Madrid

Mike and I both really liked Madrid. It is a wonderful European city. What it lacks in the charm of narrow streets, it gains in fountains, parks and statues. I was exhausted on our first day in Madrid. The sunburn was really starting to get the best of me, but the city beckoned.

We started off the day by going to the Mercado de San Miguel which was quite a sight. It's a covered market with all sorts of vendors selling tapas, alcohol, coffee and dessert. The variety of tapas is overwhelming and everything is done fresh since the Mercado is packed and the food is eaten almost as soon as it's made. Mike and I walked around a little to get the lay of the land, and then tried a little bit of everything with some sangria and coffee to polish it off. I tried to save room for dessert, but that did not happen when all was said and done.

Having satisfied our hunger we walked around the old city and ended up in the Parque de Buen Retiro - which means the Park of Pleasant Retreat - and they are not lying. The park is 350 acres and the largest park in central Madrid.We saw couples and groups of friends reading and having picnics in the shade of great old trees to beat the heat. There are paths for walking, biking and rollerblading as well as a cross between a lake and a pond where people rent boats and row around. We strolled through most of the park having the most pleasant of days.

The park houses a couple of smaller buildings - like the Palacio de Crystal which housed a weird art exhibition that I couldn't really understand. There are also a lot of street performers playing guitar and accordion. Mike - who apparently really likes accordion even took some videos of the musicians. We ended up walking into the Gardens of Buen Retiro and saw wild peacocks in their mating dance. I felt bad for a male peacock that was peacock-blocked by tourists feeding the females. Mike and I even saw the mating dance - but alas, the male will have to try again at a different time.

On our way out of the park we also walked into another Palace - Palacio de Valezquez which had a modern art exhibition that made me think of Burning Man. I will try to put up some pictures and videos a little later. We also walked bast an old no longer used zoo that was a little depressing. Apparently this is really is a one stop shop kind of a park. We dined in the Plaza de Santa Ana and went to bed relatively early - by our usual travelling standards.

Our final day in Madrid we had lunch at the oldest restaurant in the world (seriously) - Sobrino de Botin. I recommend doing this - even though it's a very touristy thing to do. I agree with other reviews that it's not a tourist trap and the food is of very good quality. Mike ordered suckling pig and I had Clams Botin. We also split the dessert - Tarta Botin which was delicious and very rich. I also recommend the sangria - it was the first time throughout my whole visit in Spain and Portugal that I didn't think there was too much sugar added. I liked the sangria so much that I ended up getting a little drunk and going back to the hotel to relax and sober up a little.

Once I sobered up we walked the the Palacio Real - and walked in the Gardens a little and then went on to Parque de Oste to look at the Temple of Debod:

The Temple of Debod^[2] (Spanish: Templo de Debod) is an ancient Egyptian temple which was rebuilt in Madrid, Spain.

The temple was built originally 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south of Aswan^[3] in southern Egypt very close to the first cataract of the Nileand to the great religious center dedicated to the goddess Isis, in Philae. In the early 2nd century BC, Adikhalamani (Tabriqo), the Kushite king of Meroë, started its construction by building a small single room chapel dedicated to the god Amun.^[3] It was built and decorated on a similar design to the later Meroitic chapel on which the Temple of Dakka is based.^[3] Later, during the reigns ofPtolemy VI, Ptolemy VIII and Ptolemy XII of the Ptolemaic dynasty, it was extended on all four sides to form a small temple, 12 by 15 metres (39 ft × 49 ft), which was dedicated to Isis of Philae. The Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius completed its decorations.^[4]

From the quay there is a long processional way leading to the stone-built enclosure wall, through three stone pylon gateways and finally to the temple itself.^[3] The pronaos, which had four columns with composite capitals collapsed in 1868, and is now lost.^[3]Behind it lay the original sanctuary of Amun, the offering table room and a later sanctuary with several side-rooms and stairs to the roof.^[3]

In 1960, due to the construction of the Great Dam of Aswan and the consequent threat posed to several monuments and archeological sites, UNESCO made an international call to save this rich historical legacy. As a sign of gratitude for the help provided by Spain in saving the temples of Abu Simbel, the Egyptian state donated the temple of Debod to Spain in 1968.

The temple was rebuilt in one of Madrid's parks, the Parque del Oeste, near the Royal Palace of Madrid, and opened to the public in 1972.^[5] The reassembled gateways appear to have been placed in a different order than when originally erected. Compared to a photo of the original site, the gateway topped by a serpent flanked sun appears not to have been the closest gateway to the temple proper.^[6] It constitutes one of the few works of ancient Egyptian architecture which can be seen outside Egypt and the only one of its kind in Spain.

The park was not nearly as pleasant as the Buen Retire Park, but we still did a little laying and reading and people-watching. There was a big group doing capoeira that Mike took a video of as well. The rain and cooler weather prevented us from staying too long so we walked back to the old city and had our last Spain dinner - which was very pleasant. After dinner we strolled through the city saying good-bye. We walked the Gran Via and the calle de Alcalla admiring the building and discussing how beautiful and under-appreciated the city of Madrid is. It was a bittersweet evening, but a fitting one as the last day of our honeymoon. In the morning we flew back to our lives and started the process of working to travel all over again :)

Granada

Our day in Granada was very very pleasant. I was completely and totally burned so I put on a breezy dress and we went to explore Alhambra. As usual we started our journey around the hottest time of the day after having a bit of lunch and walked up the hill to let it settle for a bit.

Alhambra in huge. They actually sell separate tickets for separate parts, because you don't really have time to explore everything with an audio tour in one 6 hr. general ticket session. We only had one day so we just tried to do as much as we could. When you get up to the main entrance there is a huge line to get tickets and the ticket window says cash only. Mike got in line and told me to go find out the lay of the land. What I found was that a little hidden and off to the side you have credit card machines where you can buy tickets with absolutely no line for an extra fee of 1.30 euros per ticket. I came back and told him in Russian for minimizing the stampede to the ticket machines. Great success :)

We started our visit by exploring the Palacio de Carlos V. which was started in 1527 and completed in 1957. The Spaniards sure know how to take their time building things :). Now I know where the waiters get their speed from. Mike thinks that all of the stone that went into making the columns was sanded down, but it feels great to the touch. Once we were done exploring it, we went down to the Mezzanine floor and went through a museum where there were artifacts from the time of Alhambra. Here is a blurb on the Palacio from the Alhambra website:

The origin of Charles V Palace (Palacio de Carlos V) was the need for a place that would include all the comforts of the time for the Emperor and his family, as the palaces, which were their summer residence, did not cover their needs. 

The Emperor ordered the construction of the palace next to the Alhambra in order to enjoy its wonders. The architect in charge of the works was Pedro Machuca, an experienced architect in love with the Renaissance. The works started in 1527 and were totally finished in 1957. The construction went through several stages, the lack of financing resources, revolts that stopped the works, etc. The building was sometimes neglected to such an extent that the ceilings collapsed. 

The palace is square and its main façade is 63 meters wide and 17 meters high. Its circular patio is unique and it is the most important building of Renaissance style in Spain. Only the southern and western façades are completely decorated. The northern and southern sides are not because they are connected to the palaces of the Alhambra.

Once we were done we went to the Generalife gardens which were amazingly pleasant to walk around in. On our little walk we saw the most PIMP cat in the world, he was taking a nap on a bench in the sun in the Generalife Gardens in Alhambra - and I thought my life is pretty nice :) I have included a picture for your general enjoyment. We were just finishing our pleasant stroll when my alarm rang meaning that we had to make our way back to the Nasarid Palaces. The way that the General Ticket for Alhambra works is that there is you can walk anywhere you want, but you have a specific time that you have to be at the Nasarid Palaces which is the biggest Alhambra attraction.

The Palaces were very beautiful with an insane amount of intricate detail. It is still inhabited - at least by a bat that I found sleeping in a nook of the Myrtles. I wished that we had a guide, but we didn't get one for Alhambra. I kind of regret that decision now. Mike and I discussed whether or not the Nasarid Palaces were a little much. I think that they are beautiful, but I do see what he is saying. There is no place for your eyes to rest - it's a little overstimulating. I understand the need for fountains and water in palaces of this style, as it's the only place where your eye can rest on something calm and non busy. While taking pictures we met a couple who just came from Madrid and gave us a food recommendation for El Mercado de San Miguel which turned out amazing, but I will get to that later.

Once we got out of the Nasarid Palaces we tried to sneak in a visit to Alcazaba - but the park was closing and all we got was a chance for Mike to run up and take in the view. On our way out we heard beautiful classical guitar music coming from the theater of Generalife. We asked some of the people who worked at Alhambra what that was and they stated that a guitarist was practicing for a July 23 show. I later looked it up, and the show is called Duende. I'm not really sure what it entails but it looks like music and dancing and flamenco. After a lot of work I found out that the guitarist we heard is probably Luis Mariano - a Granada local. I would not mind finding out more, but for some reason it's unreasonable difficult to find any info on it online. We polished our day at Granada off with a nice dinner (I had an ox burger) while listening to a street guitarist. It wasn't quite as good as what we happened to hear in Granada, but beggars can't be choosers I guess. Mike went walking after I went to bed and met another Madrid native who gave him other Madrid site recommendations along with food and alcohol - so we were all set for the last city of our journey

The next morning we bought a couple of souvenirs and headed towards Madrid. Our plan was to stop by Toledo and have a little dinner. About an hour away from Granada Mike found a small town and proceeded to instruct me in the art of driving stick - insert joke here. I started off in the small town, but then Mike had me go off towards the hills on windy roads. I was completely exhausted after about an hour of total stress - but I can say that I have driven stick now. YAY!!!!

After another hour or so on the road we saw a ruined castle and decided that we need to see it up close. It was a little bit of a hike to get up there, but we are adventurers and this is what we do. The ruined castle is home to many pigeons who we successfully disturbed. I think the whole side trip took us no more than 30 minutes and soon we were on our way again towards Toledo.

The town looked beautiful and old, but we didn't really have a chance to walk around in it. We stopped by several different bars for beers and tapas and settled on a restaurant for a nice meal. I have to say that at this point of the trip I was pretty tired and was really looking forward to going to bed in Madrid. On the way out of Toledo my navigation skills got us to incredibly narrow streets and we ended up scraping our car - which woke me up quite a bit, but we managed to get to Madrid and into bed without any further incident.

Mallorca

I really fell in love with Mallorca. I woke up in not the best mood due to Ryanair and Mike and I had breakfast and went to the train station to see if we could take the old school train to Soller. It's supposed to be a beautiful ride. We got there only to find out that the next ride is in over an hour and Mike suggested that maybe we should rent a scooter. This way we would be on our own schedule and not tied down to the bus and train lines which leave Soller no later than 6pm. It was a brilliant idea. The ride was so beautiful that I'm not sure that I can do it justice. We made a little loop going from Palma de Mallorca to Villdemosa, Deia and port de Soller and then back to Palma. The ride is pretty uneventful and then suddenly a view opens up of an old town - Villdemosa. It's mountainous and very terraced. There are buildings made of stone that are hundreds of years old, there are terraced olive tree farms, and wild flowers. It takes your breath away. We stopped and took pictures and also did a little exploring on one of the hills. I'm pretty sure we were tresspassing, but we happened on some rock climbers so I'm sure we are not the only ones.

After Villdemosa we continued riding to the ocean looking at the amazing view. I felt bad for Mike as he couldn't look around as much as I did. There are coves and cliffs going into the sea and beautiful mountains with really old small towns dotted through. The ride through the mountains was a bit scary. As Yan would say "ochko igralo".Deia has the ocean views and the terraced mountains. We stopped off and tried to get to the water but a lot of it is private property so we couldn't really do it. We did see a bunch of hiking trails, but as I wanted to be back in Palma before dark, we couldn't do too much exploring. We got to Port de Soller happy and tired. It looks like a cute little beach town with a lot of tourists. We went to a very delicious restaurant called Nunu and had some of the best seafood I have ever had. Their fish menu changes daily depending on what is bought by them each day, so I can't really make recommendations, but if you are ever there you should go to NuNu. We ate and watched the sun start setting over the mountains and it was a lovely lovely time.

We got back just as it was getting dusky and went to have drinks at a bar. Mike was playing with his wedding band and it fell between the floorboards. Somehow we ere able to see it in between the two boards and Mike used a straw to hook and retrieve it while I shined a light from my phone. Free entertainment was provided by us for the whole bar. All's well than ends well :) We walked around the city for a little while and then went to bed since our plan was to get up at 9am and drive across the whole island to the Caves of Drach.

Somehow we did manage to get up at 9 and were on the road by 10:30. There is a highway that goes to Porto Cristo (where the caves are) but we obviously couldn't really take it on a scooter. Thankfully there is frontage road that was available for scooters and cyclists. We got a little lost several times but it was a beautiful road. There were mountains in the distance, and we drove through farms and the small of grass, hay and wild flowers. Sometimes also through the smell of cows and sheep, but that was OK too. It smelled like being at a dacha on a hot summer day. We stopped a couple of times to take pictures. It was a great ride, but very tiring for me. 2 hours each way makes the back ache. We got to the caves 15 minutes before our tour and had drinks and a bocadillo - sandwich.

The tour itself was non-existent. You walk through a beautiful cave with a lake, stalagtites and stalagmites, but no one tells you anything. Still worth a visit if you research on your own first. The walk ends at an underground lake with seats set up like an auditorium. Everyone sits down, and we see lit up boats glide in with classical musicians. They played 2-3 numbers and then glided out again. It felt kind of charmed and ethereal. I enjoyed it a lot. On the way out we had a choice of getting into the boats or walking, but we were already running late for returning the scooter so we walked and rode back to Palma admiring the scenery and looking at the flowers that were all around ranging from white, to deep red, to fusia. I was dead tired by the time we got back to Mallorca, and we had to get violated by Ryan air again so that was not the best.

We did manage to get our car in Barcelona and drive towards Valencia. We stopped off about 45 minutes north of Valencia and slept in the car till morning. I wanted a beach day, so we just stayed where we were, and read on the beach in the shade for 6 hours periodically going for a dip in the sea and napping. It would have been perfect if I didn't burn very badly. I thought shade was safe, but apparently not. Our ride to Grenada was uneventful and we are staying at a cute "shabby chic" hostel called Casa Don Federico in the center of town. Time to explore Grenada. Will write again later.

Barcelona

Our first day in Barcelona was a little bit of a throw away because we were so tired. We we got there at around 3pm but couldn't get into our apartment until about 8 pm. Yan suggested that we go to Parc Guell since its a little bit away from the city itself and it would be more convenient while we still had the car. It took is a little while to find a way in and then Jessya and I made a beeline for the bathroom leaving Yan behind. Once the bathrooming was completed we sent Mike to look for him. A mere 30 minutes later our two husbands appeared.
It was a crazy hot day so we decided to stay around the cafe area by a performance space and read. The reading started off relatively well, but suddenly a children's song cut in at full volume. This lasted for a couple of minutes, and then stopped. Not ones to be fazed by such craziness, we all went back to our books. The sound checks were repeated over and over again slowly driving us all insane (don't forget that we were all super tired already). The only lyrics that we could understand were "Mickey Mickey Moose" which we think is a mispronunciation of a very famous Disney mouse :). We made it until around 5:30 and then went to get tapas around Las Ramblas.  I think I was delirious by the time we got to our apartment which is very conveniently situated in el Reval. Mike and I slept for 14 and 12 hours each respectively.
The next day we were planning to do an electric GPS go kart tour of Barcelona. When we arrived the cars had not come back yet, but we said we would wait(we did have a reservation for a particular time). A little while later one of the employees told us that the cars would be back in 20 minutes. We told him that we would walk around and be back. In 40 minutes Jessya went to check on our cars, and was told that they will not be back today. This is very indicative of the quality of service in Spain. It's too bad that tipping is not part of the culture. You can't even punish people for being crappy. We rescheduled our tour for 11:30 the next day and went to Montjuik as it was raining and the journey would be long and in a funicular.
It was a great choice. The views from the funicular were spectacular. We stopped by the fort and got 360 degree views of Barcelona and then went to the middle funicular stop for more views and a little walking around the gardens (very little). We noticed (and this is not just in the case of Montjuik) that there are a crazy amount of Russian tourists in Spain, and in Barcelona in particular. It looks like they are bussed in and they are severely overly made up and over dressed. It's a little crazy to what extent this is true! The people watching was definitely an enjoyable piece of the Montjuik experience for me.
After our mild and easy day of sightseeing we went home to change and then had plans for drinks and dinner. Our drinks were at the ICEBAR. Imagine if you will a freezer with ice sculptures. Everything is made out of ice. The seats are ice with furs on them. The glasses are ice. Everything is ice. You come in and get a big parka and gloves, get into the freezer and get some drinks. Ice Age is playing on the TV. You get your drink, and your mouth morphs the "glass". Once you are done with your drink, you smash the glass into a trash can. It's pretty cool and also really cold. I think I could only handle 30 minutes, but what an experience!
Dinner was at a really tasty place called PLA. we all got a tasting menu and managed to try almost all of the things on the menu. At the end of the night the Pritzkers took a train back, but Mike and I walked to get some of the food to start metabolizing. PLA is in the Gothic quarter so we walked through that and el Reval, but honestly I think those two neighborhoods are a bit overrated.
Our next day in Barcelona was awesome. We actually managed to get our GPS cars this time and took a tour around the old city and some Gaudi buildings. It was great because it gave us a taste of where we wanted to return. We finally went to the bottom of Parc Guell and looked at the amazing architecture. The Pritzkers almost got a parking ticket in their little electric car but they feigned ignorance and all ended well. We also got lost several times because the GPS tour is a little confusing on the directions and sometimes runs a little behind but is was a lot of fun. Fun fact - the word tapas came from the Spanish word "tapar" which means to cover. Back in the day, people would sit and chat and to prevent flies from getting into their coffee/tea they would put small plates  from their snacks on top to cover them. The Pritzkers didn't want to do the long tour because they were worried that we would run out of time, so they left but we finished the tour and it was really nice. I wish we had even more time to explore. We decided that we would come back to check out the Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera, and the block of discord on our own, but after a mini siesta so that was our plan.
When we got home mike took a little nap and I decided to buy tickets to the Segrada Familia. Once I bought them I had to pick them up at an ATM. La Caixa is a local bank and on top of serving as an ATM also is connected to ticketmaster and you can pick up pre purchased, or even buy tickets so shows, movies, and attractions directly from there. I went while Mike slept, and spoke to a Catalan woman as I was confused by the process. Neither of us had Spanish as our primary language, but we made do and I came home proud of my accomplishments. This is when I got locked out. The key works, but the door is tricky. I was outside the door for 20 minutes knocking, kicking, and screaming before Mike woke up and opened the door for me. And we were late. Argh!!!!!!
We did manage to go to the Segrada Familia. In fact there were only three other people behind us that were allowed to go into the Tower. We were also basically the last people our of the Basilica. It is indescribable the level of detail and forethought that went into this project. They are hoping to complete it in 2032 and I want to go back to Spain just to see it. The Segrada Familia literally takes your breath away. The stained, glass, the columns of different thicknesses made out of different stones, the acoustics for the choir, and the fact that the tallest tower is as tall as the mountains surrounding Barcelona, but not taller since man should not make anything greater than god - it's amazing. I recommend allotting a lot of time to this. Our hour and a half was not enough. We did not get the audio tour, but we hear it's really good too.
We wanted to grab a snack and then go see La Pedrera, but we met some people sitting at the next table from us (two Dutch and one Swede) and instead proceeded to chat and drink with them for the following 6 hours. We talked about food, and music, and Burning Man (they know all about it) and politics. We talked about the difference between living in Spain and in the Netherlands and how not everyone can handle it. We just had a great time and got really really drunk on a mix of Sangria, beer and Jager shots. I finally threw in the towel and Mike walked me around for a little while, found us a cab, went to a drive through for some food and brought us back home in one piece. Day = total win.
Our final day in Barcelona was all about Gaudi. After a light breakfast we spend several hours at La Perdida. I highly recommend the optional audio tour. It doesn't just go over La Pedrera, but also giver a history of Gaudi and all of his famous works. He hung strings or chains in arch formation upside down and added weights to calculate the load bearing measurements and points in his works. We was obsessed with using elements from nature and making everything organic. He not only designed houses, but also furniture that was ergonomic and door handles that would be molded our of clay to naturally fit the fingers and then be dipped in bronze. The more I found out about him and his process the more impressed I became with this work. By the time the tour was over we were really hungry so we had some lunch then went to the exhibition floor of La Pedrera. This is where free art and photo shows are held. I went to see more of the building, but ended up really liking the photo exhibit BY Chema Madoz.  Once we had a good look around we went over to the other famous building - Casa Batllo located on the block of discord.
The Illa de la Discòrdia (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈiʎə ðə ɫə disˈkɔrðiə]; English: Block of Discord, Spanish: Manzana de la Discordia), is a block on Passeig de Gràcia in the Eixample District of Barcelona, Spain. The block is noted for having buildings by four of Barcelona's most important Modernista architects, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Antoni Gaudí, Josep Puig i Cadafalch and Enric Sagnier, in close proximity. As the four architects' styles were very different, the buildings clash with each other and the neighboring buildings. They were all built in the early years of the 20th century.
The block is the southwest side of Passeig de Gràcia, between Carrer del Consell de Cent and Carrer d'Aragó. The houses are the Casa Lleó-Morera, at Passeig de Gràcia 35, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner; Casa Mulleras, at Passeig de Gràcia 37, designed by Enric Sagnier; Casa Bonet, at Passeig de Gràcia 39, designed by Marcel·lí Coquillat i Llofriu; Casa Amatller, at Passeig de Gràcia 41, designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch; and Casa Batlló, at Passeig de Gràcia 43, designed by Antoni Gaudí.
Due to the presence of these famous landmark buildings, the block is a significant tourist attraction in Barcelona. The name in Spanish, Manzana de la Discordia, is a play on words: manzana means both "city block" and "apple," referencing the Apple of Discord.
I think that the Casa Batllo is more beautiful than La Pedrera, but Mike doesn't think so. It's hard to judge, because the audio tour of la Casa Batllo is awful. It's included in the admission, but I could barely stand it. The house itself is amazing. The most amazing part - Gaudi did not design the building. It used to be a regular house and Gaudi was hired to redesign it. He changed the facade and a lot of the inside, and added two stories to it, but the bones of the house are not Gaudi. I loved the tile, and the stained glass. Everything was very well thought out and the building had a sea motif to it. I highly recommend going, but maybe after La Pedrera and then don't turn on the tour. Just walk around.
After Casa Batllo we were unable to take in any more info, which was a good thing since it was almost time to meet up with the Pritzkers for an outdoor jazz concert on the roof of La Pedrera. The concert was absolutely amazing. I don't remember enjoying jazz this much in a really long time. I even bought a CD as a present for my parents - a souvenir that can be used. It was lovely and a lovely way to end the evening. We were going to hang out more with the Pritzkers as this was the last time we were going to see them before their early morning flight, but Jessya was not feeling well so they went home before the end of the jazz show.
Mike and I spent our last night in Barcelona walking on La Rambla, going through the Gothic Quarter where we found a park over roman ruins, and walking through el Reval where there was a random party outside with a black and white french film silently projected onto a wall and a DJ spinning while people sat and chatted and drank. Not a bad way to say good bye. The next morning we flew to Mallorca. I will just say that we will never fly Ryanair again. Both the trip to and from Mallorca were horrible and they screwed us for a lot of money. If you do decide to fly them make sure that you check in at least 4 hours before your flight, give yourself 3 hours at the airport and print out your boarding pass. Otherwise you will end up paying through the nose. 

Porto, Bilbao, and Pamplona

Porto has a very different feel from Lisbon. It is smaller and poorer, but I really like it. Last night as Mike and I went walking around at night, as we tend to do, we stopped by a cafe and had a coke. While there Mike asked a nearby table for a cigarette. He offered to buy it from the gentleman who was sitting there. Not only was his request to buy a cigarette denied, but the man gave him the remainder of his pack and got another one from his car. This has happened often in Portugal. People are very warm and generous here even though their unemployment is absolutely ridiculous and their government is deteriorating in front of our eyes. (Several ministers have stepped down this week)

I feel than my walking tour of Porto was a great success. We did not get even close to going through all of it, but I think it gave us a good feel of the city. We started by getting breakfast and then walked around the center. I have linked the tour document I have created here. We got through the Photography Museum. I definitely feel that we all could have used another day or two in Porto. Jessica commented on the fact that our honeymoon is like the tapas of Spain and Portugal and I completely agree. The highlights of our walk for me were the view of Vila Nova de Gaia from the Porto Cathedral, the amazing tiles in the Sao Bento train station - 2000 tiles that took 10 years to finish and have scenes from Portuguese history, and the 360 view of Porto from the Torre los Clerigos - it was well worth the 225 stair climb. We polished off our tour of Porto with a winery tour that we finished by tasting 5 different kinds of port. I have discovered that I do not like tawny ports because I don't enjoy the oaky flavor, but really like the rubies, and the whites. Also, apparently most ports are blends, but exceptionally good years are bottled separately and are the best. Finally, I couldn't leave Porto without trying the city dish - Francesinha which literally means "frenchie" and I loved it.  Here is Wikipedia's description:

It is said that the Francesinha was an invention in the 1960s. Daniel da Silva, a returned emigrant from France and Belgium, tried to adapt the croque-monsieur to Portuguese taste. Other versions date the Francesinha to the 19th century. It is a very popular dish in Porto and is connotated with the city, although it can be sometimes found elsewhere in Portugal. It is often a ritual meal for some that will eat it once a week or whenever they get together with friends before or after attending a football match from a local team (FC Porto, Boavista, Salgueiros, ...) A classic francesinha meal would include the sandwich, surrounded on a bed of chips doused in the famous sauce, and complimented with a fino (literally meaning thin) draught beer.

Locals will have their favorite restaurant with the best Francesinha in town, typically arguing about the quality of the sauce (a secret recipe) that varies by

Francesinha sauce is a secret, with each house having its variation. The only common ingredient is beer. Most, though not all, sauces are tomato based and vary in their degree of spiciness. The color is usually red or orange. Different restaurants that serve Francesinha are characterized based on how good their sauce and mix of meats is perceived to be.

A couple of observations about Portugal: A lot of people told us not to bother with it, because it's not as nice as Spain, but all four of us have agreed that the experience was just very very different. It's true that Portugal has less historic sites, because of the earthquake that demolished everything in the 17 hundreds, however from what I have seen so far - Portugal has other things going for it. The people are warmer and the cities reminded Yan of SF. People stay out late and talk to one another. The feel is run down, but that gives Portugal charm. I personally am very glad that I have visited Sagres, Lisbon and Porto - they are all very different from one another and I loved all of them.

After Porto we had a long road ahead of us. We drove about 5 hours to Oviedo, spent the night, and drove another 3 to get to Bilbao. I really really liked Bilbao. We started our time there with a guided walking tour that lasted from about 5:30 to 9:30. We got to know the history of the city, sample some extremely delicious tapas and take lots of pictures of the Guggenheim Museum. At 9:30 we had reservations at "La Baracca" which is a restaurant owned by the family of one of my coworkers - Javier. I am excited to report that I had the best paella of my life at the restaurant. The decor is also very very cool. There is a collection of old telephones in the main dining room area and a collection of coke bottles from around the world right as you come in. Mike had Yan take a picture of him with it :)

My favorite art installation in the whole city of Bilbao is the puppy made out of different colored flowers which is an art installation in front of the Guggenheim . It's absolutely amazing. When I looked at it I just wanted to climb inside of it and live there. The building and the other sculptures around it are also very impressive, but my heart was given to the flower puppy.

My second favorite part of the city is the Zubizuri Bridge. It is arguably also the most impractical. The Zanziburi Bridge connects the two banks right by the Guggenheim museum and it is beautiful. I will post pictures. The sides are white painted steel and the floor is made up of glass tiles. At night the light from the street lights illuminates it from underneath as you walk. The problem with the bridge is the glass. Bilbao is a wet city, there is a lot of rain and flooding. Walking on wet glass is not the safest of activities. Our guide told us that the Bilbaoans have called it the falling bridge. The city has tried putting down rubber strips on the bridge but that did not work. Currently its the only bridge in the world with a carpet over it.

I also really enjoyed the Alhondiga. Its a building where the facade was restored and is very very old, but inside the building is very modern and artistic. There is even a swimming pool with a glass bottom on the roof and you can see people swimming if you look up.

Bilbao also has delicious food. It has been the only place so far where the tapas I had were amazing. To be fair I had them at the best pintxos place in town and they are influenced a lot by french food, but there you have it none the less. I think the name of the place is Guretoki. I have tried tapas in another place in the city and they were nothing special. My other food recommendation is a cafe that has old school jazz and delicious crepes and coffee. Mike and I went there for breakfast and it was very nice and relaxing. I will double check with him on the name later.

What made Bilbao so special for me is my nighttime walk with Mike. The city shuts down at about 1am, so it was just the two of us walking the streets. Since we were planning to stay up all night in Pamplona the next day - we wanted to shift our sleep schedule and ended up walking until about 4:30 in the morning. The city combines ultra modern with the old in a very natural way. It's clear that the city is very interested n architecture. Even the entrances to their subway were designed by a famous architect by the name of Foster. The Bilbaoans refer to them as Fosterritos.

The next day was insane. We went to San Sebasian where Yan and Jessica had reservations to some super fancy Michellin rated restaurant for dinner. The plan was that Mike and I would get tickets to the train/bus to Pamplona, sleep in our hotel room in the daytime and then party all night. While Jessy and Yan enjoy a romantic meal and meet us in Pamplona in the morning before the running of the bulls. The San Sebastian train station is the biggest cluster fuck in the world. It took us a half an hour to be told by someone that they sold our of tickets. Mike and I then had to go to 3 more bus ticket places to get a ticket to Pamplona by bus. This ate up so much of our time that we no longer had a chance to nap. We ate tapas in the old part of San Sebastian and met up with Yan and Jessya before their epic meal. We all hung our together in old town, and then went back to the car where Mike and I took a change of clothes (white and red) as well as a towel to sleep on. Yan an Jessya took the car and we got onto our bus.

Everyone on the bus to Pamplona was already dressed in the colors and ready to party. There were some guys that were running with the bulls the next morning so the testosterone level was off the charts. Leave it to the Americans to be the most obnoxious - they started basting metal at full volume as we got into the city. Everyone in Pamplona was dressed to party. We got really lucky as the train station is right by the fireworks area. We heard the shots and came up to see the most intense fireworks show that I had ever seen. I was a little sad to miss the 4th of July celebration in Chicago this year, but the fireworks display in Pamplona put Chicago to shame. It lasted for a long time and the sky was lit up in all colors. It was a great first Pamplona experience.

We made it to the old city and walked around for a bit. The San Fermin festival is like Mardi Gras meets Spain and testosterone. People were completely trashed nd having a great time. It looked like residents brought down tables and chairs and set them up on the streets. They were drinking and singing with their neighbors and friends. The main square had people spontaneously dancing and singing. The streets are littered with garbage and Mike and I were surprised by the sheer amount of it, but everyone was having a great time. We saw families with little kids our till 2 am.

We realized that I was not going to make it till morning, so we went on a search of a place to sleep. We slept in the park a little away from all the action. We were by no means the only ones. I learned a lot that night. I learned that nighttime 64 degrees is much colder than daytime 64 degrees, I learned that sleeping on the hard ground is horrible if you are over 30, and I learned that Mike and I can laugh through anything and have a great time even if both of us are shivering and our bodies ache. I slept on and of from 2:45 to 6am and then I couldn't try anymore. We got up just early enough to see the city cleaning the streets and washing away all of the hedonism of the previous night. I have never seen so much public urination :)

We spotted Yan and Jessya right as they got out of their parking garage - which was a small miracle and got to our balcony by 7:23. The streets were closed down at 7. We got some snacks and watched. There was a musket shot that got the crowd running or walking. Basically people got to whatever spot they   wanted to run from. It could be at the very beginning, it could be right by the bull ring, it was up to the participants. The second musket shot signified that the bulls were coming. There were about 6 in one group and 4 in another later group. The bulls all run together pretty much in the middle of the street with all of the people running behind them. They did not look particularly awake or angry. It was the people that made it more dangerous. Around the bulls are the wildest of the participants and they are pushing the crowd in front of them to make way. There is a lot of pushing and shoving. There were several people that fell in front of the bulls and miraculously did not get trampled. I cant really describe the feeling of watching this. Once the bulls ran past us we went upstairs for more coffee and to watch the highlights on TV as is the custom.

Our drive to Barcelona was uneventful. I will write about our first day in the next installment as this took me a while to create and I'm tired. I hope to post again on Sunday. Adios

Lisbon and Sintra

Our first full day in Lisbon we took it pretty easy. We managed to sleep in a little bit and drive out to Evora to see the Capella des Ossos (Chapel of Bones). It is important to note that the whole time we were in Lisbon the highs never dipped below 100 degrees so the heat is absolutely insane. The Chapel of Bones is exactly what the name implies. It looks a little disturbing - and i think it does this by design. Over the entrance to the chapel there is a sign that states "Our Bones are Here Waiting for Yours". The Chapel was made this way to remind people of their own mortality and the transience of life (and perhaps to scare them into being good Christians???) The weirdest part of the whole experience was that there seems to be a school right outside the walls of the chapel so as you are inside, you hear voices if little kids playing and yelling.

On our way back from Evora it was really hot so instead of going right back to Lisbon we went to the beach. It was very nice and relaxing. Because it was around 5 pm we got to sit in the shade without paying for it, and both Yan and Jessica went for a dip in the very cold ocean. I read in the shade and am happy to continue with my non burned status. After a couple of hours and feeling refreshed we drove back to Lisbon and checked in to our apartment. The parking situation  is very difficult here but we parked our car surrounded by other cars so we thought we would be OK.  (WE THOUGHT WRONG)

Jessica was starving by this point so our first order of business was to find dinner. This wasn't as easy as one might think since she was a little sick of Portuguese fast food, but after about 20 minutes we happened upon a restaurant that looked promising and had great views of the river. We came in and asked to be seated, but they told us that they were booked solid. After making it clear to them that we had a hunger emergency they were willing to seat us in the children's area at a very low children's table - but we were just grateful we were seated at all. The place was very posh and the food was excellent. Honeymooners 1 - cool hip restaurant 0. Once we ate the Pritzkers went to a jazz show and Mike and I walked around Lisbon at night.

Lisbon has a great night life. There are people of all ages out and about till he wee hours of the morning. The bars are full and there are people all over the streets chatting and drinking. Kiosks are open in the parks and it really feels like people are enjoying themselves. They work to play and it shows. Several times Mike and I lamented about the fact that the US does not seem to have this scene. Here even families with young children go out until all hours. (I think the afternoon siesta really does people a favor) Which senator do I need to contact to get this in Illinois? :)

The next morning in Lisbon started out with a mini adventure that we will call the case of the missing car. We were towed and at first Yan - who was supposed to move the car and put money into the meter located it across town. They would not let him take it back because he didn't have his passport and rental contract on him. Apparently the fact that he had a key to the car was not enough. He came to the apartment , and got Mike to go retrieve that car with him. In the mean time Jessya and I went to the super marked and bought breakfast items. Everyone was back home at around the same time so we had our breakfast and hightailed it to our walking tour of Alfama. (An old neighborhood of Lisbon)

Our guide was really cool and  we really enjoyed our tour. He told us that Portugal was formed in a family feud. The king of Spain owned Portugal and gave it to his daughter. The daughter had a son that was born and raised in Lisbon. Once the king died his daughter took over in Spain but her son remained in Lisbon. He loved the land and wanted to rule locally. The people supported him and he fought his own mother for the land. He became the first king of Portugal.

Apparently we just missed a month long celebration in Lisbon. June is a month to party in the streets (its a month when all of the saints are celebrated). One of the most beloved saints is St. Anthony - the saint of weddings and for this reason 20 couples get they entire wedding and honeymoon paid for by the city on June 13. They all get married simultaneously in a big old cathedral. During the month of June neighbors in Alfama get together, decorate their courtyard, buy and gill sardines and blast music. They sell the food and split the profits between the neighbors. It looks like a block party everywhere you look.

At the end of our tour our guide also told us the legend of Lisboa. When Ulysses came to Portugal the princess of Portugal fell in love with him. They were very happy in their love, but the sailors that were on Ulysses' ship got homesick and wanted to leave. Ulysses and the princess didn't want to her anything about this, so one day the sailors got Ulysses very very drunk, put him on the boat and set sail. When the princess found out she turned herself into a snake so that she could get to the water and pull the ship back, but the ship was too far away. The grief turned the princess (in snake form) into stone. This is why Lisbon is so hilly.

After out tour the Pritzkers went home for a couple of hours to take a nap, but Mike and I stayed out more and walked around Alfama on our own for a while. Mike wanted to eat at one of the hole in the wall places that we passed by on our tour so we did that and drank some beer. We met up with the Pritzkers again at the Fado show that we all went to see. Fado is a Portuguese type of music that is sad and melancholy. It was born when women and children would stay in Lisbon and wait for sailors to return back to the city. Sometimes they never returned. The show was pretty good. I liked the guitar players and the female singer. The male was not very exciting. After the show we had dinner and Mike and I walked around a bit more. We all ended up in a bar that is in a circus school and has amazing views of Lisbon. It was a great way to spend our last night.

In the morning we went to Sintra and it was beautiful. We started with the caves and the well that goes down 60 kilometers into the ground. It was the perfect thing to do , as it was very very hot outside (It might have been the hottest day yet) The views were amazing and we splashed at each other and took in the nice cool caves. After lunch we went to see the Sinta castle but I got so car sick on the bus that instead Mike and I went all the way down by foot and the Pritzkers went to the castle and took the shuttle back to town. We only had to wait for them for 10 minutes so it worked out pretty well. The plan was to try and make a wine tour in Oporto, but somehow we got confused about how long it takes  to get from Sintra to Oporto, so we missed it. The evening was pleasant anyway with good food and a lot of walking by the river. Today we will try to get through the walking city tour that I have planned and hopefully finally try some port at a winery on our way out of town. Jessya will be our designated driver :)

Seville and Sagres

Our trip was a little bumpy but we are finally here and having a great time. Mike and I had a layover in Düsseldorf that was an hour long but seeing as our plane was an hour and a half late, we spent a couple of extra ours in the German airport, causing us to miss out on Cordoba. Over all, a small price to pay as we found Jessica and Yan almost immediately and started on our adventure. Our new first stop was Seville. We made it just in time to see an amazing flamenco show, and get situated. Note to the tourists - its really hard to avoid the deep fry in Seville - but Mike and I didn't think that the snails (caracoles) which were in season were all that great either.

We ended up sleeping until the afternoon of the next day and were very pleasantly surprised that we managed to get out of our apartment before the cleaning service who were supposed to arrive at noon (more on that later). We spent a very pleasant day walking around Seville.  We stopped in to the cathedral, which was closed for the most part, and spent our day walking around Alcazar palace and gardens. It is absolutely amazing. We could have spent several more days looking at it. While walking in the palace gardens we encountered a few peacocks and ran through a garden maze. Not bad for a first full day! Unfortunately we had to leave Seville that night so the only other thing we got to see was the Metropol Parasol which gave us an amazing view of the city. We said our goodbyes to the city and travelled for 3.5 hours to Sagres, Portugal to our hotel where we were told we didn't have reservations until the next day. Somehow with all the excitement we didn't realize that we had another whole day in Seville and left a whole day early. <palm to the face>. We made up for it by having a late dinner and trying barnacles - a local delicacy

I have to be honest that our first day in Sagres, I really hated it. We woke up late (after all the tours had already started) and it was windy with a high of 72. Mike and I really did not do very much and I got a little stir crazy. In order to prevent Day 2 of Sagres from being painful we scheduled a whole slew of activities and it was simply amazing. We started our morning off with a 30 km bike ride through Sagres. Sagres is a national park with the most beautiful nature. The first hour and a half we biked through amazing fields of wild flowers - it took my breath away. We also visited the Cape of St. Vincent ( the south westernmost point of Europe) and old fort, and an old school of Henry the Navigator. Out tour was just us and two tour guides which was absolutely amazing. 50 yards from the end I had total leg muscle failure and we ended up walking our bikes in - oh well.

After our tour we just had time to check out and eat before goin on the boat tour of the southern coast of Sagres. Again 0 the beauty of the nature around those parts is absolutely astounding. seeing a couple of storks on our tour and make it into several grottoes and caves. The shore is mostly sandstone and the wind from the ocean does a number on it. Yan and Jessica were feeling very adventurous and took a dip in the middle of our tour, but Mike and abstained. On the way our of Sagres we stopped by a sand sculpture festival. The festival has been going on for a decade during the high season in Pera. 40 tons of sand are used annually and the area of the sand city is 15,000 square meters. This year's theme was music and I think Yan took some nice shots. There was even a rendition of the famous "Thug Life" graffiti of Tupac. Score!

This is our first night in Lisbon. We only had time to eat, walk around the center for 40 minutes and check in to our hotel room, but I am definitely picking up a Ljubljana vibe from here. Hope I'm right. Good night!