After our one night adventure in Madrid, we had two weeks as our mid-term spring break. What did we decide to do? SOMETHING EPIC THAT WE'VE NEVER DONE BEFORE. We rented a car and drove from Madrid across the border into Portugal, and stayed in Lisbon for a couple days. We made a day trip north of Lisbon into Porto, and stopped in Sintra before making it to Lagos for a day or two. Road-tripping across Spain and Portugal, we were able to see some beautiful landscapes and experience some authentic Portuguese drivers on the road. Luckily, Tyson got us out of that (somehow) accident-free. But then there was that one time. . . Ha. Anyway, some thoughts about Portugal. . .
I honestly never thought of Portugal as an actual country. I mean, how often is Portugal brought up in daily conversation? Do you have any Portuguese-American friends? I don't think I had heard the Portuguese language until I was in Mozambique on the Race. Should it have been obvious to me that Port wine originated from Porto? If you knew nothing about Portugal either, you're about to get slightly educated.
Let's start with location. Portugal is located west of Spain, and covers the western coast of the Iberian peninsula. Although a rather small country, the population is around 10 million. To provide some perspective, California is 4.6 times the size of Portugal. Hard to believe, but you can probably drive from the northern point to the southern tip within 6 hours. Size isn't all that matters, however. Portugal has a rich pioneering history. It was Vasco da Gama who discovered a naval trade route to Asia and many other explorers who sailed the uncharted seas. Initially colonized by the Roman Empire, the Portuguese had a foundation laid for them much like the majority of other western European countries today. It's an amazing country to visit and see because of its rich heritage.
I've never seen any city like Lisbon. Much like the language, the capital city was a confusing conglomeration of other international urbanscapes. The old buildings were painted with the color of industrialization and pollution, but were filled with character and wisdom much like buildings you would come across in eastern Europe. The streets were sloped and had rails that carried trolleys like San Francisco. They even had a bridge that looks exactly like the Golden Gate Bridge. The entire country is practically bilingual. People would automatically speak in perfect English before they would speak Portuguese. The city was riddled with delicious fancypants cafes of every cuisine, and one of my favorite parts of eating out in Portugal was that you could always count on ordering a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for dirt cheap prices.
Anyway, I would go back in a heartbeat.
If you ever get a chance to visit Portugal, take it!
I honestly never thought of Portugal as an actual country. I mean, how often is Portugal brought up in daily conversation? Do you have any Portuguese-American friends? I don't think I had heard the Portuguese language until I was in Mozambique on the Race. Should it have been obvious to me that Port wine originated from Porto? If you knew nothing about Portugal either, you're about to get slightly educated.
Let's start with location. Portugal is located west of Spain, and covers the western coast of the Iberian peninsula. Although a rather small country, the population is around 10 million. To provide some perspective, California is 4.6 times the size of Portugal. Hard to believe, but you can probably drive from the northern point to the southern tip within 6 hours. Size isn't all that matters, however. Portugal has a rich pioneering history. It was Vasco da Gama who discovered a naval trade route to Asia and many other explorers who sailed the uncharted seas. Initially colonized by the Roman Empire, the Portuguese had a foundation laid for them much like the majority of other western European countries today. It's an amazing country to visit and see because of its rich heritage.
I've never seen any city like Lisbon. Much like the language, the capital city was a confusing conglomeration of other international urbanscapes. The old buildings were painted with the color of industrialization and pollution, but were filled with character and wisdom much like buildings you would come across in eastern Europe. The streets were sloped and had rails that carried trolleys like San Francisco. They even had a bridge that looks exactly like the Golden Gate Bridge. The entire country is practically bilingual. People would automatically speak in perfect English before they would speak Portuguese. The city was riddled with delicious fancypants cafes of every cuisine, and one of my favorite parts of eating out in Portugal was that you could always count on ordering a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for dirt cheap prices.
Anyway, I would go back in a heartbeat.
If you ever get a chance to visit Portugal, take it!
Entrance into Lisbon.
Giant Jesus statue.
Giant Jesus statue.
Old buildings that looked close to condemned were everywhere.
We found an adorable French cafe called Cafe do Monte.
They serve a hearty breakfast for decent prices.
I hadn't had a meal that delicious in ages!
Try the mushroom salad or the homemade bread.
My friends enjoyed the Croque Madame.
CAFE DO MONTE
Rua de São Gens 1 | +351916307653
Tue – Sun 09:00 – 22:00
Tue – Sun 09:00 – 22:00
(They are rather relaxed about the time that they open, as a heads up.
We tried to go back a second time before we left, but ended up standing outside in the rain!)
We walked around the little alleyways and streets for over 8 hours.
At the end of the day, we were exhausted and hangry.
At the end of the day, we were exhausted and hangry.
You could see the Golden Gate's sister bridge in the background.
Free wine tasting.
Nothing spectacular, but hey -- it was free.
We learned a little bit about the wine regions of Portugal and got to try three. If I remember correctly, we tried two whites and one red. The tastings are were approximately once every thirty to forty-five minutes well into the afternoon.
VINI PORTUGAL
Terreiro do Paco 1100-148 | Sala Ogival, Lisbon, Portugal
http://www.viniportugal.pt
Finished our first night at a beautiful lookout of the city.
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