Stop #1: Lisbon, Portugal

A view near our apartment in Lisbon

May 2nd, 2018

Well let me just say that getting here was an adventure on its own!  At 9:20am on April 30th, Lorenzo and I hopped on a plane at SFO, not quite expecting what we were getting ourselves into.  We were both very excited for the journey that laid before us, as it would be our longest trip together ever since we met 3 1/2 years ago.  From SFO, we transferred in Boston, then in Ponta Delgada, and then to Lisbon.  We are happy to say that made it safe and sound to our final destination, but unfortunately our luggage didn't...

Today is Day 2 in Lisbon and the airlines still haven't found our luggage.  We are surviving with whatever we wore on our backs and in our backpacks.  One outfit each, some electronics, and two full bags of protein bars.  In addition, I quickly learned that my data plan wasn't going to work abroad unless I paid an additional $10 a day (on top of my $140 monthly phone bill).  I should have switched to Tmobile!!  But rather than mope about the situation, we've made the best of it so far.  After checking into our cute little AirBnB apartment (yesterday) we headed out for the day, exploring various neighborhoods and monuments.  We first headed to Castelo de Sao Jorge which is located very close to our place.  But with our on-going luck, the castle is closed only 3 days in the year, and May 1st is one of them.  Poop. 

So we skipped the castle and checked out the (very cool) neighborhoods of Alfama, Baixa and Chiado.  We decided to forgo utilizing the tour book and just let ourselves wander wherever we felt like it.  The weather was surprisingly very nice, cool but sunny, and the food was better than expected!  We enjoyed delicious octopus and cod fish for lunch, and a few local beers.  We found ourselves in various gardens, parks, nice lookout vistas and an area called Pink Street, which used to be (and kinda still is) the Red Light District.  Walking along the water was also a lot of fun, as well as riding the trolley (the wrong way) and stumbling across a few unexpected things like a beautiful cemetery, and a dance party in the park. 

We were quite exhausted in the evening and headed back to our apartment before dark.  I called Sata airlines and they said they had no information on our bags.  However, they would allow us $50 each a day to buy essentials until they found our bags.  So I gave Lorenzo some cash and told him to buy whatever he could get his hands on!  It was 8pm already so I wasn't too hopeful since everything closes early around here.  About an hour later Lorenzo comes back... with 2 deodorants, a charger, a bag of salad, conditioner and pantyhose.  I couldn't help but to laugh at this odd combination of "essentials" he picked out!  Ah well, we survived... and now we're off for Day 2!

May 3rd, 2018

Day 2 was quite fun!  Still in our old airplane clothes, we bounced around town to check out the local cathedrals and plazas.  A short metro ride to Belem brought us to a really cool coach museum and a number of important sights, including the Monastery of Jeronimos, Monument to the Discoveries and the Belem Tower.  The line into the Monastery was way too long, so we just enjoyed a bird's eye view of it from the top of the Monument (highly recommended).  The Belem Tower was also nice to see, although the line to go in there was also too long.  So we just chilled next to the tower on the steps of the waterfront, as we watched two young boys trying to fetch a giant dead fish head from the water.  Gross.

Since most of Belem survived the great 1755 earthquake in Lisbon, it is the best place to experience the Manueline architectural style.  It was a beautiful district indeed!  But about another 30 minutes on the metro brought us to an even cooler place (in my opinion) - Cascais.  Cascais is a seaside town with cute cobbled streets, nice beaches, waterfront shops and eateries.  Shortly after we arrived, Lorenzo and I found ourselves in a Port Tasting room where we tried 9 different ports!  We quickly learned that we both really like Port and will incorporate it more into our lives when we get home.  Our (buzzed) day in Cascais was quite enjoyable, as was our evening back in Lisbon.  At "D. Afonso O Gordo" restaurant, we savored a delicious dinner of Caldo Verde, lamb stew, roasted pig and a bottle of Portuguese red wine... all while watching a Fado show.  Fado is a traditional folk music poplar in the Lisbon area.  A Fadista sings poetic lyrics while a couple other musicians play the guitar and mandolin.  This was something I really wanted to experience in Portugal so I'm really glad we stumbled across the opportunity!

Port Tasting in Cascais - a seaside town near Libson

Today is Day 3 in Lisbon and we just heard that our luggage was found back in Boston and should arrive at our place this afternoon.  I can't tell you how excited we are!  We can finally stop washing our underwear in the sink each night and buying extra stuff that we already brought in our bags.  So we're sticking around our place to wait for our luggage.  Not a bad day to catch up on schoolwork (Lorenzo), work (me), and write this blog.  Tomorrow we are planning a day trip to Sintra which I'm really looking forward to!  It'll take about 40 minutes by train to get there but its supposed to be really cool, offering sights such as Pena Palace, Moorish Castle, National Palace, Quinta da Regaleira and Cabo da Roca (the western-most point in Europe).  We'll do our best to see it all...

The last day in Portugal was the best day of all :)   We spent the whole day in Sintra, a town just about 40 minutes from Lisbon (by train).  There was a lot to see there and it was quite physically active!  Mainly because we refuse to do tours and insist on walking everywhere, rather than take a bus or tuk tuk (which are everywhere).  Since we don't have a chance to really work out, we're depending on walking a lot every day to stay in shape.  So far we've been walking an average of 7 to 12 miles a day... not bad!   In Sintra, we explore the 4 best sites (in my opinion).  These included the National Palace, Qunita da Regaleira, Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle.  The National Palace was nice, but I've seen a lot more elaborate ones around Europe.  Quinta da Regaleira (mansion) was quite impressive, especially the gardens!  Lorenzo and I had a blast running our the labyrinth of a garden, zipping in and out of caves,  towers, trees and tunnels.  And we got to enjoy a nice sardine salad lunch with a beautiful view.  Canned sardines are extremely popular in Portugal... actually, canned everything!  If you haven't tried it yet, you should :)

Pena Palace was absolutely gorgeous, although the large crowds got frustrating at times.  And last but not least, the Moorish castle was awesome.  We loved exploring the grounds, climbing the treacherous stairs, and gazing out to some of the most beautiful views I've ever seen.  It was a very long day of walking and hiking so we enjoyed a victory beer at the top!  A great way to end our trip in Portugal... And now off to Barcelona!

PHOTOS OF PORTUGAL

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