Monday, April 13th 2015... cont
I landed in Lisbon after my nice nap on the airplane. The ride to the hostel was easy and I was let out to beautiful weather. I found my way to the hostel. Even after only being shown around the hostel I was impressed. This hostel was gorgeous! I unpacked my things and relaxed before going out to get dinner. While at dinner, I realized the hostel was having sangria, so I got my food to go and came back to the hostel. When I came in the very nice hostess, Lisa, was mixing Sangria. She, who already knew my name, jumped in excitement that I had come back to have Sangria. I sat down at the table, joining a random mix of people who were staying at the hostel, including someone who was in my room. Then, who I find out later to be the owner of the hostel, brings out chorizo, a Portuguese sausage, and starts firing it. Literally! He put lighter fluid on the bottom of a ceramic dish. Then, he placed the chorizo on a rack on top, and lite the lighter fluid! It was incredible! It is actually called flamed chorizo and it was amazing. The flames came up all around the meat making it crispy and delicious. I was shocked by the cooking process, but learned that it was very traditional in Portugal. As well, the environment around the table was very festive and welcoming. The owner introduced himself and said to make his hostel our home. Everyone was chatting with each other and so happy to be there. One of the girls staying in the hotel even started to play some guitar and sang with it. She was absolutely fantastic. I can't say how happy I was to have this experience. It was small and intimate, almost like I was being welcomed into someone's home. I truly felt like I was getting an exposure to Portuguese culture. The sangria was also fabulous, so much so that Lisa promised to teach me how to make it the next day. When it came time to eat my dinner, there were lots of other people in the hostel to sit and eat with. It was very nice to get to sit, chat and eat with people. For dinner, I had Bacalhau á lagareiro (cod with garlic, potatoes and green beans). Lisa got so excited that that was what I was eating and experiencing. It was quite good. I liked the cooked green beans with it al. I later learned a funny story about cod (same thing as bachalou). It is an incredibly popular and traditional dish in Portugal, but they import it all from Norway! They do lots of fishing, just not for cod. But for some reason, the cod is incredibly ingrained in their culture. So, in the end, I barely left my hostel on my first evening and night there, but I not only had such a great time, I felt like I really got a good exposure to Portuguese culture.
Tuesday, April 14th 2105
I woke up ready to see the city! I enjoyed a lovely breakfast in my now favorite hostel and then took a walk with Suket. If I forgot to mention, I am in Lisbon with two friends (Suket and Ben) from Leuven. I met them both in the first week during orientation, but haven’t seen them much since. Luckily, they were still glad to let me join them for the few days in Lisbon. This morning, we needed to grab something from the Pharmacy, so I went on a nice walk with Suket the few blocks. Afterwards, since the Pharmacy was on the water, we decided to take a nice walk along the river. It was gorgeous. There was some funky artwork and chairs along the walk, which was fun to look at. We headed back to the hostel to pick up Ben and go to our walking tour.
Our tour guide was quite eccentric, so I got a very unique perspective into Portuguese culture. He walked us all through the streets of the city. We saw some incredible viewpoints and heard some great stories. The most memorable part of our tour was the graffiti/murals that we saw. There were a few amazing pieces of art drawn onto buildings that very well depicted Portuguese culture. From those little images, I felt like I learned so much about the culture and how they perceive themselves.
After the walking tour, we took a walk through a big flea market. The highlight were some antique guns that were very interesting and had very cool characters. Ben wanted one, but knew he wasn’t going to make it through customs with it. After the flea market we met back up with the group from the tour to get lunch. When our tour guide was giving us advice on where to get lunch, he pointed to one of the men drawn on the graffiti wall and said this is the stereotypical Portugese man, if your waiter looks like this, you are in a good place. This translated the restaurant he brought us for lunch perfectly. Our waiter was an older, balding Portugese man who had a bit of a mustache. His wife was behind the window, independently cooking the meal for all of us. The menu had an English version that was clearly google translated, because there were some very hilarious mistranslations. The man spoke barely a word of English and there was a little boy, his grandson, running around the restaurant. In fact it was his head that popped out of the door to inform us that our table was ready. The meal was incredible. For 6.5 euros, we received bread, a main course, dessert and a drink (including wine). I ate Bachalou con crème, a very traditional Portuguese dish. It was really just cod with potatoes in a cream sauce, but it was quite delicious. It was very filling though! For dessert, we passed around a few different of the choices, which were all sweet and of course good. At lunch, I met some girls from Belgium who gave me some advice on places to see there. It was a great meal, but it took so long! There really is no rush for lunch in Europe.
After lunch, Ben, Suket and I were joined by a few people on our tour and decided to get lost in Lisbon! We wandered the streets of Alfalma to get a feeling for the city. We alternated who choose the direction and just wandered. Throughout our adventures, we found some beautiful viewpoints and gorgeous spots in the city. We wandered around the castle, up the hill and in a church. We ended our exploring by the waterfront, where we found a beautiful square with an amazing arch and monument. After the long day of walking, it looked like rain was on the horizon, so we went back to our hostel for Sangria evening.
We had the whole Sangria event again, but this time Lisa kept to her promise and let me help make it! I cut fruit and measured ingredients for the drink. A lot goes into a good Sangria! It was really fun to help make it, and I think I will totally make it again in the future! Again, it was a super welcoming and joyful environment in the hostel. Lots of people gathered around the table to enjoy the evening together.
I was still full from lunch, so for dinner we went to Pasteis Neta where they literally made one thing, a delicious pastry. There were people (even at 9 at night) behind the counter baking this pastry. It was amazingly delicious! I can now understand how they made their whole business around one pastry!
I was still full from lunch, so for dinner we went to Pasteis Neta where they literally made one thing, a delicious pastry. There were people (even at 9 at night) behind the counter baking this pastry. It was amazingly delicious! I can now understand how they made their whole business around one pastry!
That evening we tried to go out to hear some traditional Fado music. Unfortunately the place was packed, so we stayed outside for three songs to hear it and listen. The music was very moving and emotional. The first song was quite sad, but fortunately the second two picked up quite a bit. I felt like I truly got to hear their culture through the music.
Wednesday, April 15th 2015
When looking up the weather this morning, we decided to change up the plans and make today a beach day! So, Ben, Suket and I went to Belem for the morning. We saw some cool monuments, a tower and a monastery before getting the anticipated pastries de Belem. They were very good and had a great crust and a very creamy inside. We took the train another few stops to meet up with their friends who were also studying at Leuven. After a lovey beach walk across a sand bar, we found their friends. I was introduced to everybody and then we started a game of pick-up soccer. It was super fun although I was incredibly unhelpful. I certainly got a little taste of the other way to do Spring break: beach, goofing around, drinking and sun. Meeting everyone was really fun, and it was a great taste, but I think I’ll stick to my see the world adventure. They were very welcoming and chatty.
For lunch we went to a sushi buffet. It was very good, but my favorite part was the stir fry that they made. You got to pick fresh seafood, from octopus to oysters, and vegetables and they cook it for you. It was so fresh and delicious. Everyone was fun to chat with and it was fun to be with a group of Americans for a change. It was a little feeling of recognition. After lunch we went back to the beach for a beach nap and reading. I woke up from my nap with my face completely covered in sand. That is when you know it was a good nap. Awhile later, we could see some storm clouds rolling in, so we quickly gathered our things and jumped on the train home. That night, the whole group went out together. I bought and shared a bottle of port wine because it is very well known in Portugal and I had to try it. One of the girls, Lauren, and I found out that we had a ton in common. We were both Jewish and studying in Leuven, which is really not easy to find! We started looking at mutual friends and we had so many, from Model UN to camp to random Chicago friends. It was great. What a small world. The really nice thing though was getting the chance to talk to someone about our experiences in Leuven studying abroad. It is a struggle because you don't really tell people that you are Jewish, so when you miss it you don't have anyone to celebrate with. She completely missed Passover, which was very upsetting to her and I really understood. Feelings about being Jewish in Belgium and my experiences with my faith while traveling abroad came up that I didn’t even know existed. The conversation really brought some interesting thinking to mind. Hopefully we will meet up in Leuven.
I was still full from sushi, so I only had a tiny bite at dinner and wandered the streets for a bit before calling it a night to get a wonderful night rest.
I was still full from sushi, so I only had a tiny bite at dinner and wandered the streets for a bit before calling it a night to get a wonderful night rest.
Thursday, April 16th 2015
Today was sadly my last day in Lisbon and at my awesome hostel. I ate my last amazing free breakfast before heading to the train station for my day trip to Sintra. Sintra is another city in Portugal about forty minutes from Lisbon. I arrived and jumped on the bus that took me up the mountain. I met some nice Americans on the bus as it winded its way up the very tight hill. After a few minutes, we arrived to the very top and I entered Pena Palace. The Pena Palace was a brilliantly colored building that sat on the top of a mountain. I walked along the outside wall of the palace and saw some amazing views of mountains, Sintra and even Lisbon. I loved the way the palace looked, it truly stood out from any other palace that I've seen and the different colors had different meanings. It also had a lot of ceramic, which was beautiful. I toured inside the palace and it was gorgeous! So many rooms to look into with pretty walls and furniture. I befriended the guard in the pink room and he gave me a very long explanation of the meaning of many things in the room and the palace. It was actually quite interesting and helpful. After the palace, I had the opportunity to wander the gardens. They were full of pretty flowers, interesting buildings and many hills with odd passages. I decided to hike up to the viewpoint, of course being myself and making my own path at times. I reached the top and felt accomplished. I then slowly wandered my way down, past the valley of lakes, over some very cute bridges and in some very nice areas before exciting the palace area.
I do have to comment that traveling alone does give me some unsolicited attention that I have to deal with. As I walk up to the palace, I passed a group of men working on something on the road who called out to me. Fortunately they just tried to get my attention and 'complemented' me. But it still felt weird. I made my way to the Moorish Castle, which had a great vibe. I mostly walked around the walls and explored. There were beautiful views and it was a fun little walk. I went into the city for lunch. I have to say, tourist areas drive me crazy even more at this point. But the pastries were fantastic. I tried two pastries specifically from Sintra, and I don’t think I have ever had a pastry so delicious before. They were even better than the last two pastries in Lisbon. Yum. From there I wandered the town before taking the train to the hostel and the metro to the bus stop. |
Checking in for the bus was an exciting adventure. It happened. I made my first travel planning mistake: I booked a bus for tomorrow instead of today! Since it is an overnight bus, the mistake is an easy one, but still pretty bad. Fortunately, there was an open seat on this bus tonight and the lady at the desk was so kind to switch it to today. After all of that excitement, I had about an hour to kill before boarding. I walked through the train station and shopping mall and then across a huge patio until I reached the river. I found a nice place to sit which looked over the bridge, the river and the surrounding cities. Since it was quite dark, everything was beautiful to look at. I took out the remainder of my bottle of port wine from the night before and enjoyed the lovely wine in the amazing weather with the spectacular view. I was so content and happy. It was a wonderful evening alone. I have to say I truly enjoyed just looking out into the world at night, relaxing by the water and letting my mind wander. I was pretty proud of myself. I have been traveling Europe for almost three months now and planned it all mostly by myself. And in the past two weeks I have been traveling alone from place to place and trying to get the most out of every spot I visit. I was pretty proud of what I had accomplished.
I walked back through the shopping center and picked up a chicken pastry and a sweet pastry for dinner( I had to enjoy the pastries while I still could in Portugal) and some fruit before climbing onto my bus.
I walked back through the shopping center and picked up a chicken pastry and a sweet pastry for dinner( I had to enjoy the pastries while I still could in Portugal) and some fruit before climbing onto my bus.
When I got on the bus, there was one window seat left, which I had to argue in Spanish to get. A lady had left her bag on the last window seat on the whole bus and I wanted to sit there, so I had to talk to her and kinda wake her up. Pretty impressive right, even though her bag was there, I was entitled to that seat and told her that in Spanish. I was very proud of my ability to communicate and understand the Spanish. The bus pulled out and I fell right asleep.