Ahh, Portugal. Now we know what all the hype is about! We took full advantage of our long weekend and made a trip to our sister country on the Iberian Peninsula, and we were blown away by the differences in landscape, architecture, culture, and FOOD. Hayden was right in his element speaking Portuguese and helping us navigate around Porto, Lisbon, and Sintra (I love hearing him speak his "native tongue," it's so cute:).
We are so busy during the week that we didn't have much time to plan out every detail of our trip, so, our 5 days in Portugal were spent asking for recommendations and mostly just going where the wind blew us...it was wonderful! Our first stop was in Porto, a northern city that may not get as much attention as its southern counterpart, Lisbon, but deserves a whole lot of love for its natural beauty, adorable tiled buildings, and inspiring history.
The first thing we happened upon in Porto was this beautiful garden, the Jardins do Palácio de Cristal, which overlooks the Douro River. It was a beautiful break from city life, and it was full of tulips and roses and trees and peacocks (random) and expansive views.
My favorite part of the city was the tile decorated buildings. All of the little buildings are stuck together and decorated with different beautiful tile patterns.
It was unfortunately dark when we took this picture, but I LOVE the tiles on this church and how amazingly detailed they are.
Okay you Harry Potter fans, want to know where J.K. Rowling got her inspiration for the Hogwarts library? Right here in Porto, where she lived for a time as an English teacher. This is just the outside of the Livraria Lello, where Rowling used to go to read sometimes, and she is largely responsible for the influx of tourists to the city because she attributed her inspiration to this tiny little bookstore. The inside is exquisite, but we only peaked in there during our walking tour and called it good because, well, now they charge 5 euros just to step inside the place.
During that walking tour, we learned so much about the little city and some of its recent history.
According to our tour guide, it's only been about 6 years that the streets of Porto have been safe to walk down after dark. Not very long ago, the city was full of violence, drugs, and brothels, and there was very little tourism because of it. But, in a matter of just a few years, the city has gone through an almost-complete renovation and is one of the safest cities in one of the safest countries in Europe. I think this picture really captures the developmental stage that the city is still in; there are plenty of abandoned buildings like the one in the foreground here, but there are also so many under construction that have been restored like the cute tiled ones next to it. In this view alone you can see about 8 cranes, which is pretty remarkable considering the size of the city. Those cranes are helping uncover the beautiful city that was hidden underneath dark clouds, which are now clearing just like the sky in this picture. Pretty neat right?
Here's Hayden standing in the middle of one such street that used to be part of Porto's very own "red light district" and is now just a beautiful little alleyway that leads to the river. I think there are some very beautiful metaphors to be found in the story of this city's restoration.
And here's our "superimposed" pic from across the Luís I bridge...even we can't believe we're actually here sometimes.
OKAY SO. I can still hear the distinct little crunch sound we made as we "cheers'ed" our little pasteles de nata, and I have dreamed about these every night since. THIS IS WHAT HEAVEN MUST TASTE LIKE. If you ever find yourself in Portugal, don't mess around buying lame room-temperature pasteles de nata from just any old bakery on the street. Go to Manteigeria and ask to get one straight from the oven. You will never be the same.
Portugal is home to some of Europe's most beautiful beaches, so obviously we spent a day walking around barefoot on the beach.
Portugal's famous fish dish, Bacalao a la Portuguesa, featuring codfish that isn't even found anywhere near the country (they import all their cod from Norway and I think it's really funny;).
Just some more pretty city views.
Aaaaaand that'll do it for Portugal.
We took a 9 euro bus from Porto to Lisbon through some beautiful Portuguese countryside and ended up at a station very near the new Lisbon temple. What a pretty building! Such a nice respite from the rest of the busy city.
If you've never heard of fado music, I suggest you look up the title of this blog post on YouTube and listen to the hauntingly beautiful tunes that are so important to the Portuguese culture. We had reservations at a fado restaurant our first night in Lisbon, and it was one cultural experience I'll never forget. In a small, very intimate restaurant, we ate delicious Portuguese cuisine by candlelight while being serenaded by skilled singers who so eloquently demonstrated the saudade, the feeling of existential longing for the future, that summarizes Portugal's history as a country nearly surrounded by the vast, powerful, unknown ocean.
Sunday was an unfortunately windy, very crowded day in Lisbon, so we were unfortunately deprived of the Lisbon that is so normally sunny and warm. We enjoyed walking around, though, seeing sites and tasting more treats than I should probably admit.
I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that Lisbon is the sunniest European capital...obviously, we didn't see that side of the city. I guess we'll just have to go back! (*already has tickets booked to go back in May so long as coronavirus doesn't ruin all of our plans*)
Sintra, however, was a different story. The clouds finally cleared for us to take a day trip to a little city just northwest of Lisbon that used to be a summer home for some very, very rich people. I'm still a little foggy on the whole history of the community itself, but I do know that it is SO incredibly beautiful and almost tropical because of its many imported plants.
This is about to be just a big photo dump, but what more is there to say than that it was just absolutely amazing?! These pictures are from the National Palace, the Quinta da Regaleira, the Moorish Castle, and the Pena Palace, all of which we saw in one day.
It was really so pretty, such a nice break from the city, and a good way to get some exercise in (my Apple watch tracked 14.5 miles for the day) before we took our 9-hour overnight bus ride back to Madrid! (We may never do that again, YIKES that was rough).
If you've scrolled through all of these photos and have actually made it to reading this point, I just want to say THANKS for being interested in our adventures! I hope seeing these pics and hearing our stories makes you at least a little excited about traveling yourself;).
Comments