I think as I was packing up this morning and thinking about the Lisbon blogs, I didn't really explain the city very well. Of course the photos gave a nice look into what we saw, but overall the city is as all big cities are...big, with beautiful spots, not so beautiful spots, Cartier and Prada stores as well as gypsies selling scarves or playing music on the streets for money. I think a lot of the action in this city happens while we are asleep ;) but the restaurants we went to were excellent and the people are very friendly. There is a statue in every square (and there are lot of squares) and the architecture is all over the place with very modern buildings and more traditional type architecture that I think they try pretty hard to preserve at least the facades. There have been a couple of really big earthquakes here...1700s and 1800s that took out quite a bit of history, but the enormous original aqueduct still stands. The sidewalks and pedestrian areas were all made from these small squares of stone. Everywhere! The thought of all the years and years spent on making these lovely walks simply amazed us. We obviously only got an overview of the city, just catching a glimpse of Lisbon because it is so big, but I'd say if you were in Portugal, it is a must see. Don't drive into it if you don't have to and taxis are everywhere and we never paid more than 7 Euros to go anywhere, including our trip from the Sheraton to the airport. Be sure to have plenty of Euros on you because many places do not take credit cards. Shopping options are plentiful, but it is either malls, fancy side street stores or jip joints, but it seemed like good souvenir shopping was a bit more difficult and we didn't come across any markets on the entire trip!
The Sheraton was in a pretty good spot, but it was a taxi ride to most sites you'd want to see. The Sheraton was quite posh and ultra modern. Like I said before, the bathroom was totally glassed in and even tho that was cool, the walls and carpet were dark and the lighting was poor. Even the hallways were dark and poorly lit, however the doors going into the rooms were covered in brown leather and the number to your room was lit on a fancy piece of glass. But after 4 nights I found it to be a bit too dark and closed in for my taste. Again, everyone was friendly and the concierge taught us how to say "thank you" and spelled it out for us on a piece of paper. Most of the Portuguese in the city spoke English, so when you've been speaking in English to them, but thanked them with the word "obrigado" they kinda laughed. But we found the word to be beautiful and fun to say, so we used it often. :)
Our fight from Lisbon to Charlotte was on US Airways and it was a 3 seat and 3 seat 757. Guy kinda dreaded the flight home that he'd be sitting next to Chatty Cathy or even worse, Stinky Stanley, but as luck would have it, the flight only had 60 passengers and there were tons of empty seats. It has been years since we have been on an overseas flight that wasn't packed like sardines. The guy a couple of rows ahead of us was a US Airline pilot heading back to the US with his family, so that was just enough reassurance for me to sleep like a baby in my medically induced coma for the entire trip. Very nice indeed.
In Charlotte we grabbed a cheeseburger and fries at Chili's restaurant and are now waiting for our flight to STL. Our plane just pulled up so I think this is were the Spain/Portugal blog ends. What a great experience we've had and all the prayers for safe and healthy travels were appreciated more than you know. God has truly blessed us to be able to experience such wonderful places and we are truly, truly grateful.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Day 16 - Lisbon, Portugal
Exhausted from yesterday, we started our morning slow and didn't head out until close to 11am. We walked to the Pastelaria Versailles (check out the photo of the inside of the place) to get some pastries for breakfast. This bakery has been here for over 100 years. There were a bunch of older men working the long counter. We got ours togo, but several people were inside and outside at tables enjoying a cup of coffee. We decided to find a bench under a tree and eat our goodies. They were fabulous except the ones that looked like mini donuts...those were even too sweet for me - and that is saying a lot! After these treats we headed toward the Hop on Hop off buses. On the way we passed another bakery and thought we may need a bus snack. We came upon the Pastelaria Sequeira, which had also been in business since 1902. They didn't speak English as well, but we did leave there with two fabulous little cheese sandwiches!
We made our way to the same Hop on Hop off bus company that we had been riding all over Spain. But in Portugal they didn't take a credit card. Several places in Lisbon didn't take credit cards. So luckily we've had enough Euros on us when we needed them, but there have been a few meals that we could have been in trouble! - So we get our tickets and begin today's adventure. We took the red line first (there is also a blue line). It went on for about an hour and a half, and at one point at the Marina we did actually hop off. The red line comes by every half hour and the blue line is every hour. So we made a mental note to ourselves not to hop off the blue line! We also hopped off by the train station and I got a Starbucks and we walked around a bit. We hopped back on and took it back to the main bus area where we hopped off and hopped right onto the blue line. We made about 4 stops and we decided since it was about 3pm we'd better get lunch. So we hopped off.
We walked around in a wonderful pedestrian area and looked at several restaurants. Guy chose Moma Bistrot. He was wanting to either have calamari or little fried mackerels. So today's special just happened to be little fried fishies. I got some photos to document his lunch, but he didn't eat the heads. He apologized to the waitress that he left the heads on the plate, but she said she is Portuguese and she does not eat the heads either. She didn't like eating the eyes and teeth she said. But she did love the tails because they were crunchy and delicious. So as we are waiting for the check, this adorable Indian family sits a few tables over. They had two little boys, one about 3 and one about 9months (he had maybe 4 or 6 teeth in the front if you moms out there can put an age to that description). The waitress had brought them menus (paper) and the baby began eating the menu. It was hilarious. He would take a bite and then spit it out. He was like blowing it out of his mouth. We were dying laughing, but the mom had him on her lap and she was laughing, too. I got up to go to the bathroom and when I came back, the menu was gone and the mom was covered in tiny pieces of paper. The little bugger was adorable with black hair and big brown eyes. Funny.....
So as we walked back to the bus pick up area we hopped onto the bus that came immediately. We are already seated when I asked Guy if it was the red or blue line. It was the red, so we hopped off! Remember we had earlier made a "note to self" to not hop off the blue bus because it ran hourly? Well we kinda forgot about that. So we seriously stood there and people watched for easily 40 minutes. When the blue line did come by we were ready to sit! So we rode the bus for well over an hour and we called it "the bus that went nowhere". Really, some of the areas we went were kinda sketchy and not really worthy of our limited tourist hours. It even went to the airport. Really? We decided that it was only to promote the Portuguese airline. The blue line also went onto the main roads (almost like an interstate) and when you are on top of the bus and it is open, that gets a bit scary going so fast. If in Lisbon, we don't recommend you take the blue route of the Hop on Hop off bus. In our opinion, your time is better spent in the area down by the marina or the square by the train station. We did hop off early because it was close by the hotel and it was a bit drizzly, so we went into a mall - the El Corte Ingles. It had everything you could ever need. A movie theater with 14 cinemas, a grocery store, clothes, electronics, gourmet foods, restaurants, souvenirs...the list goes on! After a quick look around we headed back to the hotel.
Once back to the hotel it is nearly 7:30. We are tired. So we Trip Advisored a place to eat. We contemplated going back to Limoncello, but decided from 2000 possible restaurants in the area, we should probably try a new place. We chose a bistro called Lateral. It is like 33rd out of 2000 places and it had a variety of options and was within walking distance to the hotel. We did catch a cab on the way there because it was raining and it cost less than 4 euros. I'm not sure the cab driver was too happy...but maybe he'll get us tomorrow when we have to go to the airport. :) The driver turned onto the street, but was heading in the wrong direction, so we just had him stop and we walked back less than one block to the restaurant. The staff was friendly and like we have recently become used to... they brought out an appetizer but don't tell you it cost 2.60 euros per person if you ate it. Guy read it on the menu. At least last night at Limoncello they did tell us there was a charge if we wanted to keep the appetizer. So we kept it and it was good - bread with a couple of hummus options and butter. Guy ordered a hamburger and I had a Caprese sandwich that had eggplant on it. Guy said his burger was good and he'd order it again. Mine was good, too, but I would not give it another go in the future. The potato wedges I had were good, but he had the fries and they were cold. They were skinny fries like Steak 'n Shake and they called them salted chips, so maybe they were supposed to be more like long skinny potato chips. We weren't sure. So at the end of the meal we ordered a chocolate mousse because people were giving it great reviews online. It was certainly delicious, but extremely rich! Almost like eating icing.
We walked back to the hotel because the rain had stopped and even though it was about 7 or 8 blocks, it was a nice walk. Back at the hotel I got the pictures from today downloaded, filled out some post cards and chatted with mom on the phone and Amanda via Viber. Even tho today's blog isn't really too detailed, the day was action packed and we got a lovely narrated tour of the city. The photos from today really tell the story of the bus tour and what we saw. Blessed again, the weather was gorgeous until the very end of our bus ride when the drizzle moved in. It already seems to be clearing off.
So now the packing begins...yikes. There is no way it will all fit into our bags and we didn't buy a little duffel bag or anything, so we'll see how it all goes in the morning and since our flight doesn't leave until noon, we figured we could make an emergency run to a shop for a bag if necessary. :) Good night from Lisbon. Looking forward to tomorrow night - sleeping in our own bed and seeing Nero.
We made our way to the same Hop on Hop off bus company that we had been riding all over Spain. But in Portugal they didn't take a credit card. Several places in Lisbon didn't take credit cards. So luckily we've had enough Euros on us when we needed them, but there have been a few meals that we could have been in trouble! - So we get our tickets and begin today's adventure. We took the red line first (there is also a blue line). It went on for about an hour and a half, and at one point at the Marina we did actually hop off. The red line comes by every half hour and the blue line is every hour. So we made a mental note to ourselves not to hop off the blue line! We also hopped off by the train station and I got a Starbucks and we walked around a bit. We hopped back on and took it back to the main bus area where we hopped off and hopped right onto the blue line. We made about 4 stops and we decided since it was about 3pm we'd better get lunch. So we hopped off.
We walked around in a wonderful pedestrian area and looked at several restaurants. Guy chose Moma Bistrot. He was wanting to either have calamari or little fried mackerels. So today's special just happened to be little fried fishies. I got some photos to document his lunch, but he didn't eat the heads. He apologized to the waitress that he left the heads on the plate, but she said she is Portuguese and she does not eat the heads either. She didn't like eating the eyes and teeth she said. But she did love the tails because they were crunchy and delicious. So as we are waiting for the check, this adorable Indian family sits a few tables over. They had two little boys, one about 3 and one about 9months (he had maybe 4 or 6 teeth in the front if you moms out there can put an age to that description). The waitress had brought them menus (paper) and the baby began eating the menu. It was hilarious. He would take a bite and then spit it out. He was like blowing it out of his mouth. We were dying laughing, but the mom had him on her lap and she was laughing, too. I got up to go to the bathroom and when I came back, the menu was gone and the mom was covered in tiny pieces of paper. The little bugger was adorable with black hair and big brown eyes. Funny.....
So as we walked back to the bus pick up area we hopped onto the bus that came immediately. We are already seated when I asked Guy if it was the red or blue line. It was the red, so we hopped off! Remember we had earlier made a "note to self" to not hop off the blue bus because it ran hourly? Well we kinda forgot about that. So we seriously stood there and people watched for easily 40 minutes. When the blue line did come by we were ready to sit! So we rode the bus for well over an hour and we called it "the bus that went nowhere". Really, some of the areas we went were kinda sketchy and not really worthy of our limited tourist hours. It even went to the airport. Really? We decided that it was only to promote the Portuguese airline. The blue line also went onto the main roads (almost like an interstate) and when you are on top of the bus and it is open, that gets a bit scary going so fast. If in Lisbon, we don't recommend you take the blue route of the Hop on Hop off bus. In our opinion, your time is better spent in the area down by the marina or the square by the train station. We did hop off early because it was close by the hotel and it was a bit drizzly, so we went into a mall - the El Corte Ingles. It had everything you could ever need. A movie theater with 14 cinemas, a grocery store, clothes, electronics, gourmet foods, restaurants, souvenirs...the list goes on! After a quick look around we headed back to the hotel.
Once back to the hotel it is nearly 7:30. We are tired. So we Trip Advisored a place to eat. We contemplated going back to Limoncello, but decided from 2000 possible restaurants in the area, we should probably try a new place. We chose a bistro called Lateral. It is like 33rd out of 2000 places and it had a variety of options and was within walking distance to the hotel. We did catch a cab on the way there because it was raining and it cost less than 4 euros. I'm not sure the cab driver was too happy...but maybe he'll get us tomorrow when we have to go to the airport. :) The driver turned onto the street, but was heading in the wrong direction, so we just had him stop and we walked back less than one block to the restaurant. The staff was friendly and like we have recently become used to... they brought out an appetizer but don't tell you it cost 2.60 euros per person if you ate it. Guy read it on the menu. At least last night at Limoncello they did tell us there was a charge if we wanted to keep the appetizer. So we kept it and it was good - bread with a couple of hummus options and butter. Guy ordered a hamburger and I had a Caprese sandwich that had eggplant on it. Guy said his burger was good and he'd order it again. Mine was good, too, but I would not give it another go in the future. The potato wedges I had were good, but he had the fries and they were cold. They were skinny fries like Steak 'n Shake and they called them salted chips, so maybe they were supposed to be more like long skinny potato chips. We weren't sure. So at the end of the meal we ordered a chocolate mousse because people were giving it great reviews online. It was certainly delicious, but extremely rich! Almost like eating icing.
We walked back to the hotel because the rain had stopped and even though it was about 7 or 8 blocks, it was a nice walk. Back at the hotel I got the pictures from today downloaded, filled out some post cards and chatted with mom on the phone and Amanda via Viber. Even tho today's blog isn't really too detailed, the day was action packed and we got a lovely narrated tour of the city. The photos from today really tell the story of the bus tour and what we saw. Blessed again, the weather was gorgeous until the very end of our bus ride when the drizzle moved in. It already seems to be clearing off.
So now the packing begins...yikes. There is no way it will all fit into our bags and we didn't buy a little duffel bag or anything, so we'll see how it all goes in the morning and since our flight doesn't leave until noon, we figured we could make an emergency run to a shop for a bag if necessary. :) Good night from Lisbon. Looking forward to tomorrow night - sleeping in our own bed and seeing Nero.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Day 15 - Sintra, Portugal
We headed for the train station around 10am. Trains left for Sintra every 15 minutes or so. It was like a commuter train and it was about a 40 minute ride, but it made 12 stops. So Sintra isn't that far away. We got our tickets (round trip only 9 euros for both of us) and headed for the train. We were all loaded and then someone from the station got on the train and said something in Portuguese. Not sure what it was, but everyone got off and started running to the next train. So what does a good tourist do? Follow the crowd! Apparently another train had pulled in behind our train and it had us blocked. On the ride to Sintra, there was no scenery really to speak of. Just a lot of city suburb views and a lot of graffiti.
We saw the Palace before we got to our stop. It is already breathtaking. From the station in Sintra we walked to the city center. We did just a bit of shopping and Guy investigated about a bus up to the Palace. We had read that you can walk, but you are mentally ill if you do. Ha ha. So we bought tickets for the bus and off we went. How this great big city sized bus made it around all these tiny tight switchbacks I have no idea, but Guy says they obviously can't put the newbie bus drivers on this route! When we got to the top, we bought our tickets for the Palace of Pena and the Moorish Castle. It was still an intense 15 minute walk up to the Palace from there. We walked slowly and when we got to near the top the photo ops began. What an amazing place. The Palace of Pena also has a large park surrounding it. Guy read online that it takes some people 4 days to see everything in Sintra. Anyhoo...here is what we saw in one day....starting with a bit of history about the Palace. In medieval times it was a 12th century chapel. In 1503 Convent of Our Lady of Pena was donated to the Order of the Hieronymites by the King Don Manuel I. In 1755 the Monastery suffers serious damage from a great earthquake and falls into decline. In 1838 the Monastery was purchased by Don Fernando II. In 1885 Don Fernando II dies and the property is left in his will to the Countess of Edia. In 1889 the state purchased the Palace and Park and in 1912 it was converted into a museum. Whew. The funny thing was when Guy and I were walking from the Palace, a guy said to his wife "I'll bet when they built this thing they said, someday this place will be a giant tourist trap". I don't think that is what they were thinking when they built it, but his comment was hilarious. Enjoy the photos. There are lots of them and similar shots, just different angles. This place was a photographer's dream.
From the Palace we walked through part of the Park. We had a map of it, but there was no way we could have covered the entire thing. So from the park we went to the Moorish Castle. It was a fort built around the 10th century by the Muslim people that occupied the area. It acted as a control tower for the Atlantic Coast (which you can see in some of today's photos) and the land to the north. It served as an outpost for the city of Lisbon. The 135 steps down to the beach the other day in Albufeira were childs play compared to the steps we walked today. The Moorish Castle has two sides. We hit the tallest section and our feet forced us to call it a day. We had some great photo ops from the top and a great view of the Palace. The sun was in the wrong spot in the sky to get a great photo of the Palace, but that is ok. The best shot of the Palace could really only be done from a helicopter. We took a bus back down to the city center where I shopped a bit and had a gelato (it was okay - but not real gelato). After a short break we walked back to the train station and caught the next train back to Lisbon. On the train, we both promptly fell asleep.
Attached to the gorgeous exterior of the train station (I'll try to get a picture of it tomorrow) is a Starbucks. I needed to get a "Portugal" mug and with that purchase we could get some free wifi to locate a place for dinner. We talked about coming back to the hotel for a nap first, but we both knew if we did that we'd be too tired to get back out and would eat some kind of pizza delivery. So Guy asked me what sounded good and I said "to be honest, a big plate of pasta". So we Trip Advisored Italian Restaurants and came across the Limoncello that was only .2 miles away. We pulled up the map on the iphone and we could see where we were and the pin of the restaurant. Not too far away. So I kept the phone on because I knew when we walked out of Starbucks and the wifi ended, the map would stay. It did, but the dot that showed where we were moved with us. I'm not sure how, but I was a bit paranoid and double checked that our cellular data was turned off, because if it were accidentally on - that would be costing us a fortune. It was off, but the dot moved with us all the way to the restaurant.
When we arrived, the employees and owner were eating. Guy asked if they were open yet and the guy said no, but for us to come on in and they'd give us some bread. Guy told them to enjoy their dinner and we'd be back. They told us about 30 minutes. So exhausted, I suggested we go across the street to the bar and have a Coke, just to get off our feet. But Guy wanted to explore the area a bit and we walked around. We stopped to watch some street performers dance and did some window shopping. We came across a mall and I found a pair of sandals that I bought. So it would have been cheaper for us to have gone across the street for a Coke! Ha ha.
Probably 45 minutes or so later we went back to the restaurant and the gentleman at the door said to go upstairs. The server, Jono, had reserved us the best seat in the house. He thanked us for being so understanding and he appreciated the fact that we actually returned. His English was impeccable and he was really talkative (all night) which was fun. They brought out a starter of olives, olive oil and tuna spread. He said the cost was 1.70 per person if we wanted it. Strange way to do things, but it worked and we kept it. We were going to order bruschetta, but since we kept this instead we only ordered our entrees. Guy got the Veal Scallopini Limone and I got spaghetti marinara. I know that is boring, but that is what I was craving. The food came out promptly and it was all delicious. For dessert we ordered Tiramisu and it, too, was fabulous. Maybe the best we've ever had. He brought us complimentary limoncello and we sipped it down. We can't tell you how wonderful this place was. Everyone was so nice and treated us very well. The service was outstanding and even the owner came by the table to ask if everything was good. ;) We told them we'd "like" them on Facebook. They'll be sure to get a good review from Guy on Trip Advisor as well. What a great way to end a really spectacular day.
Tomorrow we will do the city tour by Hop on Hop off bus. There are two routes that take an hour and a half each, so at least we get to sight see sitting down tomorrow. I'm afraid it may be too cold to sit up top, but I can tell you my jacket today was worth every euro!
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Day 14 - Lisbon, Portugal
Well this morning was bitter sweet. We again indulged in fabulous breakfast then walked out to the cliff's edge for one last long look at this amazing scenery. There were fishing boats, a sail boat and even a guy fishing of a kayak this morning. A beautiful, beautiful day. Even tho the area we stayed at may have not been the coolest little town in the area, the views from the hotel were second to none and we'd recommend it. So we said goodbye to the ocean and packed up and hit the road for Lisbon.
The two and a half hour trip was pretty easy. The Interstates were not that busy and the scenery was pretty awesome. At first there were pointy little "mountains" - about Tennessee mountain size, then it got very flat, then the rolling hills started again. The speed limit was 120 kph and I stayed right at that speed. However, other people were flying by me, some so fast it made our car shake. As we got into Lisbon it was HUGE! There were cruise ships and this bridge that almost looked as big as the San Francisco bridge. We went over it but I was concentrating on driving I didn't realize it was so big until we saw it later from a distance. We took a wrong turn, but we got back on track pretty quickly. The address for the Europcar for some reason wasn't going to where Guy had it marked on the map. So we instead came upon our hotel and pulled in. Guy checked us in while I sat in the car because I wasn't in a legal spot. When he came out we carried out stuff in and got into the elevator. For those of you who know me, you know I don't do elevators and heights well. The drive in was quite taxing and when I got in the tiny elevator to go to the 14th floor and the doors closed...I was done. I got to the room and looked out the window from 18 stories and decided I couldn't do it. So with great patience, Guy got us a room on the 2nd floor, which is really the 6th floor due to 4 floors of other things before the rooms begin. They showed me where the stairs were and even though it is in a service area of the hotel, I can use them when I want. We did have a room with a great view, but now it is just the parking lot. We won't be in here much...but still it makes me feel a little bad.
Now about the rooms. We are at the Sheraton in downtown Lisbon. The location seems pretty good and the lobby is very chic. The rooms have glass bathrooms, so if we so chose to, shower time could get pretty entertaining. But not being the exhibitionist types, Guy lowered the shades so we couldn't see in. The rooms are very dark but very very modern and cool. Great hotel.
After getting the car returned and settling in the room, we decided to head out for some sight seeing and chose a restaurant for dinner down by the Castle. It is cold and as the sun goes down things are going to get a bit uncomfortable. So we chatted with the hop on hop off bus lady and she said that everything is basically closed on Sundays except the Castle and the malls. Did someone say Mall? Girl needs a jacket! So to the mall we went. Guy got some McDonalds fries while I did some shopping. I finally settled on a cheap black windbreaker at a store that was like a Sports Authority. I needed something just to cut the wind and that could be shoved in the backpack. So success, and as we walked out the door I pulled the tags off and put that baby on! NICE!
We hopped a cab to the Castle and he took us right up to the top! We bought tickets and walked around for at least an hour, getting some great shots of the city from the top. There was a small area of ruins and we went through the museum to look at the artifacts they had found. It was built by the Moors in the mid 11th century. Alfanso Henriques booted the Moors out in 1147 and became the first king of Portugal. So there is a tidbit for you. So most of the shots today are of the Castle.
We exited the Castle and hopped a cab to the restaurant we chose for dinner. It is in the top 20 of over 2000 restaurants on Trip Advisor. I know by now you are probably getting tired of hearing about Trip Advisor...but it is really such a huge help, because without it, choosing a restaurant would basically be a crapshoot. The cabbie spoke great English and was hilarious. He told us about Portugal's Independence in 1974 and some of the country's politics. He pointed out important sights and told us that last night (the crowd in for the soccer match) was "Crazy my friends". So he let us off just before the restaurant as he couldn't drive down that street (pedestrians only). He told us how safe the city was and people walk around safely all hours of the night going to bars and discos. ;) He is from Lisbon and really loves it here. The people in Portugal have been super nice. When we stopped for gas for the rental car today, Guy was having some trouble and the man getting gas next to us came over to help him. He had to go inside to talk to them to just have them turn the pump on and to let us pay inside. He literally ran back out to start the pump for Guy. The majority of people here are just wonderful!
We ate dinner at the Leitaria A Camponeza. It is a little hole in the wall that only had 12 tables. Lucky for us, there was a two by the door and we were able to take it. There was only one waitress and she was a stern gal. Sometimes sharp with the customers and other times not. She was nice to us, but we got a "no chit chat...just order" feel from her and we were ready when she came to the table. I ordered veal and Guy ordered salmon. Guy had a view of the restaurant (mine was of outside) and he pointed out that some of the meat was coming out on big skewers and she was hanging it on a hooks at their tables. When I looked around, everyone had lanterns and hooks. We had no idea how ours was going to come out, but lucky for me...mine was on a skewer! It was hilarious. It just dangled over my plate and I just pulled it off as I needed more. It came with potatoes, rice and a salad. The meat I had was above and beyond our expectations. It was grilled, but had some kind of seasoning on it that was great but not too much. It was perfect. What a special treat to a very long and exhausting day! After our main course, I ordered a piece of cheesecake and it was lemon flavored, but just a hint...nothing tangy about it, just creamy and delicious. Guy got one bite, but he wasn't fast enough to get two bites. LOL. There are also lots of pictures from the restaurant as well. It was fun.
We were tired tonight and decided to catch a cab back to the hotel instead of walking around. It was nearly dark, but the night shots would have been pretty spectacular. We'll catch them another night. So good night from Lisbon - I'm sure it is going to be quite the adventure. I already have a good feel about the city. :) Tomorrow, the "must see" town of Sintra! Stay tuned!
The two and a half hour trip was pretty easy. The Interstates were not that busy and the scenery was pretty awesome. At first there were pointy little "mountains" - about Tennessee mountain size, then it got very flat, then the rolling hills started again. The speed limit was 120 kph and I stayed right at that speed. However, other people were flying by me, some so fast it made our car shake. As we got into Lisbon it was HUGE! There were cruise ships and this bridge that almost looked as big as the San Francisco bridge. We went over it but I was concentrating on driving I didn't realize it was so big until we saw it later from a distance. We took a wrong turn, but we got back on track pretty quickly. The address for the Europcar for some reason wasn't going to where Guy had it marked on the map. So we instead came upon our hotel and pulled in. Guy checked us in while I sat in the car because I wasn't in a legal spot. When he came out we carried out stuff in and got into the elevator. For those of you who know me, you know I don't do elevators and heights well. The drive in was quite taxing and when I got in the tiny elevator to go to the 14th floor and the doors closed...I was done. I got to the room and looked out the window from 18 stories and decided I couldn't do it. So with great patience, Guy got us a room on the 2nd floor, which is really the 6th floor due to 4 floors of other things before the rooms begin. They showed me where the stairs were and even though it is in a service area of the hotel, I can use them when I want. We did have a room with a great view, but now it is just the parking lot. We won't be in here much...but still it makes me feel a little bad.
Now about the rooms. We are at the Sheraton in downtown Lisbon. The location seems pretty good and the lobby is very chic. The rooms have glass bathrooms, so if we so chose to, shower time could get pretty entertaining. But not being the exhibitionist types, Guy lowered the shades so we couldn't see in. The rooms are very dark but very very modern and cool. Great hotel.
After getting the car returned and settling in the room, we decided to head out for some sight seeing and chose a restaurant for dinner down by the Castle. It is cold and as the sun goes down things are going to get a bit uncomfortable. So we chatted with the hop on hop off bus lady and she said that everything is basically closed on Sundays except the Castle and the malls. Did someone say Mall? Girl needs a jacket! So to the mall we went. Guy got some McDonalds fries while I did some shopping. I finally settled on a cheap black windbreaker at a store that was like a Sports Authority. I needed something just to cut the wind and that could be shoved in the backpack. So success, and as we walked out the door I pulled the tags off and put that baby on! NICE!
We hopped a cab to the Castle and he took us right up to the top! We bought tickets and walked around for at least an hour, getting some great shots of the city from the top. There was a small area of ruins and we went through the museum to look at the artifacts they had found. It was built by the Moors in the mid 11th century. Alfanso Henriques booted the Moors out in 1147 and became the first king of Portugal. So there is a tidbit for you. So most of the shots today are of the Castle.
We exited the Castle and hopped a cab to the restaurant we chose for dinner. It is in the top 20 of over 2000 restaurants on Trip Advisor. I know by now you are probably getting tired of hearing about Trip Advisor...but it is really such a huge help, because without it, choosing a restaurant would basically be a crapshoot. The cabbie spoke great English and was hilarious. He told us about Portugal's Independence in 1974 and some of the country's politics. He pointed out important sights and told us that last night (the crowd in for the soccer match) was "Crazy my friends". So he let us off just before the restaurant as he couldn't drive down that street (pedestrians only). He told us how safe the city was and people walk around safely all hours of the night going to bars and discos. ;) He is from Lisbon and really loves it here. The people in Portugal have been super nice. When we stopped for gas for the rental car today, Guy was having some trouble and the man getting gas next to us came over to help him. He had to go inside to talk to them to just have them turn the pump on and to let us pay inside. He literally ran back out to start the pump for Guy. The majority of people here are just wonderful!
We ate dinner at the Leitaria A Camponeza. It is a little hole in the wall that only had 12 tables. Lucky for us, there was a two by the door and we were able to take it. There was only one waitress and she was a stern gal. Sometimes sharp with the customers and other times not. She was nice to us, but we got a "no chit chat...just order" feel from her and we were ready when she came to the table. I ordered veal and Guy ordered salmon. Guy had a view of the restaurant (mine was of outside) and he pointed out that some of the meat was coming out on big skewers and she was hanging it on a hooks at their tables. When I looked around, everyone had lanterns and hooks. We had no idea how ours was going to come out, but lucky for me...mine was on a skewer! It was hilarious. It just dangled over my plate and I just pulled it off as I needed more. It came with potatoes, rice and a salad. The meat I had was above and beyond our expectations. It was grilled, but had some kind of seasoning on it that was great but not too much. It was perfect. What a special treat to a very long and exhausting day! After our main course, I ordered a piece of cheesecake and it was lemon flavored, but just a hint...nothing tangy about it, just creamy and delicious. Guy got one bite, but he wasn't fast enough to get two bites. LOL. There are also lots of pictures from the restaurant as well. It was fun.
We were tired tonight and decided to catch a cab back to the hotel instead of walking around. It was nearly dark, but the night shots would have been pretty spectacular. We'll catch them another night. So good night from Lisbon - I'm sure it is going to be quite the adventure. I already have a good feel about the city. :) Tomorrow, the "must see" town of Sintra! Stay tuned!
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Day 13 Albufeira, Portugal
I always copy and paste my blog into a document because they take so long to type and I fear them disappearing. Today I did not save it and guess what? My blog didn't save. I should have known when Picasa shut down while I was trying to load photos that something was wrong, but blogger.com is constantly autosaving and I've never had an issue... but lesson learned and so an hour of time is out the door and I'll begin again.....
We woke up to the most spectacular weather we've had so far. Not a cloud in the sky and the air finally feels warm. Again, breakfast is quite the spread and I basically had a repeat of delicious food items as yesterday. We sat out in the sun and it was just lovely. Before leaving, I snagged a few little packages of butter for our lunch, and the conversation turned to Grandma Gladys. We started telling our favorite stories about her and it wasn't long before we were both drying some misty eyes. Good memories...
We went back to the room before heading down to the little town around the corner from the hotel. It is walking distance and I think it is still the town of Olhos D' Agua, in the region of Albufeira, in the region of Algarve. Confused? Yeah, me too...but that's okay. As we walked down we stopped at a shop that made leather from cork. The items were lovely, but very expensive. We continued on around the corner and entered the little pedestrian area that dead ends at the ocean. It is lovely and most of the houses are white washed and it reminded us a little of the town of Oia in Greece. We walked along and visited some of the shops, picking up some post cards and a few gifts. Guy was already at the area where the little boats were and had watched a fisherman come in and unload his catch. As we walked around there were these adorable fishing huts all lined up together and I'm sure some pretty big fish tales have been told here. One man was repairing a net and the scene gave us a deja vu moment from past Italy trips. As we ventured along, we saw some people walking up some paths to the top of the small sea side cliffs and decided to check it out ourselves. Yes, we were careful, but it did warn you going up that the cliffs are unstable. We are really amazed at the terrain, but can't believe it isn't stone or rock, but appears to just be soil. How the cliffs don't erode, we aren't sure. Our hotel sits right near the edge of a pretty big cliff! Anyway, we walked all around and had some good photo ops.
We walked back to the hotel and put our swimsuits on. We only found two unoccupied chairs and we hopped in. It is the perfect day for sunbathing. Warm sunshine, but the cool breeze kept you from getting too hot. In the shade you cooled down in a hurry. Perfect. At about 1:30 my time, I text Emily to wish her a wonderful graduation day. I'm really sorry I'm missing it, but wanted her to know how proud I was of her. For the second time today, some tears were shed. Not 10 minutes later, Amanda text me that Mom and Dad were in her kitchen and they were all having coffee. I ran up to the room where the wifi was better and I could talk louder and we Facetimed for about 20 minutes. It was good to see them all in "real time" and they got to see the views from my balcony and a look at the room. I'm not homesick, but it was really nice to video chat. The lag time wasn't bad at all, which made it really nice. Back at the pool we hung out most of the afternoon and listened to our ipods. We ate a snack and decided to take a final walk on the beach. Down all 135 steps, we walked the beach for nearly an hour. We walked on the rocks and followed them around several bends. After quite a while, we ended up in the little town we were in this morning! We had asked the gal at the desk yesterday if you could get to the little town via a path, but she said no. We suppose that if it were high tide you actually wouldn't be able to go where we went. We decided to go back the way we came instead of walking through the town like this morning, because the sand and ocean path is much more fun.
I went to the front desk to ask them to make us a reservation tonight at the Castelo do Mar. Third time will no doubt be a charm, but we wanted to make sure we had a seat. The grump at the desk helped me out. Guy said yesterday he ran into his first grumpy person in Portugal. As I walked up I knew it was him before we even spoke. :) I showed him the restaurant's website I had pulled up on my phone and he called for the reservation. He was first speaking to them in Portuguese, then he started speaking in English. He gave them our name and we were set! After hanging up he asked me where the restaurant was. I told him by the Marina. He said it was odd because they didn't speak Portuguese and every local did. I asked what did they speak and he said "English". So the mystery continues....but that did make me go back to Trip Advisor and read the review again. All were outstanding and I felt confident it would be worth all this drama!
Back to the room, I blogged while Guy showered (yes, that blog is gone), but we were ready a bit early for dinner and headed out, giving ourselves time to find parking at the restaurant. When Guy walked in the restaurant, the owner (that he had begged last night for a seat) looked at him and said "Please tell me you have a reservation" because they were booked. Obviously we did and our table was waiting for us. It was already full and the views were beautiful. We didn't want to order an appetizer because we had heard about how good the desserts were, so we ordered entrees only. The owner came by and said "After all this you only ordered entrees?" We laughed and said that if we had to choose, we always opt for dessert. We told him about our hotel being surprised they didn't speak Portuguese. He was from South Africa and the other owner was a Brit I believe. We aren't sure what brought them to Portugal, but the locals are not too happy that "foreigners" run a business there and do not speak the language. Maybe that is why the other night at the hotel we stopped at for directions said they had never heard of them. They do not get much support from the community apparently. However it is 2014 and you don't need community support if you have an online following, which these guys do! Obviously, if they are rated as the #3 restaurant in the entire area on Trip Advisor and are booked most nights, they are going to do fine. The Internet has definitely changed how people do lots of things...but this is just an interesting example of the new era. He said they get many European snowbirds (Brits, Dutch) that come there for the winter and stay 3 to 6 months, so to only speak English hasn't been a problem for them. They have only been in business for two years, but this location has been a restaurant for years. At one time it had been the home of a local fisherman.
So as the dramatic soap opera of the Castelo do Mar unfolds ... let's talk food. I ordered Salmon over red pepper and chorizo risotto with salt and pepper squid. Guy ordered a steak with pickled onions and potatoes. By far, mine was the winner. Not only for the night, but this was the most delicious food I've had on the trip. I described it to Guy as "beautiful". I'm not the biggest salmon fan, but it got rave reviews on the Internet and I had ordered it because of what was UNDER the salmon. Guy enjoyed his steak, but again, I wished he had ordered what I had ordered. If I had not been in public, I would have licked the plate with my tongue...it was that good. The salmon was cooked perfectly and was not fishy tasting at all (a problem I often find with salmon). The risotto was creamy and delicious, with a wonderful balance between the red peppers and the chorizo. The squids were obviously hand breaded and cooked to perfection. There was only one problem...there wasn't enough of it! I told Guy he should just order the salmon, too, and we'd just take the steak to go! This meal was so amazing I almost shed my third tear of the day! If tonight wasn't our last night, I guarantee you we'd go back again tomorrow. Words just can't quite describe it. We both ordered dessert but wished we had ordered a starter to have tried some of the other eclectic foods they offered. I got the brownie with "clotted cream" and Guy ordered a strawberry and cream dessert. Both really delicious, but not even coming close to my entree. However, it was the perfect ending to the perfect meal.
So now that the mystery of this restaurant has unfolded and I have basically typed this blog twice, I bid Albufeira good night and tomorrow we head for the city of Lisbon. For those who follow soccer, every TV in Portugal is showing the big soccer match in Lisbon tonight between the two Madrid teams. I don't follow soccer, but trust me, I can hear yelling from the first floor all the way up to the room I'm blogging in. There is quite a buzz in the air. Let's just hope when we drive into the city tomorrow the traffic and crowds are gone!
We woke up to the most spectacular weather we've had so far. Not a cloud in the sky and the air finally feels warm. Again, breakfast is quite the spread and I basically had a repeat of delicious food items as yesterday. We sat out in the sun and it was just lovely. Before leaving, I snagged a few little packages of butter for our lunch, and the conversation turned to Grandma Gladys. We started telling our favorite stories about her and it wasn't long before we were both drying some misty eyes. Good memories...
We went back to the room before heading down to the little town around the corner from the hotel. It is walking distance and I think it is still the town of Olhos D' Agua, in the region of Albufeira, in the region of Algarve. Confused? Yeah, me too...but that's okay. As we walked down we stopped at a shop that made leather from cork. The items were lovely, but very expensive. We continued on around the corner and entered the little pedestrian area that dead ends at the ocean. It is lovely and most of the houses are white washed and it reminded us a little of the town of Oia in Greece. We walked along and visited some of the shops, picking up some post cards and a few gifts. Guy was already at the area where the little boats were and had watched a fisherman come in and unload his catch. As we walked around there were these adorable fishing huts all lined up together and I'm sure some pretty big fish tales have been told here. One man was repairing a net and the scene gave us a deja vu moment from past Italy trips. As we ventured along, we saw some people walking up some paths to the top of the small sea side cliffs and decided to check it out ourselves. Yes, we were careful, but it did warn you going up that the cliffs are unstable. We are really amazed at the terrain, but can't believe it isn't stone or rock, but appears to just be soil. How the cliffs don't erode, we aren't sure. Our hotel sits right near the edge of a pretty big cliff! Anyway, we walked all around and had some good photo ops.
We walked back to the hotel and put our swimsuits on. We only found two unoccupied chairs and we hopped in. It is the perfect day for sunbathing. Warm sunshine, but the cool breeze kept you from getting too hot. In the shade you cooled down in a hurry. Perfect. At about 1:30 my time, I text Emily to wish her a wonderful graduation day. I'm really sorry I'm missing it, but wanted her to know how proud I was of her. For the second time today, some tears were shed. Not 10 minutes later, Amanda text me that Mom and Dad were in her kitchen and they were all having coffee. I ran up to the room where the wifi was better and I could talk louder and we Facetimed for about 20 minutes. It was good to see them all in "real time" and they got to see the views from my balcony and a look at the room. I'm not homesick, but it was really nice to video chat. The lag time wasn't bad at all, which made it really nice. Back at the pool we hung out most of the afternoon and listened to our ipods. We ate a snack and decided to take a final walk on the beach. Down all 135 steps, we walked the beach for nearly an hour. We walked on the rocks and followed them around several bends. After quite a while, we ended up in the little town we were in this morning! We had asked the gal at the desk yesterday if you could get to the little town via a path, but she said no. We suppose that if it were high tide you actually wouldn't be able to go where we went. We decided to go back the way we came instead of walking through the town like this morning, because the sand and ocean path is much more fun.
I went to the front desk to ask them to make us a reservation tonight at the Castelo do Mar. Third time will no doubt be a charm, but we wanted to make sure we had a seat. The grump at the desk helped me out. Guy said yesterday he ran into his first grumpy person in Portugal. As I walked up I knew it was him before we even spoke. :) I showed him the restaurant's website I had pulled up on my phone and he called for the reservation. He was first speaking to them in Portuguese, then he started speaking in English. He gave them our name and we were set! After hanging up he asked me where the restaurant was. I told him by the Marina. He said it was odd because they didn't speak Portuguese and every local did. I asked what did they speak and he said "English". So the mystery continues....but that did make me go back to Trip Advisor and read the review again. All were outstanding and I felt confident it would be worth all this drama!
Back to the room, I blogged while Guy showered (yes, that blog is gone), but we were ready a bit early for dinner and headed out, giving ourselves time to find parking at the restaurant. When Guy walked in the restaurant, the owner (that he had begged last night for a seat) looked at him and said "Please tell me you have a reservation" because they were booked. Obviously we did and our table was waiting for us. It was already full and the views were beautiful. We didn't want to order an appetizer because we had heard about how good the desserts were, so we ordered entrees only. The owner came by and said "After all this you only ordered entrees?" We laughed and said that if we had to choose, we always opt for dessert. We told him about our hotel being surprised they didn't speak Portuguese. He was from South Africa and the other owner was a Brit I believe. We aren't sure what brought them to Portugal, but the locals are not too happy that "foreigners" run a business there and do not speak the language. Maybe that is why the other night at the hotel we stopped at for directions said they had never heard of them. They do not get much support from the community apparently. However it is 2014 and you don't need community support if you have an online following, which these guys do! Obviously, if they are rated as the #3 restaurant in the entire area on Trip Advisor and are booked most nights, they are going to do fine. The Internet has definitely changed how people do lots of things...but this is just an interesting example of the new era. He said they get many European snowbirds (Brits, Dutch) that come there for the winter and stay 3 to 6 months, so to only speak English hasn't been a problem for them. They have only been in business for two years, but this location has been a restaurant for years. At one time it had been the home of a local fisherman.
So as the dramatic soap opera of the Castelo do Mar unfolds ... let's talk food. I ordered Salmon over red pepper and chorizo risotto with salt and pepper squid. Guy ordered a steak with pickled onions and potatoes. By far, mine was the winner. Not only for the night, but this was the most delicious food I've had on the trip. I described it to Guy as "beautiful". I'm not the biggest salmon fan, but it got rave reviews on the Internet and I had ordered it because of what was UNDER the salmon. Guy enjoyed his steak, but again, I wished he had ordered what I had ordered. If I had not been in public, I would have licked the plate with my tongue...it was that good. The salmon was cooked perfectly and was not fishy tasting at all (a problem I often find with salmon). The risotto was creamy and delicious, with a wonderful balance between the red peppers and the chorizo. The squids were obviously hand breaded and cooked to perfection. There was only one problem...there wasn't enough of it! I told Guy he should just order the salmon, too, and we'd just take the steak to go! This meal was so amazing I almost shed my third tear of the day! If tonight wasn't our last night, I guarantee you we'd go back again tomorrow. Words just can't quite describe it. We both ordered dessert but wished we had ordered a starter to have tried some of the other eclectic foods they offered. I got the brownie with "clotted cream" and Guy ordered a strawberry and cream dessert. Both really delicious, but not even coming close to my entree. However, it was the perfect ending to the perfect meal.
So now that the mystery of this restaurant has unfolded and I have basically typed this blog twice, I bid Albufeira good night and tomorrow we head for the city of Lisbon. For those who follow soccer, every TV in Portugal is showing the big soccer match in Lisbon tonight between the two Madrid teams. I don't follow soccer, but trust me, I can hear yelling from the first floor all the way up to the room I'm blogging in. There is quite a buzz in the air. Let's just hope when we drive into the city tomorrow the traffic and crowds are gone!
Friday, May 23, 2014
Day 12 Albufeira, Portugal
This is the first hotel we've stayed at where breakfast IS included. We were down by 9:30 and it is a huge buffet. Now Guy and I are not big buffet-ers, but this was quite the spread. There was a section of fruit, one of just cheeses and jellies, one of just breads/rolls/pastries, then one of yogurts and cereals, and finally one of all hot stuff like eggs cooked several different ways, sautéed veggies, sausages, fried potatoes, bacon (limpy bacon is a no go for us) French toast, and crepes. So we loaded up and it was all delicious!
When we woke up this morning, there were just a few puffy clouds in the sky and the air finally felt a bit warm. By the time we finished breakfast it looked like it was going to rain! So we sat out on our balcony for a bit and looked at the weather channel. Supposedly no rain today, but the sky sure doesn't look that way. So we hopped in the car and went to the grocery store. We were there probably an hour just going up and down all the isles looking at all the foods. We got some bread for our lunch today in their bakery and come cokes, waters, and cookies. As we headed back we started looking for a restaurant for supper tonight that was supposed to be close. We drove around for a bit and couldn't find it. Seriously...what's the deal?
So back to the room we got the map out and googled some of the places we will see along our drive up to Lisbon to make sure we weren't missing anything major. There is one point called Sagres that is the most southern tip of Portugal that has huge cliffs going down to the ocean. The pictures look cool, but I think we have a mini version of it here. The thought is we'd skip side trips on the drive up to Lisbon to get there earlier in the day because from what we read there is quite a bit to see and one of our days will be taken up with a side trip to Sintra - which I'm super excited about. So food for thought.
We went down to sit in some chairs and the clouds are just socked in, so Guy went to go peek over and see if there were any available two person "love seats" down by the cliff's edge. Only one has a PRIMO spot in the sun and is alone in a corner. It gets swiped up pretty early in the day, but if the clouds were out, we may as well set in one of the other shaded cushiony chairs just to have the fabulous view. When he came back the primo chair was open! I guess the folks in it earlier in the day gave up on the sun. So we took our stuff down and enjoyed the view. Not too much time had passed and the sun started to pop in and out and then it was just OUT! We were finally getting some sun - and in the good chair! I came up after awhile to get some drinks and our food we bought for lunch. I brought it down to our fabulous spot and we had a picnic. I brought my cameras down, too, because it was a good day for some infrared shots. After we had plenty of sun, the clouds started to move back in, so we moved back in as well. I'm tellin' ya, when the sun isn't out, it is down right cold! The high today was only in the 60s. We packed for 80s and 90s. All in all, it was a great day.
So now for dinner...the agonizing decision on where to eat. Not being ones to give in, we decided to try again for the Castelo do Mar. We didn't have the hotel call again for a reservation just in case we couldn't find it again. We figured that even if we had to wait an hour, we would. So I downloaded the Google Earth app on my iPad and we located that sucker. Yep, last night we drove right by it. Now that we know what the building looks like from the Google Earth map, as we approached, we saw it right away. As we pulled up it was on a curve and there was no obvious place to park, so Guy ran inside to see what we do with the car. He was in there for some time and when he came out I could see this look on his face that I know well...for what ever reason, we wouldn't be eating there tonight. He got in and said even though he almost begged, a private party had booked the entire restaurant and he wouldn't let us even sit at the bar. Once again...DRAMA due to the Castelo do Mar. So the soap opera continues...because YES, we shall try again tomorrow night. We'll just have the hotel call for a reservation this time.
As we drove back to our town, we decided to try the seafood restaurant our hotel had suggested yesterday. Trip Advisor rated it pretty good, so we thought we'd give it a go. As we walked up, a guy with a guitar was singing really loud! The owner saw us and opened the door with a friendly greeting, which was nice. We are not sure how to describe this place. It smelt strongly of charcoal as you could see the fish being cooked on the open grill in the kitchen. It was dated and looked like it would have been in style about 20 or so years ago. We were greeted in English by our waiter and the menu was in several languages. We opted for a calamari starter and Guy ordered the grilled sea bass and I was going to try the grilled golden bream (local white fish). Before the food arrived, the guy singing had a partner and they were going around the restaurant singing to the tables and making them participate with tambourines and other instruments. I was asked to do the tambourine, but I politely declined. Yes, people, it was because I had already washed my hands and I didn't want to have to get up again! So there...the first step to facing your disorders is to admit to them.
When dinner arrived, our fish still had the heads on, but the insides were gone. The grilled smell was really nice and they had a salty charred flavor to them. Both fish tasted similar, but the sea bass was probably the best. Our side was a salad with boiled potatoes, carrots and green beans. The veggies were just barely warm and had no seasoning. So with a little salt and pepper, we ate everything but the salad. For dessert (which I forgot to get a picture of except for the last two bites) was the most interesting part of the meal. I told the waiter I wanted to try something local that I couldn't get anywhere else. He immediately pointed to the chocolate cake with ice cream. However it wasn't made with chocolate, but with carob. It grows on the trees locally and the pods look like big green beans. They dry up and turn black then they cook with them. He said that years ago people only fed them to the pigs and cows because there was so much of it around and it was edible. Then they discovered that when ground, it could be used as a chocolate substitute and is now shipped world-wide. It did have an interesting flavor that I think would satisfy my chocolate needs, but he suggested we take a bite of it with the ice cream to mix the flavors. It was very interesting. He brought the black pods over and showed us what it looked like. I took a picture.
We came back to the hotel and we are going to stay up for another 30 minutes because supposedly at 10:30 they are going to have flamenco dancers. We are laughing about the age of guests here at the hotel. Lots of aged Brits and Russians. They are pretty cute, but we are definitely youngsters here. At the hotel, it is a weird combination of a resort with stunning views, inside you have a simple yet lovely hotel, with a Vegas style buffet for breakfast and supper, and cheezy entertainment each evening in the bar - local singers, DJs, etc. that the older guests obviously love. The area we are in is a very popular tourist spot and has an aged Daytona feel, but again, don't forget about the stunning views. The local people are quite polite and seem more welcoming to tourists than I think I felt from the locals in Spain (except our hotels- they were very nice).
So not many pics today, and there were no flamenco dancers to be found...so it is movie night on the iPad and hoping for a sunny day tomrrow!
When we woke up this morning, there were just a few puffy clouds in the sky and the air finally felt a bit warm. By the time we finished breakfast it looked like it was going to rain! So we sat out on our balcony for a bit and looked at the weather channel. Supposedly no rain today, but the sky sure doesn't look that way. So we hopped in the car and went to the grocery store. We were there probably an hour just going up and down all the isles looking at all the foods. We got some bread for our lunch today in their bakery and come cokes, waters, and cookies. As we headed back we started looking for a restaurant for supper tonight that was supposed to be close. We drove around for a bit and couldn't find it. Seriously...what's the deal?
So back to the room we got the map out and googled some of the places we will see along our drive up to Lisbon to make sure we weren't missing anything major. There is one point called Sagres that is the most southern tip of Portugal that has huge cliffs going down to the ocean. The pictures look cool, but I think we have a mini version of it here. The thought is we'd skip side trips on the drive up to Lisbon to get there earlier in the day because from what we read there is quite a bit to see and one of our days will be taken up with a side trip to Sintra - which I'm super excited about. So food for thought.
We went down to sit in some chairs and the clouds are just socked in, so Guy went to go peek over and see if there were any available two person "love seats" down by the cliff's edge. Only one has a PRIMO spot in the sun and is alone in a corner. It gets swiped up pretty early in the day, but if the clouds were out, we may as well set in one of the other shaded cushiony chairs just to have the fabulous view. When he came back the primo chair was open! I guess the folks in it earlier in the day gave up on the sun. So we took our stuff down and enjoyed the view. Not too much time had passed and the sun started to pop in and out and then it was just OUT! We were finally getting some sun - and in the good chair! I came up after awhile to get some drinks and our food we bought for lunch. I brought it down to our fabulous spot and we had a picnic. I brought my cameras down, too, because it was a good day for some infrared shots. After we had plenty of sun, the clouds started to move back in, so we moved back in as well. I'm tellin' ya, when the sun isn't out, it is down right cold! The high today was only in the 60s. We packed for 80s and 90s. All in all, it was a great day.
So now for dinner...the agonizing decision on where to eat. Not being ones to give in, we decided to try again for the Castelo do Mar. We didn't have the hotel call again for a reservation just in case we couldn't find it again. We figured that even if we had to wait an hour, we would. So I downloaded the Google Earth app on my iPad and we located that sucker. Yep, last night we drove right by it. Now that we know what the building looks like from the Google Earth map, as we approached, we saw it right away. As we pulled up it was on a curve and there was no obvious place to park, so Guy ran inside to see what we do with the car. He was in there for some time and when he came out I could see this look on his face that I know well...for what ever reason, we wouldn't be eating there tonight. He got in and said even though he almost begged, a private party had booked the entire restaurant and he wouldn't let us even sit at the bar. Once again...DRAMA due to the Castelo do Mar. So the soap opera continues...because YES, we shall try again tomorrow night. We'll just have the hotel call for a reservation this time.
As we drove back to our town, we decided to try the seafood restaurant our hotel had suggested yesterday. Trip Advisor rated it pretty good, so we thought we'd give it a go. As we walked up, a guy with a guitar was singing really loud! The owner saw us and opened the door with a friendly greeting, which was nice. We are not sure how to describe this place. It smelt strongly of charcoal as you could see the fish being cooked on the open grill in the kitchen. It was dated and looked like it would have been in style about 20 or so years ago. We were greeted in English by our waiter and the menu was in several languages. We opted for a calamari starter and Guy ordered the grilled sea bass and I was going to try the grilled golden bream (local white fish). Before the food arrived, the guy singing had a partner and they were going around the restaurant singing to the tables and making them participate with tambourines and other instruments. I was asked to do the tambourine, but I politely declined. Yes, people, it was because I had already washed my hands and I didn't want to have to get up again! So there...the first step to facing your disorders is to admit to them.
When dinner arrived, our fish still had the heads on, but the insides were gone. The grilled smell was really nice and they had a salty charred flavor to them. Both fish tasted similar, but the sea bass was probably the best. Our side was a salad with boiled potatoes, carrots and green beans. The veggies were just barely warm and had no seasoning. So with a little salt and pepper, we ate everything but the salad. For dessert (which I forgot to get a picture of except for the last two bites) was the most interesting part of the meal. I told the waiter I wanted to try something local that I couldn't get anywhere else. He immediately pointed to the chocolate cake with ice cream. However it wasn't made with chocolate, but with carob. It grows on the trees locally and the pods look like big green beans. They dry up and turn black then they cook with them. He said that years ago people only fed them to the pigs and cows because there was so much of it around and it was edible. Then they discovered that when ground, it could be used as a chocolate substitute and is now shipped world-wide. It did have an interesting flavor that I think would satisfy my chocolate needs, but he suggested we take a bite of it with the ice cream to mix the flavors. It was very interesting. He brought the black pods over and showed us what it looked like. I took a picture.
We came back to the hotel and we are going to stay up for another 30 minutes because supposedly at 10:30 they are going to have flamenco dancers. We are laughing about the age of guests here at the hotel. Lots of aged Brits and Russians. They are pretty cute, but we are definitely youngsters here. At the hotel, it is a weird combination of a resort with stunning views, inside you have a simple yet lovely hotel, with a Vegas style buffet for breakfast and supper, and cheezy entertainment each evening in the bar - local singers, DJs, etc. that the older guests obviously love. The area we are in is a very popular tourist spot and has an aged Daytona feel, but again, don't forget about the stunning views. The local people are quite polite and seem more welcoming to tourists than I think I felt from the locals in Spain (except our hotels- they were very nice).
So not many pics today, and there were no flamenco dancers to be found...so it is movie night on the iPad and hoping for a sunny day tomrrow!
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Day 11 - Albufeira, Portugal
Yikes, we actually had to get up by an alarm clock today! We hated to say good bye to the nice folks at the Casa 1800, but sadly, yet excitedly we were out the door by 8:30 to get a cab to the bus station. When we arrived we went straight to our platform and waited for the bus. It was pretty full and some of the people had seat assignments on their tickets and others (like us) did not. The bus driver said the seat numbers don't really mean anything. Some people moved seats, but for the most part, nobody really cared where they sat. Several Americans and Canadians were on the bus with us. The trip from Seville to Faro, Portugal was about 2.5 hours. The scenery was a little different, but not exciting enough to help us keep our eyes open. The bus made a few stops and then arrived at Faro. From there we could have taken another bus to the airport to pick up our rental car, or we could have caught a cab. The cab sounded much easier, so Guy asked the cabbie how much and he said less than 10 Euros. Sounded good to us, so off we went! The ride couldn't have been more than 10 minutes and he dropped us off at the car rental area. For an old gentleman, his English was very good.
The car rental was the same ole same ole routine as usual, and the young man who showed us the car was great and spoke perfect English. The key fob fits into the middle dash board area and you press on the brake while pushing the on button. It took a little bit to figure out how everything worked, but FINALLY I get to drive an automatic in Europe, so I'm happy. Our Garmin wasn't playing along very well, so Guy did have the directions from the airport to the hotel printed out from Map Quest. The streets are not too confusing and we made it to the hotel quite easily. We later found out that the hotel won't be found on the Garmin because it is private property. Had we known that we would have typed in the Sheraton that is a few doors down!
Upon arrival our room wasn't ready, so we sat out by the pool and ate a sandwich from the poolside cafe. Even tho it was just basic pool food, it tasted good because we were starving! After lunch we walked around the property and I took a few photos. Our resort is on top of a cliff that overlooks the ocean. It is quite spectacular. Our room was ready, so we went on up and unloaded our things. The room is simple, but very clean and has a balcony that over looks the pool and ocean. Lovely! So we hooked up to wifi and I chatted via Viber with Amanda and it seems to be working well. After settling in, we walked down (135 steps - not that we were counting) to the road that led to the beach to check things out. It is really windy and pretty darn cold. We walked along the beach and picked up a few rocks, but we quickly found a spot on the sand that had a bit of a wind block and we enjoyed the ocean sounds and tried to avoid the goose bumps. Even the life guards were wearing long pants and sweatshirts with the hoods up! After about an hour, we headed back up to the hotel where we scoped out a place to sit and take in some sun. The pool area was packed and the yard area had two open chairs. Guy grabbed them while I ran up to put some shorts on and get some towels. At this hotel the sunbathers are...well, pretty much a lot of old folks. The lawn area had lots of chairs and umbrellas and I told Guy I expected to see them all in long dresses, holding parasols and playing croquet.. :)
We are going to have to Trip Advisor choose a place to eat tonight for supper since we have a car and can go anywhere. Guy searched for over an hour and talked to the front desk twice before making the final decision of the Castelo do Mar. It is rated #3 in all the area. So we got ready for dinner and had the front desk call for reservations and give us a map. The gal at the desk Map Quested it, but it was in Portuguese, so she just highlighted the map in yellow. We followed the map all the way down to the marina (took about 15 minutes) and then we drove around the tiny twisty little streets of this town for one hour. I'm not joking - one hour. We even asked some locals AND a cab driver who so kindly offered to let us follow him. We did and when he pulled over, we did as well. He said up the street, go left at the roundabout, then straight make a right and left. We offered to pay him but he refused and smiled a big friendly smile, gave the car a tap and a wave goodbye. That didn't help either. We KNOW we were in the right area, and how we were missing it we have no idea. We got on a street that was so narrow we weren't sure cars were supposed to go down it. So when it started getting dark, we decided to throw in the towel. Well, that was all good, but we now couldn't find our way out of the little town back to the main road. So Guy popped into a hotel and got directions out of the town. We just needed a bit of help because we'd been up and down every street, but seemed to be turned around. We quickly saw the way out once we made a few of the turns that she told him. I asked him if he happened to ask her where the restaurant was. He said "why yes I did...she has never heard of it". Sigh... a sign to head back to the hotel. Guy still wins the award for being great with directions and in the family is known as Christopher Columbus. Tonight was just too weird for words - for both of us.
Back at the hotel, it is now just before 10pm and it is dark. I lost my adventurousness about 45 minutes ago, so we asked about food in the hotel. There just happened to be an Italian restaurant that she promised was very good. It was called il Basilico. We ordered some bread and a cheese pizza with two cokes (neither one of us really had the energy to read the menu or make any kind of decisions). The food came out quickly and we weren't even really hungry. After finishing the pizza we treated ourselves to a brownie sundae and it was awesome. The staff in the hotel and the restaurant are very very friendly. Earlier today they gave us a map to walk to the grocery store, but we just don't have it in us tonight.
So tomorrow there won't be much to blog about. If the sun is out, we'll be at the pool all day. We'd go to the beach - you can even get a massage down there in a tent that has "massage" spray painted on it - #sketchy, but if it is as chilly and windy tomorrow, we'll need to use the trees from the hotel as windbreakers. Night for now and enjoy the photos of scenic Portugal.
The car rental was the same ole same ole routine as usual, and the young man who showed us the car was great and spoke perfect English. The key fob fits into the middle dash board area and you press on the brake while pushing the on button. It took a little bit to figure out how everything worked, but FINALLY I get to drive an automatic in Europe, so I'm happy. Our Garmin wasn't playing along very well, so Guy did have the directions from the airport to the hotel printed out from Map Quest. The streets are not too confusing and we made it to the hotel quite easily. We later found out that the hotel won't be found on the Garmin because it is private property. Had we known that we would have typed in the Sheraton that is a few doors down!
Upon arrival our room wasn't ready, so we sat out by the pool and ate a sandwich from the poolside cafe. Even tho it was just basic pool food, it tasted good because we were starving! After lunch we walked around the property and I took a few photos. Our resort is on top of a cliff that overlooks the ocean. It is quite spectacular. Our room was ready, so we went on up and unloaded our things. The room is simple, but very clean and has a balcony that over looks the pool and ocean. Lovely! So we hooked up to wifi and I chatted via Viber with Amanda and it seems to be working well. After settling in, we walked down (135 steps - not that we were counting) to the road that led to the beach to check things out. It is really windy and pretty darn cold. We walked along the beach and picked up a few rocks, but we quickly found a spot on the sand that had a bit of a wind block and we enjoyed the ocean sounds and tried to avoid the goose bumps. Even the life guards were wearing long pants and sweatshirts with the hoods up! After about an hour, we headed back up to the hotel where we scoped out a place to sit and take in some sun. The pool area was packed and the yard area had two open chairs. Guy grabbed them while I ran up to put some shorts on and get some towels. At this hotel the sunbathers are...well, pretty much a lot of old folks. The lawn area had lots of chairs and umbrellas and I told Guy I expected to see them all in long dresses, holding parasols and playing croquet.. :)
We are going to have to Trip Advisor choose a place to eat tonight for supper since we have a car and can go anywhere. Guy searched for over an hour and talked to the front desk twice before making the final decision of the Castelo do Mar. It is rated #3 in all the area. So we got ready for dinner and had the front desk call for reservations and give us a map. The gal at the desk Map Quested it, but it was in Portuguese, so she just highlighted the map in yellow. We followed the map all the way down to the marina (took about 15 minutes) and then we drove around the tiny twisty little streets of this town for one hour. I'm not joking - one hour. We even asked some locals AND a cab driver who so kindly offered to let us follow him. We did and when he pulled over, we did as well. He said up the street, go left at the roundabout, then straight make a right and left. We offered to pay him but he refused and smiled a big friendly smile, gave the car a tap and a wave goodbye. That didn't help either. We KNOW we were in the right area, and how we were missing it we have no idea. We got on a street that was so narrow we weren't sure cars were supposed to go down it. So when it started getting dark, we decided to throw in the towel. Well, that was all good, but we now couldn't find our way out of the little town back to the main road. So Guy popped into a hotel and got directions out of the town. We just needed a bit of help because we'd been up and down every street, but seemed to be turned around. We quickly saw the way out once we made a few of the turns that she told him. I asked him if he happened to ask her where the restaurant was. He said "why yes I did...she has never heard of it". Sigh... a sign to head back to the hotel. Guy still wins the award for being great with directions and in the family is known as Christopher Columbus. Tonight was just too weird for words - for both of us.
Back at the hotel, it is now just before 10pm and it is dark. I lost my adventurousness about 45 minutes ago, so we asked about food in the hotel. There just happened to be an Italian restaurant that she promised was very good. It was called il Basilico. We ordered some bread and a cheese pizza with two cokes (neither one of us really had the energy to read the menu or make any kind of decisions). The food came out quickly and we weren't even really hungry. After finishing the pizza we treated ourselves to a brownie sundae and it was awesome. The staff in the hotel and the restaurant are very very friendly. Earlier today they gave us a map to walk to the grocery store, but we just don't have it in us tonight.
So tomorrow there won't be much to blog about. If the sun is out, we'll be at the pool all day. We'd go to the beach - you can even get a massage down there in a tent that has "massage" spray painted on it - #sketchy, but if it is as chilly and windy tomorrow, we'll need to use the trees from the hotel as windbreakers. Night for now and enjoy the photos of scenic Portugal.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Day 10 - Seville
It rained during the night last night. It woke me and I wasn't sure if I was hearing water on in the bathroom or if it was rain. So Guy got up to look and it was raining. This morning the sun was popping in and out of clouds and again it is very windy, which makes the air feel cooler. My sweaters have come in useful and I would have packed more long sleeve items, but the weather channel had the 10 day forecast a bit hotter than it really ended up being. Guy got ready and headed out for pastries while I did my hair. This time I got a photo of the fabulous goodies and we split the pastries so we could try everything. De-lish. I'm laughing to myself because in "real life" my breakfast usually consists of a 90 calorie granola bar, some water, and if I've been a good girl, a Chai Latte at work. ;)
We headed out today in no rush because today is just a leisure shopping day and since we are packed so tightly we aren't buying much. However, you can't come to Spain and not bring back a few goodies! I think that is some kind of sin, or bad luck, or something! LOL. I did find a really cute pair of shoes, but for some reason I'm showing some unnatural form of restraint. Maybe something I ate last night. :) So we hit the shops we saw the other day going to the Mushroom. Some were really expensive and some were quite reasonable. We also headed to the area's department store. It was several floors of shopping with some of the usual mall brands such as Lancôme, Ralph Lauren, etc. I did hit the sale racks looking for a sweater that I could actually put on now, ha ha, but didn't really find anything. I hit all the floors and at the top (probably about 5 levels up) there was a gourmet foods area. I looked around and knew Guy would want to see it. So I went all the way back down and got him as he was already waiting at the meeting point. We went up and really explored all the goodies. Olive oils, wines, candy, a little butcher shop, and several little food areas including a gourmet hamburger area where you chose the gourmet patty and they'd cook it for you. They had different things mixed in the meat, making them all unique. One even had a smiley face on it - not sure what that was about. So we contemplated eating there as the rooftop terrace was quite swanky, but we decided to move on because who in Spain eats lunch at the mall? Would have made for a good blog story, tho! We may go back up and pick up a few goodies later, but we didn't want to carry too much around because we didn't think about bringing the backpack with us.
Side note: I'm typing this in the courtyard of our hotel and because it is High Tea, we are again sipping some warm drinks to knock the chill off. What I've failed to mention before is that at both of the 1800 hotels, they play the same music. It is a combination of an elevator type zen-jazz - if that is possible. Most of them are American songs with no words, just transformed. So if you were wondering if the Christmas song Silent Night could be transformed into zen-jazz, the answer is yes.
After walking around most of the shops, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch called the Dona Francisquita - we think. The reason we were not sure is because we where handed three menus, all with different names at the top. After mild confusion, tho packed with people, we decided this was probably not our choice for our big meal of the day. So we ordered some tapas and cokes. Our tapas were potatoes with cheese and bacon and a cheese and olive oil plate. The cheese was a harder cheese more like a Parmesan and was strong in taste but very good. However, it required some bread as an accompaniment. We were going to order this fabulous looking 3 chocolate dessert but it started sprinkling and Guy had goosebumps from the breezy air, so we headed back to the hotel until the dark cloud passed. A good chance to grab a warm drink, rest up, and blog. Checking Trip Advisor, this restaurant didn't do very well. I read the funny stories and was glad we only snacked there. It has no website, so it won't be listed on the right side-bar of the blog.
Ok...so Guy said he read somewhere that Christopher Columbus is buried right next door to us in the Seville Cathedral. Well...that is a pretty big deal! So after Googling it, apparently it is quite the mystery. A CNN article said DNA is showing that the body in Seville is indeed that of CC, but those in the Dominican Republic are saying the same about some bones there! The remains in Seville have a DNA match to his brother, Diego and his son, Hernando. It was said CC wanted to be buried in the Americas but after his death there were no cathedrals worthy of holding his remains. His bones have been moved around a lot since his death, so it is possible his remains may be in both places! Poor fella, but after telling Guy we needed to run over there and take a look (we were inside the Cathedral last night, but not apparently the part where CC is) he said it closed at 5pm. It is 5:13. *insert sad face here* but we'll check to see if they open again later tonight. If not, opportunity missed. And to add fuel the already controversial fire, the CNN article said that CC may have not been Italian! Blasphemy!
A bit of a rain cloud has kept us at the hotel. Guy is napping and I'm chatting with my sis via Viber. It's a free iPhone to iPhone app that we can talk, text and send pics for free so long as I'm in a wifi spot. It's been working beautifully. ;) Plus Facebook, work emails, and Instagram have filled my time nicely. However, I think it is time to wake Guy up for the rest of our shopping...I can't go out without him...because I will honest to goodness get lost in this city! #alwaystogether #nodirectionalskills
We headed out to do one last bit of shopping in Spain and we hit the dept. store again and the little guy's shop we found earlier today for some local olive oil. There is NO WAY our bags are going to close tomorrow for the bus trip to Portugal. Sigh....we'll figure it out and at least we'll be getting a car tomorrow and can load it all up. ;) We really haven't bought a whole lot, but when your bags are tight from the get go, there isn't much wiggle room for gifts. After this we headed back to the hotel to drop everything off before dinner. It is just before 9pm, so we still were able to hit all our shops before they closed. Even tho it rained today, it isn't humid at all. AND what I haven't mentioned before is the horrible dust that is always blowing around. Sometimes you'll see a mini dust storm coming toward you. There is no where to go to escape it. So you fell pretty cruddy at the end of the day.
Dinner was at the La Azotea on Santa Cruz. There are three of these restaurants in Seville and we went to the one just steps away from our hotel. Trip Advisor highly recommended them. When we got there, the tables were full and it was a bit too chilly to sit outside, so we sat at a side bar across from the main bar. We ordered and our food came out amazingly fast! First was rice paper with cheese and shrimp. It had a tomato sauce on top that sort of tasted like my sauce I make with cream. The inside was a cream cheese type of deliciousness with a shrimp. Had we known how good these were we would have ordered the bigger plate. Guy ordered the Cod and I order the house special eggs with veggies. It was basically an omelette with ham on top. This "ham" we have seen all over town. It is sliced off a giant pig leg that sits out on the counter and they shave it off like the Italians do their prosciutto. However the Italians do cut off the hoof. Not really appetizing to look at, but it certainly was delicious. I have pictures of all the food and a photo of the pig leg with the hoof on. :) He explained the desserts and I wasn't really sure of everything he said, but I heard the word chocolate and went for it. He said it would take about 10 minutes. This is code for "it is going to be REALLY good"! And it was. Like lava cake from home, but less cake and more lava. It was paired with vanilla ice cream and an orange puree. Amazing Amazing Amazing. La Azotea gets a big thumbs up.
Back at the hotel we are trying to organize our bags but will finish up in the morning. I'm out in the courtyard alone for some quiet to finish up the blog. The guy at the desk saw me and brought me over a bottle of water and a glass. This is a great hotel - hospitality, cleanliness, helpfulness, location - everything! The guy that brought me water just offered to ride to the parking garage with a couple that just arrived late from France. They were worn out from the trip and he is going to go with them since it is dark. Pretty awesome! We have an early 7am wake up call, so we'll try to get to bed early. We are on a sleep in late and stay up late schedule right now, but we can always nap on the bus! Sorry for typos or things that don't make sense. In a little more of a rush today. So tomorrow...Portugal, here we come!
We headed out today in no rush because today is just a leisure shopping day and since we are packed so tightly we aren't buying much. However, you can't come to Spain and not bring back a few goodies! I think that is some kind of sin, or bad luck, or something! LOL. I did find a really cute pair of shoes, but for some reason I'm showing some unnatural form of restraint. Maybe something I ate last night. :) So we hit the shops we saw the other day going to the Mushroom. Some were really expensive and some were quite reasonable. We also headed to the area's department store. It was several floors of shopping with some of the usual mall brands such as Lancôme, Ralph Lauren, etc. I did hit the sale racks looking for a sweater that I could actually put on now, ha ha, but didn't really find anything. I hit all the floors and at the top (probably about 5 levels up) there was a gourmet foods area. I looked around and knew Guy would want to see it. So I went all the way back down and got him as he was already waiting at the meeting point. We went up and really explored all the goodies. Olive oils, wines, candy, a little butcher shop, and several little food areas including a gourmet hamburger area where you chose the gourmet patty and they'd cook it for you. They had different things mixed in the meat, making them all unique. One even had a smiley face on it - not sure what that was about. So we contemplated eating there as the rooftop terrace was quite swanky, but we decided to move on because who in Spain eats lunch at the mall? Would have made for a good blog story, tho! We may go back up and pick up a few goodies later, but we didn't want to carry too much around because we didn't think about bringing the backpack with us.
Side note: I'm typing this in the courtyard of our hotel and because it is High Tea, we are again sipping some warm drinks to knock the chill off. What I've failed to mention before is that at both of the 1800 hotels, they play the same music. It is a combination of an elevator type zen-jazz - if that is possible. Most of them are American songs with no words, just transformed. So if you were wondering if the Christmas song Silent Night could be transformed into zen-jazz, the answer is yes.
After walking around most of the shops, we stopped at a restaurant for lunch called the Dona Francisquita - we think. The reason we were not sure is because we where handed three menus, all with different names at the top. After mild confusion, tho packed with people, we decided this was probably not our choice for our big meal of the day. So we ordered some tapas and cokes. Our tapas were potatoes with cheese and bacon and a cheese and olive oil plate. The cheese was a harder cheese more like a Parmesan and was strong in taste but very good. However, it required some bread as an accompaniment. We were going to order this fabulous looking 3 chocolate dessert but it started sprinkling and Guy had goosebumps from the breezy air, so we headed back to the hotel until the dark cloud passed. A good chance to grab a warm drink, rest up, and blog. Checking Trip Advisor, this restaurant didn't do very well. I read the funny stories and was glad we only snacked there. It has no website, so it won't be listed on the right side-bar of the blog.
Ok...so Guy said he read somewhere that Christopher Columbus is buried right next door to us in the Seville Cathedral. Well...that is a pretty big deal! So after Googling it, apparently it is quite the mystery. A CNN article said DNA is showing that the body in Seville is indeed that of CC, but those in the Dominican Republic are saying the same about some bones there! The remains in Seville have a DNA match to his brother, Diego and his son, Hernando. It was said CC wanted to be buried in the Americas but after his death there were no cathedrals worthy of holding his remains. His bones have been moved around a lot since his death, so it is possible his remains may be in both places! Poor fella, but after telling Guy we needed to run over there and take a look (we were inside the Cathedral last night, but not apparently the part where CC is) he said it closed at 5pm. It is 5:13. *insert sad face here* but we'll check to see if they open again later tonight. If not, opportunity missed. And to add fuel the already controversial fire, the CNN article said that CC may have not been Italian! Blasphemy!
A bit of a rain cloud has kept us at the hotel. Guy is napping and I'm chatting with my sis via Viber. It's a free iPhone to iPhone app that we can talk, text and send pics for free so long as I'm in a wifi spot. It's been working beautifully. ;) Plus Facebook, work emails, and Instagram have filled my time nicely. However, I think it is time to wake Guy up for the rest of our shopping...I can't go out without him...because I will honest to goodness get lost in this city! #alwaystogether #nodirectionalskills
We headed out to do one last bit of shopping in Spain and we hit the dept. store again and the little guy's shop we found earlier today for some local olive oil. There is NO WAY our bags are going to close tomorrow for the bus trip to Portugal. Sigh....we'll figure it out and at least we'll be getting a car tomorrow and can load it all up. ;) We really haven't bought a whole lot, but when your bags are tight from the get go, there isn't much wiggle room for gifts. After this we headed back to the hotel to drop everything off before dinner. It is just before 9pm, so we still were able to hit all our shops before they closed. Even tho it rained today, it isn't humid at all. AND what I haven't mentioned before is the horrible dust that is always blowing around. Sometimes you'll see a mini dust storm coming toward you. There is no where to go to escape it. So you fell pretty cruddy at the end of the day.
Dinner was at the La Azotea on Santa Cruz. There are three of these restaurants in Seville and we went to the one just steps away from our hotel. Trip Advisor highly recommended them. When we got there, the tables were full and it was a bit too chilly to sit outside, so we sat at a side bar across from the main bar. We ordered and our food came out amazingly fast! First was rice paper with cheese and shrimp. It had a tomato sauce on top that sort of tasted like my sauce I make with cream. The inside was a cream cheese type of deliciousness with a shrimp. Had we known how good these were we would have ordered the bigger plate. Guy ordered the Cod and I order the house special eggs with veggies. It was basically an omelette with ham on top. This "ham" we have seen all over town. It is sliced off a giant pig leg that sits out on the counter and they shave it off like the Italians do their prosciutto. However the Italians do cut off the hoof. Not really appetizing to look at, but it certainly was delicious. I have pictures of all the food and a photo of the pig leg with the hoof on. :) He explained the desserts and I wasn't really sure of everything he said, but I heard the word chocolate and went for it. He said it would take about 10 minutes. This is code for "it is going to be REALLY good"! And it was. Like lava cake from home, but less cake and more lava. It was paired with vanilla ice cream and an orange puree. Amazing Amazing Amazing. La Azotea gets a big thumbs up.
Back at the hotel we are trying to organize our bags but will finish up in the morning. I'm out in the courtyard alone for some quiet to finish up the blog. The guy at the desk saw me and brought me over a bottle of water and a glass. This is a great hotel - hospitality, cleanliness, helpfulness, location - everything! The guy that brought me water just offered to ride to the parking garage with a couple that just arrived late from France. They were worn out from the trip and he is going to go with them since it is dark. Pretty awesome! We have an early 7am wake up call, so we'll try to get to bed early. We are on a sleep in late and stay up late schedule right now, but we can always nap on the bus! Sorry for typos or things that don't make sense. In a little more of a rush today. So tomorrow...Portugal, here we come!
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Day 9 - Seville
As one should on vacation, we slept in a bit this morning and just grabbed some cookies from the room before heading out to explore the "Mushrooms". Sounds intriguing, eh? Well, the "Mushrooms" happens to be what the folks in Seville call the Plaza de la Encarnacion. It is the world's largest wooden structure. For as large and overwhelming as the structure is, the name they give it seems to be a bit demeaning. But if I were going to name it anything, it would be a pecan waffle- just sayin'. As they were building it they came across some ruins which are still underneath the structure all glassed in- so we viewed some of the beautiful mosaics they uncovered. You could go to the top and walk around, but we chose not to because today in Seville it must be grade school field trip day. ;) So after paying the appropriate amount of tourist respects to the site, we moved on to the Hop on Hop off bus because our ticket was good for 24 hours and we were using it like a cab to go to the other side of town. However, I did fail to mention on the walk from the hotel to the Mushrooms we walked through an area of shops that will require further investigation!
We took the bus to the beginning of the Park Maria Luisa and first saw a unique building called Costurero de la Reina- meaning Queens sewing room- which was only one of many structures created in the early 1900s for the Ibero-American Exposition. The exhibits were designed to show the social/economic progress and culture of Spain- here comes Wiki again:
The Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 was a world's fair held in Seville,Spain, from 9 May 1929 until 21 June 1930. Countries in attendance of the exposition included: Portugal, the United States, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile, the Republic of Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. Each Spanish region and each of the provinces of Andalusia were also represented. The purpose of the exposition was to improve relations between Spain and the countries in attendance, many of which were former Spanish colonies. The city of Seville had prepared for the Exposition over the course of 19 years. The exhibition buildings were constructed in MarÃa Luisa Park along the Guadalquivir River. A majority of the buildings were built to remain permanent after the closing of the exposition. Many of the foreign buildings, including the United States exhibition building, were to be used as consulates after the closing of the exhibits. By the opening of the exposition all of the buildings were complete, although many were no longer new. Not long before the opening of the Exposition, the Spanish government also began a modernization of the city in order to prepare for the expected crowds by erecting new hotels and widening the medieval streets to allow for the movement of automobiles.
We walked all through the lovely gardens of the Maria Luisa park and then came upon one of the most beautiful buildings we've seen so far, the Plaza de Espana. This, too, was constructed for the Exposition. The carved wood ceilings and tiled bridges were just a few of the beautiful details of this huge horseshoe shaped structure. It seems like every large building in Spain is called a "palace", but if anything rated the word palace, it is this one - but they just call it a plaza! I suppose it's because no one has ever lived there and its design was meant for it to be used for offices after the expo. Several movies were filmed at The Plaza de Espana such as Lawrence of Arabia, the Star Wars Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones where it was the exterior of the City of Theed on the Planet Naboo, and more recently the 2012 film The Dictator. We walked all around and took lots of photos. The day is overcast, so I'm not sure how good the pics will be, but it was definitely a worthy photo spot.
After our lovely visit to the park, we headed back to the hotel to unload our stuff and get some lunch. It is 3pm by now and our cookies are long gone. So as to not wonder around aimlessly looking for a place to eat, we just hopped back over to the Italian restaurant from last night for a pizza. Once there Guy ordered pizza with homemade sausage and I had pasta with marinara and buffalo mozzarella on it. We shared and both were really tasty. They closed their kitchen after the lunch rush (3:30ish) and so the waiter had time to visit with us for a bit. Same guy from last night. His English is really good because his father was from Seville but he grew up in Germany. He knows English, German, Spanish, Italian, and some French. Must be nice and I'm sure the owner of the restaurant loves him as most customers are probably tourists. As we got ready to pay, I realized I had left my purse at the hotel which had the credit card in it. Guy waited while I ran back over to hotel. Good thing it is just right across the street! Our dessert was a mini bag on M&Ms in the room and we headed for the rooftop for a nap (Guy) and blog time (me). The sun is in and out and when it is out it is hot. When it is in, you need a sweater! Funny. ;) Since it was High Tea, Guy warmed up with a hot chocolate and I had the orange and chocolate flavored tea.
We freshened up for dinner and headed out for some shopping. I hit a few places that I wanted to go back to, then we headed for the new shopping area we discovered today on the way to the Mushroom. Well, they must close at 9pm because no one was open. So we strolled around and starting looking for a restaurant we saw on Trip Advisor and the guy at the desk marked it on our map. We had to do quite a bit of winding, but we finally found it. It is called the La Brunilda, so we started looking for something that looked like Broomhilda. We are such non-Spanish speaking tourist geeks. But it worked and we found it - (they have a really fabulous logo btw). They were on a side street that looked abandoned, but I'm sure it is hopping during the day when all the gates are up and the shops are open. We got there after 9:30 and we had to wait. Once seated we ordered two Tapas, salted cod fritters and a mini burger. We got the fritters first and they were just a tiny bit cool in the middle. I ate one and a half and stopped. Guy finished off the remaining two, but they just needed to be in the fryer for just a few more minutes. Guy's mini burger came out and it looked beautiful. When he cut into it blood ran out. Even too rare for his taste. So he did send it back and apologized for not being specific on how he liked it. They waiter was very kind and definitely understood. They cooked it a bit longer and brought it back out - the same one because it was still cut in half. This time it was still too pink for me, but just right for Guy. So the table next to us had some kind of potatoes that looked yummy so I ordered them. Yummy indeed. They were fried halves of little new potatoes with the skins on. They were covered in a "spicy" tomato sauce and mayo. The spicy was not spicy, just what I would call zippy. It was great! This was plenty of food for us because we were not really that hungry anyway. It was just before 11pm when we left and people were still waiting outside. Crazy!
So maybe we'll get to bed tonight before 1am. ;) Tomorrow we've opted out of a side trip and we are going to do some shopping and see a few remaining sights. As one last note to finish out today's blog, I just want to say that texting/surfing and driving are prevalent here as well. Not only with regular drivers and cabbies, but even the guys driving the HORSE AND BUGGIES! I'm trying like everything to get a shot of this - my photo goal for tomorrow! LOL!
We took the bus to the beginning of the Park Maria Luisa and first saw a unique building called Costurero de la Reina- meaning Queens sewing room- which was only one of many structures created in the early 1900s for the Ibero-American Exposition. The exhibits were designed to show the social/economic progress and culture of Spain- here comes Wiki again:
The Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 was a world's fair held in Seville,Spain, from 9 May 1929 until 21 June 1930. Countries in attendance of the exposition included: Portugal, the United States, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Chile, the Republic of Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Ecuador. Each Spanish region and each of the provinces of Andalusia were also represented. The purpose of the exposition was to improve relations between Spain and the countries in attendance, many of which were former Spanish colonies. The city of Seville had prepared for the Exposition over the course of 19 years. The exhibition buildings were constructed in MarÃa Luisa Park along the Guadalquivir River. A majority of the buildings were built to remain permanent after the closing of the exposition. Many of the foreign buildings, including the United States exhibition building, were to be used as consulates after the closing of the exhibits. By the opening of the exposition all of the buildings were complete, although many were no longer new. Not long before the opening of the Exposition, the Spanish government also began a modernization of the city in order to prepare for the expected crowds by erecting new hotels and widening the medieval streets to allow for the movement of automobiles.
We walked all through the lovely gardens of the Maria Luisa park and then came upon one of the most beautiful buildings we've seen so far, the Plaza de Espana. This, too, was constructed for the Exposition. The carved wood ceilings and tiled bridges were just a few of the beautiful details of this huge horseshoe shaped structure. It seems like every large building in Spain is called a "palace", but if anything rated the word palace, it is this one - but they just call it a plaza! I suppose it's because no one has ever lived there and its design was meant for it to be used for offices after the expo. Several movies were filmed at The Plaza de Espana such as Lawrence of Arabia, the Star Wars Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones where it was the exterior of the City of Theed on the Planet Naboo, and more recently the 2012 film The Dictator. We walked all around and took lots of photos. The day is overcast, so I'm not sure how good the pics will be, but it was definitely a worthy photo spot.
We freshened up for dinner and headed out for some shopping. I hit a few places that I wanted to go back to, then we headed for the new shopping area we discovered today on the way to the Mushroom. Well, they must close at 9pm because no one was open. So we strolled around and starting looking for a restaurant we saw on Trip Advisor and the guy at the desk marked it on our map. We had to do quite a bit of winding, but we finally found it. It is called the La Brunilda, so we started looking for something that looked like Broomhilda. We are such non-Spanish speaking tourist geeks. But it worked and we found it - (they have a really fabulous logo btw). They were on a side street that looked abandoned, but I'm sure it is hopping during the day when all the gates are up and the shops are open. We got there after 9:30 and we had to wait. Once seated we ordered two Tapas, salted cod fritters and a mini burger. We got the fritters first and they were just a tiny bit cool in the middle. I ate one and a half and stopped. Guy finished off the remaining two, but they just needed to be in the fryer for just a few more minutes. Guy's mini burger came out and it looked beautiful. When he cut into it blood ran out. Even too rare for his taste. So he did send it back and apologized for not being specific on how he liked it. They waiter was very kind and definitely understood. They cooked it a bit longer and brought it back out - the same one because it was still cut in half. This time it was still too pink for me, but just right for Guy. So the table next to us had some kind of potatoes that looked yummy so I ordered them. Yummy indeed. They were fried halves of little new potatoes with the skins on. They were covered in a "spicy" tomato sauce and mayo. The spicy was not spicy, just what I would call zippy. It was great! This was plenty of food for us because we were not really that hungry anyway. It was just before 11pm when we left and people were still waiting outside. Crazy!
So maybe we'll get to bed tonight before 1am. ;) Tomorrow we've opted out of a side trip and we are going to do some shopping and see a few remaining sights. As one last note to finish out today's blog, I just want to say that texting/surfing and driving are prevalent here as well. Not only with regular drivers and cabbies, but even the guys driving the HORSE AND BUGGIES! I'm trying like everything to get a shot of this - my photo goal for tomorrow! LOL!
Monday, May 19, 2014
Day 8 - Seville
While I was getting ready this morning, Guy walked to get us some pastries from this fabulous bakery we spied out last night. I told him anything chocolate. He came back with 4 delicious looking options and the chocolate covered creme filled pastry was the closest he could come to my favorite from Mark's bakery. ;) I told Guy later I couldn't believe I forgot to take a picture of them because they were wrapped up so cute. He told me to take a picture of my stomach. I don't want to ruin any appetites, so we'll let that one go. As we walked out of the hotel there was quite the demonstration going on. We asked the lady at the desk what they were protesting and she said something about they were city workers, something about a big company, and she said "who knows what they are upset about today". The police followed them and later in the morning we came across them again, all at the palace gates. They even closed off the roads to let them do their thing. It was loud, but pretty innocent. We figured they let them do that peacefully instead of trying to stop them and it getting ugly. Apparently this was a frequent thing. While at the gates I took some video of them. As soon as I quit videoing, a giant fire cracker went off. It was really loud, but the police were everywhere and they didn't even flinch. So again, probably a regular thing.
Today is also laundry day. We walked to the Laundromat and there were two ladies inside. One spoke a little bit of English, so she told us we needed to put our laundry in the machine and they'd put it in the dryers for us. We hoped to get it all in one machine, but we had too much. So for 20 euros we'll be back on track with our laundry and may need to do only a piece or two in Portugal. She told us to either come back at 6pm or they close at 6pm, we aren't sure. After I put the clothes in, she dumped a big scoop of powder in and began the process. So I'm not sure if they are washing in hot or cold...all I know is they are washing. They only had two washers and two dryers that we saw out front, so lucky for us the other one was just finishing so we could get everything going at once. It looked like they were a dry cleaner as well, as lots of suits in plastic were hanging in the back. As we left (and had pre-paid) Guy asked if they took our name or anything. They did not, so hopefully our stuff is there when we return.
So while we were waiting on our clothes, we purchased tickets for the red (not green) Hop on Hop off bus and we hopped on! The ride was an hour and 20 minutes. It was a beautiful day, so again we sat on upper deck of the bus that was open. We entered a portion of Seville called Triana and one of the first things you saw was a statue of a young man that sailed with Columbus and was the first one on the ship to spot land and yelled "Land Ahoy". I thought "ahoy" was just something pirates said to their mateys- or maybe the real word got lost in translation. :) Anyhow, the boy was from that town. As the tour continued I snapped several photos and we had a nice time enjoying the sights of Seville. The streets are way too tiny toward the center of town for the big ole buses to go through, but we are easily hitting all that on foot. Two stops from the end, we happened to come by the bus station and purchasing our bus tickets to Faro, Portugal was on our list to do today! So we hopped off and went inside. It was a bit confusing because there were about 10 windows and they looked like different companies. So we talked to two different ladies and the second lady said all the windows were all the same. We chose to leave on the 9:30am bus and they look like comfy large motor coaches, so this will be just another exciting part of the adventure! She told us which platform to go to and we went over to scope it out. We saw it right away, so we should be good to go!
We walked down the road a bit and ended up at the river again, where we had walked yesterday. We were getting hungry and we knew we wanted to hit one of the restaurants we saw last night that had calamari. We found it right away - the Restaurant Almirante Almirantazgo. It took us a bit of time to get waited on, but it was worth it. You could either get the food as a Tapa, or as a large plate. We just went with the tapas. We ordered three items, eggplant with goat cheese and tortillas, calamari, and seafood paella. I really do think that presentation makes food taste better and by looking at the eggplant and goat cheese - it was a piece of art - I knew it had to be fabulous....and it WAS! Possibly my favorite thing so far on the trip. At first I thought it may be some kind of eggplant pate, but instead I think it was more like eggplant hummus. I licked it clean! Next came the calamari, then the paella. It was all delicious. Afterwards we tried out a new ice cream shop. I knew when she was dipping mine that I was going to be disappointed. It wasn't creamy, but instead it was crumbly. So if ice cream could be dry...this is what it tasted like. I took several bites, it was making a mess, so it met the trash can. Wasn't worth wasting the calories on - even when you are on vacation and aren't counting them.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped in a few shops and bought some T-shirts. We came back to the room and by now it is time to get the laundry. So Guy ventured off by himself while I sat and blogged from the inside courtyard. I was out on our back patio, but because it is in the shade and it is extremely windy today, I got a bit chilly and came in. The Internet is faster inside anyway. It took him no time and he was back carrying a large bag - obviously not folded. He said when he got there the lady handed him a bag and made him unload. When he arrived they were warm, but had obviously been sitting there for a bit due to all the wrinkles (we have no iron in the room). So I folded them and pressed them with my hands. Hey, no body knows us...to the Spanish we are just another pair of wrinkly tourists. Ha Ha. It looks like everything made it back except one sock didn't have a partner. It is probably in one of the bags.
We are thinking about taking a side trip because we think after tomorrow we will have covered the basics of Seville. Guy spoke to one of the ladies at the desk and she gave him several options. She said the easiest is to hop on the train to Cordoba and visit it. We did contemplate that when we were making our initial trip plans, but as we stopped at the Cordoba train station on the way in to Seville, it didn't seem like it was very appealing. However, it is apparently like Seville and the quaint areas are in the center, which we couldn't have seen from the train. So we are going to see what we get covered tomorrow and go from there. It is nice to have options. Our next destination from Seville is Portugal and our hotel is on the ocean. Those will be our relaxing beach days and our feet are looking forward to sand instead of cobblestones.
We freshened up and got ready for dinner, but it was 8:45 before we left the hotel. We are finally eating dinner at the same time as the locals! We wanted to go to the L'Oca Giuliva (Italian) for dinner and knew it was right around the corner from the hotel, but we stopped at the desk to ask which way to turn. They guy pointed out the door and we started laughing as it was right across the street. We went over to see about a table but they were full and we could either eat outside (too cold and breezy) or come back at 10pm. Since we slept in today and had a late lunch, we opted for the 10pm reservation. So for the next hour and 15 minutes we strolled around the back streets and I shopped the shops, picking up some earrings. We got a bit "lost" but came upon some really beautiful courtyards, one with a beautiful little garden and fountain - they had a few shops and restaurants surrounding them and were tucked away from the main stream of traffic. They didn't have near the customers as the main streets and we wondered how they stayed open. We came upon a grocery store and I popped in for some orange juice and more ham flavored ruffles for our bus trip to Portugal. We took our purchases back to the room because we still had about 15 minutes and they weren't ready for us yet. Promptly at 10pm we walked back over and our lovely table was ready! We ordered Caprese salad to share and I had a dish that was stuffed pasta with ricotta cheese and spinach with a bit of tomato sauce on top and Guy had spaghetti carbonara. There were three servers and they all played a role in the meal. One sat us and got our drinks, one took our food order, and the other brought our food out. The place was crazy busy even at 11pm and we wondered how the little 3 year old next to us was even still awake. We ordered Tiramisu for dessert to round out our fabulous dinner experience. The food was excellent but nothing over-the-top, however, the atmosphere of the darling restaurant and the service made it exceptional. Trip Advisor was once again on the money.
One last thing. When you look at today's photos and you see a photo of a random guy, it was because I was sitting at dinner and I told guy to look over his shoulder and tell me who the guy in the striped shirt looked like. Just as I was getting ready to tell him it was someone local from home, he turned to me and said "He looks like Mike Ward!". Yep!
We freshened up and got ready for dinner, but it was 8:45 before we left the hotel. We are finally eating dinner at the same time as the locals! We wanted to go to the L'Oca Giuliva (Italian) for dinner and knew it was right around the corner from the hotel, but we stopped at the desk to ask which way to turn. They guy pointed out the door and we started laughing as it was right across the street. We went over to see about a table but they were full and we could either eat outside (too cold and breezy) or come back at 10pm. Since we slept in today and had a late lunch, we opted for the 10pm reservation. So for the next hour and 15 minutes we strolled around the back streets and I shopped the shops, picking up some earrings. We got a bit "lost" but came upon some really beautiful courtyards, one with a beautiful little garden and fountain - they had a few shops and restaurants surrounding them and were tucked away from the main stream of traffic. They didn't have near the customers as the main streets and we wondered how they stayed open. We came upon a grocery store and I popped in for some orange juice and more ham flavored ruffles for our bus trip to Portugal. We took our purchases back to the room because we still had about 15 minutes and they weren't ready for us yet. Promptly at 10pm we walked back over and our lovely table was ready! We ordered Caprese salad to share and I had a dish that was stuffed pasta with ricotta cheese and spinach with a bit of tomato sauce on top and Guy had spaghetti carbonara. There were three servers and they all played a role in the meal. One sat us and got our drinks, one took our food order, and the other brought our food out. The place was crazy busy even at 11pm and we wondered how the little 3 year old next to us was even still awake. We ordered Tiramisu for dessert to round out our fabulous dinner experience. The food was excellent but nothing over-the-top, however, the atmosphere of the darling restaurant and the service made it exceptional. Trip Advisor was once again on the money.
One last thing. When you look at today's photos and you see a photo of a random guy, it was because I was sitting at dinner and I told guy to look over his shoulder and tell me who the guy in the striped shirt looked like. Just as I was getting ready to tell him it was someone local from home, he turned to me and said "He looks like Mike Ward!". Yep!
Sunday, May 18, 2014
Day 7 - Seville
This morning our alarm clock was actually an alarm clock - no kids. But there was a baby down there cooing and sounded like a hoot owl. :) We were up at 8am and we needed to get moving to catch the train to Seville (Sevilla if you are in Spain). We ate breakfast at the hotel and it was really good. The basics, but good. They had several types of cheese, ham, salami, rolls, croissants, donuts, cookies, eggs, hot dogs (not kidding), fruits and yogurts. We tried a little bit of everything, but the nicely toasted wheat bread with strawberry jelly hit the spot for me. I did have a little mini hot dog, just to see if it was something other than the obvious. It was not, but was only about an inch long...so none was wasted. After breakfast we packed our things (which is getting harder and harder to get those bags closed) and headed out to catch a cab for the train station. We arrived about 50 minutes early and we sat out in the sun because the morning air had a crispness to it that required either a sunny spot or a jacket.
The train ride was about 3.5 hours long and relatively uneventful. The view was of the countryside's dry ground with olive groves and the occasional white washed Spanish style home. The views were beginning to look the same and we needed some entertainment. The elderly couple next to us, who were in a heated card game and obviously still in love after 50+ years of marriage- so they told us-, provided several laughs and even tho they were not playing for money (that we saw), there had to have been something other than pride on the line for the winner. The gentleman was quite animated and after winning one game he whistled and then brushed his finger across the tip of his wife's nose. They were adorable - "The Notebook" came to mind. So since we had no cards, we decided to watch a short movie. It was supposed to be a comedy, but it was so weird it became funny. Some kind of dark art flick apparently. After the movie was over we snacked on some goodies we had in our backpack and awaited our arrival in Seville.
The train ended at our stop, so there was no rush to get off. We caught a cab to the hotel, but on the trip in to town and getting my first impressions, I'm trying to decide if I like it here or not. It is obviously huge and there is nothing appealing by the train station. As we entered the central part of town, it became very old style and the streets began to narrow, and narrow, and narrow. It is so huge and tight that I find it- so far- to be a terribly claustrophobic city. As we arrived at Hotel Casa 1800 (the sister hotel of the one we just came from in Granada) it has a unique front in a very central and busy part of town. Trip Advisor said it was perfectly located and it certainly seems to be. As we entered we were welcomed by Ana, the nice lady at the front desk, and we made chit chat about the Granada hotel. I commented that the chairs in the inner courtyard were just like the ones in Granada. She said we'd find most things to be similar. She checked us in and gave us the key to our room, which was bigger than the one in Granada, but it was tucked away in a dark corner and the windows had bars on them. I suddenly felt really closed in and had visions of a fire that I couldn't escape from (Dad, don't read that part to Mom). So Guy went down to ask if we could change rooms. I don't like to do that, but I didn't argue with him this time. So he came back and told me there was only one other room. It is MUCH smaller, but had its own private outdoor patio. SCORE! I think because of the size of the room Ana thought we wouldn't like it, but it is on the ground floor just off the courtyard and I was greatly appreciative for the move. This hotel also has a lovely rooftop deck for sunbathing, but with not much air moving and no pool, it would get hot in a hurry. Still a nice option if we choose to.
Ava also gave us a few recommendations for dinner, so we Trip Advisored them. All really good choices, but the La Bulla had a few comments that they were not friendly to Americans. It was her #1 pick tho. So we unpacked a few of our things and headed out for a walk to scout out the area and walk by the restaurant to see the menu (that was supposedly not translated into English). So off we went and let me say...it is HOT today. Wowzers. So we hit the shady sidewalks, walked past the HUGE Cathedral, and headed down to the river. On our way we stopped for some chips and a soda and sat on a bench by the river - btw, I had HAM flavored Ruffles! There are several sections of the town with several sights to see. So since we are here four nights, we are going to go section by section, but get an overview of the city from the hop on hop off bus in the morning. We passed the big arena where they do the bull fights, but you couldn't go in. Still, there were lots of vendors selling their goods outside, with a few tourists stopping to take a look. Not too far from the arena was the La Bulla, so we took a photo of the menu so we could come back and use my translator app on my iPhone to see what each item was. It is a Tapas restaurant, so we may give it a go tonight and hit a few of the other Trip Advisor recommended restaurants over the next few nights. One is an Italian restaurant, which sounds kinda good at this point. Maybe I'm longing for Italy just a little bit. ;)
When we got back to the hotel it was High Tea, so we got a few snacks and sat out on our little patio. Good move to take this room. This little area is really nice and guess what? The wifi is MUCH faster here! So we ate our snacks and translated the menu from the La Bulla. Sounds pretty good, but it is a good thing we are not picky eaters as the list is fairly limited and a bit out of the ordinary...duck, octopus, goat cheese, peppered tuna, and sticky rice with something that didn't translate. LOL. One item translated as "roasted prey with honey". Hmmm...what unlucky animal might that be? So at this point we have a plan and worst case it looked like one of the items translated to be a hamburger.
On another note, I forgot to mention that the world has redeemed itself after my experience last year with the cab driver in Rome that stole my leather coat. As we were in the Madrid train station on an escalator, a young guy behind me got my attention and in Spanish said something about my camera backpack. Well it just so happened that I stuck my iPad and iPhone in the front and forgot to zip it up. It was gaping open and basically he could have helped himself, but instead I got a break from a friendly stranger. --- And yet on one other note, remember the fabulous Spanish guy with the British accent at the front desk at hotel in Granada? His name is Francesco!
So off to dinner we went. We had the top 10 restaurants in this area of town written down and we ventured off to check them out. We only found one, but saw several good options. It is 8:30 and really no one has started eating dinner yet. We ended up at the LaBulla and decided to take Ana's advice and go in. There were two waiters. One translated everything in English and the other wouldn't or didn't speak English. He was a big gruff, so I imagine he was the one the folks on Trip Advisor were talking about. However our waiter, Sele, was excellent. We ordered 3 tapas. Goat cheese and salmon, mini steak burger, and pork tenderloin with honey. They were all excellent, especially the pork. We had three generous portions and only one was a bit too pink inside for my taste. Guy would have eaten it, but I wouldn't let him. ;) I told Guy I didn't have room for any icecream, but once we got to walking around I decided I had the room. We stopped at one of the ice cream shops we had seen earlier because I wanted to try one flavor that had a giant pastry on top. I did get it (pronounced it wrong but I was close... "milhojas" - I forgot the "L" when pronouncing it. Either way...she knew what I meant. It was good and tasted exactly like I thought it would, but next time I'll need something with chocolate! On the walk back to the hotel I took a few night time photos and there are people everywhere...you don't have to worry about walking down a dark alley alone...
Looking forward to a good night's sleep and to our exploration of the city tomorrow.
The train ride was about 3.5 hours long and relatively uneventful. The view was of the countryside's dry ground with olive groves and the occasional white washed Spanish style home. The views were beginning to look the same and we needed some entertainment. The elderly couple next to us, who were in a heated card game and obviously still in love after 50+ years of marriage- so they told us-, provided several laughs and even tho they were not playing for money (that we saw), there had to have been something other than pride on the line for the winner. The gentleman was quite animated and after winning one game he whistled and then brushed his finger across the tip of his wife's nose. They were adorable - "The Notebook" came to mind. So since we had no cards, we decided to watch a short movie. It was supposed to be a comedy, but it was so weird it became funny. Some kind of dark art flick apparently. After the movie was over we snacked on some goodies we had in our backpack and awaited our arrival in Seville.
The train ended at our stop, so there was no rush to get off. We caught a cab to the hotel, but on the trip in to town and getting my first impressions, I'm trying to decide if I like it here or not. It is obviously huge and there is nothing appealing by the train station. As we entered the central part of town, it became very old style and the streets began to narrow, and narrow, and narrow. It is so huge and tight that I find it- so far- to be a terribly claustrophobic city. As we arrived at Hotel Casa 1800 (the sister hotel of the one we just came from in Granada) it has a unique front in a very central and busy part of town. Trip Advisor said it was perfectly located and it certainly seems to be. As we entered we were welcomed by Ana, the nice lady at the front desk, and we made chit chat about the Granada hotel. I commented that the chairs in the inner courtyard were just like the ones in Granada. She said we'd find most things to be similar. She checked us in and gave us the key to our room, which was bigger than the one in Granada, but it was tucked away in a dark corner and the windows had bars on them. I suddenly felt really closed in and had visions of a fire that I couldn't escape from (Dad, don't read that part to Mom). So Guy went down to ask if we could change rooms. I don't like to do that, but I didn't argue with him this time. So he came back and told me there was only one other room. It is MUCH smaller, but had its own private outdoor patio. SCORE! I think because of the size of the room Ana thought we wouldn't like it, but it is on the ground floor just off the courtyard and I was greatly appreciative for the move. This hotel also has a lovely rooftop deck for sunbathing, but with not much air moving and no pool, it would get hot in a hurry. Still a nice option if we choose to.
Ava also gave us a few recommendations for dinner, so we Trip Advisored them. All really good choices, but the La Bulla had a few comments that they were not friendly to Americans. It was her #1 pick tho. So we unpacked a few of our things and headed out for a walk to scout out the area and walk by the restaurant to see the menu (that was supposedly not translated into English). So off we went and let me say...it is HOT today. Wowzers. So we hit the shady sidewalks, walked past the HUGE Cathedral, and headed down to the river. On our way we stopped for some chips and a soda and sat on a bench by the river - btw, I had HAM flavored Ruffles! There are several sections of the town with several sights to see. So since we are here four nights, we are going to go section by section, but get an overview of the city from the hop on hop off bus in the morning. We passed the big arena where they do the bull fights, but you couldn't go in. Still, there were lots of vendors selling their goods outside, with a few tourists stopping to take a look. Not too far from the arena was the La Bulla, so we took a photo of the menu so we could come back and use my translator app on my iPhone to see what each item was. It is a Tapas restaurant, so we may give it a go tonight and hit a few of the other Trip Advisor recommended restaurants over the next few nights. One is an Italian restaurant, which sounds kinda good at this point. Maybe I'm longing for Italy just a little bit. ;)
When we got back to the hotel it was High Tea, so we got a few snacks and sat out on our little patio. Good move to take this room. This little area is really nice and guess what? The wifi is MUCH faster here! So we ate our snacks and translated the menu from the La Bulla. Sounds pretty good, but it is a good thing we are not picky eaters as the list is fairly limited and a bit out of the ordinary...duck, octopus, goat cheese, peppered tuna, and sticky rice with something that didn't translate. LOL. One item translated as "roasted prey with honey". Hmmm...what unlucky animal might that be? So at this point we have a plan and worst case it looked like one of the items translated to be a hamburger.
On another note, I forgot to mention that the world has redeemed itself after my experience last year with the cab driver in Rome that stole my leather coat. As we were in the Madrid train station on an escalator, a young guy behind me got my attention and in Spanish said something about my camera backpack. Well it just so happened that I stuck my iPad and iPhone in the front and forgot to zip it up. It was gaping open and basically he could have helped himself, but instead I got a break from a friendly stranger. --- And yet on one other note, remember the fabulous Spanish guy with the British accent at the front desk at hotel in Granada? His name is Francesco!
So off to dinner we went. We had the top 10 restaurants in this area of town written down and we ventured off to check them out. We only found one, but saw several good options. It is 8:30 and really no one has started eating dinner yet. We ended up at the LaBulla and decided to take Ana's advice and go in. There were two waiters. One translated everything in English and the other wouldn't or didn't speak English. He was a big gruff, so I imagine he was the one the folks on Trip Advisor were talking about. However our waiter, Sele, was excellent. We ordered 3 tapas. Goat cheese and salmon, mini steak burger, and pork tenderloin with honey. They were all excellent, especially the pork. We had three generous portions and only one was a bit too pink inside for my taste. Guy would have eaten it, but I wouldn't let him. ;) I told Guy I didn't have room for any icecream, but once we got to walking around I decided I had the room. We stopped at one of the ice cream shops we had seen earlier because I wanted to try one flavor that had a giant pastry on top. I did get it (pronounced it wrong but I was close... "milhojas" - I forgot the "L" when pronouncing it. Either way...she knew what I meant. It was good and tasted exactly like I thought it would, but next time I'll need something with chocolate! On the walk back to the hotel I took a few night time photos and there are people everywhere...you don't have to worry about walking down a dark alley alone...
Looking forward to a good night's sleep and to our exploration of the city tomorrow.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Day 6 - Granada
This morning's alarm clock was two screaming kids in the courtyard, which our windows face. I thought at first I was dreaming about kids playing, but then I realized it was the to two curmudgeons from yesterday who had no idea what an "inside" voice is. But this wasn't like yesterday's loud talking, it was screaming. So good morning day 6. ;-) Guy hopped in the shower and I stayed in bed for a few more minutes of sleep because the shower sounds helped to drown out the kids. Guy went down for breakfast while I was getting ready, but when I peeked out the window he was just surfing and not eating. He said he wasn't interested in what they had out, but I think he was being nice and didn't want to eat without me. :) I choose sleeping in over eating breakfast.
We were having trouble getting train tickets for tomorrow. The train website starts out in English then the further you go in to buy your tickets it becomes all Spanish. So the young man at the front desk recommended we go down the street to the travel agency (we could have taken a cab down to the station and back, but we were trying to avoid that if possible). So we headed for the travel agency, but one store said they didn't do tickets on Saturday and Sunday and the other agency next door said their Internet was out. Sigh...so to plot our next strategy, we headed to the Carmela for lunch. The hotel recommended it again even tho they knew we'd been there before. Either they are in cahoots together or they are just the best place in town. So since we knew they were nice and the food was good, we grabbed a quick bite. I wanted the honey cheese bread like I had last night and Guy ordered scrambled eggs with ham and potatoes. When the food arrived Guys egg was actually sunny side up on top and the server took a spoon and fork and began smashing it all together - hence the "scrambled" we guessed. It was good but he said the potatoes were not very hot. This restaurant is on the corner of transients and beggars. Several people stopped by our table for money or to bum a cigarette (lucky for them, two fingers to the mouth is universal sign language for needing a smoke). Fortunately, when you say "no" they scamper away pretty quickly.
So after lunch we get back to the hotel and the young man (I need to learn his name) asked if we had any luck. After saying no, I headed up to the room to pack my bag for the Alhambra visit and Guy stayed downstairs. When I came down I was just in time to pay with the credit card as the young man got on the Internet and ordered them for us. He put all the info in and the credit card company wouldn't let him continue without calling the 800 number for verification - even tho Guy called the CC company before leaving home and told them we would be in Spain. He tried to just "continue" online, but when he did all the info was lost and he had to start from scratch. So we weren't the only one frustrated with getting train tickets. On the next try we called the 800 number and I had to talk to the Chase Visa people. They wanted my current address, where I lived before that, last 4 digits of my SS#, and ON and ON! She said "Are you in possession of the card right now?" Um....yes!!! She knew the process with the train tickets and verified the transaction, so now when the guy hit "continue" it worked. We appreciate the CC company being careful, but that was a bit ridiculous. We've been burning that card up here for a week, but when buying online it became a problem. Anyway - after all that..all is good!
I decided to not to haul all my photo equipment up the hill to the Alhambra and just took the basics today. I knew it would be a long day of walking and I'm on vacation, so that means I don't have to if I don't want to. ;) The walk up was indeed steep. We had to stop a few times just to take a break. When we got to the top we got in line to enter the portion of the Alhambra with all the detailed work on the walls and ceilings. We had to enter at 2pm and luckily we were on time. Once you go in, you can't go back in that day. A couple of the other areas were the same way. You had to show your tickets several times, but they only worked once. The bad thing was I didn't get to purchase the audio guide until I was past the first part with all the intricate detailed architecture, but when I did get my audio guide, I went back and listened to the first part. Here is a short Wiki description before I go on:
The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It was originally constructed as a small fortress in 889 and then largely ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid 11th century by the Moorish king Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Kingdom of Granada who built its current palace and walls, and later converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada. The Alhambra's Islamic palaces were built for the last Muslim emirs in Spain and its court of the Nasrid dynasty. After the Reconquista by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, some portions were used by Christian rulers. The Palace of Charles V, built by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1527, was inserted in the Alhambra within the Nasrid fortifications. After being allowed to fall into disrepair for centuries, the Alhambra was rediscovered in the 19th century by European scholars and travelers, with restorations commencing. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions, exhibiting the country's most significant and well known Islamic architecture, together with 16th-century and later Christian building and garden interventions. The Alhambra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the inspiration for many songs and stories.
We were having trouble getting train tickets for tomorrow. The train website starts out in English then the further you go in to buy your tickets it becomes all Spanish. So the young man at the front desk recommended we go down the street to the travel agency (we could have taken a cab down to the station and back, but we were trying to avoid that if possible). So we headed for the travel agency, but one store said they didn't do tickets on Saturday and Sunday and the other agency next door said their Internet was out. Sigh...so to plot our next strategy, we headed to the Carmela for lunch. The hotel recommended it again even tho they knew we'd been there before. Either they are in cahoots together or they are just the best place in town. So since we knew they were nice and the food was good, we grabbed a quick bite. I wanted the honey cheese bread like I had last night and Guy ordered scrambled eggs with ham and potatoes. When the food arrived Guys egg was actually sunny side up on top and the server took a spoon and fork and began smashing it all together - hence the "scrambled" we guessed. It was good but he said the potatoes were not very hot. This restaurant is on the corner of transients and beggars. Several people stopped by our table for money or to bum a cigarette (lucky for them, two fingers to the mouth is universal sign language for needing a smoke). Fortunately, when you say "no" they scamper away pretty quickly.
So after lunch we get back to the hotel and the young man (I need to learn his name) asked if we had any luck. After saying no, I headed up to the room to pack my bag for the Alhambra visit and Guy stayed downstairs. When I came down I was just in time to pay with the credit card as the young man got on the Internet and ordered them for us. He put all the info in and the credit card company wouldn't let him continue without calling the 800 number for verification - even tho Guy called the CC company before leaving home and told them we would be in Spain. He tried to just "continue" online, but when he did all the info was lost and he had to start from scratch. So we weren't the only one frustrated with getting train tickets. On the next try we called the 800 number and I had to talk to the Chase Visa people. They wanted my current address, where I lived before that, last 4 digits of my SS#, and ON and ON! She said "Are you in possession of the card right now?" Um....yes!!! She knew the process with the train tickets and verified the transaction, so now when the guy hit "continue" it worked. We appreciate the CC company being careful, but that was a bit ridiculous. We've been burning that card up here for a week, but when buying online it became a problem. Anyway - after all that..all is good!
I decided to not to haul all my photo equipment up the hill to the Alhambra and just took the basics today. I knew it would be a long day of walking and I'm on vacation, so that means I don't have to if I don't want to. ;) The walk up was indeed steep. We had to stop a few times just to take a break. When we got to the top we got in line to enter the portion of the Alhambra with all the detailed work on the walls and ceilings. We had to enter at 2pm and luckily we were on time. Once you go in, you can't go back in that day. A couple of the other areas were the same way. You had to show your tickets several times, but they only worked once. The bad thing was I didn't get to purchase the audio guide until I was past the first part with all the intricate detailed architecture, but when I did get my audio guide, I went back and listened to the first part. Here is a short Wiki description before I go on:
The Alhambra is a palace and fortress complex located in Granada, Andalusia, Spain. It was originally constructed as a small fortress in 889 and then largely ignored until its ruins were renovated and rebuilt in the mid 11th century by the Moorish king Mohammed ben Al-Ahmar of the Kingdom of Granada who built its current palace and walls, and later converted into a royal palace in 1333 by Yusuf I, Sultan of Granada. The Alhambra's Islamic palaces were built for the last Muslim emirs in Spain and its court of the Nasrid dynasty. After the Reconquista by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492, some portions were used by Christian rulers. The Palace of Charles V, built by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1527, was inserted in the Alhambra within the Nasrid fortifications. After being allowed to fall into disrepair for centuries, the Alhambra was rediscovered in the 19th century by European scholars and travelers, with restorations commencing. It is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions, exhibiting the country's most significant and well known Islamic architecture, together with 16th-century and later Christian building and garden interventions. The Alhambra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the inspiration for many songs and stories.
It is as beautiful as the Italian mosaics, but so very different. The walls and ceilings have intricate detail, some carved from wood, but mostly formed from plaster. They are continually restoring parts, but restoration consists of them filling cracks and cleaning. It is quite amazing to see and even though its last residents were Christian, this one particular part of the Alhambra is for the most part - and lucky for us - untouched from the original Muslim design. Others have conquered the Alhambra and transformed/added on - expressing their unique designs in their particular additions. As our cab driver in Madrid described it as being "awesome" - it truly was and has quite the history...which continues because some of the gardens and even an amphitheater were added as recently as the 1950s. I can see why it is a leading attraction in Spain. We are blessed to have been able to experience it, but in sharing our experience with you...photos and words just don't quite do it justice. That is for sure.
The walk down was easier that the walk up, but still if you slipped, you'd slide or roll for some time before coming to a stop. We hit a few shops on the way down and picked up a few things, then headed back to the hotel for a drink and a snack. Guy is taking a rest while I blog and grow old watching my photos S L O W L Y load on wifi here at the hotel. Not really complaining tho, it is free and we have access, so that is the main thing! So the photos from today don't have many comments on them as it is just our visit to the Alhambra. We even threw in a few "selfies" to verify we are official tourists!
Well we cancelled our dinner reservations and opted to stay in tonight. Guy is only feeling about 80% and neither of us were really too hungry, so it is probably a better to relax and not push it. So we'll choose one off the 5 movies I downloaded, eat the snacks I confiscated from "High Tea" time, and snuggle in for the night! ;-) - Tomorrow morning the train to Seville!
Well we cancelled our dinner reservations and opted to stay in tonight. Guy is only feeling about 80% and neither of us were really too hungry, so it is probably a better to relax and not push it. So we'll choose one off the 5 movies I downloaded, eat the snacks I confiscated from "High Tea" time, and snuggle in for the night! ;-) - Tomorrow morning the train to Seville!
Friday, May 16, 2014
Day 5 Granada
Up early to pack and catch the train, we caught a cab from the hotel even tho it was a really short ride. We apologized to our nice female cab driver, but with her impeccable English said "no problem, it's my job!" She was great and told us that Granda "was beautiful and the Alhambra was....how do you say? Awesome?". We laughed with her at the American description and thanked her for the ride. We knew the routine of the train station this time and we went straight for security and our gate. We must have been there pretty early, because the turtles weren't even out yet! ;-) We had about a 30 minute wait before boarding, so we people watched for a bit. Our train to Granada was not the fast train and it wasn't a fancy as the one yesterday, but was really clean.
Once we took off and I had the sun in my face, I got a bit sleepy so I snoozed off and on and watched the scenery. The ride was nice and every time I opened my eyes the scenery was a bit different the more south we went. But one thing never changed...olive groves...everywhere. Guy told me that Spain was the largest exporter of olive oil! Who knew? So about three hours into the trip the train had to pull over to the repair shop for a minute. They did tell us what was going on, but only in Spanish, so they didn't really tell US what was going on. But I heard the word momento and figured it wouldn't be too long. We pulled into an area where repair guys could have been below us, like a Jiffy Lube. Im thinking we didn't get an oil change, but whatever it was it didn't take long. Getting closer to our destination and getting kinda hungry, Guy ventured back to the snack car and came back with toasted ham and cheeses and cokes. It was actually pretty good. Upon arrival to Granada it was much bigger than I was expecting and was exceptionally busy. Really nothing too quaint about it, but it has a unique charm.
Arriving at the hotel, the cab driver dropped us off and pointed to a sign that had the name of our hotel on it with an arrow. Oh boy....so off we went with all our luggage in tow up a cobble stone street. Ahead is another sign with another arrow. Just when I started to think this might be quite the trek, there was the hotel. It is just off a main square and is super cute! Two young guys were working the desk and gave us lots of info. One of them sounded like he had a British accent, so as he was taking us to our room Guy asked him where he was from. He said "Granada". Guy said "your whole life?" He said yes, but explained he studied abroad in Liverpool, thus his English having a British accent to it. The center of the hotel has a charming courtyard that is open to the air. We are thinking they get near to zero rain here due to lack of grass and a huge dust tornado we saw off in a field today. As we headed to our room, it is very small but really different. The floor is like a Spanish tile, but the bathroom is marble. It has two windows and they both overlook the inner courtyard. I was excited about the hotel, so I hopped on the wifi and Facetime-ed Amanda to give her a view. She just had gotten to work, so Graham got to see it, too! We had a nice visit then we hung up to go explore the town.
Our first stop was to go to the "official" Alhambra store to get our tickets. Guy had purchased them a couple of months ago and he just stuck his credit card in a machine (the same one used to purchase the tickets online) and the tickets popped out. The nice lady at the shop gave us a map and walking instructions to the Alhambra. We can see it, but was wasn't sure the best way to get up to it...about a 20 minute walk from our hotel. As nice as the weather has been, it will be a beautiful walk I'm sure...even tho it is up a pretty good sized hill. So after our tickets were in hand, we walked around the town and browsed a few shops. We started looking for some place to eat and we forgot to Trip Advisor a lunch place, so we just looked around. We decided on one place that was packed and as we were waiting for a table, Guy checked out the menu and it was mostly fish and was pretty expensive. So we just decided to get a quick pizza and have a nice meal for supper. We chose a pizza place that was in an outdoor square and they served pasta as well. It was called Restaurante Gallio Pizzeria. So we ordered a pizza with ham, onions, and cheese and spaghetti vongole (with clams). Even tho the food was really good, the staff at the restaurant was not friendly at all and we seemed to be a bother to them, so we dined and dashed - a note of this will make it on Trip Advisor...
We walked around the town and we are seeing lots of souvenir shops with patterns and designs all starting to look the same. So they must be getting these designs from the Alhambra and knocking them off into souvenirs. We'll find out tomorrow, but I have a feeling I'll be buying some of them, I just want to see what this "awesome" place is all about first. ;-). We ventured back to the hotel and it happened to be High Tea. I was still stuffed from lunch, but Guy had a little salami and cheese sandwich on a tiny hardroll and some fruit. We shared an orange Fanta and enjoyed the courtyard. Most guests are Americans, so we could actually eaves drop on conversations for a change. LOL. Up to the room I was a bit sleepy and I crashed for a short nap while Guy surfed on my phone. Wifi is slow but for some reason the ipad wouldn't pick it up. I came down to the courtyard to write my blog and it finally picked up down here. I saw a guy on an ipad who earlier was speaking english, so I asked him if he could connect to his phone and ipad both. He said his wifi was actually better in his room and picked up on his phone much faster than his ipad. Then I noticed my ipad finally picked up on it. He asked where I was from and I said Illinois near St. Louis and he said they were from Wisconsin. It was nice to talk to someone from home.
Guy spoke with the gal at the desk about a place for dinner and she recommended a restaurant for Tapas (small plates) since we were not too hungry for dinner. She also made us a reservation for tomorrow night at a restaurant on the hill that is supposed to have a beautiful view of the city. Trip advisor rates it highly and the menu looks pretty tasty (already spying the scallops). So we decided to freshen up and head out to Carmela's, which was a Tapas bar and it was fantastic! It was off one of the squares just a bit, but we could see a beautiful fountain and there were lots of people out for the evening enjoying themselves. The weather is perfect. So we ordered two small plates, one of a bread with caramelized onions and cheese. I was tasting a worchestershire type sauce and Guy thought a bit of balsamic, but either way it was great! Then we ordered an egg and potato quiche. It was tasty but could have used some salt and pepper. We had fun people watching and a small group of three guys in orange were playing music on the corner. They have been all over town today as we've seen them several times. One of the guys from the group actually came by the tables for a tip. Unless he could break a $20US or take a credit card...he was out of luck with me...so he moved on.
The walk back to the hotel was lovely and at 10pm this town is definitely hopping! As we made our way back to the hotel, we popped into the occasional jip-joint. Guy has trouble finding Tshirts that only have a small logo on them -usually they are pretty gaudy- so the search continues! The wifi is free here at Hotel Casa 1800, but it is REALLY slow. I'll get the pictures up eventually, they are loading one by one. ;-) Night all! P.S. Yes, I did have some ice cream today. It was not gelato, but pretty darn close!
Once we took off and I had the sun in my face, I got a bit sleepy so I snoozed off and on and watched the scenery. The ride was nice and every time I opened my eyes the scenery was a bit different the more south we went. But one thing never changed...olive groves...everywhere. Guy told me that Spain was the largest exporter of olive oil! Who knew? So about three hours into the trip the train had to pull over to the repair shop for a minute. They did tell us what was going on, but only in Spanish, so they didn't really tell US what was going on. But I heard the word momento and figured it wouldn't be too long. We pulled into an area where repair guys could have been below us, like a Jiffy Lube. Im thinking we didn't get an oil change, but whatever it was it didn't take long. Getting closer to our destination and getting kinda hungry, Guy ventured back to the snack car and came back with toasted ham and cheeses and cokes. It was actually pretty good. Upon arrival to Granada it was much bigger than I was expecting and was exceptionally busy. Really nothing too quaint about it, but it has a unique charm.
Arriving at the hotel, the cab driver dropped us off and pointed to a sign that had the name of our hotel on it with an arrow. Oh boy....so off we went with all our luggage in tow up a cobble stone street. Ahead is another sign with another arrow. Just when I started to think this might be quite the trek, there was the hotel. It is just off a main square and is super cute! Two young guys were working the desk and gave us lots of info. One of them sounded like he had a British accent, so as he was taking us to our room Guy asked him where he was from. He said "Granada". Guy said "your whole life?" He said yes, but explained he studied abroad in Liverpool, thus his English having a British accent to it. The center of the hotel has a charming courtyard that is open to the air. We are thinking they get near to zero rain here due to lack of grass and a huge dust tornado we saw off in a field today. As we headed to our room, it is very small but really different. The floor is like a Spanish tile, but the bathroom is marble. It has two windows and they both overlook the inner courtyard. I was excited about the hotel, so I hopped on the wifi and Facetime-ed Amanda to give her a view. She just had gotten to work, so Graham got to see it, too! We had a nice visit then we hung up to go explore the town.
Our first stop was to go to the "official" Alhambra store to get our tickets. Guy had purchased them a couple of months ago and he just stuck his credit card in a machine (the same one used to purchase the tickets online) and the tickets popped out. The nice lady at the shop gave us a map and walking instructions to the Alhambra. We can see it, but was wasn't sure the best way to get up to it...about a 20 minute walk from our hotel. As nice as the weather has been, it will be a beautiful walk I'm sure...even tho it is up a pretty good sized hill. So after our tickets were in hand, we walked around the town and browsed a few shops. We started looking for some place to eat and we forgot to Trip Advisor a lunch place, so we just looked around. We decided on one place that was packed and as we were waiting for a table, Guy checked out the menu and it was mostly fish and was pretty expensive. So we just decided to get a quick pizza and have a nice meal for supper. We chose a pizza place that was in an outdoor square and they served pasta as well. It was called Restaurante Gallio Pizzeria. So we ordered a pizza with ham, onions, and cheese and spaghetti vongole (with clams). Even tho the food was really good, the staff at the restaurant was not friendly at all and we seemed to be a bother to them, so we dined and dashed - a note of this will make it on Trip Advisor...
We walked around the town and we are seeing lots of souvenir shops with patterns and designs all starting to look the same. So they must be getting these designs from the Alhambra and knocking them off into souvenirs. We'll find out tomorrow, but I have a feeling I'll be buying some of them, I just want to see what this "awesome" place is all about first. ;-). We ventured back to the hotel and it happened to be High Tea. I was still stuffed from lunch, but Guy had a little salami and cheese sandwich on a tiny hardroll and some fruit. We shared an orange Fanta and enjoyed the courtyard. Most guests are Americans, so we could actually eaves drop on conversations for a change. LOL. Up to the room I was a bit sleepy and I crashed for a short nap while Guy surfed on my phone. Wifi is slow but for some reason the ipad wouldn't pick it up. I came down to the courtyard to write my blog and it finally picked up down here. I saw a guy on an ipad who earlier was speaking english, so I asked him if he could connect to his phone and ipad both. He said his wifi was actually better in his room and picked up on his phone much faster than his ipad. Then I noticed my ipad finally picked up on it. He asked where I was from and I said Illinois near St. Louis and he said they were from Wisconsin. It was nice to talk to someone from home.
Guy spoke with the gal at the desk about a place for dinner and she recommended a restaurant for Tapas (small plates) since we were not too hungry for dinner. She also made us a reservation for tomorrow night at a restaurant on the hill that is supposed to have a beautiful view of the city. Trip advisor rates it highly and the menu looks pretty tasty (already spying the scallops). So we decided to freshen up and head out to Carmela's, which was a Tapas bar and it was fantastic! It was off one of the squares just a bit, but we could see a beautiful fountain and there were lots of people out for the evening enjoying themselves. The weather is perfect. So we ordered two small plates, one of a bread with caramelized onions and cheese. I was tasting a worchestershire type sauce and Guy thought a bit of balsamic, but either way it was great! Then we ordered an egg and potato quiche. It was tasty but could have used some salt and pepper. We had fun people watching and a small group of three guys in orange were playing music on the corner. They have been all over town today as we've seen them several times. One of the guys from the group actually came by the tables for a tip. Unless he could break a $20US or take a credit card...he was out of luck with me...so he moved on.
The walk back to the hotel was lovely and at 10pm this town is definitely hopping! As we made our way back to the hotel, we popped into the occasional jip-joint. Guy has trouble finding Tshirts that only have a small logo on them -usually they are pretty gaudy- so the search continues! The wifi is free here at Hotel Casa 1800, but it is REALLY slow. I'll get the pictures up eventually, they are loading one by one. ;-) Night all! P.S. Yes, I did have some ice cream today. It was not gelato, but pretty darn close!
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