Spain/Portugal Trip Part 4: Lisbon

And this brings us to the final leg of our trip: Lisbon, Portugal. After having such an amazing time in Spain, we had some unreasonably high expectations. And I'm happy to say that this beautiful city measured up! After checking into our hotel in the Baixa neighborhood, we popped into a spot around the corner for a delicious late-night dinner.


The next day, we didn't have much of agenda, so we rambled around town and took in the city. Lisbon reminded us of a European San Francisco, with its endless hills, colorful buildings, quaint neighborhoods, and trolleys. I loved all of the street art and tile work!


Throughout the day, we stopped for coffees and a freshly baked Portugese pastry, like their famous egg custard tarts. We ended the day sipping Cuba Libres while walking through the Barrio Alto neighborhood, which turns into one big backpacker street party.


The next day, we headed up to Sintra, which is about an hour away by train. Unfortunately, the skies opened up and it started pouring, so we skipped some of the sites to check out the colorful Pena Palace, which is the closest thing to a Disney palace that I've seen in real life. The upside to the howling wind and torrential downpour was that were no crowds, so we were able to explore. (And by explore, I mean clutching to the castle on a precarious stone path right next to a dangerous drop-off.)


The next day was my birthday! We spent it taking in more amazing street art and wandering up to the Castle of Sao Jorge, which has breathtaking views of the entire city. In the evening, we ate the most amazing meal of our entire lives! (Confession: Sometimes, when we're sitting on the couch, I break out a picture of that dinner and we both sigh longingly.)


The next day, Erik flew back home and I moved my stuff to the Lisbon Surf House, a surf hostel located on the outskirts of town. The winds were not in my favor during my stay, but I got some fun surfs in. One day a huge and messy swell came in, and I ate it on a crap-ton of waves. But I also managed to ride one of the biggest close-outs ever, which earned me a "wow, brave girl!" from a hunky Portugese dude. On another day, I went for a solo afternoon surf and got lost trying to find the train home, which involved me rambling around a quaint village with my surfboard and asking grannies for directions. It felt like I was in a movie.

The Surf House itself was fun, filled with travelers from all over the world. One night, I went out with a Swedish girl, Israeli dude and two hilarious Italian buddies. Before the trip, I was a little apprehensive about staying and surfing in a strange country solo, but I'm so glad that I did. What an experience!

Spain/Portugal Trip Part 3: Granada to Seville

Let's see, where was I? Oh yes, we had just spent less than 24 jam-packed hours in Valencia, when we hit the road for Granada. The five-hour drive between the two cities was one of the highlights of our trip! The scenery was out-of-this-world amazing. We snaked through tunnels, twisted around craggy mountains, and passed charming villages and towering castles. At one point, we got a little lost while looking for a gas station, turned down a deserted road, and then hopped a fence to a sketchy-looking property… and were rewarded with an insane view of the golden countryside. It was hard to tell where the blue sky met the ocean.


Around dusk, we entered Granada, a charming town nestled at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains and immediately fell in love. The city is full of winding stairs, cobblestone streets, music, and crisp mountain air. We checked into our hotel, the centrally located NH Collection, which was our favorite of the trip! We were upgraded to a corner room with giant windows that we could throw open; sometimes it felt like were lounging right on top of the city. After a tapas dinner of beer and fried seafood, we explored the city by moonlight.


The next day, we had tickets to the Alhambra, the magnificent Moorish castle and major tourist site in town. (Tip: If you go, buy your tickets far in advance! They limit the amount of visitors per day, and it generally sells out weeks beforehand.) This place is a must-see, and there's so much to take in. We spent the entire day there, from around 1 until 8 p.m. or so.


We wandered around the fortress and into the main castle, which was breathtaking. Every room was filled with intricate tile work and carvings; Erik was in design heaven. In the late afternoon, we started getting hungry and happened across the Palador restaurant. What an amazing meal! We felt so lucky, feasting on almond gazpacho, wine, and jamon croquettes in the middle of the Alhambra's spectacular gardens.


After a full day of exploring and climbing hills, our muscles ached! We made a spur-of-the-minute decision to check out a nearby hammam, where we soaked in Moorish hot and cold pools. By far one of the best days of my life! We were loving Granada so much that we decided to stay one more day, which was Erik's birthday! We celebrated by sleeping in, eating delicious food, checking out the city, and seeing a passionate flamenco show in a cave. I don't know if I've ever seen Erik so happy.


The next morning, we packed up our stuff and hit the road again for the 2.5-hour drive to Seville. We got into the center city around 1 and had to drop off the car at 3, so we followed the tourists and parked in a random lot. It was hilarious: We sprinted past landmarks and booked it into the Plaza de Espana, laughing all the way. I felt like we were in the Amazing Race.


We rushed back to the car, got a little lost, and made it to the airport just in time. Phew. That concluded the Spanish leg of our trip, which was beyond amazing. We were off to Portugal!

whoops

Hello, long-lost blog! (Insert tumbleweed rolling by.) Not only did I not finish recapping my Spain/Portugal trip, but I managed to hit up Hawaii in the meantime. I've got a lot of catching up to do! Things have been busy over here, between travel and work deadlines. I've also been trying to make the most of every day, because the older I get, the more I realize that every moment is precious. So bear with me and my sporadic posting. xo