Days 16 & 17: Headed west and exploring town

Day 16
Bolstered by the success of our trip to Sintra, Sarah and I figured it was time to explore farther afield that the Lisbon city limits. So, I went online and rented us a car for the day with the idea that we'd head back toward Sintra, but check out some of the outlying sights we'd missed.

If this trip has taught me one thing its that I've gotten fussy enough that, when push comes to shove, I'd rather have my own vehicle and control my own itinerary, rather than be beholden to the schedules of public transportation. Hoping on a subway to ride a couple stops down is one thing, but navigating the queue, waits and confusing tickets for an hour train ride is another.

Anyhow, we awoke "early" by our standards on this trip, loaded our bags and hiked down the hill to the car rental. Getting the car was simple enough and -all things considered- navigating our way out of the city wasn't that bad either. We rapidly discovered that, while the narrow streets of the old town may we crowded and confusing, once you got outside of downtown, the highways and country roads of Portugal were smooth, coherent and blessedly clear of cars.

So, in no time we were nearing the coast, and entering Sintra-Cascais Natural Park, our destination: Cabo de Roca... the westernmost point in continental Europe. This was something that had been on Sarah's list since the beginning, but which I was also keen to check out. We'd already been to the northwesternmost point of the continental United States and the southern tip of Africa (I've also been to the southeasternmost point of the US), so it sounded good to check another extreme region off our list.

As we wound our way toward Cabo de Roca, more and more motorcycle seemed to roar past us, lane-slipping and passing us with increasing regularity. As we neared the lighthouse on the point of Cabo de Roca, it became apparent that some sort of motorcycle rally or meet up was happening, and literally hundreds of motorcycles filled the parking lot. But, as impressive as their sheer numbers were, the stark and cloudy cliffs of Cabo de Roca were even more impressive.

Sarah and Stella... as far west as you can go in Europe, without falling all the cliffs behind them.

Sarah's commented that, as much as she understands the appeal of a good sunny beach, she prefers the stark isolation of a windswept coastline, and I have to admit that I generally agree. The point itself had an obligatory snack bar and stone cross demarking it, but the most stunning part were the sheer cliffs plunging down to the sea below and the sense of being at the "edge of the world."

After taking that in, we noticed a path winding down into a valley, and then rising to the next bluff. Feeling adventurous, we began climbing down, but after reaching the lowest point of the valley, and climbing up the the other side a bit, we realized we'd probably bit off more than we could chew, with just sandals and only a little water, so we turned back to the more well worn section. Still, it was nice to get some of that sense of isolation, by stepping away from the crowds (and motorcycles) for at least a bit.

"Let's go check it out!" The path looks steep. In reality, it is. And, despite the wind and clouds of the coast, hot and tiring. A nice little side exploration though.

Climbing back into the car, we realized we needed food. Following the road down the coast on our maps, we saw the town of Colares, and figured that would be a good place to grab some food. So, we plugged it into our Garmin and headed out. Unfortunately, as we neared the town, we realized our Garmin had a strange idea about where the town actually was. After it tried to make us pull and impossible 345 degree turn up a narrow alley, we parked and decided to try walking up the alley.

That walk, a half more or so later turned out to be a dead end as the road turned into a rustic road, then a dirt road, then a dirt path.

"I think this path with get us to town." No. It doesn't.

Returning to our car, we consulted Sarah's phone and drove a short distance to where it said Colares was. There we found a small network of buildings, but nothing looking like an organized town. After wandering in a circle there, starving, we ducked into a rustic restaurant serving chicken they were grilling outside... and it ended up being one of our favorite meals of the trip. Simple, but excellently cooked and seasoned chicken with a cheap beer. As I commented, "sometime where you need to be is not where you intend to be."

We left "Colares" happy and full... though still not entirely convinced we had ever actually gotten there.

Since the kids had been troopers so far, their reward was another trip to the beach. We'd read some good things about the beaches outside of Ericeira, so we continued our drive north, along the coast. As we made our way into Ericeira, my heart sank a little. It was obviously a European resort town where the buildings were all cookie cutter condos and the roads, while modern and wide, were packed with the cars of European vacationers looking for a weekend of sun.

(Also, incidentally, but cooler, the roads were packed with vintage Citreon cars, CV2's to be specific. It seems like there was some annual meet up of CV2 owners going on, and one parking lot in specific was overflowing with the charming, unusual looking car.)

Fortunately, punching through town and entering the beach, we discovered something much more manageable. Like the beaches of Cascais, there was a lot of people, but this beach was wide enough, open enough and had enough parking that at no time did it feel over crowded or unmanageable. The waves were bigger and the sand coarser, but the kids were unfazed and happy to have more playtime in the surf.

Soooo excited to be at a beach again. (Really, the kids just think we should have taken them to a beach for a month.)

After letting them play for an hour or so, and after a 45 minute drive back, we dropped off our car and found ourselves back in Lisbon, tired and hungry.

Dinner that night was at a restaurant called La Petit Café. We'd read good reviews about it, and it promised pasta for the kids, so while a little more spendy, it seemed like a good choice. The restaurant was charming and easy going, with a menu of dishes that was a mix of French, Portuguese and Brazilian (with pasta!) that, by not being easily pigeonholed as one of those, and not feeling like it was just catering to touristic expectations managed to just provide really good meals. My Brazilian-style seak was good enough that I would revisit it on a later meal that week.

Photobombed by another random tram, at La Petit Café. 

Day 17
Since Sunday had featured so much running around, we figured that Monday would be a good day to take it easy and stay closer to home. That meant sleeping in, multiple cups of coffee, Otto and I playing some Magic cards, the kids seguing into increasingly rowdy game and some lunch at "home" before finally heading out and about.

When we did finally head out, Sarah had wanted to get some stamps for postcards, so our initial errand was to find a post office and then do some sight seeing around town. After making our way down the hill, and buying more postcards in the Baixa neighborhood, we were given directions to the main post office several blocks away. We made our way there, and then set out toward Bairro Alto, which we hadn't properly seen yet.

We made a quick an impromptu stop to check out the "Sadrines from Outspace" gallery exhibit, which consisted of different artists art pieces created using a common silhouette of a sardine. Clever, and fun to just do something spur of the moment like that.

Sardines. From Outerspace.

Hiking uphill again, we grabbed a drink at a courtyard kiosk, before making our way into the Carmo Convent. The Carmo Convent was a Gothic church whose roof collapse in the earthquake of 1755. At the time, the city didn't have the resources to properly restore it, so they left the ruin standing, with it's giant arches supporting a non-existent roof. Now, tourists can wandering through it, and also explore the attached museum of historical artifacts, including several mummified bodies... which serve as a morbid counterpoint to the biblical symbolism of looking up in a church whose roof is the literal heavens.

Public square drinking is civic drinking.

Literal heavens above, while...

...While very earthly reminders of mortality within.

After that, we peaked around the corner from the Carmo Convent at one of the cities most famous landmarks, the Elevator of San Justa. Build by a student of Gustave Eiffel, the elevator's architecture reflect that same highly filigreed sensibility. Looking at it, and looking at the lines, Sarah, the kids and I agreed that we were happy to appreciate the appearance, without an obligatory ride. So, instead, we hiked several blocks north to catch one of Lisbon's famous Ascensors: Ascensor du Gloria.

The Elevator of San Justa is basically Lisbon's Space Needle, if the Space Needle was a steampunk fever dream built 50 or so years earlier.

Similar in appearance to their famous trams, the Ascensors are simple versions of those built specifically to climb the steep hills of Lisbon's neighborhoods. Fortunately, because little people were getting tired and hungry, there were no lines to speak of, so we paid our Euros and climb right on board. The ride down was fun and novel if also brief, and also pretty much just a service for tourists at this point. But, I still enjoyed it.

If the trams are Lisbon's showboating photobombers, the acsensors are Lisbon's fancifully graffitied little work horse... even if they are only hauling tourists up and down the hills.

After that, for dinner, we made our way back to Time Out's Market, since the kids had enjoyed it, and Sarah wanted a second go at the restaurants there. She and I ended up getting a six course tasting menu from one place, while Stella got a burger and Otto got some salmon ("how do you get your kid to eat salmon?" one nearby couple asked incredulously as he wolfed it down). Then, post gelato, the walk home.

Days 14 & 15: Sintra and the Tile Museum

Day 14
Two weeks of traveling!

We figured that Friday would be a good day to get out of town, so we got moving early and headed toward the Rossio Train Station, in central Lisbon. During out tuk tuk tour a couple days previous, the driver had explained that during WWII and after, because of Portugal's neutral status, the station and neighboring hotel had been a common meeting place for spies (even hinting the Ian Fleming had paid a visit or two), so I was intrigued to check head that direction.

Rossio Train Station. Cloaked in mystery and subterfuge, and now going to take us to go see some quaint village.

While the outside of the station features a fanciful art nouveau entryway, the interior has been remodeled to a more midcentury style. Thankfully, the lines for the tickets weren't nearly as long as the ones at the Cais du Sodre station, and we boarded a train that was (also thankfully) not crowded.

Soon, we were speeding out of the Lisbon, passed it's epic aqueduct, toward the comparative greenness of Sintra and it's surrounding regions. The train was quick and uneventful, and soon we were dumped unceremoniously with a legion of other tourists at the Sintra train station, a kilometer downhill from the historic town center.

Sintra. The Palace of Pena and Moorish Castle lie hidden in the clouds above. 

The walk up to the town center was on a winding road lined with craft vendors and tuk tuk operators, but it was also pleasant and tree lined and a welcome departure after a week in the city. Reaching the town center, we (like the other tourists) began looking for something to eat. Sarah had the smarts to suggest we push on, up hill, and through some side streets; which rewarded us with a restaurant that wasn't already crowded with tourists and seemed to be making a little extra effort in the food department. While the actual food didn't completely amaze, they were coming at things with some thoughtful ideas (smoked cheddar and tomato salad served in a sealed jar filled with smoke) and presentation (a lot of the food items were served in ceramic pots), and the location was peaceful.

Sarah and some artfully presented lunch. 

With food in our belly, we realized that the hike up to the palace (which is the centerpiece of any visit to Sintra) would probably be beyond the kids, so we hired a tuk tuk to run us up there. There were cheaper options, but the lack of hassle was worth the extra money, and the kids enjoy a good tuk tuk ride.

The driver dropped us off claiming (with an unknown level of truthfulness) that the main entrance to the palace would be a longer wait, and entering through the lower garden entrance would be easier. That ended up being a good solution for us, because the remaining 1000 meters or so were winding through a shaded forest, past ponds and ruined garden features to the lower reaches of the Palace of Pena.

Sarah points out duck castles and whatnot in the gardens below the Pena Palace. 

A first peak at Palace of Pena, as we make our way up from the gardens below. 

The multi-colored palace, which adorns the cover our of Lonely Planet did not disappoint. After refueling the kids with cold water and a donut, we first made our way around the perimeter wall, a narrow, vertigo inducing pathway which circles the main building. At first, it proved to scary for Otto, but after Stella and I made it around once unharmed, he mustered his courage for the entire family to make a second lap.

Possibly the only photo of all four of us, so far. In one of the onion-top domes surrounding the palace.

Next it was inside. Dating only back to the mid-19th Century, the palace is still in really amazing shape, and Portugal is in the process of restoring it to reflect how it looked when the royal family fled to Brazil in 1910. That meant that while some rooms were still obviously undergoing restoration, other rooms, such as the queens quarters and smoking room, displayed an amazing decadence in the Romantic style.

After exploring the interior it was back down through the garden, passed the ponds, and onto another tuk tuk ride down the hill. If it had just been Sarah and I we would have tried a second site, like the Moorish Castle or the Town Palace, but the kids were running out of battery power and craved gelato.

After grabbing some gelato in town, and letting Sarah sample the locale pastry, it was back on the train to Lisbon. At home, as reward for our active day out, we let the kids rest and play in the apartment; while Sarah made a delightful pasta dinner. All in all a fun day, and Sarah and I both agreed that while we like the bustle of the city, we also both need the green and relaxation that come from smaller towns; and could have easily spent a second day in Sintra, at least.

Another late-night attempted to get the quint-essential streetcar photo (this one by Sarah). 

Day 15
We'd heard that Lisbon had a good flea market on Tuesdays and Saturdays (both from the owner of our apartment and the tuk tuk driver), so since it was Saturday, and just around the corner, we figured we'd check it out. Hiking up to it, we were impressed by the size of it, spreading over several narrow streets. It looks to be divided into equal thirds of arts and crafts, interesting and authentic antiques and just random junk. Refreshingly, it was surprisingly free of the tourist tchotchkes we'd been seeing in too many stores.

The Lisbon flea market, in the shadow of the massive mausoleum. Definitely some treasures hidden amongst the flotsam and jetsam. 

After exploring it for a bit, we made our way over to the Church of Sao Vincente de Fora. In some ways it was actually more impressive than Lisbon Cathedral, including an organ that it considered one of the best in Europe. Outside the church, in its entry arches, a woman impressively sang opera music. Her voice echoing through the surrounding area.

After checking out the church, we poked into the courtyard which serves as the adjacent monastery's entrance. Cool, with flowers lining the walls, it made for a nice rest, and place for me to name more pigeons.

After going home and regrouping, it was time to head to the Tile Museum, something that Sarah and Stella were excited to do, but Otto and I were a little more ambivalent about. Rather that trying to navigate the buses, we decided to try to walk, which is a decision that quickly became on of this trips sweltering death marches, as we hiked down effectively one long, shade-free street.

Arriving at the museum was a bit of a revelation though. After very little but concrete and sunlight, we were greeted by an entrance enveloped in bushes and trees. We walked in and paid surprisingly small entrance fee of 5 Euros for all of us.

The Museum proved to be surprisingly empty, which would make you think that it was also surprisingly underwhelming, but -quite to the contrary- it exceeded all of my personal expectations.  The tile collection as both large and stunning in it's detail, plus there was all a large and opulent church as it's centerpiece that -frankly- was more beautiful than the other churches we'd visited to far.

Stella strikes a pose in front of one of the rooms. You can see some of the tiles behind her. 

The centerpiece of the Tile Museum, this amazing church. Presumably it was the original purpose of the building, because it didn't have a whole lot to do with the tile work in the other rooms. But: Stunning in it's detail. 

After exploring the entire museum, and taking photos of all the bizarre mythical creatures featured in it's temporary exhibit. We retired to a palm tree shaded courtyard garden, next to the museum sack bar. While the kids ate ham and cheese sandwiches, and played with the turtles and goldfish in the nearby fountain, Sarah and I enjoyed a little white wine and the rare period of peace and quiet.

The turtles are complete unaware of what the kids are planning for them.

Rather than make the death march back to our apartment, we decided to risk a bus ride. After waiting a short bit, and watching the kids play "chopsticks" we were relieved to have a near empty bus show up.

Back at home, we decided to let the kids pick dinner, which meant returning to the view point restaurant we'd eaten at on our second night. That was fine by Sarah and I because we had enjoyed the previous dinner, and appreciated that our slightly longer visit to Lisbon was allowing us to revisit places we liked. Dinner was happy and successful again, like our day.

Day 13: Aquarium and "the future is torture"

Day 13
We'd read in a guidebook that Lisbon had the world's second biggest aquarium, and while some quick Google research now shows that isn't the case (though it is Europe's biggest in-door aquarium!), we were running with that information when we decided that we'd go there for the afternoon. The kids love a good aquarium, and really who doesn't love an opportunity to see a sunfish, right?

So, after some breakfast, we hiked down to the waterfront and sat in the shadows of a pair of towering cruise ships, waiting for our (crowded) bus to take us 15 minutes down the river front to where the aquarium sat amongst the grounds of Lisbon's '98 Worlds Fair.

After piling off our bus, the grounds surrounding the aquarium proved almost as enchanting as the aquarium itself. There was statues, water features, interactive pieces, but eventually we teared ourselves away, bought tickets and entered the aquarium.

Playing under a waterfall, one of the many fun features we ran across just getting to the aquarium.

First up was a "recommended, but not required" video about the negative effects of sound pollution on whales and other mammals in the ocean, which was notable in A) it's refreshing bluntness and B) the fact that it was in English, with Portuguese subtitles, meaning we were part of a select minority who were listening to the dialogue. After that show was over, it was on to the permanent exhibit.

The permanent exhibit was two levels of smaller tanks and exhibits, surrounding one, large, central tank, featuring the previously mentioned sunfish, sharks and a ton of rays swimming amongst schools of fish. The upper levels smaller areas featured a number of seabirds (penguins!) and mammals (otters!), and the lower -more-claustrophobic- level focused on smaller or more rarefied sea life, like jellyfish, seahorses and the like.

The sunfish makes its appearance. I mean, really, it's all about the sunfish, right?

Stella, underwater.

After a quick lunch in the aquarium's cafeteria, which looked like it was a 2001: A Space Odyssey set designed with Ikea furniture, it was on to the temporary exhibit. I've been to a number of aquariums in my days, but the idea of a "temporary exhibit" at one struck me a novel. Ever more so, was the fact that this exhibit seemed to have been designed by a Japanese artist, instead of someone with a marine science background. The conceit was "an underwater forest," with the majority of the exhibit focused around several wall-long tanks, filled mainly with underwater plants and only lightly populated with small fish.

Conceptually, he was speaking of the refreshing and fresh beauty of the natural world, and there was a gentleness to the whole exhibit, down to the ambient music which played throughout. I realized that many of the fish were the same species of fish that I'd had in my own aquarium, back in Junior High and High School. I often talk about that aquarium today as though it were a hassle and frustration, but in my time I cared for those fish and was sad when each died. All these years later, this exhibit left me feeling melancholy thinking about it in a way I hadn't in a long time.

The melancholy beauty of the Underwater Forest.

Emerging from the darkness (and my melancholy) of the exhibit to the sun and grass outside, we noticed the "telecabine," a gondola which ran along the rivers edge, for the length of the Expo grounds. Like the monorail in Seattle, it's a relic from the expo that now functionally goes nowhere, but it looked like fun and the tickets were cheap, so we took an impromptu ride down to the end and back.

"We're on the gondola to nowhere!" (Sung like David Byrne.) Note that Otto has, like, four poses: Faux sleeping (featured), faux punching, tongue out and dabbing.

After that, we caught (possibly the most comically crowded) bus (ever) back to the Alfama, to regroup at the apartment before dinner.

For dinner, Stella had her opinions, but Sarah and I were excited about the idea of going to a place we'd passed though earlier, when quasi-lost in the Alfama's maze. While there are tons of little diners, this place was a large (by Alfama standards) courtyard filled with people feasting on an array meat, which was being prepared on an open-air grill in one corner.

Stella was not into it. While Sarah, Otto and I happily feasted on the piles of bread, cheese, salad, fish and steak we had heaped in front of us, and took in the celebratory air of the whole affair; Stella refused to do little more do more than nibble on some bread and fries, while complaining about the noise, her seat and (most excessively) the smoke from the grills. At one point, a single tear running down her cheek, she announced "the future is torture."

Unfortunately, it's hard to see it, because of the umbrella covers, but this courtyard is filled with revelers who are being forced to eat grilled meat and drink wine. Totes obvious torture.

So, we ended the meal with Stella unhappy with dinner, and us unhappy with Stella. But, with one notably contrary opinion, I'd highly recommend the experience to anyone else.

(I've been trying to do 2 days an entry, but today has been a bit hectic, and I'm feeling a bit spent. So, I'll pick up again tomorrow with days 14 and 15. While I still have nearly a week of Lisbon to write about, we only have a little more than 24 hours until we are off to the Azores. We've loved Lisbon and Portugal, but will be excited for a little break from the city!)

Days 11 & 12: Beaches and Tuk Tuks, but not Southeast Asia

Day 11
After the smashing success that was Coney Island, Sarah thought that it was a good idea that we give the kids a little more beach time. It didn't hurt that, every time we asked the kids what they'd like to do, they replied "the beach." So, to the beach we go!

Getting to the beach would be a little more challenging. The "commute" there would involve making it out of the Alfama, catching a metro train to the train station, riding another train out to Cascais (an hour outside of Lisbon) then -of course, finding a beach.

Getting to the metro station didn't prove too hard. My echo-location worked, though I definitely didn't take us on the easiest or fastest route, winding down through an unending series of staircases. But, still we stumbled across the metro entrance and descending to board the metro. This, of course, involved buying tickets, and if there is one thing we've learned, Lisboeta (as Google tells me people from Lisbon call themselves) have no interest in making their public transportation accessible to tourists. After struggling to purchase tickets, we finally boarded a metro train (crowded!) and several minutes later, were at the Cais de Sodre train station and queuing up to buy tickets for Cascais.

"Don't worry, honey, I think I know where I'm going." Leading Sarah and the kids down an endless string of alleys and staircases.

Queueing up to get tickets for the train. The claustrophobic, stationary chaos of the train station.

Unfortunately, the queue was long, but fortunately we bought our tickets just in time to run up a flight of stairs and jump on a departing train (crowded!). Luckily, while the guide books pegged the trip time at an hour, it seemed shorter than that, and soon we were unloading into Cascais, a resort town so dedicated to beaches that you basically walk out of the train station, wander a block down the main avenue, and are dumped onto a small and idyllic beach (if you removed 200 or 300 hundred people).

Idyllic, but over-populated.

Now, I'm going to be 100% honest here. I'm not really a beach person. Or, more specifically, I'm not really a crowded beach person. Give me an empty crescent of sand, and I'm in, but winding through sweating tourists, and I start thinking "this is sure a nice beach to leave soon." That said, the kids were super, totes excited. The sun was warm, the sand fine and golden and the waves nearly non-existent. So, while Sarah staked out a section of beach, and I played laisse-affair lifeguard, they set about braving the non-waves and building a string of sand castles.

The kids = super-duper happy to have more beach time.

After a couple hours of playtime, we broke from the beach to get some lunch. Sarah and I ended up sharing a spread of suckling pig, chips and salad and the kids had some random combination of cheese and bread at one of those tourist squares where the waiters basically dash at you with the menu. Then the kids had some ice cream and gelato before we hit the boardwalk.

Making our way from Cascais to Estoril along the boardwalk. 

Cascais is the western-most of a string of beach towns outside of Lisbon, and is connected to it's neighboring down of Estoril by a long boardwalk and series of beaches. I was happy to do some walking and exploring, and the kids were excited to pick a new beach, so we made the walk along the shore. As we neared Estoril, Sarah and the kids decided that a beach looked suitably beachy, and not oppressively crowded, so we hunkered down there for another hour or so of beach play.

One of the nice things about the beaches location was that we had a clear view of the passing trains, which we knew ran on a 20 minute schedule. So, when it was time to go, we literally called the kids out of the surf, cleaned up, walked up to the station and almost walked straight on to our (forgivingly not crowded) train.

Unloading at the station we decided to walk home but realized that everyone was rapidly becoming over-hungry from too much sun and play. I led us to what I thought was a well-reviewed snack stand, but it turned out to be some random snack stand serving touristic food to tourists. But, the kids enjoyed their ham and cheese pizza (so much so, Stella recommended going back) and the rose wine helped ease the blow for Sarah and I, before making our way back up the maze of Alfama to our apartment.

Day 12
On an extended trip, every 5th or 6th day ends up being sort of a "chores and laundry" day, and being day twelve put us on that day. Still, we'd hoped to squeeze in one or two fun activities. But, first off, grocery shopping.

Actually, I have to admit that, while grocery shopping in the states isn't usually my favorite activity, I always seem to enjoy it while traveling. Whether it's the opportunity to check out a fun farmers market, or (as in this case) heading to a small local grocery store to check out what weird and wondrous things they might sell that we don't have at home.

The grocery store in question was a 10 minute walk up the hill from our place, and was compact while still feeling like it had a good selection. While there were some oddball items available, we stuck to the basics, except for accidentally buying what we thought was cranberry juice, when it was actually some sort of undrinkable, syrupy concentrate used most likely for mixing drinks.

Making food in the apartment! Sarah pulled together this great lunch: Salad, cheese, cured meat and olives. (The kids fell back on their usual bread and cheese meal.)

After shopping, and after having a quick bite to eat at the apartment, it was time for a tuk tuk tour! Like the bicycle cab in NY, taking one of the countless tuk tuks (or auto-rickshaws, as they are called everywhere except for apparently Thailand and Lisbon) would not be the first thing on our to-do list, the kids (especially Otto) had been entranced by them, announcing "why aren't we riding those?" every time one rolled by, packed with tourists.

So, at their urging, and after our obligatory gelato stop, we made our way to the nearby viewpoint, where we knew that rows of tuk tuks and their drivers would be assembled. I think Sarah and I had secretly hoped to at least ride and beat up old-fashioned tuk tuk, to give us flash backs to our time in India, so of course we wre paired with a shiny, new electric tuk tuk, covered in Batman and Joker decals and driven by a rambling, but affable Dutchman.

To Otto's chagrin, it turned out the a tuk tuk tour involved actually stopping at sites, instead of just speeding around town in a tuk tuk. But, I actually appreciated getting to check out some of the sites we'd missed so far, and getting a little history and context.

The kids snapping photos at a view point. While Sarah and I use our phones, the kids are using our digital camera. I'm sure there is a blog entry in the making where we feature the best of their photos. 

Our drive took us first to the Lisbon cathedral, for a quick peak inside, and to learn about it's evolution from Roman temple, to Moorish mosque and then Catholic cathedral. Then, on to a view point (actually the one we'd hiked to the second evening of our stay) to learn about the earthquake and tsunami of 1755. Then, it was down through the Alfama and into the Baixo neighborhood to hear about it's post-earthquake reconstruction using Napoleon era ideas of gridded streets as defense. Finally up into Barrio Alto to see the elevator and talk about the revolution which took Portugal from Fascism under Salazar to the democracy of today.

The tale of two tuk tuk rides: Stella appears to be living the good life, lemonade in hand and wind in her hair, while...

...Otto is involved in a rolling gun battle with Lisbon.

After over an hour or rolling around town, the kids had their tuk tuk fix, and Sarah and I felt a little more informed about the city we were staying in. So, it was back to the apartment, for the kids to have some down time, and for me to go handle laundry. Fortunately, just down the hill from our apartment is my New Favorite Laundromat Ever™: Clean, uncrowded, easy to use (the machines dispense their own soap!). It was great to drop of the close, and then retreat to our apartment for a glass of wine, while the laundry basically took care of itself.

With that chore taken care of, it was dinner time! On previous ventures from our house, we'd walked past a restaurant called Damas, that always smelled amazing. So, we decided to check that out. After several tourist trap meals, it was refreshing to discover that Damas actually seemed to be a Portuguese restaurant for Portuguese patrons. With a nice, varied menu actually scribbled onto a tile wall the food was tasty and thoughtfully prepared. The kids only snacked lightly (having gorged on toast in the afternoon), but Sarah and I had what might have been our best meal since we reached Portugal.

A photo of part of the menu on the wall. We actually took this at the waiters suggestion, so we could bring it back to our table and parse through it. Especially necessary since it's all in Portuguese. 

Then, to home and bed!

One last photo of a tram in Lisbon, at night, because you can never have too many of those.

One Week In (at least for me): Reflections

A year or two ago, Tyler and I decided we needed to do something big to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of our round the world trip.  An extended time off.  More exotic locales.  Something that would help us reflect on and revisit our past experience of being on the road. 

First we picked Thailand.  But Thailand in July/August?  Too wet and hot.  We looked further west:  Laos, Nepal. Still too wet and too hot.  After hearing about a friend’s trip to Portugal, we thought we might have hit on something.  Still Europe, but smaller, more manageable, and, hey, why not tack on a trip to Morocco while we’re in the neighborhood.  But the desert in July/August?  Likely unbearable for our temperate Northwest selves (not to mention children).  So we finally agreed on Portugal and the Azores, figured out how to line up our work obligations and time off and wound up with a week in New York, two weeks in Portugal, and one week in the Azores.

So, here we are, two weeks in (though for me, it’s really one week of vacation—the week in New York was quite work-filled for me).  Tyler’s doing an awesome job of keeping up with our different adventures and activities.  I thought I’d share a few thoughts from the road.

Changing Pace

Over our seven-month trip, we typically moved from one location to the next every two to three days.  Even since then, most of our vacations have been of the 7-9 day variety.   We decided to give a longer stay in one place a go.  It was partly practical—because of adding on the Sao Miguel in the Azores, it would mean a lot of chopped up days to arrive in Lisbon, head somewhere else, only to need to fly out of Lisbon again.  It also meant we could probably get a slightly nicer place by saving on cleaning and booking fees.  And we thought more stability would be easier on the kids.

So we have nearly two weeks in a small two-bedroom apartment in the oldest portion of the city.  It has felt like a luxury to be in one place.  We could have a day or so of fighting jetlag and still feel like we had lots of time to check out things of interest.  We’ve made friends with our neighborhood market guy and tend to buy our produce from the same little place around the corner and are becoming regulars at the gelato place around the way.  We’re figuring out how to find our way around and get better at figuring out what’s a reasonable walking distance.  And I do think the kids appreciate having one “home” to get accustomed to.

View from out the building front door--I love the colors

Walking right from our apartment, for evening gelato--you can see the narrow street and tram lines

At the same time, there are tradeoffs.  Staying in Lisbon has meant we’ve been in a city for most of our time, and cities are often where we have the hardest time finding things that make all of us happy.  If Tyler and I were here on our own, we’d likely wander different neighborhoods, try more restaurants, check out more museums—things that aren’t so exciting to Stella and Otto.  Staying in the Alfama neighborhood—picturesque, quaint, historic—also means any excursions involves climbing up and down hills, and we’re surrounded by buildings and stone walkways and roads.  It wasn’t until our daytrip to Sintra that I realized how much I was missing seeing more green and nature on a daily basis.

Map of Alfama--note the curvy streets.  We're near Igreja de Sao Vicente de Fore

We fondly call navigating around Portugal "echo-locating"--one advantage of being on a hill is we at least know whether we should be heading up or down....

Beautiful!  But not much green....

Sintra--Moorish castle on the hill, lots of green!

Over the past eight years, I’ve also come to appreciate the slowing pace that having the kids have brought to our lives.  We typically try and tackle one big “thing” a day.  The aquarium.  The castle.  A longer out-of-town excursion day followed by a day closer to home.   While we normally have more of a go-go-go pace of life, I have come to enjoy (and somewhat rely on) a pace that means after finishing the tile museum, we hang out at the garden while the kids play with rocks and look at fish and turtles.  (Doesn’t hurt that you can get a good and cheap half bottle of wine almost anywhere…)  It also means we can live out Tyler’s dream of waking up without alarm clocks most mornings, have leisurely starts to our days, and not wear ourselves out trying to squeeze in every single site or experience the city might have to offer, but which we might otherwise under-appreciate in the effort to see so much.

This isn't apropos of anything, but there's amazing graffiti around town.  These are two of my favorites

Traveling with Kids

I’d seen in one of our guidebooks that the Portuguese see children as a gift and enjoy their presence.  I’m happy to say that is true!  Our kids get good natured rubs on the head and are treated with kindness and good humor everywhere we got (by the Portuguese at least;  I can’t say the same for other European visitors necessarily).  And, while Tyler shared some of the challenges of being in transit with jetlagged kiddos, I have to say that the kids are actually doing awesome.  We walk.  A lot.  It’s hot.  We drag them to things that probably wouldn’t be their first choice.  And I think they by and large enjoy themselves, keep up good spirits, and are good sports about figuring out trains, subways, buses and the rest.  I also enjoy seeing how Otto and Stella are being good playmates for each other.  They are good at keeping themselves entertained with books and drawings, even in less than ideal circumstances.  And they really have only had each other to rely on.  We haven’t come across many other kids.

Waiting for a bus

On an extremely crowded train to the beach

Not sure why Stella started carrying Otto on her back, but this happens regularly

And they do have their moments.  One dinner we went to eat at a place that was Stella’s least favorite place, and at some point near the end of dinner she sat unhappily with tears streaming down her face.  Otto regularly drags his feet at heading out when he’s not 100% sold on the idea (though manages to forget his bad feelings by the time we get out the front door 9 times out of 10).  And there are times when Tyler and I are less than sanguine about making compromises in their best interests (like calling it a day and having dinner in when we really would have loved to head back downtown for a wine tasting, but it would require another 30 minute hot walk to a place the kids really don’t want to go after an already full day).  But, by and large, this has definitely felt easier and more fun than our prior overseas trips when they were younger.

One of the less stellar moments--post-dinner after a long, hot, tiring day before our 20 minute walk home.  Otto wasn't having so much of it.

Eating

I’d feel remiss to have an entry that didn’t at least talk a little bit about food.  Every cheese I’ve had here is amazing.  You can get entire bottles of tasty wine for 9-12 euros.  Amazing seafood.  (Of course, Stella is largely living on grilled cheese, and Otto on ham and cheese sandwiches, but, you know, they won’t get scurvy in two weeks.)

Homemade lunch--we typically have lunch at home but are increasingly having a second meal at home just for ease.  Also a little glimpse at our cute and cozy temporary home.

We have found that we do a little better if we go a bit afield of our neighborhood.  For our first few days, we’d wander through the alleys to find something that looked good, but we kept having the feeling that all the menus were basically focused on the kind of Portuguese food that tourists are looking for and expect—sardines, bacalau, octopus, cabbage soup.  That’s one thing that’s stayed true over 10 years—it doesn’t take much to find better and cheaper food, but it usually isn’t in the heart of the tourist section of town.

A small neighborhood restaurant in the Graca neighborhood.  That little dog is balancing on the tiny window pane unassisted.

My least favorite thing here is that if you have water, they always give you a plastic bottle.  It seems no one serves tap water!  And there is some recycling in the city, but not enough for all the bottles that are out everywhere.  We brought a Nalgene bottle with to have water on the go, but I’ve rarely found anywhere to refill it.  And we have taken to bringing bottles back and freezing them so we have colder water to drink for part of the trip, but it’s kind of crazy making to see so much waste.

Even artists agree!  A whale art piece made from empty plastic water bottles

A Few Final Thoughts

One thing that’s quite different than 10 years ago is how connected we are—how we are so used to being online, keeping up with political developments, seeing what others are up to.  Facebook was just starting to be a broader thing while we were away (we joined after we got home at a friend’s urging), and I didn’t have a smart phone until a few years after our return.  With all the developments around healthcare reform and other goings-on in the States, it’s been hard to want to get away from current events.  So we really haven’t disconnected, and I haven’t decided if that is a good or bad thing yet.  Ten years ago, we sparingly used internet cafes every few days to check emails and blog.  I think twice during the trip we found call centers to call home.  By and large, we were off the grid.  I’m toying with the idea of a break from devices and being online….we’ll see.

With all that staying connected we also ran into a new problem—one outlet converter is tough going when we have two phones, two tables, one laptop, and a few other sundry electronics!  It’s a regular game to figure out who gets to charge what and when.  On our big trip we had one camera, which we shared.  One converter was just fine.

I’ve also been a long user of hard copy travel guides.  I like to have it to carry, read through, look at maps, consider possibilities.  I’m now used to the internet at my fingertips, and having sparse descriptions so a small book can cover an entire country has not been enough.  Online research gives us so much more—more options, more info, more clarity on how to navigate the public transport options….  I don’t know that I’ll completely abandon the Lonely Planet books, but I’ll likely never solely rely on them again.

Onward

It’s funny how your sense of time changes—we have four more days in Portugal, and suddenly the time feels short.  I’m very excited about going to the Azores—I’m looking forward to the smaller populace, the sense of being on a small speck in the middle of the ocean, and still having two weeks of time to be with my family, take time to recharge and reflect, and soak in the rest of this precious time away from the daily grind.

Wisely taking the bus home rather than walking the full 25 minutes uphill.  Photo courtesy of Stella.