Iberia via HipGeo

Our trip map from HipGeo. Portugal and southern Spain!

"Two women lost in an unknown city. Now that's what I call an adventure." - Elanor Lavish

Third time's the charm. I wrote a lovely post all about Sintra and the Algarve, only to have HipGeo lose it. Let's try this again.

Hiking fuel!

We hiked up the hill to the Moorish castle on Sunday. The skies were clear and the castle towers gave us a wonderful view of the park, palaces in the valley, and Pena palace just above us. The stone walls were rebuilt in the 19th century and wind dizzyingly along the high ridge. Emily didn't seem so sure about the lack of railings... On the way down we stopped for a 6:00 dinner, for which we paid lunchtime prices. The place we ate at had a view of Sintra palace over the valley and we amused ourselves throwing olive pits at pigeons. 
In the evening we unwound at Nice Way Sintra Hostel and laid out a plan for the morning. 

A nice couple from Calgary took this picture for us.

I was out the door early and took the 8:20 train to the town of Mem Martins. After an hour of wandering the same street and asking locals where the Crossfit gym was, i was ready to call it quits and head back to Sintra before Em started to worry. As i walked by a cafe on my way to the train station, i saw a man on the window with a crossfit Sintra tshirt - so i walked in and asked him if he could tell me where his gym is. He smiled and asked "Rebecca?" Paolo was the gym owner and drove us to the gym, put me through a warmup and mobility work, coached my cleans, and then gave me a 10 minute burpee-box jump + wall ball AMRAP. finally, since i was concerned about being back by 11 (at whicb point Emily was allowed to start worrying), he drove me back to the central square in Sintra. I call it Portuguese hospitality. In Paolo's words, "that's Crossfit."
Meanwhile, Emily had been on her own adventure to mail a dozen postcards and find a grocery store for lunch food. She walked all the way past the train station before finding a tiny grocery in a back alley in central Sintra. We lunched on chorrizo, cheese, and oranges.
The skies were cloudy and the temperatures cooler that day, which made for a more comfortable hike through Quinta da Regaleira and up to Pena Palace, but no views from either. Quinta da Regaleira has amazing grounds, including a well with a spiral staircase carved into the outside. When you descend you find a network of tunnels which exit to other parts of the gardens. The house is equally ornate and exotic. The floors are tiled with mosaics, the walls muraled, and the ceilings carved. It has exactly the rooms you need to play Clue, too... The perfect place for hosting a mystery dinner,we thought!
After a stop for shopping in town, we hiked up to Pena Palace. It was a fairytale. High, brightly painted walls on the outside with colourfully decorated, warm living spaces inside. This, combined with the cooler temperatures and forests of Sintra, explains why the Portuguese royals loved vacationing there.
We were ravenous by the time we made it back down the hill and into town. 

After wandering a little while we wound up at a fantastic little cafe/tea house called Saudade. We split a half bottle of a local green wine, and i had perhaps the best Panini of my life. 
Tuesday morning we rolled out early and made our way back to Lisbon by train, and by bus from Lisbon to Albufeira. Albufeira is a resort town on the Algarve coast known for its beaches. We stumbled around town (literally- I'm glad my tablet survived the wipeout) before finally figuring out our tickets for the next day and how to get to our hostel. 
Aside- the local bus driver didn't speak any English, we don't speak Portuguese... So broken Spanish on both sides it was as we tried to figure out what time to catch the bus back to the station. "español? A que hora mañana... El bus... Aqui?" "mañana...?" "si.", at which point our driver walked off and was back two minutes later with a schedule.

Lost and Found hostel was exactly what we needed. A quiet little oasis on the outskirts of town with rooms and kitchen wrapped around a tiled and flower filled courtyard. We changed into our bathing suits and walked the mile to the beach. An hour napping in the sun, splashing in the surf, and watching the sailboats pass was exhausting. We picked up groceries on the way home and made a MASSIVE Denver scramble. Yum! Our hosts let us use their clothes line to dry the two sink-loads of laundry that followed. Our shirts smelled like sea breeze when we brought them in. The last part of the evening was consumed by "A Room with a View" and spritzer.

Wednesday was another early morning. We caught a 7:10 bus at 7:25 - we knew Portuguese busses tend to run a little late, but we were getting nervous! - and finally our bus to Sevilla. There I will leave you, because i have already been writing for an hour as we roll across Andalusia towards Granada...

Guest Blogging 101

Moorish castle on the rocky outcropping above our hostel.

I am guest blogging. That's what Becca told me. Apparently even when the blog is 50% about you, you are a guest. Of course, you would know that Becca didn't write this entry because I sound nothing l like her....at least I don't think so. Maybe it's likes being sisters and thinking you look nothing alike when in reality you are practically identical. Anyways, you decide. 

That all being said, we made it to Sintra! This is what today looked like:
- pack up and stow bags at hostel in Lisbon
- 9.30 head to awesome metal elevator in the center of the city that we attempted and failed to take 3 times the day before
- get on metro to water, transfer to bus, head for tile museum
- 10.30 very kind old Portuguese woman walks lost Americans to the museum
- ART EXTRAVAGANZA
- stop for coffee, realize we are starving, and head for grocery store to get a snack
- 12.00 failed attempt to find post office
-12.30 tapas for lunch. Tapas may be Spain's greatest contribution to the world thus far.
- back to hostel, grab bags, and hit the road.....aka tiled sidewalk...for the train station
- 1.30 take train to Sintra, walk to new hostel, check in with the very frazzled new girl
- find bakery that welsh cook at Portuguese hostel recommended. Mmmmmmm.
- make way up mountain by foot to large, old, fabulous castle. Funny thing, there are very high walls and no railings. And everyone seems to survive just fine. Take note, USA.
- meet sweet couple from Calgary in castle
- hike down mountain. We took only one wrong turn AND came upon the gatehouse so it was totally worth it.
- eat at funky cafe
- stroll home.....and here we are

Takeaway: never try to convince me that we were not created to create. I won't believe you.

View from our room

High Points So Far

Despite our short night and day of flying and walking, we didn't sleep too well our first night in Lisbon. At least, not until after 3:00! That's when the city finally starts to go to sleep. 

Stree view from our room in Lisbon. We made it!!

We were completely refreshed and ready to hit the road the next morning. A walking tour left from our hostel and took us up to St George's castle and down into the Alfama neighborhood. Our tour guide gave us an overview of Portuguese history, starting with the phonecians in BC1200 and going through the Romans, Moorish period, reconquista, age of exploration, Spanish domination, and finally the modern period. The Alfama neighborhood is one of the centers of Faro music. It was especially colourful for our visit because June is the month of St Anthony's festival. He is the patron saint of Lisbon. We also walked by a statue of São Chrisóvão, the patron saint of travelers. I guess that makes him ours for the next week! 

View of downtown lisbon and the river, half way through our walking tour and heading up to the castle!

The tour ended at a huge flea market, which was great fun to wander through. We finally wound our way up and down the hills and alleys, stopping once for a cold fruit salad and espresso - our first of two today. 
Our adventure in trying to find the bus station and buy tickets for our trip to the Algarve coast so exhausted us that by the time we were back in town this afternoon, we were in need of real food. We found a great little hole in the wall called O Chiado, which packed us with a sort of cod-and-potatoes grilled dish, olives, falling-off-the-spit tender beef kabab, and fries. (See the picture) In Emily's words, "this couldn't be more perfect." Another espresso and fruit salad later, we are back at the hostel and planning where to get tapas this evening and where to explore tomorrow.
Atè logo!

Best meal we've had so far!! Obrigada, O Chiado!