The European Adventure continues....

After our party hard time in Ibeeeeeeza recently, the party gang departed and it was just the two of us, weary and a shadow of our formal selves with still a good week and a bit to our holidays. Portugal was next on our agenda.

With no plan in place other than to have NO PLAN, we hit Portugal's capital around 1am, ready to fall onto our luxurious king size bed (I knew those loyalty points would come in handy for some last minute 'flash-packing') After a week of sleeping where we fell in Ibiza (ok although we did have an apartment between 6 of us, it became a nightly game of musical beds depending on who had the most party stamina and would be the last to make up the sofa couch). It was refreshing to have a lovely suite for at least the beginning of our week.

We surprisingly stayed in Lisbon one day longer than originally planned due to losing a day in recovery mode from Ibiza (who couldn't see that one coming?), but once we were done with Lisbon, we hired a car and took off to explore .....

The original plan was for some surfing (lessons for me of course), however this was thwarted by the lack of warm weather. We had been spoilt in 'the Mediterranean' with a perfect climate. Although Portugal was a pleasant change from the HOT STICKY DESERT I live in.


Best Bits of Portugal

• OMG the food! For a girl that dabbles with veganism, I couldn't pass up the national dish of Bacalhau^ (I first discovered in Mexico Xmas 2005). Oops. Also every dish was sooo heavy and comfort based. Lots of meat and potatoes but soooooooo yum, also every restaurant you would dine in would automatically place appetisers in front of you before you had even glanced at a menu. If you chose not to eat these you were not charged, but both P & I are real foodies and of course we polished off every last bite!
  
• Experiencing a Fado* club
• The history, impressive buildings and castles (too many to mention here!)
• SINTRA - The Summer Residence of Kings. Thought I had stepped into my own fairytale Kingdom
• Pasteis de Belém or Pastéis de Nata - (MORE FOOD!) flaky tartlets filled with custard like cream (truthfully I was warned about their addictive nature by a native friend of mine+)

• Pirate Exhibition in Palácio de Seteais in Sintra
• Oceanário de Lisboa (I had to take P under duress but I think he enjoyed as much as me)
  
• Tram 28 which takes you on a circuit of the inner part of Lisbon
• Portuguese azulejos - vibrant blue and white or multicoloured decorative tiles EVERYWHERE....
  

• Seeing real life 175 million year old dinosaur footprints in Estremadura (My favourite!)

The Not So Good Bits (not that much actually):

• We didn't even get to try any port wine (what Portugal is famous for!) or it's Ginginha#

• The million steps up to the Castelo de Sao Jorge - but the view was worth it!

Our trip to Portugal was purely by accident as neither of us had the desire to visit before any of our never ending list of dream destinations had been conquered, but due to a lack of flights to our first choice, we settled on here. And settle we did not. We were both amazingly surprised and enjoyed it thoroughly. Perhaps it was FADO!!

Bacalhau^ is a family of food dishes made from codfish, which has been dried and salted for preservation. Bacalhau originated in Portugal, but is very popular in many countries from Brazil to several countries in Southeast Asia. In Portuguese, the word bacalhua means codfish, but bacalhau most commonly refers to any of a variety of dishes that are prepared with codfish, or salt cod, as the main ingredient. Strictly a form of Portuguese cuisine, bacalhau is a dish that has been around for several hundred years.

Fado* ("fate") - is often described as working-class blues, although musically it would perhaps be more accurate to class it as a kind of light operetta, sing to a viola accompaniment usually enjoyed at a Fado bar where meals are served but you are not always required to eat. Moving music and lyrics.

Ginginha# - Portugese cherry brandy, highly advisable NOT to eat the cherry.....

+Many thanks to my Portugese pal Nuno, for his tips/hints and guidance on what to do and what not to do...and also for pasting those little things above some letters (`) for me as I have no idea. Nuno has since told me these are called 'accute accents'.