Dear Readers, I am so sorry that I am tardy in updating my blog. Every time I think about my vacation, it makes me very tired! Isn't that horrible? I mean, I am freaking lucky. I work for 6 weeks, then I get two weeks off, paid! Not to mention the huge amount of discounts that I can get just for being under 26 and having a student card. I'm not bragging; I really feel like I am absurdly tired. I have a theory, though, which I will expound upon in my next post.
So here's the plan:
I work best in outline form, but I already started writing more about Lisbon. *Update: I attempted to reduce it all to outline form, but that didn't work.... Now it's day-by-day, which helped me organize my thoughts... Hopefully this will convey the incredibly ridiculous amount of things we attempted to do and the multitude of snafus we encountered. (I don't think that's the correct usage of "snafu"... oh well.)
So the next day I woke up, and I was sick. Sick sick sick. But, I was in Lisbon! And I wanted to see it.
So here's the plan:
I work best in outline form, but I already started writing more about Lisbon. *Update: I attempted to reduce it all to outline form, but that didn't work.... Now it's day-by-day, which helped me organize my thoughts... Hopefully this will convey the incredibly ridiculous amount of things we attempted to do and the multitude of snafus we encountered. (I don't think that's the correct usage of "snafu"... oh well.)
So the next day I woke up, and I was sick. Sick sick sick. But, I was in Lisbon! And I wanted to see it.
I put on my many layers, in anticipation of cold and rain, and we headed for Belém. Except before leaving, I decided I was too hot. So I took off a layer. We took the tram, and about halfway there, the tram stopped, and the driver said something in Portuguese. A couple people got off the train. The rest of us idiot tourists just sat there and looked at each other. After several minutes, every one, us included, kind of dribbled off the tram. It shut its doors and took off. We had no idea where we were, and why it left us there. But, lucky for us, we were with tons of tourists! (Who would ever think that was lucky?) So we all stood by the tram stop for a while until another one came, which we hopped on and headed to Belém. While we were waiting, I started feeling much much colder than I had before we left.
And de la chance! It was free to enter the monastery on Sunday afternoons.
Jerónimos Monastery is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Really. The cathedral part is nice, but when you go to the cloister... It's really like nothing I've ever seen. Pictures are better. This one was taken by my fabulous photographer friend, Elvynia:
Here's one of mine:
After seeing the Cloister, I was about at the point of having chills. I needed food and a warm place to sit.
Luckily everyone else was in agreement, and we went to a sandwich shop where I had the cheapest and most satisfying meal I can remember: a thick kind of potato and vegetable soup and bread, for €1.90.
It was delicious and wonderful.
I considered heading back and skipping the tower, but I didn't. The tower is also impressive. We also saw it during something like a wind storm. It was freezing and raining and wind-ing. A lot. And most of what there is to see in the tower is outside. I was pretty much miserable, but I guess I'm glad I saw it. Plus, Elvynia took this cool picture of me:
Outline:
Monday Feb 15th: Lisbon Aquarium, which was impressive with its humungous central aquarium with hundreds of fish. The Lisbon Oceanarium is supposed to be one of the best in Europe, and I think I had my hopes up a little too high. It was really cool, but I guess I expected something a little flashier. All of that, however, was made up for by the Big Ugly Fish. The appeal of the Big Ugly Fish can only be explained by clicking that link. There were also some pretty damn cute otters of whom I also took a video, but that, sadly, will not upload for some unknown reason. After the aquarium we went to this huge mall that was close by. Meredith did some shopping, but I think the rest of us were just exhausted. After eating we walked slowly, in a daze, then just found another place to sit down in the food court.
Mistah Crab?
Tuesday Feb 16th: We walked around and took one of Lisbon's "elevators," which is actually a trolley car that goes up a hill. We were somewhat tricked by one of our companions into going to a Basilica. It was pretty, as Basilicas are apt to be. I did have a lot on my mind, so I just sat down and took the quiet time to think. Then we went to a cute restaurant café where I had a much needed Irish coffee.
That night there was a "party" at the hostel, which was fun until we found out the other rooms had heaters and one of these Australian boys got a little too friendly with Elvynia. She and I then befriended the Polish guy working at the desk who gave us bottles of water for free.
Wednesday Feb 17th: Of course, for our last day in Lisbon, the sun came out. Meredith had a mid-day flight back to Paris, and the rest of us were heading for Madrid. We just made our way back to the water and sat and looked out at the ocean. We found a weird burger place to eat lunch then we wandered back to the water and just sat some more. Sitting became a recurring theme throughout the rest of our trip. I think being sick just totally took the energy out of me. I don't know if the others felt the same, but I was glad other people were into sitting.
Evening of Wednesday Feb 17th: With all of our things gathered, we arrived to the airport - like the good little travelers we were - just under two hours early. We sat a while. Then we found out our flight was delayed. And delayed and delayed. The flight left two hours late, and we did not get to Spain until after 1:00 am. This is were our trip got interesting. Elvynia and I had planned to Couchsurf in Madrid. (I will talk about couchsurfing later) But, the metro closed at 1:30, and we were not going to make it. We decided it would be easiest and safest to share a taxi with Gloria and Sheena to the hostel in the city center. So we thought. One hour and €60 later, he finally dropped us off at the hostel. It should have been a 20 minute €20 ride, but it was 2am. And we didn't speak Spanish.
The hostel was near the Gran Via metro stop, which, we discovered, is also where some prostitutes hang out. An imposing man stood at the door to the hostel. He said something in Spanish, which we didn't get. Then he asked in English where we were going. "The hostel," Sheena said.
"What is it called?" he asked. At this point, we were exhausted, we had been cheated by an evil taxi driver, and we were surrounded by Spanish prostitutes. We did not feel like being interrogated by a scary Russian-looking Spanish doorman.
Sheena looked at him. She looked at the sign on the wall next to him and read it. He did not look impressed, but he said something into a walkie talkie and let us in. We should have couchsurfed, I thought. Inside, the deskman was nice, and Elvynia and I ended up with a private double room for the price of a dorm. Sheena and Gloria went straight away to their room. But while we were getting ours reserved, some of the freakiest looking people started coming in. Shiny-pleather-jacket man, bleached-hair-with-black-eyebrows girl. It was like some kind of creepy meeting of people that only come out after midnight. We hurried to our room and promptly went to bed.
Thursday Feb 18th: We woke up and met Gloria and Sheena for breakfast. The hostel was decidedly less creepy in the day light, and I had some very good bread and coffee. Elvynia and I checked out, and the four of us headed out into the great city of Madrid.
It was overcast and dreary, and Madrid, I am sorry to say, is not one of the prettiest of European cities. We walked by the Grand Palace, saw some statues, and went to the Plaza del Sol. Then, Elvynia and I set out to our couchsurfing place: chez Rafael. We hopped on the metro and arrived a ways out of the city. We then walked for a good 15 minutes along a busy road. There was a "sanatorium" across the street. I will admit, I was a little scared. The neighborhood looked alright, and when we got to his building I was relieved. It was nice-looking and a friendly neighbor woman let us in.
Rafael let us in where we met hi parents and his dog, Pipo. Even after being told that we didn't speak Spanish, Rafael's father continued to talk to us and point at the dog. I'm sure whatever he was saying was very interesting.
For our first time couchsurfing, we were spoiled. Rafael and Miguel have a small third bedroom where they host couchsurfers. There were two twin beds with clean sheets. They even had a map and small tourist guide set out for us. Rafael had to go back to work. We made plans to meet for drinks and tapas, and he dropped us off at the metro station. Back in Madrid, we went to the Museo Reina Sofia of Contemporary Art. It was great. There are a number of paintings by Picasso and Dalì, as well as one of my favorites, Miró. The main attraction is Picasso's Guernica, and it is impressive. You also are not allowed to take pictures of it, but I managed this one from the next room over:
I think this picture beautifully captures both Picasso's magnificent work and the modern aesthetic of nazi-esque museum volunteers. (While at the Reina Sofia, I was told to step away from a Dalí paint -- which I have to add was BEHIND GLASS. What is the point of seeing a painting in person if you can't get close enough to see the detail? ESPECIALLY WITH SALVADOR DALÍ. )
After the Reina Sofia, we spent entirely too long finding a place to go and sit for a while. I am not pointing fingers. But sit we did. After a bit, we went to meet up with Rafael and his roommate Miguel. Rafael and Miguel are awesome. They didn't know us. We were only staying one night, and it was a Thursday. Yet, they took us to three cool tapas bars where we had good food and drinks and fun conversation. They have hosted over 100 couchsurfers and are both very interested in traveling. We traded stories and had a really nice time. Elvynia and I headed back with them and had a nice, full night's sleep.
We didn't bother and try to see Madrid on Friday. We slept in and headed to the airport. Did I mention earlier how fabulous the Lisbon airport was? Well, it was awesome. Very clean and modern with lots of food options and comfortable places to sit. The very opposite of Charles de Gaulle. Madrid's airport was in between, and all of the food was overpriced. Luckily, our flight was only delayed by a few minutes, and we were on our way back to France.
Jerónimos Monastery is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. Really. The cathedral part is nice, but when you go to the cloister... It's really like nothing I've ever seen. Pictures are better. This one was taken by my fabulous photographer friend, Elvynia:
Here's one of mine:
Luckily everyone else was in agreement, and we went to a sandwich shop where I had the cheapest and most satisfying meal I can remember: a thick kind of potato and vegetable soup and bread, for €1.90.
It was delicious and wonderful.
I considered heading back and skipping the tower, but I didn't. The tower is also impressive. We also saw it during something like a wind storm. It was freezing and raining and wind-ing. A lot. And most of what there is to see in the tower is outside. I was pretty much miserable, but I guess I'm glad I saw it. Plus, Elvynia took this cool picture of me:
Outline:
Monday Feb 15th: Lisbon Aquarium, which was impressive with its humungous central aquarium with hundreds of fish. The Lisbon Oceanarium is supposed to be one of the best in Europe, and I think I had my hopes up a little too high. It was really cool, but I guess I expected something a little flashier. All of that, however, was made up for by the Big Ugly Fish. The appeal of the Big Ugly Fish can only be explained by clicking that link. There were also some pretty damn cute otters of whom I also took a video, but that, sadly, will not upload for some unknown reason. After the aquarium we went to this huge mall that was close by. Meredith did some shopping, but I think the rest of us were just exhausted. After eating we walked slowly, in a daze, then just found another place to sit down in the food court.
Tuesday Feb 16th: We walked around and took one of Lisbon's "elevators," which is actually a trolley car that goes up a hill. We were somewhat tricked by one of our companions into going to a Basilica. It was pretty, as Basilicas are apt to be. I did have a lot on my mind, so I just sat down and took the quiet time to think. Then we went to a cute restaurant café where I had a much needed Irish coffee.
That night there was a "party" at the hostel, which was fun until we found out the other rooms had heaters and one of these Australian boys got a little too friendly with Elvynia. She and I then befriended the Polish guy working at the desk who gave us bottles of water for free.
Wednesday Feb 17th: Of course, for our last day in Lisbon, the sun came out. Meredith had a mid-day flight back to Paris, and the rest of us were heading for Madrid. We just made our way back to the water and sat and looked out at the ocean. We found a weird burger place to eat lunch then we wandered back to the water and just sat some more. Sitting became a recurring theme throughout the rest of our trip. I think being sick just totally took the energy out of me. I don't know if the others felt the same, but I was glad other people were into sitting.
Evening of Wednesday Feb 17th: With all of our things gathered, we arrived to the airport - like the good little travelers we were - just under two hours early. We sat a while. Then we found out our flight was delayed. And delayed and delayed. The flight left two hours late, and we did not get to Spain until after 1:00 am. This is were our trip got interesting. Elvynia and I had planned to Couchsurf in Madrid. (I will talk about couchsurfing later) But, the metro closed at 1:30, and we were not going to make it. We decided it would be easiest and safest to share a taxi with Gloria and Sheena to the hostel in the city center. So we thought. One hour and €60 later, he finally dropped us off at the hostel. It should have been a 20 minute €20 ride, but it was 2am. And we didn't speak Spanish.
The hostel was near the Gran Via metro stop, which, we discovered, is also where some prostitutes hang out. An imposing man stood at the door to the hostel. He said something in Spanish, which we didn't get. Then he asked in English where we were going. "The hostel," Sheena said.
"What is it called?" he asked. At this point, we were exhausted, we had been cheated by an evil taxi driver, and we were surrounded by Spanish prostitutes. We did not feel like being interrogated by a scary Russian-looking Spanish doorman.
Sheena looked at him. She looked at the sign on the wall next to him and read it. He did not look impressed, but he said something into a walkie talkie and let us in. We should have couchsurfed, I thought. Inside, the deskman was nice, and Elvynia and I ended up with a private double room for the price of a dorm. Sheena and Gloria went straight away to their room. But while we were getting ours reserved, some of the freakiest looking people started coming in. Shiny-pleather-jacket man, bleached-hair-with-black-eyebrows girl. It was like some kind of creepy meeting of people that only come out after midnight. We hurried to our room and promptly went to bed.
Thursday Feb 18th: We woke up and met Gloria and Sheena for breakfast. The hostel was decidedly less creepy in the day light, and I had some very good bread and coffee. Elvynia and I checked out, and the four of us headed out into the great city of Madrid.
It was overcast and dreary, and Madrid, I am sorry to say, is not one of the prettiest of European cities. We walked by the Grand Palace, saw some statues, and went to the Plaza del Sol. Then, Elvynia and I set out to our couchsurfing place: chez Rafael. We hopped on the metro and arrived a ways out of the city. We then walked for a good 15 minutes along a busy road. There was a "sanatorium" across the street. I will admit, I was a little scared. The neighborhood looked alright, and when we got to his building I was relieved. It was nice-looking and a friendly neighbor woman let us in.
Rafael let us in where we met hi parents and his dog, Pipo. Even after being told that we didn't speak Spanish, Rafael's father continued to talk to us and point at the dog. I'm sure whatever he was saying was very interesting.
For our first time couchsurfing, we were spoiled. Rafael and Miguel have a small third bedroom where they host couchsurfers. There were two twin beds with clean sheets. They even had a map and small tourist guide set out for us. Rafael had to go back to work. We made plans to meet for drinks and tapas, and he dropped us off at the metro station. Back in Madrid, we went to the Museo Reina Sofia of Contemporary Art. It was great. There are a number of paintings by Picasso and Dalì, as well as one of my favorites, Miró. The main attraction is Picasso's Guernica, and it is impressive. You also are not allowed to take pictures of it, but I managed this one from the next room over:
I think this picture beautifully captures both Picasso's magnificent work and the modern aesthetic of nazi-esque museum volunteers. (While at the Reina Sofia, I was told to step away from a Dalí paint -- which I have to add was BEHIND GLASS. What is the point of seeing a painting in person if you can't get close enough to see the detail? ESPECIALLY WITH SALVADOR DALÍ. )
After the Reina Sofia, we spent entirely too long finding a place to go and sit for a while. I am not pointing fingers. But sit we did. After a bit, we went to meet up with Rafael and his roommate Miguel. Rafael and Miguel are awesome. They didn't know us. We were only staying one night, and it was a Thursday. Yet, they took us to three cool tapas bars where we had good food and drinks and fun conversation. They have hosted over 100 couchsurfers and are both very interested in traveling. We traded stories and had a really nice time. Elvynia and I headed back with them and had a nice, full night's sleep.
We didn't bother and try to see Madrid on Friday. We slept in and headed to the airport. Did I mention earlier how fabulous the Lisbon airport was? Well, it was awesome. Very clean and modern with lots of food options and comfortable places to sit. The very opposite of Charles de Gaulle. Madrid's airport was in between, and all of the food was overpriced. Luckily, our flight was only delayed by a few minutes, and we were on our way back to France.
Hahaha... I love our Polish friend! Reading this just makes me want to go back to Portugal so much more, we must go back!
ReplyDelete