the stories that I'm telling.

Tag: Portugal

  • Roadtripping to Lisbon

    Roadtripping to Lisbon

    There’s an efficient way of driving to Lisbon, and then there’s the Heather-and-Kevin way of driving to Lisbon.

    The drive to Lisbon takes around 3 hours. Or 6 hours. You know, whatever. Here’s the map of the route we took (you can see the direct highway on the right, going straight up to Lisbon at reasonable speeds):

    Cabo_Sardão_-_Google_Maps

    Anyways, our route included missed turns due to my inability to read maps, gorgeous cliffs, lunch, a ferry ride, and a drive across Lisbon’s answer to the Golden Gate Bridge.

    The highlight of the trip was cliffs at Cabo Sardao, featured in our photos below. They were about a zillion times more beautiful and impressive in person, as with most natural sites caught on a cell phone camera. The cliffs were sheer, and Kevin was quite worried that I’d trip and fall over the edge. In every photo of me, he’s cautioning me to be careful, then grabbing my hand as soon as the photo is taken. Usually I’m the one who’s acting safety-crazed, so I got quite a laugh out of it all.

    Fun fact about Cabo Sardao: it was constructed 180 degrees differently than intended. The front door is supposed to face the road but instead it faces the sea. Apparently the guy in charge of construction read the papers wrong. And at a location that remote, you don’t exactly send out any random inspection crews.

    After Cabo Sardao, we drove to Sines, where I leveraged TripAdvisor to find us a true local hangout for lunch. The food (frango – bbq’d chicken) wasn’t amazing, but it was pretty darn good, at a laid back restaurant called Adega de Sines. We then took a short walk around Sines, and got back in the car. On a normal trip, we’d have been in Lisbon by now.

    Next, we drove to a ferry stop just south of Lisbon. I’d never taken a ferry with a car, and it was a pretty neat experience. Pretty darn windy, but interesting to experience being in a car-on-a-boat-crossing-a-harbour. After we left the ferry, we were just a quick drive away from Lisbon. Before long, we crossed the 25th of April Bridge, and were in Lisbon.

    We were in town for a few days, crashing at our friend Soledad’s gorgeous apartment while she was out of town. Our fun roadtrip was a sign of things to come, as we had a total blast exploring Lisbon together. Those stories are coming soon. For now, enjoy the photos from our roadtrip to Libson.

     

    At the Cabo Sordao cliffs!
    a bit too close to the edge for Kevin’s liking
    OMG Kevin did not like this one.
    even this he thought was too close. Behind me is the backwards lighthouse. The tower shouldn’t be on the far side from the ocean!
    lunch!
    a funny poster in the restaurant. In the Alentejo province, everything takes forever and people are happy to wait!
    outside our lunch spot
    Yes, Aunt Elaine and Nana Ev, those are cannons!
    the ferry arriving
    on the ferry!
    Kevin’s truck enjoying the ride (I’m inside the truck at this point)
    my wind-free view
    crossing the bridge
    jesus christ, we’re on a bridge!
  • Castelo de Silves

    Castelo de Silves

    When it was a bit chilly, Kevin and I drove east to see the Palace of Estoi. A few weeks later, on one of the first truly warm days this year, Kevin and I drove west to see the Castle of Silves.

    The Castle of Silves is stunning. I’d seen it many times, lit up at night, while driving through Silves to have dinner somewhere. This day was the first time Kevin and I had been there, and we were quite impressed. The Palacio do Estoi is pretty, but the Castelo de Silves is, like, a really serious/big piece of history in this region. according to Wikipedia:

    “Built between the 8th and 13th century, the castle is one of the best preserved of the Moorish fortifications in Portugal … from archaeological excavations, it is assumed that the first fortress on this site consisted of a Lusitanian castro. It is believed that Phoenicans, Greeks and Carthaginians traversed the site at one time, but that around 201 B.C. the Romans conquered Silves, transforming it into a citadel of their occupation, and commercial center that prospered for the next five centuries.

    Around 716, the Visigothic citadel was conquered by the Umayyad Caliphate who reinforced the existing fortifications with a new series of walls. This new period resulted in a great period of development, under the Moorish occupiers, that include the extensive walls in the west. In 1160, it was sacked by Ferdinand I of León and Castile, but remained only for a short time in the hand of the Christians: it was quickly recaptured by the Moors. King Sancho I of Portugal, supported by the powerful Crusader army, conquered the city, after a prolong encirclement in 1189. But, a grande army, under orders from Amir al-Mu’minin, in 1191, retook the city. The buildings of the Taifa kingdoms of the 11th century, which includes the Palace of Balconies (where Al-Mutamid lived as the poet Ibn Amarhe) progressed in the 11th century. The walls and towers that today represent the Castle of Silves came from these campaigns and public works by Almoravides and Almohads in the 12th and 13th centuries. The castles internal water catchment, and large rain fed underground cistern were used to provide freshwater for the surrounding dwellings (to as late as the 1920s). It would only be in the 13th century, during the reign of Afonso III of Portugal, that forces under the command of D. Paio Peres Correia, would definitively take the fortress.

    So yeah, more than 2000 years ago, the site of Silves Castle was established by Moorish forces, who then passed it back and forth with Christian conquerors for 1400 years, until the Portuguese finally took hold of the whole thing.

    When you’re inside the castle walls, you can see why it was chosen as the location for a massive fortification. It sits atop a hill, and you can see everything for miles. You can’t quite see the ocean, but any invading ocean forces would be held up by and easily visible crossing a natural geographic barrier – the sierra hills south of the castle.

    Other than a cafe, there’s not much in the way of an organized presentation of information at the castle, but we had fun walking around the massive site, checking out the views from every angle and trying to interpret the map we had.

    There was one exhibit in the room that used to be for water storage. It described the Iberian Lynx, a beautiful animal on the verge of extinction, native to Spain & Portugal.

    Take a look at our photos below. It was a really beautiful day!

    at the cafe, trying to understand what this map is saying
    this is the backdoor entrance to this place. I got as far as that, then screamed “EW! Bugs!”, posed for a photo, and rushed away.
    View from the castle walls
    an old timey garden and an artistic shot 😉
    Me, thinking WTF? Which way to the lost secondary water chamber?
    diagrams of the endangered Iberian Lynx
    RAWR!
    Pretty sure those palm trees aren’t native
    Not sure if the Moorish men were actually this tall, but this is me and a statue outside.
    A view of the Silves Castle at night (on the right)
    Kevin gets pretty into his photo angles.
    And I got to take this one, because of course he was petting the cat!
  • Celebrating Carnival in the Algarve

    Celebrating Carnival in the Algarve

    Carnival is a fairly historied Catholic tradition (and probably goes back even further than that, really). I’m assuming most of y’all aren’t up to date on Catholic traditions, so here’s a quick refresher course, courtesy of our friends at Wikipedia:

    Carnival (see other spellings and names) is a festive season that occurs immediately before the Christian season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February. Carnival typically involves a public celebration and/or parade combining some elements of a circus, masks and public street party. People wear masks during many such celebrations, an overturning of life’s normal things. The celebrations have long been associated with heavy alcohol consumption.

    When we came to Portugal for a 2 week holiday last year, we were here for Carnival, so though this year’s festivities weren’t a surprise, they were definitely a delight.

    In Canada, I’m used to parades being a rather straightforward affair. The first float marks the beginning, and the last float marks the end. As with most things in Canada, it’s efficient. In the fun-and-fancy-free mild Portuguese weather, parades are a bit different. Instead of a straight-line-kind-of-parade, the Carnival parade is on loop!

    One of the most traditional Carnival parades is held each year in Alte. It’s definitely more old-fashioned than the parade in the neighbouring city of Loule, and it has more of a local/hometown feel to it. The floats line up, populated by people from Alte, and they’re observed by the townspeople from Alte and surrounding areas (including me and Kevin). Most people know each other, and everyone is drinking (float people and audience alike), so things get pretty fun pretty fast. For the first hour, Kevin knew and chatted with someone from every float.

    The floats aren’t that big, so there are always crowds of people walking with them. And instead of being sponsored by or representing companies, community groups, etc, they’re simply a creative theme. Often, the players on the float act out a type of narrative as well.

    One float’s theme was 101 Dalmatians. There was a “Cruella” driving the car, and a couple of henchmen who ran around picking up puppies and putting them in a big cage (who then escaped). The Braveheart float eventually staged a battle in the middle of the street, with various players storming their castle.

    Because the parade goes on and on, the floats end up evolving; acting a kind of performance art. It’s artistic and it’s very fun.

    I found some videos online taken at this year’s Alte Carnival. I played it for Kevin and his immediate reaction was “oh man, I know so many people in this … and everyone’s drunk”.

    I don’t think I’ve ever been to such a fun parade. You can check out more vidoes here, here, and here.

    We also went to the Carnival in Loule, and you can see photos of it below. Being in a city, it’s a much larger scale parade, with much fancier floats, often mocking various EU politicians. It’s neat, but doesn’t have the same spirit at the Carnival in Alte. Have a look below to see all the snapshots we captured!

    And leave a comment below: have you ever seen a parade like this one?

    Carnival in Alte
    Hippies!
    Here are cats!
    Braveheart!
    Robin Hood & his Merry Men
    me with Catia & Soledad, 2 of our friends from Alte (and 2 of Kevin’s childhood friends)
    Puppies!
    in my very own Carnival costume. (though I didn’t make it to the Carnival party because we went to dinner until 7am)
    Carnival in Loule
    Socrates at the Carnival in Loule
    Ladies at the Carnival in Loule
  • Lunch at Palacio do Estoi

    Lunch at Palacio do Estoi

    Sometimes being in Portugal with Kevin feels like being on a non-stop field trip. That is to say, he’s always cooking up new ideas and trips and adventures to keep me entertained. Back in February, Kevin planned a whole-day outing for us to see the Palacio do Estoi (aka the Palace of Estoi). Our drive to Estoi wasn’t your regular ol’ highway drive. Kevin chose the most scenic route possible, and included a stop in the nearby town of Salir, where a sign promised us castle ruins.

    Salir really was beautiful, and as it sits on a top of a hill, it cuts a lovely view. The ruins were a bit disappointing, but as you’ll see below, meeting a cute cat more than made up for it.

    Our next stop was the Palacio do Estoi. It’s a palace built by a rich guy in the late 1800s and it’s a great example of the Rococo style. It’s also probably one of the only examples of Rococo style to be found in the Algarve.

    Recently, it was acquired by a hotel chain that specializes in unique properties. They’ve added an expansion to the palace that contains a pool and accommodations. As for the original palace, they’ve kept it mostly as-is, operating 2 restaurants out of the building. As a guest or a visitor you can explore various gardens and sitting rooms, all of which maintain their original beautiful style.

    The patio outside is part of the restaurant, and that’s where we sat, enjoying a light lunch, a bottle of “vinho verde” (green wine), an ocean view, and a stunning sunset. Despite being an old beautiful palace-turned-hotel, it maintains a casual atmosphere that makes anyone feel welcome.

    It was a simple day, visiting a simple site, and it was all wonderful. If you make it to Portugal, this is a site worth seeing.

    Making a quick stop in Salir to see some castle ruins
    great view!
    Inside one of the sitting rooms.
    the walls around the palace
    From the mural inside. Kevin sent this to my parents and said it was the two of us.
    Kevin & I, looking fab.
    me and Kevin
    view from the cafe on the patio
    view from one of the balconies
    checking out someone’s wheels
    me in the palace gardens
    view of the inaccessible, wild gardens, from the gardens close to the palace
    enjoying lunch/wine and the sunset. As you can see, Kevin insists on places his lips on a fresh spot for each sip.
    Kevin’s view while peeing in a public toilet.
  • The market in Loule and the Festa Chocolat!

    The market in Loule and the Festa Chocolat!

    Both of Kevin’s grandmothers live in the Algarve, and that means double the fun for us.

    And the Portuguese are a people who love festivals, which means even more fun for all of us.

    Avo Maria lives in a mid-sized city called Loule. It’s hundreds of years old, and it has a strong Moorish history. That history is most obvious in the recently-renovated-but-very-old Market of Loule. It’s over 100 years old, and you can see lots more photos of it on this blog right here.

    We love a good “festa”, which is why we made sure to go to the Festa Chocolat (chocolate festival) with Avo Maria. As expected, all the temporary stands were packed with a variety of chocolately goodness. Cupcakes, cookies, chocolate candy, crepes; this festa had everything!

    We only took a few photos, but here they are. Nothing better than a quick afternoon jaunt to a chocolate festival at the market (followed by a trip to the cafe, obviously)!

     

    Me and Avo Maria, touching the ass of an ass!
    chocolate candies
    eating a crepe and getting icing sugar everywhere
  • Life with a garden in Alte

    Life with a garden in Alte

    The garden at Avo Olimpia’s house in Alte is not just for lemon trees and orange trees. It’s also a place for herbs and flowers.

    Many, many flowers. In particular, roses.

    When I was growing up, my grandparents had a truly incredible rose garden. I frequently remember walking through the garden with my grandparents, examining the roses, learning their names, and choosing favourites. I’d never expected to experience rose-induced nostalgia, but as winter ended and the roses began blooming in Alte, it hit me. And it kind of freaked me out, too. Kevin and I would walk through the garden, he’d pose question about a flower, and I’d know the answer. For a small amount of time, I felt the like the Jason Bourne of gardening. Totally weird, but also nice to be reminded that there is lasting evidence from that time in my life, beyond simple memories.

    Beyond roses, the gardens in Alte are filled with the types of flowers you typically only see in bouquets in Canada. The weather here is far more forgiving, which means that plants which die during the winter at home actually survive here. Not only do I get to see unique flowers, I also get to see flowers that are larger than I’ve ever seen before.

    Take a look below to see some shots Kevin has captured in the garden over the past couple of months. Beautiful colours, beautiful flowers, beautiful memories.

     

    All the fixings for homemade hot sauce.
    Kevin’s attempt at homemade hot sauce.
    me with a Pomegranate tree at Kevin’s Avo Maria’s house
  • Welcome to Portugal, where you can’t do things quickly, even if you try.

    Welcome to Portugal, where you can’t do things quickly, even if you try.

    At the beginning of 2015, I had 2 goals for this blog:

    1. Continue to write regularly

    2. Write more about my feelings and experiences, as opposed to a steady stream of I-went-here stories (though I do plan to continue those as well!)

    June is around the corner and I’ve published so few posts that I have an actual backlog list of 20 blog posts waiting to be written. They’re coming, I promise!

    Today I bring you a brief post about my personal state of mind and a rather funny realization that Kevin and I had today.

    You may have heard people joke about the slow pace of Europe, particularly southern Europe. Let me be the first to tell you, that shit is no joke.

    When you wake up to sunshine and birds singing and fresh orange juice from the backyard, work just doesn’t seem all that important. While I was in Cambodia, I worked non-stop. Don’t get me wrong, I took plenty of time for fun, but I didn’t have social ties or distractions, and so it was easy for me to throw myself head first into nonstop work. Without that, this blog probably wouldn’t even exist.

    In Portugal, there are many distractions. Both literal and mental. With a car and with Kevin’s familiarity with the Algarve, it’s all too easy to find things to do. And it’s hard to explain, but this place just feels relaxed. Life in the Algarve is just so damn pleasant, you never feel guilty for not “getting shit done”.

    On top of that, with Kevin’s dental disaster continuing on an open-ended schedule, we quickly learned to stop asking questions or talking about “what’s next”. It’s hard to plan the next adventure when you don’t even know when it can begin.

    This week has marked the first time since January that we’ve felt comfortable discussing that elusive “next”, possibly even laying down a timeline. We’re still in southern Europe, but these thoughts and possibilities kickstarted something in both of us.

    We’ve both spent the past 2 days working feverishly. It feels natural to fall back into a work-hard groove, getting lots of things done, and quickly.

    Which brings us to today. We had big plans: get up early-ish (11am, since we stay up till 4am while I work – more on that later!), go to the grocery store at the Algarve Shopping mall, come home, then head back to the mall to see a mid-afternoon screening of Mad Max. After all, it’s Tuesday. Indulging in Tuesday movie deals was a well-followed tradition for us in Toronto.

    So that was our plan. A bit more rushed than our typical schedule, but that’s no problem, right?

    Ha!

    Instead of a quick trip to the grocery store with Kevin’s grandmother, the three of us ended up checking out several shops throughout the mall, then having lunch, and then realizing,”shit, it’s 3pm, we’ll have to rush, but we can definitely make that film at 4:30 if we hustle”.

    Ha!

    We did the fastest grocery shopping we’ve ever done in Portugal. We thought that by rushing our shopping, we’d get in and out quickly, and home in time to go to the movies. Of course, we couldn’t have planned for this:

    – the grocery store was under construction and every single section had been moved somewhere new

    – at this grocery store, you have to weigh your produce at a special station before the checkout. Not only did we forget to weigh our watermelon, so did the two families in line ahead of us. And obviously it took them twice as long as us to resolve that issue.

    – for almost 10 minutes on our drive home, we were stuck behind a rather slow-moving tractor

    Ha!

    On the drive home, the realization hit me: we’re back in North American mode, but we’re still in Southern Europe.

    Even if we’re in the mood to really ‘get shit done’, we’ll drive ourselves mad if we don’t keep in mind that the Algarve is too relaxed to be compatible with our North American, do-things-fast mentality.

    Fingers crossed that this new surge of energy for working will keep me posting more regularly!

    And just for all that reading, here’s a series of photos us relaxing around Alte and of me making orange juice in true, laid-back, Algarvian fashion:

    oranges from one grandmother, grapefruits from another
    making orange juice in my PJs!
    the lemon tree before its trim
    orange trees in the backyard.
    picking oranges from the tree
    collecting oranges for juice!
    the formerly crazy lemon tree in the back yard
    oranges!
    view from our favourite cafe!
    snack time!
    reading by the fire, keeping warm in January.
    reading!
    pick-em-up-truck spotted in Alte!
    our juicer!
  • Welcome to Alte!

    Welcome to Alte!

    Kevin and I have been here in Portugal for awhile, so it’s about time that I let y’all know about exactly where it is we’re staying.

    Both of Kevin’s grandmothers live in the Algarve (southern region of Portugal), which is where they retired after years of working in Canada. I’ll write separate posts about each of them later, but suffice to say that they are two rather feisty, independent women. Kevin’s entire bloodline (pre-parents) come from the Algarve, all within a 30km radius. So the Algarve really is special to him and to his family.

    While one of his grandmothers lives in a mid-sized city, the one that we’re living with, Avo Olimpia, lives in a small town of about 1100 people. When Kevin was growing up, his grandmother would spend 6 months of the year living with his family in Toronto, and the other 6 months would be spent in Alte. As such, Kevin and his brother grew up spending every summer visiting his grandmother here. As much as Kevin is from Toronto, he’s also very much from this small Portuguese village. And it’s obvious every time that we go out, because he knows every. single. person. here.

    But let’s get back to Alte itself. This tiny little village is rather famous, so much so that it has its own Wikipedia article. It’s also extremely popular as a tourist destination, and I found the best Alte description on a website about tourist destinations in the Algarve:

    Considered by many as the most typical algarvean village, Alte is a small village of white-washed houses nestling amidst trees and mountains, the image of old Algarve. Situated in central Algarve, the village dates from Roman times and has a Moorish past that can be observed in the detail filigree chimneys that adorn the houses.

    In the centre of the village you will find the Church dating from the 13th century, the chapel houses some very special hand painted pieces dating from the 16th century. There is also an old water mill which also dates from the 13th century.

    The focal point of Alte are the two springs. Fonte Pequena and Fonte Grande (Small Spring and Big Spring). In the olden days the women of the village gathered at the springs to fill their pitchers and wash the laundry. Now, the springs are the ideal place to enjoy a relaxing picnic in the calm tranquillity of this village.

    My friend Anne recently visited us here, and she describes this place as a fairytale. It really does have everything: beautiful water features, a waterfall, super old/beautiful churches, cobblestone streets, the view of a town built into a hillside, and the most relaxing sounds. There’s hardly any traffic, so most of day all you hear are the stream flowing and the birds chirping. There’s an interesting array of stray cats (all fed by grandmothers) and other wildlife. In the stream behind the house you can see ducks, geese, fish, and turtles. And in a tree beside the Fonte Pecana you’ll find a couple of chickens and a rooster. There are also horses. Sometimes you see people riding them through the streets!

    Aside from the natural beauty of Alte, there’s the beauty of the community itself. When you go out here, it’s important to always says “good morning” (bom dia), “good afternoon” (boa tarde), or “good evening” (boa noite) to each person you encounter. Basic manners in a small town, I guess. And half the time, that person knows Kevin and/or his family, and will stop to chat. Kevin’s family is rather well-known here, and having spent his summers here, Kevin himself is rather well known. He actually has life-long friends here, which is pretty cool. You’re hard pressed to find someone who won’t describe knowing Kevin when he was just small child.

    I thought that growing up in Grimsby gave me a small town experience? Kevin’s life in Alte is actually as small town as it gets. And not in an unpleasant way. Yes, when you go for coffee or go to the pharmacy, everyone asks about Kevin or his teeth or his grandmother. Yes, people know things about you and talk about what you’re up to. But it’s because the people here are pleasant and nice. Because they’re invested in knowing each other. The people are relaxed and they’re interested in having a good time.

    Case in point? There are SO many events that happen in this small town, all of which involve lots of eating and drinking. In fact, the last festival I went to, we ran into some old family friends. What started as a lively conversation ended with shots of medronho (local fancy moonshine).

    Here’s a quick rundown of the some of the events we’ve been to here (pictures included below):

    – Festa do Chourica (Festival of Chorizo, a version of Portuguese sausage): This was a lively festival held beside the older, smaller church in Alte. We had bread, chourica, and beer. (Of course, we got less bread than the others, because the lady giving out he bread knows that Kevin and I aren’t big bread-eaters, because his grandmother told her). There was also an auction, where we ‘won’ a jar of honey.

    – Alte BTT: this is a bike race that kicks off the cultural week in Alte. It’s organized by a local bike club, and the starting line is right in front of Kevin’s grandmother’s house. We were able to get a great view from the balcony.

    – Semana Cultural – the cultural week included live music, a comedy night, public art, dancing, and an artisanal marketplace (with great desserts)

    – Folk Festival – This took place on the ending weekend of the cultural week. It was a huge event that began on the Friday, which was a holiday. The Fonte Grande was packed with tables and people who were enjoying food and beer while watching a typical folk dancing competition. The weather was beautiful, so we were able to get lots of great photos.

    Lots of photos below, enjoy!

    our first day in Alte! (back in January)
    our first day in Alte!
    reading by the fire, keeping warm in January.
    dinner time!
    the older of the two churches in Alte. This one dates back to the 15th century.
    trailers in Alte, just up the street from us
    public laundry area
    snack time!
    view of Alte from above
    me at the traditional games area in Alte (botchey ball, etc).
    nearby grasslands
    Kevin, on the first motorcycle he learned to ride (it’s seen better days)
    Kevin, stoking the fire.
    view from our favourite cafe!
    Clouds; a rarity in the summer!
    pick-em-up-truck spotted in Alte!
    reading!
    afternoon snack with Avo Olimpia
    almond trees in bloom!
    the festa chorica (chorizo festival), in front of the church
    garden slugs eating our cat food!
    ducks at the fonte pequena (small spring)
    collecting water
    orange trees in the backyard.
    birds nest, found in the backyard
    the formerly crazy lemon tree in the back yard
    Easter!
    Easter!
    on the bridge. Kevin’s gradmother’s house is to the left of me, further back, in this photo. The stream runs behind the house.
    Alte BTT Moutain bike race
    Kevin’s gradmother, off to enjoy the fun
    me at the cultural week kick-off in Alte!
    folklore festival in Alte
    lunch!
    entered a draw to win this chicken! we didn’t win 😦
    me at the Fonte Grande (big fountain), which fills up and acts as a swimming pool in the summer
    the crowd at the fonte grande for the folk music festival
    old people here are mountain goats!
    the fonte grande
    me on the bridge above the fonte grande (people swimming in the back!)
    a water mill beside the fonte pecana
    folk-sy decor throughout Alte for the cultural week wrap-up/folk festival
    it’s snail season!
    a horse and a baby horse!
    view from my yoga spot on the back patio
    view from the backyard
    the waterfall in Alte
  • January 2015: Heather & Kevin spent 1.5 days sightseeing in Lisbon.

    January 2015: Heather & Kevin spent 1.5 days sightseeing in Lisbon.

    Julie’s flight from Lisbon onward to Prague left quite early in the morning. That left Kevin and I with another day and a half in Lisbon before carpooling down to the Algarve with his godfather.

    While our few days with Julie had been about relaxation and exploratory walks throughout the city, Kevin and I knew that without direction we’d end up spending the next 36 hours napping.

    While we did make time for some naps, I also busted out my trusty ol’ pal, TripAdvisor, for some advice on what to see in the neighbourhood. The result was lots of walking and lots of looking at neat things.

    We started the day with breakfast at a truly Lisbon-esque spot. The thing about Lisbon is it’s filled with parks and cafes. And you’ll never, ever find a park that doesn’t have its own little cafe-stand. Just up the street from the place where we stayed, there was a large park that had 2 cafe stands AND a restaurant. This casually beautiful restaurant doesn’t even have a TripAdvisor review. In Toronto, a place this cool would have a 2 hour brunch line up, but in Lisbon? No big deal.

    Once we were properly fed and caffeinated, we headed to our first destination: Reservoir of the Mae d’Agua das Amoreiras and the Aguas Livres Aqueduct. Both of these are part of the Lisbon Museum of Water, which also includes an additional water reservoir, located underneath a fountain in the park where we’d eaten breakfast. The aqueduct was built beginning in the mid 1700s, and it provided the northern neighbourhoods of Lisbon with water up until the 1960s! (Fun/not-so-fun/actually-sad-and-gross fact: the aqueduct was the preferred site/tool of a serial killer in the 1800s)

    As it goes in Europe, the aqueduct was tucked in behind a bunch of other buildings in a less-travelled area of Lisbon. After some walking, Kevin and I rounded the corner and saw the aqueduct crossing a road and spanning (yet another) park. After taking a bunch of photos and freaking out about the wonders of engineering, we wanted to go inside the reservoir, but it was closed for lunch (lunch is a BIG deal in Portugal).

    We opted to return later, and headed off on another walk. Our walk took us through one of the main roundabouts in Lisbon, placed between the enormous Edward VII Park (named after a British dude!) and the Avenue of Freedom (Avenida da Liberdade). West of the park is the Estufa Fria, or “Cold Greenhouse”. Essentially, it’s large indoor garden that isn’t hot like a greenhouse. It includes a grotto, some ponds, and a host of interesting plants. Kevin and I enjoyed a leisurely walk through the garden, stopping to read our e-readers, like a couple of nerds.

    Finally, we headed back to the reservoir to see the inside. Now, I had read online that it was possible to walk through the aqueduct by entering the reservoir. We didn’t get to do that, because the gate was locked, but I would imagine it’s possible if you book your trip ahead of time.

    The Mae d’Agua das Amoreiras Reservoir, (mother of water of the Amoreiras neighbourhood reservoir, or something like that) is incredibly beautiful. It is not, however, a particularly well presented exhibit. It’s also rather expensive. When you go inside, there’s a desk where a person is working. You pay that person 5 euros each, and then walk over to get a better view of the reservoir.

    Water pours from the top of the aqueduct into the reservoir pool. The light that shines in reflects off the water, making for a beautiful visual effect to accompany the sound of the water. On top of the water, there’s actually a floating platform that you can walk on. I can imagine that it must be a great place for events, and I hope that the people of Lisbon take advantage of a cool space like that. It’s basically begging to have concerts and yoga classes and weddings on it.

    Behind the pool is a staircase that takes you to the roof of the reservoir. When you’re walking up the stairs, you can see into the aqueduct, which seems like it’d be a cool walk if it were open. From the rooftop, you get a view of the aqueduct and the city of Lisbon. 5 euros each felt like a bit of a scam, but I honestly think that the reservoir was one of the prettiest buildings/spaces that I’ve ever been in. I highly recommend checking this place out if you’re in Lisbon.

    After our sightseeing, we met up with Kevin’s godfather for lunch, ran some errands, and generally enjoyed being in Lisbon. The next day we woke up, had breakfast, lazed about, napped, and eventually drove to the Algarve, where the adventure continues…

    As always, photos below!

     

    early morning, up and ready for breakfast
    see that building behind me? that’s a restaurant. in a park!
    breakfast time. mixed toast, coffee with milk, chocolate milk
    me, dressed cozy and researching what we’ll get up to for sight seeing.
    an aqueduct in lisbon!
    some serious statue in the middle of a roundabout
    Parque Eduardo VII
    In the grotto at the Estufa Fria
    Inside the Reservoir
    cool spot for a yoga class, if I do say so myself.
    view from the top
    almost knocked this guy right over
    science rules!
    lunch time!
    that’s me, alright.
  • Back to the beginning: a few days in Lisbon

    Back to the beginning: a few days in Lisbon

    Back in December, when Kevin and I were in Canada for Christmas, we planned out a trip that would involve a couple of weeks in Lisbon followed by travels through Spain, all the way to Paris, where we’d then fly back to Cambodia.

    We booked plane tickets to Lisbon, Portugal for January 4th.

    Back in November, I’d been planning a January trip to Vietnam with two of my lady friends, Julie & Komal. Due to the complications of life and travel visas, that hadn’t worked out. However, Julie planned to be in Lisbon for 2 days along with Kevin and I.

    When Kevin was hit in the mouth with a hockey stick on January 2nd, I was admittedly freaking out. Not only had we booked tickets to Lisbon, but my friend had booked a trip to meet us there. Needless to say, we didn’t miss our flight. I hopped Kevin up on pain killers and got him on the plane to Lisbon. His godfather met us there, and showed us to an incredibly wonderful few days in one of my favourite cities that I’ve been to yet.

    Many photos are attached, because we were able to cram lots of fun into a few short days. One of the most important things to note is how much we were able to do while also being completed relaxed. Julie was coming off a serious bout of food poisoning, and Kevin was obviously also in quite a bit of pain. However, Lisbon is such a welcoming and easy-to-access, non-touristy, relaxed place that were able to really make the most of our time there.

    Rather than crash at a hotel, we rented an AirBnB through a group called Travel & Tales. The fine gentlemen who run Travel & Tales, Pedro & Duarte, rent out a series of apartments in the chic Lisbon neighbourhood of Principe Real.

    One of the most bizarre things about Lisbon is how similar (also better than) it is to San Francisco. Hills are one such similarity, and when Kevin’s godfather drove us up into Principe Real, and then parked on one of the steepest hills imaginable, I knew we were in for an authentically Lisbon experience. Pedro helped us check in and hooked us up with some free SIM cards for our phones, and we were off on an adventure. Oh, and the apartment we were renting? Absolutely beautiful. Historical. Interesting. Clean. Well-located. I cannot say enough good things. It really represented the best of what Lisbon has to offer.

    Relative to other European capital cities, Lisbon is geographically small and rather inexpensive. And yet, as the capital city of the once-massive Portuguese empire, it’s jam-packed with history, old-world beauty, and remnants of the colonial wealth that created it.

    The city has many interesting neighbourhoods, and an hour or two of walking can really take you through a great cross-section of the best of Lisbon. We walked everywhere and saw a lot. It also helps that the hills of Lisbon mean you’re never far from an incredible, heightened view of the city. From old plazas with fountains and monuments galore, to the city’s oceanfront, where colonial ships once presented their wealth to kingdom, to ruins, and one of the first elevators in Europe, we walked and saw it all.

    Kevin took a couple of much-needed naps, as well as an afternoon trip to a private hospital to see if his lip was actually recovering, so Julie and I also had a couple of long exploratory jaunts. On one occasion we hopped in a cab to the Belem neighbourhood. There, we sat by waterfront along the Tagus river and enjoyed some lovely January sunshine. We also saw the Jeronimos Monastery, and the “Monument to the Discoveries”. We also caught a glimpse of the Ponte de 25 April (April 25th Bridge), which is essentially Lisbon’s version of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It’s 27th largest suspension bridge in the world. I highly suggest you click on all those links and read what Wikipedia has to say about all these sights. So many interesting things to learn! On another jaunt, we decided to start walking and just see where we ended up. Turns out that we ended up at a lookout point behind a neighbourhood that had enticed us with a long yet lovely staircase. It was the perfect spot to watch the sunset, though regrettably I didn’t have my camera. That type of magical experience is exactly what makes Lisbon so enchanting.

    With all that walking, we obviously needed to eat, and Lisbon had us covered there as well. Because Lisbon is so old, almost every building is special in some way, which makes dining that much more interesting. We opted for a couple of low-key local places for lunch, and tried some fancier dining at night. Portuguese food is simple yet delicious, and I think that would describe our Lisbon culinary experience as well.

    If you can’t already tell, I’m a big fan of Lisbon. More than that, I’m a big fan of spending time with the people who I care about. I’ll let you see more of what we did by perusing the photos below. What really made this trip special was getting to explore a beautiful city with Kevin and my dear friend Julie. If you’ve never considered visiting Lisbon, I suggest that you add it to your to-do list, but more than that, I hope that you make the time to have interesting experiences with the people who you love.

    streetcar sighting!
    Ponte 25 de Abril
    enjoying a traditional Portuguese lunch!
    and later, having an espresso with a freshly made pastel de nata!
    walking the streets of Lisbon
    one of the many beautiful pracas (squares/plazas) that we explored.
    we were lucky to be there in time to enjoy all the Christmas decorations
    and fountains, of course
    from the pathway to the first elevator in Europe, you can see Carmo Convent, which was destroyed in the Great Lisbon earthquake in 1755.
    to our left, the entrance to the elevator. Behind us, stairs to the top of the elevator.
    the view from the top
    outside our ‘apartment’.
    walking to the bars in the Chiado neighbourhood we came upon a Heather-sized door!
    some traditional Portuguese decor in our temporary Lisbon home
    enjoying dinner in Faz Gosto, which is located in part of a former convent
    Poor Kevin, eating clam soup with straw 😦
    the decor in Pensao Amour, our bar of choice.
    early morning at a market in Lisbon