A Porto Surprise...

Porto, Portugal

November 30, 2007
N41°08.941
W008°35.136

Our train pulled into the Porto station after a short trip from Coimbra. The journey took less than two hours and since we couldn’t get any further north due to train schedules, we decided to spend the night in the city of Porto. After reading reviews in Lonely Planet, we figured we would just blow right through; however, after spending an afternoon in the decorative town, we were happy we stopped and actually wished we budgeted more time. Unfortunately, we’re running short on that valuable commodity known as time. We’ve been traveling for 10 months and only have two more months before our journey comes to an end. Six months ago we would have modified our plans, and stayed a couple more nights in Porto, but with mere days left it’s like counting change to pay for a cup of coffee… every nickel, every penny and every day is precious.

It was late afternoon and shadows were falling across the city famous for Port wine (thus the name). As we rolled down the streets one of the first things we noted were all of the Christmas decorations including an 80 ft. tree. It wasn’t dark enough to light the tree and we knew we would have to swing back by once the sun set to get the full effect of the display.

With warm light still falling, we had the opportunity to wander through and explore several areas of the city, including the riverfront promenade along the Rio Duermo. Porto is undergoing a major renovation with emphasis on restoring the riverfront, the main tourist area which was recently added as a UNESCO heritage site. We browsed through several shops selling tasty port, local artesian cheeses and a variety of olives; stocking up on some cheese and olives for our train ride to Santiago de Compostela the next day.

We found a nice table along the river and enjoyed a couple beers and watched the sun slowly dropped behind the hills. As the sun set, the twinkle of the Christmas lights appeared across the river, almost like stars on the horizon. When the sun fell so did the temperature along the riverfront. Too cold to drink another beer, we said a quick goodbye to a woman we met from San Francisco, and made our way back up the hill toward the city center and the giant Christmas tree.

The large tree was a show in itself. Every ten minutes the tree would start completely dark, after a few seconds shimmering white lights glittered against a dark background, blue stars began to twinkle, then angels illuminated and the tree would turn green. Next, the angels were swapped out for candles and wheat stalks before the tree would light up completely—one section at a time (each section approx. 10 ft.). The tree was by far the most impressive holiday light show we’ve seen to date; with the possible exception of Carlisle Avenue in Sacramento, CA.

Tomorrow we’re headed back to Spain and intend on traveling through some smaller rural towns, it will be fun to see their displays of holiday cheer.

Let's Eat Some Pig...

Coimbra, Portugal

November 28, 2007
N40°12.230
W008°25.304

Since arriving in Portugal a week ago, we’ve been in search of the authentic Portuguese meal. We read the stories in Anthony Bourdain’s “A Cook’s Tour” how the Portuguese use the entire pig—kidney, entrails, balls and, most importantly, the blood—absolutely everything. We even have old pictures of Marc’s Grandfather standing proud next to a slaughtered pig, hanging, watching the blood drip into a bucket for future use. No matter how hard we’ve searched, we couldn’t find the perfect pig meal… until tonight.

The temperature outside was in the low 40’s and it felt colder near the river. Luckily we found Restaurante Ze Manel, located down a dark alley only a stone’s throw away from our Pensao, and quickly slipped into the cozy little den and warmed up. Ze Manel is well known by locals, but you wouldn’t have known it tonight, it was empty except for a couple locals, an elderly husband and wife sitting at one of the eight small wooden tables in the far back corner. There were handwritten messages on the wall, praising the food. We glanced around as the waiter handed us the menu, scribbled in barely legible Portuguese, and we did our best to decipher the romantic, latin-based language that seems to be a mix of Spanish, French and who-knows-what. We read about the house specialty in our guide book, but I couldn’t remember the name as I pored over the scrawlings on the menu.

I asked about the special and was told the especialidad do casa, or special of the house, is feijoada a leitao, a stew of beans and suckling pig. I ordered the special, while Marc just pointed to a dish with a familiar word, “arroz,” a mix of rice and beans with meat on the side. Our dishes arrived in large soup bowls with deep ladles. Mine had a side of rice and Marc’s a side tray of pork in olive oil and garlic; pleasant aromas instantly filled our table.

My beans were cooked slowly in a red wine sauce that acted as a tasty gravy to spoon over the rice. Various pieces of pork were perfectly blended into the beans. There were tender pieces that shredded with just the touch of a fork, chunks of sausage, presumably blood sausage, and smaller crunchy pieces, like bacon. I didn’t worry about what I was eating, but instead I allowed the flavors to mix in my mouth as I slowly enjoyed each bite.

Marc’s dish was equally as scrumptious. His beans were served directly with the rice in a soupy mix; however, his dish didn’t have the red wine base my beans needed to complement the pork. The pork chops served on the side, were grilled and then sautéed in olive oil and garlic, blending perfectly with the mellow sauce from the rice and beans. The chunks of sautéed garlic were a nice addition every three to four bites.

As we sat in the small restaurant, listening to the sounds of a soccer game coming from the television in the kitchen, Marc recalled eating Portuguese beans during Thursday Night Meals at the Neugebauer’s house. Every Thursday night, during high school football season, a different mother would volunteer to cook dinner for the entire team. Other mother’s would help, but one family would host, the team would eat together, and enjoy the camaraderie as they discussed last minute tactics for the following night’s game. When Mrs. Neugebauer hosted the dinners she would cook up a giant pot of her famous Portuguese beans complete with fresh pork. Marc forgot all about the beans until one of the legumes hit his mouth. He remembered a few of the other meals, but dinner at the Neugebauer’s was definitely one of his favorite and most memorable.

I never knew pork and beans could taste so good, but tonight, on a cold night in Coimbra, they sure hit the spot.

Zipping Through the Countryside...

Coimbra, Portugal

November 28, 2007
N40°12.230
W008°25.304

Today was an easy travel day, relatively speaking. We caught a train back to Lisbon, made two connections via the Lisbon Metro to get to another train station and then boarded a direct train to Coimbra, a university town in the middle of Portugal. The total trip took a little under four hours and the easiest part was the ride from Lisbon as the train from the city zipped through the rural areas of the countryside at over 120 MPH. The landscape of small houses, hills and farmland was hard to track as we whizzed by.

The town, known as the “Oxford” of Portugal, rests along the Rio Mondego and used to be the capital of Portugal up until the 13^th century. It’s now a college town, with annual beer bashes sponsored by the large beer companies, and houses one of the first universities in Europe, the first in Portugal. It’s a steep climb up cobbled lanes to reach the University, situated high above the town over-looking the river. The route definitely gives the students a daily dose of exercise and, most certainly, provides them with a feeling of satisfaction as they looked down upon the city, knowing they’re attending the preeminent university in Portugal.

Another perfect fall afternoon allowed us to casually stroll through the campus and surrounding parks wearing little more than light sweaters. We made mental notes of picture opportunities for tomorrow, when the sun would be higher in the sky, and decided we would retrace part of our walk. Sidewalk cafes were packed with people enjoying their late afternoon fix of espresso. In the square, crews of city employees were just getting started with setting up Christmas decorations; definitely later than the other cities in Portugal.

We plan to relax and enjoy our few days in the college town. Don’t worry, we won’t try to drink with the students—we wouldn’t have a chance of keeping up with them.

Moor Castles...

Sintra, Portugal

November 26-27, 2007
N38°47.583
W009°23.309

The UNESCO heritage town of Sintra is a short 45 minute train ride from Lisbon. Our guide book described the small village as a fairytale town with castles and views out to the Atlantic Ocean several kilometers in the distance. After enjoying the picturesque UNESCO village of Cesky Krumlov outside of Prague, we figured spending a few days checking out the quaint village of Sintra, Portugal would be time well spent.

We walked across the street from the train station and dropped our packs at a quiet little guesthouse and immediately made our way to the town center. The village, situated around a large castle with a Christmas tree in the middle, is exactly the kind of undisturbed, charming place we were looking for after several nights in larger cities. The narrow streets were lined with handicraft shops, wine and Port stores and tons of restaurants serving up local Portuguese cuisine. The clip-clop-clip-clop sound of horse and carriage echoed off the windows of the local shops stenciled with snow reading “Boas Festas,” or what we translated into Happy Holidays.

It didn’t take us very long to cover the entire village. We trekked up and down the cobblestone steps and through tiny alleys when we stumbled upon a tiny market. The market sold regional wine, local cheese, fresh bread and a variety of other staples. For us, they had all we needed for rest of the afternoon; we headed back to our room to enjoy some wine and cheese, catch up on reading and simply relax for awhile. More importantly, we planned to rest our legs for the hike to the castle the following day.

This morning we woke up fairly early, grabbed a tasty café cortado at the local coffee shop and headed up—straight up the stairs and steep alleyways that led us to the Moor Castle, or Castelo Dos Mouros, and Palacio Nacional da Pena, the Portugal site nominated as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. The ascent through the isolated forest was challenging, but the crisp fall air made the trek up to the castle a little easier, allowing us to push the pace a little harder. It was good to feel our legs burning again.

After visiting several castles in Eastern Europe we were slightly castled out; however, the Moorish Castle, with an entirely different architecture and stunning views, didn’t disappoint. Once in the castle we climbed the stairs to the look-out point, approximately 1500 feet above sea-level, and starred out in amazement at the Atlantic Ocean to the west (yes that is strange to say) and the other gothic castles surrounding the fortress built by the Moops in the early 900’s. Further up the hill, still in the distance, was our final destination of the day, the National Palace.

As mentioned, the Palacio Nacional da Pena was nominated as one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, but it didn’t make the final list when the winners were announced on 07/07/2007. The palace was impressive, vast and beautiful, but it didn’t really compare to some the final winners (except for that stupid statue in Brazil—sorry, had to say it).

The golden hue, dusty blue and rose colored building made for beautiful pictures, especially in the middle of the day with the intense sun shining and casting rich shadows. The palace, located in the middle of a National Park, is surrounded by a densely wooded forest and a labyrinth of trails. When we finished snapping pictures of the palace, we ventured out to see some of the other sights within the park—our favorite being a bench, carved into a rock, providing a picture perfect view of the castle across the forest.

After walking around for several hours we decided to make the trek back down the mountain. It was time to grab lunch and, more importantly, relax our legs. I have a feeling my quads will be pretty sore tomorrow after all the stairs and hills we climbed today. Thank goodness all we have to do is sit on a train to reach our next destination.

Starting to Feel A Lot Like Christmas...

Lisbon, Portugal

November 25, 2007
N38°42.460
W009°08.203

At home the traditional Christmas holiday kickoff is the day after Thanksgiving; however, since they don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Europe, we weren’t sure when we would see the opening to the holiday season. We saw the Christmas lights being hung along the Champs Elysees in Paris, but they weren’t illuminated by the time we left. When we arrived in Lisbon, we could see the decorations, but, again, we weren’t sure if we would see the glow of lights before our departure in three days.

However, in Paris, the shopping season was busy on Thanksgiving evening, all the high end stores and intimate boutiques hosted VIP parties—complete with champagne and hors de oeuvres—for their clients. Somehow we were left off the list at Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Channel—there must have been a mistake, or possibly they remembered Marc’s last outburst of profanities at Vuitton in Paris four years ago… it’s a long story. Anyway, we figured we would catch all the illuminated Christmas lights when we passed back through Paris in mid-December.

When we arrived in Lisbon on the 23rd of November, the day after Thanksgiving, the Christmas season was in full swing. People were out shopping, the smell of chestnuts roasting filled the air as vendors were stationed on nearly every corner and, best of all, the Christmas lights were glowing. The streets were covered with red bells and snowflakes, the plazas decorated with large letters spelling “LOVE” and the city was at work prepping the area for a large Christmas tree. We took the opportunity to get into the Christmas spirit by snapping pictures, enjoying the decorations, and bundling-up to protect ourselves from the chill in the air.

As we relaxed in the room at our little Guesthouse, our home, in Lisbon, we tuned into CNN, and watched the post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy in the US. Even though being away from our family this holiday season will be a challenge, we look forward to experiencing Christmas away from the States, in foreign countries; with different decorations, greetings, traditions and significance.

On a different note, now that we are leaving Lisbon… overall, we enjoyed getting to know the capital of Portugal over the past few days. The alleyways, stairways, hills and tiled-roofed houses make it a very picturesque city. The cultural diversity was also very apparent as we walked through the streets and saw people from all over the world, primarily North Africa.

We plan to continue our journey northward through Portugal visiting some smaller and remote cities/villages. Unfortunately, since we’re so late in the year and fall is turning to winter, we won’t make it out to the Azores, where Marc’s grandfather is from. A good reason to come back for another visit!

Strolling the Streets of Lisbon...

Lisbon, Portugal

November 24, 2007
N38°42.460
W009°08.203

The city of Lisbon is very manageable on foot if you don’t mind humping up a few hills. We headed out on a self-guided walking tour this morning that included a short ride on the local tram. The tour touted excellent views of the city and bay, intimate excursions along cobble stone streets through colorful neighborhoods, a stroll past the Saturday market (we actually timed it right), and ending with excellent views of Rio Tejo.

The tram, similar to the San Francisco cable car, runs on tracks, but gets its energy from an overhead electrical line, not a cable. The price is reasonable at only 1.30€ per passenger—much more reasonable then the $5 price tag of the San Francisco cable car these days. The tram rattled up narrow alleys giving us a view of neighborhoods that we probably wouldn’t have seen if we weren’t on the line.

We jumped off the tram at the top of a hill boasting two different miradouros, or lookout points, where we started our actual walking tour. The lookout points didn’t disappoint; providing sweeping views of the red rooftops and crystal blue bay of Lisbon. Also visible from the miradouros was a mirror image of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Ponte 25 de Abril links Lisbon to the southern peninsula of Portugal.

After we admired the views from above we headed to the local Saturday market known as the Feira da Ladra, or “thieves’ market.” We weren’t sure if the name came from the thieves roaming the market, but after arrival, it appeared the market was more of a flea market and what appeared to be “appropriated” merchandise. Well, maybe not everything.

The walking tour continued down the narrow cobbled streets of Lisbon with continuous views of the city below. Marc snapped pictures of the colorful buildings and tile covered houses as we squeezed our way along the castle wall and down the little streets. The fall sun reflected off the artistic tiles and provided the perfect amount of light in the alleys.

After walking for a few hours and covering a good amount of ground, we stumbled upon a patio café and paused for a bowl of soup and a local beer. The area is known for their tasty soups and you can’t go wrong by ordering the Sopa do dia, which was bean soup, and it didn’t disappoint. The snack would hold us over until dinner.

We still haven’t tried the local specialty, pork—they use ever piece of the pig, including blood. Maybe the dish will be on the menu for dinner tonight!

Rats in a Cage...

Lisbon, Portugal

November 23, 2007
N38°42.460
W009°08.203

Lucky for us, France’s train strike was temporarily resolved, since we had to catch a flight and had to rely on the trains to get us to Charles de Gaulle for our 11:45 AM flight. We boarded the Metro and transferred at Gare de Nord station. After we navigated our way through some changes to the lines, we boarded the train for the airport with plenty of time to spare.

One small problem… when we switched trains at Gare de Nord we forgot to buy another ticket, half thinking the single trip ticket we just bought would work. When we arrived at the airport, everyone exited thru to turnstiles, but we were stuck inside the Plexiglas walls. There was a sign above the exit turnstiles that said “this ticket not allowed” with a picture of the ticket and a big red slash through it. We looked down at our tickets and knew we were in trouble—they were an exact match!

A little frantic, we went from turnstile to turnstile, and tried our tickets several times, but knew it wouldn’t make any difference. We would somehow have to talk our way out of a fine with the SNCF authorities. The good news for us, I guess, was there wasn’t a single SNCF employee to be found anywhere in the area. Maybe somebody forgot to tell them the strike was over and it was time to get back to work.

As we stood alone in the glassed area like rats in a cage, a nice French man noticed our situation and pointed us to an exit at the far end of the turnstiles. He motioned for us to push a button and move into what appeared to be a handicapped exit gate. I pushed the button and a set of Plexiglas doors opened and we stepped forward into the small space. Once we move forward the doors behind us slammed shut, it now appeared we were going to be trapped in an even smaller area… But the panic was only momentary, the guy pushed the button on the other side, freeing us from the maze and escaping a steep fine from the train authorities. We thanked him profusely and quickly made our way out of the station to hoping to avoid any more attention.

As we descended into Lisbon, Marc noticed a bridge over the Rio Tejo that looks like an exact replica of the Golden Gate Bridge. He turned to me and said, “I think this is going to be a cool city.”

We weaved our way through the hilly cobbled streets of the city; excited to explore a new city after being in familiar territory for the last two weeks. The famous pedestrian street, Augusta, was already lined with lights, bells and garland in anticipation of Christmas. We dodged locals as they zipped from shop to shop, stopped to listen to a trio playing mandolin, accordion and stand-up bass, paused to watch a few street performers attempting to make a couple Euros and finally made our way down to the Arco da Victoria and the waterfront.

When dinnertime came around we choose a local favorite, Uma, known for their rice and seafood soup. The dish was made to order as we heard the chef cracking crab, shucking oysters and cooking shrimp in the nearby kitchen as we snacked on some bread and local cheese. The boiling pot of rice and generous portions of shrimp and crab was brought to our table. We got to work digging through the seafood to find all the good stuff while enjoying the tangy flavor of the rice. The specialidad de casa combined the best flavors of Spanish Paella and Cioppino; however, the sauce didn’t have any saffron, had a slightly spicy tomato flavor and a delicate fish broth married the flavors. It was a lot of fun working our way through the rice to find the pieces of crab, muscle, salmon, oysters and shrimp.

Tomorrow we will try another local specialty—the mini custard pies.