La Plaza del Rossio
Sometimes I experience a very strange feeling: I’m in an interesting European city seeing structures and things made famous by time and movies and guidebooks and my mind wanders. Sometimes I wonder what it would like to be home during that time. I missed the Halloween party at Uprise Bakery/Ragtag, where I used to work in Columbia, Missouri. I know, it seems weird because here I am in Europe and having all these really cool experiences, but sometimes I miss the people and the familiar, fun experiences that I have relied on in the past. While I did miss the Halloween party in Columbia, I had some wonderful experiences in Lisbon, Portugal instead. That’s okay with me.
I headed there after work on Thursday by bus, and met a couple of friends of my cousin. It was the first time I met them, and instantly I felt like some kind of distant relative or friend. They showed me their city and all the wonderful things in it. On Friday, they worked during the day so I explored downtown. I took a We Hate Tourism Tour with the friendly guide Bruno, who took us around in a van to show us his city. He was so warm and welcoming, and I enjoyed the way he showed us Lisbon despite the monsoon that we experienced. (Just my luck — on the day I arrive it was the first big rain, causing flooding in some parts of the city.)
We ran into a film crew for a travel program. They interviewed Bruno in the van.
We escaped some of the rain in a cozy pastry shop (Pastéis de Belém) and after seeing some sites, the tour ended with sun and cherry liquor. I ate cod in Casa do Alentejo, a 17th century former Arab palace (great ambiance), did some shopping nearby and took the bus back. The metro station was flooded and I lacked the Portuguese language skills to ask if it was just the station or all stations, so I bussed it back.
Yummy pastries warm from the oven… they have custard inside and we put Cinnamon and sugar on top
On Saturday it rained more, which meant it wasn’t the best day to find deals at the Thieves Market (huge open air market with all types of goods), so instead we drove through some of the small streets of Alfama. After a lunch of pork and salty clams, we headed to Óbidos, which is a quaint medieval town completely enclosed by the castle walls.
On the castle walls in Óbidos
I tried cherry liquor in chocolate cups (which is probably the best invention … ever) and walked around the city on the castle walls. What a unique experience, and the rain held off long enough to enjoy the town. Once we got back to Lisbon, we went to a jazz club in Bairro Alto, the district with many small bars where all the people spill out in the street. The district is one huge street party.
Palácio Nacional de Sintra
Sunday, same story with more rain. However, there were a few clear patches we took advantage of to see Sintra and Cascais. Sintra has a castle on top of a massive hill surrounded by great boulders. We walked through the town, ate some more pastries and checked out some of the small shops. The drive up to the castle was very curvy, but green and lush and reminded me of Colorado. When we reached the Castelo dos Mouros, we caught a glimpse of the colorful Palácio Nacional da Pena, and walked around to see some of the ruins. Then we headed back down to catch the last rays by the ocean. By “catch the last rays,” I really just mean the last minutes of daylight to see the ocean. It was not beach weather. Clearly.
But the OCEAN! Since I grew up in Kansas, I always get very giddy when I see the ocean. It was rainy and the water looked ominous, but it was still the occceeeeeean. We checked out some sand dunes on our way to Cascais and had crepes and chocolaty tea. Then we rushed back to go to a Halloween dinner party.
More delicious food including a homemade lentil and pumpkin curry. That is a recipe I need to repeat. Trying to follow the Portuguese conversation failed (it is similar to Spanish but sounds like Russian), but I drank my wine and still enjoyed being part of the group. Around 1 a.m. we left for the club Lux. Very posh. It started to really fill up around 3 a.m. with a ton of witches, ghosts, wolves, brides, devils and everything in between. Dancing until late (or early, depending). No Ragtag, but really quite an unforgettable weekend to be sure!