touring toledo, savoring spain

our night train from lisbon was pleasant enough, given that we were in reclining chairs. (the compartments are all separated by men and women, we found out. some trains have couples' compartments but of course not this one.) i slept fitfully and JR didn't sleep much at all but luckily he can make do with amazingly little sleep so once we arrived in madrid we cleaned ourselves up in the bathroom and were on our way from chamartin to atocha. from there we were off to find a train to toledo. this proved harder than expected since the 9am train was already booked. we went to a kiosk to try to buy tickets for 10am train. my credit card, that had worked so reliably throughout the trip, failed me. the machine demanded a pin which, though it does have a chip, my silly american card does not have. so we got in a huge line with the rest of the schmucks who needed train tickets. we were waiting in line for 20 minutes and when our number was called - you guessed it - the 10am train was full. (which annoyed me mostly because the majority of the people in line probably could have just used their european chip-and-pin cards in the stupid kiosks.) anyway we got tickets for the 11am train and set up shop in the train station to wait.

it all turned out pretty well in the end. we made it to toledo in 30 minutes but it seemed like even less. even the train station there is beautiful. in its email to us the hotel made it sound as though it was a short walk from the station so we figured we'd go for it. what the description failed to make clear is that this amounted to a 30 minute walk entirely up hill. we wound up and up the hill the city is poised upon, passing through one of the city gates as we went. we were exhausted and very sweaty when we finally got to the hotel. still, we were anxious to get started on our day in toledo since we had already been delayed.

stone and bricks of toledo

our first stop was an old mosque - cristo de la luz. like just about every building in toledo, it seems, it's made of tan brick. it's quite small, but with brick decoration and vaulted coffers inside. like every religious building in spain it was repurposed and later used as a church (hence the name cristo). also like seemingly every other building the capitals were borrowed from earlier roman and visigothic structures. we made it in and out just before it closed for the afternoon.

carcamusas (fun to say too)

most everything else we wanted to see was in the southern part of the city. JR did well at navigating, as usual, and before long we felt as thought we knew our way around the city. our next stop was the museu de taller de mouro, otherwise known as the moor's workshop. to my disappointment it was closed for renovation, but again i can't begrudge them that. it's a shame, though, since it sounded pretty unique. it was about siesta time for most tourist places so we gave up in search of lunch instead. we walked around the central part of town searching for something somewhat affordable. toledo is definitely more touristy than the other spanish cities we'd been in. or maybe it was just that it was all concentrated in a smaller area. then again, it's so close to madrid you can imagine tourists would want to make a day trip of it. most of them don't stay overnight though which is their mistake, in my opinion. anyway, we were eager to find some lunch that wasn't overpriced. we happened upon a cafe inside the old university which was fantastic. we got a three-course meal - paella with mussels, shrimp and chicken, carcamusas (a toledan specialty, pork in tasty sauce), and flan for desert. all that and a drink for 5,20€. unbelievable. we were feeling pretty shrewd after that hearty and frugal meal.

synagogue stucco

our next stop was the iglesia de santo tomé, which was built to house the famous el greco. we couldn't take pictures, of course, but it was humbling to see the massive painting amazing enough for a church to be built around it. from there we went down to the jewish quarter. just like in córdoba, the jewish area was marked with little medallions embedded in the cobblestone streets. we first visited the sinagoga del transito - much bigger than the mosque we had visited earlier. the main room is huge, about three stories tall and the upper half covered with stucco decoration, much like mudejar mosques but with hebrew instead of arabic. there was a small collection of artifacts that traced the history of the jewish people in spain.

the cathedral and alcazar behind

we set out after that in search of swords. they're famous in toledo, and JR was set on getting one as a souvenir. we passed a number of shops and interesting antique stores but we were low on cash. incredibly, in this tourist town there's apparently only one ATM in the entire city. we made our way back across town and on our way back we stopped into iglesia san il defonso. the church itself wasn't remarkable but we knew the view from the top of the tower was worth the climb so we did it. the view was as described, although it was a little nerve-wracking walking out on the metal walkways so high up.

arcade

at this point we figured we'd earned a little stop in a teahouse. again, even though we got a late start to our day, with the late sunsets and opening hours we were doing pretty well. we made our way down to teteria dar el chai, almost at the edge of the city, and stopped in for a little chai and rest. the decor was the usual mix of moroccan lanterns and leather pouffs, wooden tables inlaid with mother-of-pearl and cushions lining the walls. we were the only ones there so it was a quiet place to stop. from here we were pretty close to another synaguge, this one called maria blanca. this one was quite different from the last synagogue, a little simpler, with rows of whitewashed columns and arcades, punctuated with stucco decoration and more repurposed capitals. this one, too, was later used as a church. it's interesting how different synagogues can be. i guess there are no architectural requirements for a synaoguge, unlike an altar in a church or a mihrab in a mosque. remind me to learn more about synagogue architecture.

courtyards are such a nice element

after that we had just enough time to visit the el greco museum. we even got in free as museum employees (perks!). it's unclear where exactly he lived in the city but the guess was that this location was pretty close. the first part was a recreation of el greco's house - or, at least, what a typical house in the late 16th century would have looked like. the paintings at first were those of his protegés and son. then we got to the el greco galleries, and they were pretty amazing. when you consider el greco's art in light of other artists at the time, what he was doing was truly unique. his brushwork still hasn't been recreated to date, i would say. it's so expressive and fluid. they did a nice job of offering foils to el greco's work in the form of his contemporaries' images of similar subjects. really well done.

toledan sundown

as we walked up toward the center of town the shops were starting to close. we hurried to find a sword shop with reasonable offerings. fortunately we found one and JR picked out a modest sword with a unique handle. lots of them are modeled on swords of famous historical figures (or fictional ones, like lord of the rings characters). as the nice sword salesman wrapped up the goods he reminded us about the light show later that evening. in the same area i stumbled upon a little shop where i found an old tile taken from the wall of a spanish home. after our shopping we thought maybe we'd stop by the rooftop of the hotel since the sun was just about to go down. the view was worth the climb to the top floor, as you can see.

the moors in toledo

we set back out in search of a little bar where we could get a drink and maybe some tapas. after a bit of a walk we found a spot where we got both. i had a delicious tinto de verano - a sangria-like drink that rivaled the ginja for my favorite drink. we got some simple tapas for each round. once the sun was down we made our way to posada el cristo de la luz, a little hookah/teahouse that we had seen near the mosque at the beginning of our day. the place was pretty deserted, which is a shame because despite being out of the way it was so pleasant. we sat in a table under a palmetto tree, facing the old city walls. we shared hummus and baba ghanoush plus some lovely apple shisha. the syrian man, ghalib, who ran the place was so nice and seemed delighted when i spoke my pitiful arabic with him. we left only because we were hoping to see the light show we had heard about earlier. we just happened to be in town for this festival, so we were happy to take advantage. (see, this is what those people who only stay for the day are missing.) we struggled to find it at first but eventually we found an area full of people in a little area that we hadn't seen before. it was full of bars and humming with activity. the light show, projected on the facade of a building, gave a visual history of the city set to music. it was - no surprise - largely about the various religions that existed there. with a bit of el greco mixed in. except for the little eave there we had a pretty great view. we stayed out later than we should have, given the hour we had to wake up to catch our train, but it was well worth it.

basically as soon as we fell asleep our alarm went off. or at least that's how it seemed. we figured the walk back to the train station would be easier, since it was downhill and all. it was still quite a distance and it took us the better part of 30 minutes. we made it to the station with eight minutes to spare before our train though. i was set on rushing through, trying to get through the x-ray machine quickly so we could get situated. JR was a little more prescient than i was though and was already thinking about what was about to go down. soo.. turns out you can't bring a sword on a train. apparently the souvenir that just about everyone brings back from toledo must be packed in a box. (because of course if you were a sword-wielding maniac you would certainly be deterred by a box around your weapon.) we argued in our broken spanish that we didn't know and how could we get a box and we already had a ticket for the train. to no avail. we went inside where we were told we could get new tickets or something. the (much nicer) attendant was confused as to why we wanted to change our tickets when we hadn't actually missed the train yet. then we explained about the sword. "oh you have a sword? no, you can't take the train." we were directed instead to the bus station which was, luckily, walkable but, frustratingly, back in the direction we had come from. it turned out alright in the end as the bus was cheaper and just as fast. what hurt was the extra sleep we could have had.
oh and if you're wondering why swords are allowed on buses it's because the bags are stored down below.

anyway, once in madrid we took the metro to our stop and followed the directions to our airbnb. the place was compact and cozy and the gentleman who owned the place kindly showed us around and offered us some stale croissants. we knew we only had one whirlwind day in the city so we were itching to get started. we set out on foot, as is our wont, and set off toward the prado museum. much to my chagrin we got no discounted admission this time, since we were not from EU museums. although their employees would be free in any of our museums! (i realize this probably seems petty but we're on a budget and every little euro counts.) i reluctantly paid the hefty admission price - worth it, of course, i was just grousing. i have no photos because of course none are allowed. in a lot of ways the prado hadn't changed much since i'd been there almost 10 years earlier. still no photos allowed (almost unheard of in museums in 2015, fyi), velvet ropes around paintings, and cranky security guards. i even heard one shush people who were just talking! and not on their cell phones, but discussing the artwork together. hello, that's exactly what you want people to do in your museum! (museum rant over) the collection itself really is astounding though. in both size and quality. it's almost an embarrassment of riches - i mean there's no one who can fully appreciate room after room after room of velazquezes. we saw everything we wanted to see, including hieronymous bosch, el greco and a whole lot of goyas. it was incredible but also incredibly overwhelming.

at this point we were already pretty exhausted (i've said it before, museum-walking is the most tiring kind of walking.) and ready for lunch. one of the most impressive museum collections in the world, as you might have guessed, is surrounded by a fair amount of tourist traps. lots of restaurants promising paella and sangria or prix fixe menus for 13,50€. we figured we could do better so we walked on until we found a tapas place. even when we got inside we were given prix fixe menus (that included spaghetti... uh, no) but we diligently asked about the tapas and were given new menus. we had a smattering of dishes - salmorejo (not as good as in andalucia, predictably), cured meats (good but greasy), fried cheese with some sort of jam (tasty), and a dish with potatoes, fried egg and cured ham that was incredibly delicious. it's the perfect brunch dish. i savored as much tinto de verano as i could (last day mode!) while trying to write all my remaining postcards. we were both happy for the chance to be off our feet.

crystal, glass. whatever

the next stop was the palacio cristal based on - you guessed it - the original crystal palace in london. this one was much smaller and, as we discovered, a pretty long walk from where we were. it was cool to see the palace but probably not as cool as we were expecting. it sometimes houses art exhibitions but while we were there it was just empty and HOT. we walked back through the massive parque de el retiro, passing a little cafe and a small man-made pond where families were out on little rowboats enjoying the sunny weather. spaniards seem to really enjoying boating in very small bodies of water.

we walked and walked until we made it to atocha train station. despite having been inside it already on two separate occasions i don't think we'd ever seen the outside of it. just beyond it was the reina sofia museum. (got a discount this time!) it looked different than i had remembered which i later confirmed was because they had subsequently added a huge new addition with a new entrance. it reminded me of the pompidou for some reason, maybe because of the massive library and modernist facade. we made our way up to the collection which was also bigger than i remembered. the guernica was still as arresting and awe-inspiring as i remember, as were the newsreels that accompanied it. it's incredible to think about troops marching through the massive city we were in. beyond it, a lot of the collection seemed to center around the spanish civil war. there were some interesting pieces but also a lot of obscure ones. it seemed like the galleries just kept going and finally we had to give up.

golden light on the arches, the temple behind

we were flagging and desperate just to sit down so we walked up the street in search of a cafe. after a few blocks we found a deserted pastry shop where we got some cafe bombons. not the best, but mostly we needed to sit down anyway. after a few minutes we rallied and made it to the nearby metro station. the first time we'd taken it since we got into town. we were exhausted but also wanted to make it to the temple of debod before it closed. we made it with about half an hour to spare. the egyptian temple is one of four in the world that have been removed from their original sites. between this one and the met's we've now seen half. the interior itself is quite small and the hallways are narrow (they limit how many people can go in) but the hieroglyphs are nicely preserved and even the shallow reliefs are still pretty easy to make out. from the same park we had a nice view as the sun was going down.

we figured we'd walk back toward the center of town (which is also basically where our airbnb was). on the way we passed gardens as the sun was going down and walked past the imposing national theater. in a little while we came to the plaza mayor, which is basically just a big square buzzing with tourists and activity. there was scaffolding on some of the apartments but you could still see the more ornamented facade. we were glad to have seen it but wanted to keep moving. we made it back to our place and all but collapsed on the bed for a much-needed rest. incidentally, this was the day we had walked the most - clocking in at 34,600 steps which is about 15 miles. we averaged about 12 or so miles each day so after a week of that it's no wonder we were so tired!

so long to spain

after an hour or so we set out in search of dinner and maybe a grocery store to get some goodies to take home. we were hoping for some sheep's cheese (like what we'd had in seville) and salchichon (which is basically salami but so good). we found only little convenience stores so we had to make do with a random cheese and a very cheap sausage. still, it was better than nothing. for our last meal we decided i wanted to try to find salchichon and JR wanted a nice tortilla española. and you know what? about a block from our place we found a little artsy cafe (atelier cafe de la llana) that served both. those two, plus a few more dishes accompanied by tinto de verano made for a perfect last evening in spain. the tortilla had just the right ratio of egg to potato (which is easy to screw up) and the meat and cheese topped it off. we knew we were going to miss the tapas, the cheap and delicious wine, and lingering over our leisurely meals.

up and down, all around lisbon

so i have to start by saying i felt lucky we even made it to lisbon. it was the only leg of the trip we hadn't booked. there are no direct trains or buses - they all go through faro or somewhere along the southern coast and take the better part of 8 or 9 hours. most people recommend you fly, which seems silly to me. in my research i discovered the rideshare site blablacar (terrible name) which seemed like the best (read: cheapest and fastest) option. thing is, people don't tend to decide they're making the drive until a few days before. so i put it off. by the time i checked when we were in cordoba there were only two people taking passengers from sevilla to lisbon. i messaged one who couldn't accommodate our 'large' bags (carry-on sized bags, but you know, european cars..) and then started to worry. luckily, our bags were no problem for the other driver and (since flights were something like $250..) i was very relieved. we met the guy easily enough, although the other passengers were a bit late. they were also americans traveling, but i had to feel a little sorry for them. they were going through cities so fast they hardly had time for anything! we were going pretty quickly, but we still had time to stop for tea or a glass of wine and enjoy ourselves throughout the day. they were going so fast they seemed exhausted. they were only spending half a day in lisbon! insane! plus they had giant backpackers' packs, for a trip that was just two days longer than ours. ..seemed like overkill. okay, judgment over.

said view. red roofs of lisbon

anyway, we had a pleasant enough drive to portugal and made it in under five hours. in fact we didn't even realized when we had crossed the border. our first impression of lisbon was that it was huuuge. we were coming from small cities, of course, but we also approached the city from one of the longest bridges i've ever seen. so long that we made a note later to see what the longest bridge in the world was. (i think it was somewhere in japan.) our second impression was that it was incredibly hilly. we got out on the closest metro stop (already JR was bummed we couldn't walk everywhere) and still had to walk up and down at least two big hills to get to our airbnb. it was probably worth it for the view from his balcony though (see left). we chatted with our host, who gave us an overview of the city and talked up this amazing restaurant - family run with only the freshest portuguese ingredients and much cheaper than the tourist traps around it. we made a note of the directions and headed out.

by then it was nearly 2 so we went off in search of food first. just around the corner we found a street with expensive little places - we were no longer in the land of tapas, sigh. we found a decent-looking place and got some simple beef and fish dishes. we thought we'd be able to figure out portuguese between our spanish and french but it was pretty different. and the pronunciation is so bizarre, it sounds almost like russian. luckily we had a little cheat sheet of dishes to figure things out. a quick meal with a surly waiter and we were on our way.

a snapshot of lisbon, halfway up the hill.

we kept heading downhill until we reached the main square. square probably doesn't quite capture it. it's a wide open space that would probably fit about four city blocks. from there we were near what was clearly a principal commercial street - filled with shops and open-air cafes - that led straight to the water. we knew where we wanted to go but we hadn't anticipated quite how huge and hard to navigate lisbon would be. we should have prepared a bit better, i concede, but eventually we figured out how to get up to the castle. we had just enough time to do it so we figured we'd go for it. we took one of the famous trams up as far as we could go, which was about 3/4 of the way up the hill. we stopped to survey the view (amid men selling selfie sticks) and continued up on foot. the castle itself wasn't much but the view of the city was pretty staggering. there's not much you can't see from there except, you know, the castle.

everywhere has tiles, it's great.

we made our way back down, passing the many souvenir shops and overpriced cafes. lisbon is definitely much more touristy than we were anticipating. on the way back we had just enough time to slip into a little church on the side of the hill. we continued down, stopping periodically to examine shops with tiles or to survey the view. we wanted to wait a bit before dinner so we stopped in a little wine bar for a glass of something. we decided to sample the ginja, the famous cherry liqueur. and it was delicious! then it was off to search for provinchial, the family-run place our host had been building up. we managed to follow the directions and got to the exact spot on the side street.. only to discover that they had just closed for a month. the day before. i suppose it would be hypocritical of us to begrudge them that. sigh. we settled for a small place on the same street - just meters away from the street full of restaurants where proprietors were beckoning tourists to sit down. we had a decent carafe of wine and super bock (JR had to sample the local beer) and a pleasant but unremarkable meal.

can you feel the passion? and some grumpiness.

from there we went out in search of fado, supposedly the soul of portugal. it was monday and i had heard of a typical bar in the bairro alto (translation: uphill) that was full of locals and had fado performances that night. we did manage to find it - with its myriad football scarves hanging from the ceiling - but it was tiny and already jampacked with people. we continued on down the street and eventually found a much less populated bar with two men sitting with instruments in their laps. it seemed promising so we stopped in. for the price of a few glasses of port we had what seemed to be a pretty authentic fado performance. and by that i mean the waiters and waitresses took turns singing in between tending to their tables. it was incredibly passionate, much like flamenco, but clearly very sad. we had front row seats which was great except when the guitarist seemed to glared at me as i took a picture. and that lovely oud-looking instrument the cranky man is playing? turns out it's a portuguese guitar. who would've thought. the music, the port, and of course the tiles made for a very nice introduction to portugal. after about 45 minutes we were ready to head back. so, after going up and down about 3 hills we made it back to our 'home' for the night. there is something comforting about staying in a house, even if it is someone else's.

flea market wares

we were up at 7.30 and out the door by 9. this time we made use of the wifi to look up specific directions to where we were going. (another perk of staying in someone's home: there will always be access to high-speed wifi). we went back up the hill towards the castle but this time stopped at the são vicente church. a baroque church but with a simple ceiling. there was supposed to be an ivory jesus statue from goa but if there was we couldn't find it. we got some flaky meat pastries at a little bakery across the street before heading on to the feira de ladra - the flea market, which just happened to be on tuesdays and saturdays. it was a mix of antiques and newer junk, much like flea markets i had been to in france. records, books, tiles (of course), and little trinkets. i got some earrings made from photos of tiles but otherwise we just perused. at the bottom of the hill was the pantheon where camoes (it's okay, i hadn't heard of him either) and other famous portuguese were interred. JR wanted to explore inside but i was content to sit on the steps and write postcards, which i did happily.

tiles and tiles and tiles

from there we walked down the hill a bit and caught the bus to go even farther east to a destination i'd be looking forward to for quite some time. that's right, it was the tile museum. a whole museum devoted to those ceramic gems. it was actually quite substantial but there wasn't much (predictably) about islamic tiles (my personal favorite). instead they focused on the more typical portuguese and dutch-inspired styles that are so common throughout the country. there really are tiles covering just about every other facade in the city, it's remarkable. most are modern of course. but occasionally you find some lovely older tiles. anyway, the museum culminated in a room with a mural (tile of course) of the city before the 1755 earthquake. it really was a turning point for the city.

old streets, newer cars

after stopping in the overpriced gift shop we continued on. we caught another bus back to alfama, the old quarter. we wandered the streets a bit, dodging groups of tourists as we went. see, alfama also happened to be the port for a number of cruise ships. this resulted in quite a few restaurants in the area with menus in multiple languages and high prices. we discovered the secret was to find a hole in the wall with a couple dishes on the menu in only portuguese. there we ordered two of the typical sandwiches, bifanas. (we discovered this dish mainly because as we drove into the city it seemed like every restaurant and little cafe on the outskirts of town had bifana in its name or listed outside.) it's a pretty simple sandwich, with a big piece of seasoned pork in a big fluffy, crusty roll. to wash it down i sampled a local pineapple soda, sumol, which was quite tasty while JR got his usual cheap beer (sagres this time) of choice.  the whole meal? 8€.

the monastery and this mysterious flowering trees

we walked down to the main street just in time to catch the 15E tram - well actually we had to run a little to catch it at the light. this rounded out our 24 hour metro pass. well worth the 6€ we spent on it, since we could use it for every tram, bus and metro ride. we rode this train alllll the way to belém. i'm still not sure if it's technically another city or just on the outskirts of lisbon. it's certainly far enough to be its own city. out first stop was the mosteiro dos jeronimos, a monastery where JR had heard vasco da gama was buried. fortunately just next door was an art museum i wanted to visit. (people should really put those sorts of things together more often.) the museu colecção berardo had a nice little collection, from about 1920 on. it featured some early pollocks, unusual warhols, anish kapoor, franz kline, and lots of other sort of namedroppy artists. the descriptions of each gallery were good but a little erudite (putting my museum critiquing hat on). overall a great visit, especially with the free admission. we met up and then stayed a bit longer at the museum to take advantage of their free wifi to figure out an issue with the bank. bad timing, but we got it sorted out.

JR, for scale

our next stop was the main attraction in belém, the old watch tower. i'm not totally sure why it's as famous as it is but i guess that's true of most famous places. it is a fairly elaborate tower i suppose. we didn't go out to visit it but we did dip our toes in the other side of the atlantic. from there we made our way to the famous pastry shop. lisbon's signature pastries are called pastéis de nata, little flaky tarts filled with custard. we thought we'd at least stop by the famous shop in belém, which always has a line out the door and a full interior, even though there are at least four dining rooms. we explored but instead opted to find the pastries elsewhere. from there we caught the tram back to the center of town.

perfect pastéis

we got out a few stops early so that we could walk a bit more. we wandered the mostly empty streets in search of a nice little cafe. we had walked quite a while - uphill of course - and i was starting to think we wouldn't find anywhere. then we literally turned a corner and found a quaint little cafe with the most adorable portuguese grandmother. (empadaria nacional, in case you're interested. apparently they're on instagram. i like to imagine her grandchildren set this up for her.) she didn't speak any english but we could tell exactly what she was saying by her tone and gestures. we ordered some pastéis de nata and she brought out a little cinnamon to sprinkle on top. the cinnamon complemented them so well - it was the perfect touch. i honestly didn't think i'd even like the custard that much but they were delightful. we started with sodas but then decided we wanted to linger a bit longer and got glasses of ginja and relaxed a bit longer.

old tiles, the good kind

we'd had a brilliant idea earlier that we might be able to find some nice goan food, since they had such a strong portuguese influence. we found a couple places in town and JR wrote down detailed directions to get to one of them. we stopped here and there when we spotted some good tiles or a promising little shop. all in all the walk took us about 25 minutes. and guess what? closed for two weeks' vacation. just our luck. note to self: restaurant proprietors tend to take off in september. we were already in what seemed to be a little indian quarter and since we were prepared for indian food we stopped at a little pakistani place. the food was pretty good but nothing too special. they did give us a little coconutty rice pudding at the end, which i don't think i've had since i was in kerala for onam. from there we stopped at a little wine bar on the way home for some port. a 1,50€ glass of port is probably the most perfect way to end an evening.

black rocks of cascais

the next day was our last in the city and we wanted to get out and explore and see a bit more of portugal. we caught a train that morning to cascais (which we learned is pronounced cash-cai-ees) easily enough. we grabbed a little pastry at the train station and had a pleasant 20 minute journey along the coast. we watched as the enormous river gave way eventually to the atlantic. i had read there were free bikes to be rented from the city and, after much confusion and questioning, finally determined that they were available from a tiny little kiosk in the center of downtown. the man inside the booth told us there were no more, to our dismay. we walked through the streets - filled with shops, restaurants, and tourists - until we arrived at the park, where we had heard there were more bikes. we walked all over what turned out to be a pretty enormous park and were finally informed at what looked like a nature center that there were no more bikes to be had. we resigned ourselves to walking along the coast, which was still pretty pleasant. we walked along the black rocks, full of holes and that dense vegetation you seem to only see on coastlines. the waters were turquoise and crystal clear.

to sea

just down the cliffs, conveniently, was a little restaurant. we got some simple sandwiches and enjoyed the ocean view before heading down to the boca do inferno. it's a little inlet in the cliffs that probably doesn't merit a name quite that dramatic. from up there we could see the coastline all the way down to the lighthouse in the distance. down below we could clearly make out a number of jellyfish that we guessed could have been man of war (men of war?). from here we were only a few kilometers from the cabo da roca, the westernmost point in mainland europe. if we'd had the bikes we might have made it out there but on foot we were satisfied to get some views of the ocean and the cliffs.

streets of cascais

we made our way back into town, walking through the less touristy streets this time. it's clearly a popular seaside resort town, with people staying in suites along the water and swimming in the small but crowded beaches. we explored the more residential streets, dotted with laundry hanging out of windows of bougainvilleas bursting with color. we stopped for a little seafood snack - small plates of shrimp and cod (lisbon's dish of choice) - and we even found some ginger beer. we meandered back toward the center of town, stopping to look at postcards and buy some pastries along the way. earlier on we had thought about going to sintra, which has colorful (and, to the untrained eye perhaps almost disneyfied?) castles that look interesting. oddly there's no easy way to get from cascais to sintra by train, as close as they are, and the private bus i found seemed complicated. since we were leaving the city by train that night we elected to play it safe and go back to the city and spend our remaining hours there.

i wasn't kidding about the hills

we made it back and continued walking through the streets of the rossio and baixa chiado areas. we paused here and there to buy some port or look for souvenirs. we got plenty of peeks at lisbon's trademark old trams (now, sadly, most covered with graffiti) from the tops of hills. eventually we made our way to an area full of bars and, just past that, what was clearly the most affluent part of town. high end antique stores, expensive boutiques - even the pastry shops looked fancy. somewhere in between these two locales we found a little shop with work from local artists, companhia alfacinha. we chose a colorful ceramic tile with a great geometric design. so we didn't get any antique tiles, but at least we got a little piece of lisbon. we still had a few hours to kill so we found a little wine and cheese shop with a friendly owner where we had our last glasses of ginja. sigh.

we walked back to the airbnb, where we still had enough time to shower and freshen up before heading to the train station. our train was pretty late but we got there in plenty of time. once we confirmed where our train would be leaving from we set out in search of dinner. we thought in a train station we wouldn't have any trouble finding a meal but already the little restaurants were starting to close. there was one little spot with a bifana and soup special so we settled for that. we made our train easily and settled in for the night journey to madrid. our farewell to portugal included a small bottle of vinho verde and two pasteis de nata that somehow made it intact from cascais. (for the record, they weren't quite the same without the cinnamon.)

i'd have to say lisbon was pretty unique. if it reminded me of any city i think i might say istanbul just because it's so sprawling and the water seems to be all around you. lisbon seems to have an essence all its own though. i'd love to see more of the country - porto and maybe down the algarve coast. 'til next time, portugal!

sometimes sunny sevilla

our next stop was sevilla. the train ride was so quick that i didn't even have time to finish the pastry i had bought for breakfast. (oh, pro tip: if you're traveling with four people look for the four train seats facing each other. they're usually much cheaper than the rest and on a short journey like this, totally worth it.) by about 10 we were in sevilla and it was off for another walk to our hotel. again we walked through some commercial areas, then past some busy streets peppered with old churches and under las setas ('the mushrooms'), a modern structure which is said to be the largest wooden structure in the world. eventually we made it to our hotel, tucked into a side street in the old quarter.

our first stop was the nearby toro del oro, a military watchtower. there was a little maritime museum inside (lots of paintings of boats) that was okay. the view from the top wasn't bad, but the skies were fairly cloudy. after a little stroll by the river we headed in search of lunch, hungry after our long walk that morning. we made our way to the main square and found a little place with more tapas. we ordered a few sandwiches while jan and lewis tried to find enough dishes to suit both their preferences. lewis eats certain meats but not pork and a few other things, and jan eats no meat and won't go anywhere that serves foie gras, things like that. so after a little negotiating with the waiter we determined that the hamburger was made out of 'cow, not pork'. we thought we'd better check and just as he walked away we discovered it was in fact veal. lewis hastily summoned him back and chose something a little safer.

light filtering in from the courtyard

it was overcast and actually a little cooler but we thought it might rain the next day so we figured we should make it to the alcazar first, just in case. it was familiar, although more of it was gothic and less islamic than i remember. still, the mudéjar rooms were no less stunning than i recalled.

mesmerizing

gorgeous stucco patterns climbing up 30 foot ceilings and gorgeous carved wooden doors. easy to see why those parts stuck out in my memory.we spent quite a while exploring, all through the rooms surrounding the central courtyard and then out into the massive gardens, exploring the hedge maze and stopping to admire the wandering peacocks. we went down below to the cistern, with vaulted arches glowing gold, perfectly reflected in the water below. and throughout we saw no fewer than four brides and grooms having photos taken. by the time we reached the end of the gardens we were exhausted and in desperate need of a cafe bombon. or really anything caffeinated.

after the requisite stop in the gift shop (we got some lovely tile-patterned glasses for dessert wine) we ventured out to try and find a little coffee shop. this proved harder than expected as every place we passed seemed to have food and alcohol, and some with coffee only at the bar. eventually we found a place that had sugary coffee drinks which was good enough for us. the three of us got our new favorite and lewis tried some nescafe concoction that he said made the cafe bombon seem healthy. as we sat we watched as a group of bachelorettes passed by with the woman of the hour dressed as barbie complete with a box. people seemed to get a kick out of the gimmick but it seemed like practically it would be very annoying. by then we weren't far from the hotel so we thought we'd stop by for a little siesta.

churros con chocolate

we napped a little, relaxed, and chatted over beers from the vending machine int he lobby. that's also when we discovered there was a light switch that controlled the music coming from the speakers in the ceiling. that was a first. it was drizzling but we made our way out in search of churros. we found a little place on the corner of a crowded square on a busy shopping street that looked like it was where the locals went. a little place, standing room only where they had churros and espresso and our tab was written up on the metal bar. the churros were on the skinny side for my liking but the chocolate was nice and thick.

from there it was on to look for a little bar for an aperitf. in other words, a beer before dinner. but doesn't it just sound better that way? we found one with a marx brothers theme and that was good enough for us. we got a few drinks and had rather depressing, although interesting, discussion about the migrant crisis in europe and race relations in america. really uplifting stuff. we had some bocadillas and patatas roquefort with cheese sauce that was so good we practically licked it off the plate. jan ordered something with 'huevas' in the name which seemed safe enough. eggs couldn't be bad, right? well it turned out the eggs were fish eggs, made into some kind of paté. she discovered what they were after only detecting the fishy taste. not our best day for ordering.

from there we kept walking on, in search of bars with sangria (which is apparently only for tourists.. locals drink a similar but weirder red wine with lemonade) or hookah (which we were later told is illegal in the city now). we settled on a little wine bar with heavily religious decor and a man on his way home who we watched blow his 50€ in the electronic slot machine. more interesting but faintly depressing discussions about climate change before we headed out to find another place.

meats on meats. and veggies.

based on lewis' research we headed toward the 'new' part of town figuring they might have more bars and perhaps some of the hookah variety. instead we found what seemed to be some kind of renaissance faire, a large square full of tents and vendors selling everything from jewelry to cured meats. we explored it all and then settled on some bread and sheep's cheese to bring back to our hotel. we did make a pit stop for a pitcher of sangra from the guy with giant vats of vegetables and sausages strung in the air. he didn't love us taking up a table to order sangria, we gathered. once we left there and found some wine (jan had a little adventure with her frenchified spanish - "beaucoup queso. quel vino?") we made our way to the roof of our hotel and feasted on our bread and cheese. when it got too late to be out talking outside someone's room we retired to our room and played cards over more lobby beers. it was a pretty perfect evening, hookah or no.

peaceful plaza

the next day we figured we had a lot to do. we accidentally slept in and just missed the hotel breakfast. instead we got ready and grabbed a pastry from a little shop around the corner. the weather was much nicer - blue skies and no rain in sight, it seemed. so we headed to our outdoor stop first. the plaza de españa was crowded with people - probably a nice way to spend a sunny sunday morning. there were little rowboats on the tiny waterway. we walked all over and explored the little mosaic-ed niches before heading into the parque maria luisa, shaded walkways with pretty fountains and lots of little families. we noticed that all the families seemed to be rather well-dressed, sunday and every other day. also pretty much all the children were adorable. we came across two museums - one archaeological, and the other a museum of culture and costumes. i went in the latter while everyone else explored the former. apparently the archaeological museum had some interesting pieces but wasn't nearly as nice as cordoba's. the cultural museum looked a bit old fashioned too but had some interesting exhibits.

sevillana streets

by then it was nearly 2 and we figured we should get some lunch before making our way to the cathedral. (side note: the nice thing about spain is that even when you oversleep you can usually still fit everything in since most places are open so late.) the walk back toward the center of the old quarter was peppered with whitewashed walls and yellow trim and the occasional horse-drawn carriage - all with their characteristic yellow wheels. i'm not sure there's a better color to capture spain. after vetoing one place (foie gras) we made our way to another little new-looking cafe that had salads and sandwiches. probably our least spanish meal but it was nice for jan to have a whole meal she could enjoy that wasn't just potatoes and olives. we tried a glass of wine - just a random white on the menu - and it was delicious. so delicious that we picked up a bottle in a grocery stores later on.

even the ceilings seem gold

by the time we got to the cathedral it was downright hot. no sign of rain at all. we waited in a short line outside and realized that - unlike south carolina - it actually was cooler in the shade here. we got inside and the space was enormous. it's the largest cathedral (not basilica) in the world, we learned. we wanted to be sure to see the tomb of christopher columbus. you really can't miss it - the thing is huge. it's held up by four figures in crowns and regalia. i guess he wasn't an understated kinda guy. the rest of the place was full of the spoils of colonization too. the 'treasure' (not treasury) rooms were filled with all manners of gold and silver. then, in the midst of it all over an unassuming doorway was an artemisia gentileschi painting. you'd almost miss it if you didn't realize it was there. from there we climbed the tower to get a view of the city. it's a pretty genius design - to go up it's just a series of ramps, no steps. it seemed less tiring that way. of course i guess i'll never know. the view of the courtyard (because of course this used to be a mosque also) full of orange trees and the streets of the city were lovely, but the breezes coming in through the giant windows may have been even better. of course everyone was jostling for spots to get their photos.

sabroso

after that much walking, climbing and swearing we figured we had earned some ice cream. we made our way to a famous heladeria that we both a) managed to find and b) was open. amazing! we got some interesting flavors from a rather impatient woman and spent some time relaxing in the quiet street.

we had hit all the big sites we'd wanted to see so we figured we'd check out the over side of the river and venture outside the touristy areas. (okay, confession: we were also maybe trying to find this hookah bar we had read about.) we were shooting for the middle of three bridges but ended up on the northernmost ones. once across we found ourselves in triana. it's the part of town where the ceramics were historically made. it looked pretty workaday - lots of apartments and closed shops.

fraidy dog

needless to say, the shisha/teahouse we were searching for was closed. this one for good. but eventually we found a little bar with a couple of locals hanging around. we figured it was time for a couple beers and then, realizing it was almost 7, figured we'd get some tapas too. we didn't think it was possible but the tapas were even cheaper there. i mean, not by much obviously. but still. we even got a little plate of paella. the best part was the entertainment. lots of locals passing by and stopping to talk, including two obviously chain-smoking women who sounded a lot like men. everyone seemed to have a dog, which was hilarious mostly because of one of the aforementioned women's little dog. he kept barking at these big dogs but as soon as they got a little bit closer he'd hide inside the sandwich sign. we were most amused.

once it started to get dark we set off back toward the river. we were shooting for the middle bridge - again - and somehow made it to the southernmost one. what can i say, we're not the best with maps. but you know what we saw almost immediately after we crossed the river? that's right, the forbidden hookah place. it was a kind of a newer bar and there was only one flavor but we went for it. it was a good end to our time in seville and seemed like an appropriate way to send our friends off. when we left the bar we knew our friends had a very early morning ahead of them but we had to finish off the cheese we had started (by now very sweaty) and sample the orange wine (apparently a sevillian specialty) we'd had bought. so we went back to the hotel and spent the end of the night literally breaking bread (by now slightly stale) over the rooftops of the city.

catching up in córdoba

my latest trip was one i'd been planning and anticipating for nearly six months. my boyfriend and i traveled to spain, somewhere he'd been wanting to go and that i'm always glad to go back to. fortunately for us, it's also one of the most affordable countries in europe to visit, and the struggling euro helped us even more. the time of year ended up being just right, too. in september we missed the high season for european tourists, which peaks in august, and still had absolutely beautiful, warm sunny weather.

our flight to madrid was largely uneventful (except for the free wine, score!) but when we arrived we realized getting to the train station across town might take longer than anticipated and we could be cutting it close for our first train. we walked through what i'm sure is the longest hallway in any airport ever and waited for what i'm also totally sure was the slowest elevator of all time. it passed by us, empty, on several occasions. very strange. after our first encounter getting directions in spanish (i think i mostly followed everything?) and getting our train tickets from the machine in german (i couldn't figure out how to change it) we were on the train to the train station. we made it to atocha with just enough time to get a ham sandwich and fanta for the journey. so far, so good.

we passed by la giralda right at dusk

fino straight from the barrel

we had a layover (is it a layover on a train?) in a small town in la mancha so we got out to explore the streets and have our first beer and complimentary tapa - cruzcampo, the cheap beer of choice. other than a statue of don quixote there wasn't much there and it was siesta time so very sleepy. we arrived in córdoba in early afternoon, just in time to meet our friends. the benefit of living in england is that you can take long weekends in europe basically whenever you like. must be nice, right? we decided to walk to our hotel (we searched hostels and airbnbs but in the end with four of us, inexpensive hotels ended up being the cheapest bet. odd, no?) - we started in the outskirts of town, walked through the more commercial areas and along the main shopping street and into the old quarter. our hotel was on a little winding street - as it should be. we quickly explored the terrace as the sun was going down and then made our way out in search of tapas and aperitifs. the latter came first, as we found a taberna i had come across in my reading. they served fortified wine (fino) out of giant barrels that looked like they had been there for centuries, along with sherry and other wines. we stood along the old bar munching on olives and catching up. jan - the vegetarian/animal lover - even overlooked all the black and white bullfighting photos covering the walls.

eventually we made our way up the street and found an inviting tapas bar. we were able to get many of the dishes we'd been looking forward to - including salmorejo (sin jamon, for jan), which is a lovely creamy cold tomato soup, ensaladilla rusa, sort of like potato salad, and some cured hams for us meat-eaters. we talked about all sorts of things and just had a lovely evening catching up.
the rest of the evening we spent searching, in vain, for some nice spanish guitar music. we walked to the other side of town and found nothing but a sort of eurotrash bar with pricey (but not bad) cocktails. on the way home we passed by some roman ruins with lots of kittens so it wasn't all bad.

the next day we were up fairly early, figuring we had a lot to fit into our full one day in córdoba. the archaeological museum was closest so we headed there first. for such a small city it was a surprisingly modern museum! built over some of the roman ruins, they've built walkways that go over them and created projections that explain what certain parts were originally. that coupled with great artifacts and good explanations made it well worth the 1,50€ entry. us museum folk were impressed.

gothic elements with traditional moorish ornament

from there we headed to the jewish quarter - la judería - which you know is the best because it has old, winding streets. there were a number of synagogues, mosques, and patios (córdoba's specialty) that we wanted to visit. they're all fairly compact though and luckily were all within a pretty small area. the synagogue was simple but had some great stucco decoration. i continue to be fascinated by those stylistic similarities you see throughout buildings of different religions or regions. i think my favorite was a little mudéjar chapel, capilla mudéjar de san bartolomé, a tiny little chapel that's covered with beautiful decoration, from blue and gold paint to arabic elaborately carved in stucco to gorgeous geometric tiles. my kind of place. mudéjar literally comes from the word 'to remain' so it refers to the moors who were permitted to remain in spain and later the architecture that incorporated more christian and gothic elements. fascinating, right? i know.

old courtyard

we explored a few more patios on the same street. one was made to be something of a small museum of life in the city. lots of beautiful antiques from the region and lovely plants along the walls. it seemed a little fake somehow but there were still some lovely elements. plus they had some great postcards so i can't complain. another larger patio had been redone as an artisans' atelier, with studios lining the courtyard and a shop below. it was a little bit like the we visited han in bursa, but smaller.

we poked around but it was past noon and it was just about lunch time. lewis decided he'd like a coffee first though so we stopped in a little cafe where we made a very important discovery. it's called a café bombon, and it's basically a shot of espresso and a lot of condensed milk. it's incredibly sweet and the perfect mix of caffeine and sugar to give you an instant energy rush.

picturesque restaurant in the jewish quarter

after that we found a perfect little tapas place across the street, casa el malacara, with tables set up just outside one of the main gates in the old city walls. it reminded me of jerusalem somehow. we had fabulous tapas - even more variety than the day before, including albondigas (delicious meatballs), patatas alioli (potatoes in very garlicky sauce), chicken curry, spinach with chickpeas, pickled mussels and bread. tapas are usually in the 1,50-3,00€ range and even though each couple usually split about four of them it always seemed to be plenty of food. the perfect amount without feeling too full or having any go to waste. the spanish are doing something right.

gorgeous gardens at the alcazar. this isn't nearly all of them.

from here we made our way quickly to the alcazar, which was only open for another hour or so before siesta time. we made it in just enough time to get a wonderful view of the city and explore the expansive - and beautiful - gardens. from the top of the tower we could see the roman bridge, the top of the mosque/cathedral, and the rest of the alcazar. although we didn't have time to see much of the palace's interior we felt confident we hit the highlights.

figuring we were doing pretty well seeing the sights we thought we would heard toward a moorish tea house i had read about simply called salon de té. on the way we stopped by the mezquita for a view of the grand umayyad doorways on the various sides. they are impressively large. we continued on to the tea house which was beautifully appointed. we found a little cushioned corner to relax and enjoy our beverages. after some mint and fruit teas we ventured out for a little shopping along the nearby streets. along the way we stumbled upon a courtyard that promised a guitar performance in the evening. we took note for later on.

arches for days

next up was the long-awaited mezquita - or cathedral depending on how you look at it. it's pretty humbling to walk inside. not in the same way most cathedrals are humbling, for expansive vertical spaces, but horizontally, with colonnades that resemble a forest of arches. i had been before and it was incredible then. sadly my camera died at that very moment so i have few physical mementos of that part of my first trip. it's pretty amazing to be inside a building that's one of the oldest and most important examples of islamic architecture. and you can clearly see the progression of the mosque's expansion over the years with the placement of the original mihrab.. and then the takeover of the cathedral. it's so incongruous to see the understated beauty of the islamic ornament next to the overly ornate gilded everything of the later spanish cathedral. or maybe i'm just biased.

after we thoroughly explored the mosque we figured we had earned some churros con chocolate. because, given the possibility you always have churros, right? we wandered all the way back to the more commercial part of town in search of a traditional place i'd read about that seemed fabulous. of course it was closed when we finally arrived so we settled for a place along the big square. not the giant churros i remember but they were still pretty good links of fried dough.

waiting for sunset

from there it was back towards the mosque and to the roman bridge just behind it. honestly most of the bridge is no longer roman (probably in our best interest since we crossed it) but it was great to get a view of the mosque and the city behind. we tried to wait until the sun was fully down and we got a peek at the sunset but to no avail. we were worried about missing our guitar show so we headed back across the river and back to the restaurant we had seen before, el patio cordobès (another pretty direct name).

flamenco in the patio

the dinner (in other words the requirement for us getting a free flamenco show) wasn't bad but the main event was the music. it started off with just some guitar and foot tapping, then singing and clapping. eventually an older man joined in, with a raspy voice but obviously very passionate. the younger and older man took turns singing, the young one later coming in to dance. that was some very fancy footwork. they performed for what must have been at least an hour and a half and who knows how often they do this. it was clear they were very passionate. so, we didn't see any frilly dresses but we still got a great flamenco show, and without shilling out the 28€+ they charge at other places around town.

we were hoping to cap off our night with a bit of hookah, which we'd seen evidence of at the tea house earlier. we made it back there but sadly it was closed. guess we'd stayed too long at the flamenco show. instead we settled for buying a bottle of wine and drinking it on the roof of our hostel - complete with a very slight view of the giralda (bell tower). and so we rounded out the last of our hours in córdoba. i hadn't expected to, but i liked it even more than i remembered. it ended up being our favorite city on the trip - small enough to fully explore, with hidden treasures. a perfect reintroduction to spain.