Visiting Lisbon on the hottest day of the year

I would not recommend visiting Lisbon, Portugal on the hottest day of the year. A lady at a souvenir shop who spoke nearly perfect English informed Laura and I that Tuesday, our second day in Lisbon, would be their hottest day of the year. Still, when we woke up and saw that it was overcast and quite cool, we were optimistic that we could handle Lisbon's hottest day of the year.

On day one in Portugal's beautiful capital city, Lisboa, Laura and I found ourselves navigating the train system and ordering food with no problem. My unpracticed Kriolu (Kriolu is a mixture of Portuguese and native African languages spoken by Cape Verdeans) was little help to us, but luckily enough people spoke English and Laura could get by with her Spanish while we were visiting the country of our ancestry.

More pictures of Lisbon here!

Our first day of sightseeing was uneventful. It was hot and we were tired so we road the bus out and did not venture off on one site. Saving our energy for the next day, we did another bus tour. After drizzling for about five minutes, the sun came out and turned on full blast. We did manage to do laundry. We hung our damp wet clothes out to dry on a clothes line, as the apartment where we were staying did not have a dryer. Speaking of where we stayed. Luckily, I am blessed with great friends. Maisa, a childhood friend, arranged for Laura and I to stay with her uncle Zinho while we were in Lisbon. As fate would have it, Zinho's brother was out of town during our visit, vacationing with his family in Switzerland, so Laura and I made use of his apartment. Zinho even brought us a traditional Portuguese dish comprised of tuna, cheese/cream and potatos which we feasted on along with wine, bread and fruit for the next two days.

Laura and I also were able to ship a medium size box (mine was 7 kilos and Laura's was 5) back to the states. As soon as we left the US, we regretted bringing so much luggage. In each of the hostels, I feel like I have the most luggage even though I only have a medium-large sized suitcase and backpack. Laura is traveling with about the same amount of things. All of our belongings do not seem ourageous for the two months that we will spend in Europe, however, our wallets just cannot afford the fees that the airlines charge for our bags being overweight (we are allowed about 20kilos and our bags are about 35 which means 135+ euros in excess luggage fees). So ridding ourselves of that weight was practical and cost effective, as we would have paid the cost to ship it plus more just in excess baggage fees alone.

Another word to the wise: If you are literally backpacking across Europe like Laura and I claim to be doing, then literally carry a backpack. You will not only save yourself money and aggravation, you will also have peace of mind. If Laura and I could have done it over again, we probably would have taken a very large backpack with about a week's worth of clothes and then shipped the majority of our belongings to Amsterdam so as to have them there when the study abroad program began. Well, you live and you learn and hopefully our mistakes can save someone else the trouble of making it for him or her self.

Next stop: Lagos, Portugal!

Barcelona: Becoming intimate with Antoni Gaudi

I underestimated Barcelona. Not only does it feature magnificent fountains and detailed statues in almost every major plaza (there are a total of 68 throughout the city); there is also some of the most unique and ahead of its time architecture in the second largest city of Spain.

My three days in Barcelona were spent mostly on foot. Laura and I flew into Girona--the wrong airport-- which was about an hour outside of the city. After taking a bus, we cabbed it to our hostel. We took the first day to get lost in the city after checking into HelloBCN Hostel. The hostel was pretty nice; very modern, clean, spacious and the staff was pretty helpful. This would be our first time on the trip having a room to ourselves instead of sharing one, dormitory style with bunk beds and all with 2-6 other people so we made sure to take our time getting settled before heading out.

It was Sunday, so most things were closed. When we made our way over to Sant Antoni, the market that we saw driving from the bus station, we found that it was closed. After roaming the streets with a tourist map, we found ourselves at Placa Catalunya. We walked down La Rambla street, stopping to take in the beautiful artwork of the street vendors or view a sidewalk performance. A man dressed like a dead pirate was standing completely still, so as to appear as a statue. When Laura took a photo of him, he came to life and rang his bell until we put change in his tin pail to which he exclaimed "gracius" and then went back to being a statue.

On Monday, we switched rooms which also meant new roommates. Hannah and Dan were the couple sharing the other bunk beds in our four-person room. Both were from New Zealand and has great accents. Hannah lost her luggage but still was optimistic and planned to travel throughout Europe with no set schedule or route, while Dan had to head back to New Zealand. I found the two a breath of fresh air and was happy to share short travel stories with our bunk mates before bed.

Even before that, Laura and I used our day to sight-see. We did another bus tour. This one was twenty-one euros but had two routes that we could go on. We only made it through one, but it was well worth the time that we spent. Laura and I sat on the top of a double-decker open roof bus, which was ideal for taking pictures, but we also took advantage of the "hop on, hop off" option that we had while taking the tour. Our first stop was Famalia Sagrada which was a massive structure that looked like a great castle from afar and was even more amazing up close and person. That was just one of many of Antoni Gaudi's great architecture that we would see.



We spend two hours in Parc Guell, a superbly beautiful and gigantic park that Antoni Gaudi also designed. Casa Batllo and Casa Mila were also on the tour, but we decided to visit those two places on their own on Tuesday. I chose to go into the latter (I was being cheap) while Laura, a huge Gaudi fan, spent time in both. What I did get to see of Gaudi's fine work has made me a fan of his work as well. It was unfortunate to learn that the gifted artist lost his life at thirty-one years young when he was hit by a tram (what a way to go).

Click for more pictures of Barcelona!

I can honestly say that I am thankful that Laura pushed me to go to Barcelona. It was definitely a city with a very chill atmosphere. There was a welcoming vibe in the air the entire time that I was there and I am sure that I will be back again; this time I will be less thrifty and cough up the dough to see all of Gaudi's works.

Burning up and getting it in in Madrid!

Wednesday was my second day in Madrid. I went on a walking tour of the city and saw more plazas than I can remember. I made it into the Almudena Cathedral but only saw the outside of Palacio Real de Madrid (Royal Palace) because the line was extra long. Plaza de España (Spanish Square) was just a few blocks away and hosted a statue of Cervantes.

Puerta del Sol (Sun Gate) was one of the busiest plazas in the city. It was under construction so I did not get to see it at its best, but I could tell that it was a central meeting place. Plaza Mayor (Main Square) was the most entertaining. On Saturday, people in the plaza were dressed up like statues, fairies and even a goat. They would slightly adjust their position or make an entertaining noise when a passerby put money into their cans. My favorite, was a couple who slowly transitioned into a kiss when someone threw change in their bucket. Plaza de Santa Ana (St. Anna's Square) was closests to our hostel, so I probably spent the most time there since I went to Lateral --what is now my favorite tappas restaurant in Madrid-- and passed through it to get to most other places in the city.

Pictures of Madrid here!

On Thursday, Cordae and Jackie, her roommate, took us to Toledo for a festival. It ended up being for Corpus Christi and we missed the procession earlier in the day, but we walked around the quaint city for a few hours and enjoyed the antique buildings and brilliant views of the city's landscape from a high vantage point. No one in my group got the memo that required lunch reservations, so we ended up getting take out and sitting on a stairway eating cold pasta, chicken drumsticks, fried calamari and croquetas. The city was bustling which made travel slow but I did not mind since almost every stone road was on an incline and I was usually going up. (I can just feel my thighs toning up :)

More Pictures of Toledo here!

Cordae continued to be an excellent host, even throughout the night time. On Wednesday night we went to a hip hop club called Bash and stayed until 6am. We almost closed the club down on Friday night/Saturday morning, too. Before hitting Las Comidas and Agbar, two of Cordae's favorite clubs in Madrid, we went to an early birthday dinner (Cordae is 26!) at an Italian restaurant. I got to meet all of Cordae's friends in Spain. After struggling with my sub par Spanish skills, I was excited to have an entire night where I only had to speak English. In the course of dancing two nights away, I also got to meet several persons from Africa. When I think of Spain, I do not think of a large black population, so I was surprised to see so many people from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and even Jamaica. I overheard a story that some Africans lie, and say that they are from France or another European country. They do not claim their native country because they believe that claiming another European nation will deter discrimination. It is sad to see that even though this world is so progressive, we cannot get past skin color and oppression continues...

FYI: The best (and easiest) thing to do on your fifth and final day in Madrid, is a bus tour. Laura and I did this for 17 euros on Saturday. The ride enabled our feet (and thighs) to recover from all of the walking that we did the past week, and see all of the sights that we had missed. Still, we were so exhausted that we both nodded off on the bus tour on more than one instance. With the tour, we could get off and on at as many stops as we wanted, so we did the 21-stop tour once around, and deboarded the double decker bus at Reina Sofia. I am not an art conosour by any means, but after viewing some of the pieces there, I find some peoples judgment of what is art questionable. Still, it was great being in a gallery where they feature works by Dali, Picasso, Velazquex, Goya, and Sorolla just to name a few.

Madrid was truly a great first stop and I could not have asked for a better host! ¡Próxima parada es Barcelona! (Next stop is Barcelona!)

Visit Laura, my fellow travelor's blog to see her version of what happened: http://msinternational501.blogspot.com/

Bananas, Guinness and Tappas

I arrived safely in Madrid, Spain on Tuesday night. But before that, I was drinking Guinness in Dublin and trying not to beat the little boy who kicked the back of my seat while screaming "I don't want bananas" from Boston to Ireland. Laura, my partner in crime and traveling comrade, and I arrived in Dublin, Ireland at 7:50am, local time. We stopped in Shannon, Ireland about an hour before that and was about to deboard the plane, when the nice guy who was sitting next to me on the plane (who I rudely hadn't said two words to for the entire flight) informed me that if Ireland was our final stop, I should stay on the plane.

I did and hoped that the lady with the three screaming toddlers behind me was deboarding, but to my surprise, her short absence was only to the bathroom. Luckily, I was right in front of the only child whose feet could reach the seat in front of him, so my seat jerked not only from the plane's turbulence, but also from his kicking tantrums. Thank goodness my body only experienced the abuse, as I turned up my Ipod to full volume and let Genius get me through the flight.

I had an 8-hour layover in Ireland, so I hopped on a bus and headed into the city for a day of sight-seeing. FYI: Downtown Dublin does not have that many interesting sights. The city looks a lot like Boston, seeing as they are sister cities. Most of my time was spent walking up and down O'Connell Street, the main road. I spent 1.50 euros (about $2.01) to use the Internet for 15 minutes and 1.70 euros ($2.37) for a 10oz. bottle of water at McDonalds. Did I mention that Europe is hella expensive!?!? After walking around, eating and snapping pictures like typical tourists, Laura and I decided to get a drink (we were really just trying to kill time so that we did not seem like lushes drinking before noon). We stumbled upon a pub and posted up at the bar, not ashamed that we were the only ones in there as we each ordered a pint of Guinness. Of course it was on tap so it was delicious though thick going down (get your mind out of the gutter if your mind is wandering).

We ended up back at Dublin airport an hour and a half before our flight. At the security check-in, I was not required to take off my shoes but the guard did open my umbrella and proceeded to pat it down. Flight time from Dublin to Madrid was just over 3 hours. Cordae was patiently waiting for us at the gate and gave me a big hug. She admitted that she was about to leave us because Laura and I were the last ones through customs and the doors had not opened for 15 minutes before we had come out. Apparently, Cordae thought that we might have had one too many drinks in Ireland and missed our connecting flight. We cabbed it to our hostel (http://www.madhostel.com/) which was another 30 euros. (Gosh, this trip is adding up and it is only day 1...)

After checking in, Cordae took us to a great tappas restaurant, Lateral, and we cleaned each of the small plates; there were about 7. For those of you who have been to Europe, you probably understand my next statement. We did not leave a tip. Actually, you are not supposed to since servers do not made sub par bases like back in the states. Service was bearable (the waiter forgot my white wine after he and a runner were both reminded that I ordered it) and the food was great.

Laura and I conked out at our hostel before midnight, as we were exhausted from traveling ahead 6 time zones, taking 2 planes and being in 3 countries in just under 24 hours. I look forward to the next 4 days in Madrid; we plan to visit Toledo for a festival, celebrate Cordae's birthday for the entire weekend and of course see the sights and experience the culture before heading to Barcelona. More details to come, but please check out the pictures from Dublin and Day 1 in Madrid here: See more pictures!

Taking time out for me

As I prepare to leave my friends and family in Brockton, Massachusetts for the first stop on my trip to Europe, I am utterly exhausted. Why is it that when I come to my hometown for a vacation, I end up doing so much running around in an effort to see everyone, that it feels like I am working? And of course there is never enough time to see everyone... Well, while I love my friends and family, I am delighted to leave them tomorrow and head to Spain. Laura and I will be stopping in Ireland for a brief layover and then we arrive in Madrid at 7:30pm on Tuesday, June 9. Thanks to everyone for their well wishes and prayers for a safe journey and fun trip.