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!