from Porgy & Bess (using the parking building for acoustics). He will tell us more about how this relates to Charleston later. 

I can't begin to replay the amount of history that Damon shared with us but he covers everything from the founding of the city to the Slave market, to St Michael's Church and how Mother Emmanuel AME church was founded, to a brief period during Reconstruction when all citizens of South Carolina had more comprehensive rights than we do now and how that was destroyed by Jim Crow laws and how racism was used to bolster the wealthy class. He added a few more musical interludes along the way and told us the story of the couple who inspired the story of Porgy & Bess and the Gershwin musical still performed today. It was a fascinating talk. I bought one of his books which he signed (also supporting the store). 

After the tour, we met back with Travis who drove us to our hotel. After getting our room settled, I joined Fiona to walk down to the City Market. I took a quick stroll through and discovered most of the booths to be fairly conventional crafts, but there was a sweet grass basket maker so I stopped to talk to him. During our walk with Damon, we had stopped to chat with a Ms. Simmons about her baskets and I really wanted to get one. Not being sure how far to go back to her location and finding this vendor to have some smaller baskets & scoops I picked up a small rice scoop from him for a slight discount. The baskets are extremely labour intensive and so pricey. 

After leaving the market, I looked at the map and felt the intersection where Ms Simmons was didn't seem too far so I kept going there and she was still set up. Her prices were much better and she was willing to bargain. I found a basket I liked and suggested a price well below her asking. But I realized too late that she only took cash! She was kind enough to allow that she would take what cash I had if I promised to send a cheque to her! I couldn't believe that kind of trust! I agreed, took her address, snapped a picture of her with the basket and then walked off. 

Then I thought I should see if there is an ATM from my bank close by - yep, down a few blocks! After finding the machine, getting some cash that would also cover Travis' tip, I quickly walked back to Ms Simmons - meeting up with Fiona on the way. I managed to catch Ms Simmons before she wrapped up. I learned that she is married to a military man who served out of San Diego during Vietnam where she lived for many years! She's from the Charleston area and learned her weaving craft from her grandmother. Her smile and warmth just melted my cold cynical heart. 

 

I caught the free shuttle to save time back to the hotel where I decided to eat the remaining half of my lunch sandwich instead of going out for dinner. 

Tomorrow we have an early start and longish drive to Asheville. 

Granada Cathedral & Flamenco

 I had a free day today so I decided to walk to the Cathedral and check it out. 

It took awhile to find it, not because it was small, but because it was huge and took up a significant amount of space in the square but I couldn't figure out where the front entrance was. The entry fee included an audio tour. 

The main church was impressive with two organs on either side of the main aisle. The tour went into a lot of detail about all of the side altars and icons and artwork in each.

Attached to the church is a royal chapel where Ferdinand and Isabela (of Columbus fame) is buried. Again the audio tour is quite detailed about the art and architecture. A small stair leads down to the coffins underneath the impressively carved tomb figures on top.

On my way back to the hotel, I wandered in the area behind the church through the old Arab market street, Alcaiceria. It was crowded with tourists. For lunch today, I remembered an empanada place and thought I'd check it out for a quick bite. I bought one with a barbecued meat and another with eggplant (berenjena again!) and parmesan to eat back at my hotel.

In the evening I had the flamenco show. I had arranged to have the show pick me up and also go for dinner. It was fairly inexpensive for the package. The shuttle van showed up exactly on time and was full so I sat in the front. The driver took us up the narrow streets of the Albaicin to the Sacromonte, traditional area of the gypsies and where flamenco lives. The buildings here are built into the hills. There is a spectacular view of the Alhambra from the restaurant/tablao. 

The dining tables were in the back of the long narrow room. The meal was fine, nothing too special but a full 3 courses with wine. As the show time approached, more people started to come into the room and I realized that the new people would be sitting in the front. I asked to be able to move to the front for a better view and was glad I did. Before the show, I made a pit stop to the bathroom and saw the male dancer practicing. 

The show was amazing. I don't have any experience watching flamenco but there was a singer and guitarist on stage with 3 dancers, two women and the man I had seen earlier. While each dancer performed, the others would be clapping, calling out and providing encouragement. When the first female dancer came on, I thought she must be the best. She was wearing a long red dress and she looked exactly like the flamenco dancer emoji. She was able to flip her long skirt, twirl around it, flip it into her hand and had so much fire and energy.

Then the other female dancer came on and I realized, wow, she was special! She also looked very young. I learned later through some internet research that she is only around 16 or so. Her feet, hands, face were all very intense. The male dancer then performed and he was also amazing. Slightly different style with a masculine flair. The singer and guitarist were both very good. Finally the three dancers all performed together for a final bow. The show was about an hour but thoroughly entertaining. Afterwards, we found our way out to waiting vans. I ended up back at the front again. The roads were so narrow that at one point, the side mirror scraped the building wall on one side and I had to help the driver push it back into place. 

This was a great way to end my last day in Southern Spain.

Alhambra

 My main reason for wanting to travel to Granada-Alhambra. One of the great architectural marvels in the world and a prime example of Arabic architecture located in a stable location that is easy for a single woman to visit.

I had a guide, Maryla, who was meeting me at my hotel. She turned out to be a delight. She spoken English and Spanish (of course) but also Portuguese and Hebrew, and was learning Arabic. She was extremely well versed in the history of Alhambra. With her, I was able to skip all the lines and she knew exactly the right path to take to visit all the key locations on the site.

The property included a fort area where we could get amazing views of the city below.

There are also several palaces on the site, including Carlos V's western style building, not completed, and the Nasrid palaces which were stunning in their beauty and detail.

Many darker cooler rooms led to courtyards with pools. Every surface was decorated with Arabic text, repeating decorative patterns and inlaid tile or wood. Each room was more beautiful than the next.

From the main complex, we walked through a small street and garden to the Generalife, which was an adjoining summer palace. 

After a wonderful tour, Maryla walked me back down to the main Plaza where I could catch a cab to take me to the St Nicolas church area to a restaurant recommended by my travel agent and a great view of Alhambra.

Lunch was a delicious dish consisting of a 'roasted' (what we would call over easy) egg on a sauce of jamon, mushroom and truffle oil over a bed of very thinly sliced fried potatoes. The dish was delicious, although the pile of very thin fried potatoes was too much for me to eat the whole dish. After lunch, I found Los Italianos, which was recommended to me as the best gelato in town. A cone with two small scoops was only 2 euros.

After a rest back at my hotel room, I decided to walk to a tapas bar that was on my agent's list. I sat at the bar and ordered a couple of dishes, fried seafood and fried eggplant that looked like steak fries but served with something the Spanish call 'cane honey' but is essentially molasses. I came to a new appreciation for eggplant (berenjena) here. I also ordered a tinto verano (red wine with lemon soda, more popular apparently than sangria) and it came with fried cod. Now I had too much food! As I ate, two women sat next to me and from the sound of their conversation, I guessed they must be from Taiwan however I left them be. As I was almost done, one of the women turned to talk to me and we shared some basic info about each other. They were a pair of friends traveling together. One of them lived in Europe so they hadn't seen each other in awhile. They had a long vacation planned. When I was ready to leave, I left them the rest of the eggplant dish and the seafood. They seemed very pleased.

I ended the day with my usual shower and rest.