See you soon, Portugal :)

We went back to Lisbon for our last night in Portugal, where we explored the hilltop, medieval district and had a light dinner in an outside café. Seriously … I have to rank Portugal right up there with Greece as my favorite vacation destination of this European sejour. The people were really friendly & easy to communicate with (Spanish, English, and French all worked really well there), the food was well-priced and good, the coffee was EXCELLENT, and the landscape and culture were super interesting. Obrigado, Portugal, et à la prochaine!

Exploring the medieval district of Lisbon around sunset:

Portuguese flags/color/pride everywhere!

Sun-filled, fun-filled day and night on the Algarve coast

Ah … and onto the South of Portugal! We took a 4-hour bus from Lisbon down to Lagos on the southern Algarve coast, whose landscape rivals that which I saw in Greece, magnifique! Lagos is known as a black hole where young backpackers come for a few days and end up staying for months, finding random jobs in tourism during the day and going out at night. Its reputation doesn’t lie, and I can definitely see why.

It’s basically just a beach bummer’s town … small, easily walkable, good variety of beaches, fun nightlife, affordable lodging. A main street basically follows the marina through the town, then on one side there’s a large, flat beach dotted with volleyball courts, beachside restaurants, etc. But if you continue in the other direction the beaches become a lot smaller, broken up by huge rock formations, forming little lagoons and grottos – full of backpackers, couples, musicians giving impromptu/casual concerts – very cool. We spent the afternoon on the large, open beach and then explored the smaller beaches by following a walking trail on the cliffs above. My shoe isn’t exactly the most beach/sand-friendly … but even with its inconvenience, I could have easily spent several days here.

We had a fresh seafood lunch outside on the marina … and I think I ate squid … I’ve had plenty of fried or grilled calamari rings in my life, but don’t think I’ve eaten the actual, whole squid bodies themselves. Anyway … I think that’s what it was – see below. They were lightly grilled with olive oil, garlic, and sea salt – mmm.

We went back to our apartment (rented to us for 30 euros for the night by a woman waiting for tourists as they stepped out of the bus station – actually very convenient & not a bad deal) to change before going out for the night, and found that we had a new roommate staying in the room next to us – a college-age American guy who’s traveling for 3 months in Europe. So the three of us went out together and had an awesome night. Like I said, the town is like a black hole of young travelers; meaning, I don’t think I talked to a single Portuguese person the whole night – everyone was either British, Canadian, American, a random Belgian or two. We started at a bar with pint-sized long islands for 3euro. Sure, I may be beyond my prime long island years (a la Crazy Horse in Bloomington) but it was cheap and seriously fun! At the first bar there was a chalkboard of scores for an ongoing, international beer-bong competition in the bar. The 2007 Champions were Australia, and this year’s competition is very tight between the US and Australia. I enjoyed making fun of a Canadian and his country’s weak score, haha. Anyway we bar-hopped a bit through Lagos, and the last picture on my camera is of Andrea hopping onto the back of a working/moving garbage truck; she claims not to remember anything!

Needless to say, Lagos was awesome and one day did not suffice!

All roads lead to the beach ... :)

Thumbs Up for the low Canadian beer-pong score, woohoo!

First she ends up behind the bar with the bartenders ... then an hour later on the back of a garbage truck ... j'adore!

With our new friend/roommate Mick from Oklahama:

First Day in Lisbon

From Coimbra we took a bus to Lisbon – my “Let’s Go” book lists Portugal as the country with the highest number of car accidents per capita in Western Europe. But we took our chances because bus travel is cheaper, as well as being a somewhat “fun” change from train travel. One of the buses we took even had an attendant working in it … cool. We got to the city around 10am and checked into our delightful pensione – we each paid 12 euros a night for a double room, clean showers, great location – awesome deal for a capital city. My guidebook described it as a friendly, family-run place … and it felt a bit like we were actually living with the family; they essentially own the floor in a building, live in some rooms and rent out others. And it always smelled good because the kitchen was right there, and they were always cooking. Yum. Anyway, I loved this place. They also let us leave our bags there the next day/night while we took a quick trip down to Southern Portugal.

The weather was finally sunny & beautiful, so we enjoyed walking around Lisbon, had a great lunch at a small, super crowded, local café, and then took a short train along the coast to Cascais - a small, gorgeous beach village with great views. It was slightly overrun with English tourists but still a great place to spend the afternoon.

In Lisbon:

The beautiful village of Cascais, pictures below:

Coimbra and Visiting Sara

After a day and a half in Porto, we took a two-hour train south to the large, university town of Coimbra … also home to Sara, the Portuguese assistant who lived with us in Rennes! Coimbra was great because we stayed with Sara’s family for two nights, and you really get a better feel for a place when you actually stay/eat/talk with locals, particularly a family. First off, they live in a great house located about 15 minutes from the city, technically in the countryside – their backyard literally looks out over a small vineyard … awesome.

Sara's House & Backyard ... beautiful

Sara gave us a full-day tour of the city … we toured the campus & downtown area, with multiple stops for café, beer, the local pastry specialty, etc. Oh, and I must mention the sandwich that we had for lunch. The name of the sandwich in Portuguese is the “French Specialty,” and I think the French would actually be a bit offended by this. I ordered the “sandwich” but was served a gigantic plate of: sausage, ham, and pork in between bread that was covered in thick cheese & tomato sauce … with an egg on top … surrounded by fries. It was tasty but a bit much. I should have taken a picture … bummer.

Our last night in Coimbra we had a great meal with Sara’s family – I think it was a Brazilian-style meal, actually … about five different kinds of grilled meat, served with rice, black beans, and salad. I told you the Portuguese can eat. Then we had freshly whipped cream and strawberries for dessert. After the French sandwich for lunch and this … I couldn’t take anymore. But I did … a neighbor showed up with another traditional, Portuguese dessert – rice/cream pie topped with cinnamon. And they have a killer espresso machine in their kitchen, so we ended with decafs. Quite the meal! And it was great to meet her family – really friendly & hospitable, even though I couldn’t directly communicate with them; they spoke to me in Portuguese, I spoke to them in French, and we just kinda acted like we understood each other. It works, haha.

Overlooking Coimbra with Sara & Andrea:















On the university campus:

PORTUGAL!!!!

When we landed in Porto all of the Portuguese passengers started clapping … woo yeah, that’s when I knew I’d enjoy these people and their culture!

First we called a pensione from the airport (12 euros each for a double room – insanely good!) and then took a bus into the city. It was actually colder and rainier than we’d hoped for – and really the whole point of coming to Portugal was for HOT, sun, and beaches! And we were informed that it had been, unseasonably, raining daily for the past month … yiiikes. But our pensione was great/clean/cheap, located on a little square in the middle of the old city. First we went to a little café/resto to have the “prato do dia” – dish of the day – which all places offers for lunch; it’s a solid serving of fish or meat with veggies/fries/salad – all for about 4 euros. And this is where I tried my first Portuguese beer – Sagras Bohemia … a delightful amber concoction … that costs about 70 cents a bottle. Espresso was 55 cents, cappuccino about 65 cents … food prices were seriously about a third of what they are in France. So we picked a great place to end our travels, since we’re running out of money after 7 months. A solid lunch/dinner with drinks cost about 6-7 euros each. And, dang, the Portuguese can eat! That night we wanted to go down to the waterfront area where the cool cafés are, but we got totally lost – and drenched with rain – on the way. We stopped in a tiny bar and had Sagres for an all-trip low of 65 cents per bottles. Ultimately we found a small, empty restaurant for a short dinner, then took a cab home.

The next day in Porto was a lot more interesting. We walked all over the city – which is made of tons of tiny, cobblestoned streets that rise up into hilly neighborhoods off of the river in the center. I think we stopped in about 20 different cheap souvenir shops (purely based on the low prices, I was drawn to all of the Portuguese football apparel, hats, flags, ceramics, etc). We lucked into experiencing one of the most interesting/authentic lunches I’ve had in Europe. We stuck our heads into a tiny restaurant full of locals, and an old Portuguese woman immediately invited us, in French, to sit with her. She was 79 years old, had spent 25 years working in Paris, and essentially shared her life story with us … all the while kidding around & cussing (in French, since they couldn’t understand her) at her lifelong friends scattered around the restaurant. It was priceless … and the food was delightful – I had a super-fresh piece of white fish, vegetable soup (soup is HUGE in Portugal), red wine, and a dessert of cold, cooked, angel-hair pasta sprinkled with cream & cinnamon (strange but good). And we each paid five euros – incroyable. After lunch we toured the area of town with the port-wine caves & tasting houses, which are built underground across the river. We took a short tour of the Sandeman port caves and tasted two varieties of port – including white port, which I’ve never had before and would be excellent as a chilled, summer apéritif. All in all, Porto was a great town to visit.

View of Porto's Riverside .... awesome Van Gogh Sagras beer glasses

Porto Cave Tours and Wine Tasting :

And our fabulous lunch with the fabulous Rosa ... :)

Day 2 a Paris with Tiff, Grube, and Andrea

Friday we had a somewhat late night, so we took our time getting up on Saturday … well until we got the 15-minute warning from the hotel. We moved all of our bags over to our friends’ apartment, where we joined Andrea; the two people who live in the apartment weren’t there for the weekend but left us keys and said everyone could stay. We much preferred that over a hotel, more comfortable, etc. Kindof a bummer because it rained off & on for most of the day, but we still managed to fit in the intended sites, at a leisurely pace. We started off by going out to Rolan Garros – where the French Open just started last week; Jon is a big tennis fan and just wanted to see the stadium- we didn’t try to get tickets or anything. (But Andrea & I did make it to a match a couple days later … more to come on that!). Then we went to the Tour Eiffel but didn’t go up in it - definitely not worth the wait on a gray, rainy day. Under the Tour we saw a few random disputes between Lyon and Paris soccer fans – there was a big game later that day, and we saw a few of these little conflicts throughout the day – pretty amusing. Ahh yes and then there was the bum’s ass … no more details on that one, but ask Grube if you’d like to know more, haha. From there we walked/metro’d to the Arc de Triomphe and Champs Elysées for some fun photo opps. And I already included a picture of this in the pre-post, but we made a point to go to the mini Statue of Liberty replica on a bridge in the Seine … something you’ve just got to do once as an American in Paris, haha. At this point most of us were pretty tired from a long day of sightseeing so we stopped at a grocery store to stock up on Camembert, baguette, saucisson, wine, and beer – and headed back to the apartment for what turned into a prolonged happy hour, dinner, and jam session including Grube’s infamous “Hippie Mix”, Manu Chao, and some other Cuban music. It was awesome just chilling, enjoying each other’s company, and hanging out. We decided to go out for crepes since it was our last night together, but no one was really hungry after the bread/cheese/drink-fest, so we just went back to the Butte aux Cailles area from the night before and had a drink. I really wanted them to try crepes in Paris before leaving, but all of the decent crepe stands were closed … it’s kinda embarrassing to admit, but the only place open was called “Good Meat” (not joking here) and they claimed to have crepes, so we gave it a whirl. Ewww, not good … so Jon and Tiff, if you’re reading this, you have to get legit, fresh crepes when you’re back in Paris before your flight! The next morning I went to the train station to see them off, as they departed for the next leg of their Euro adventure – the infamous Amsterdam! Nothing too crazy, kids!!! :)

Amazing to see both of you, mwack, bisous, and see you again in July!!!

Random sidenote: I think Tiff and Grube really enjoyed getting to hang out with Andrea, my Chilean roommate. And they even more enjoyed the fact that she doesn’t speak much English but is a good sport and is willing to repeat just about anything, with a fantastic accent. So Jon may or may not have fed her a couple of key “Target phrases” … see below for short video clips … priceless! At the end of the two days together, they were like “Um, yeah, she’s just like you … but Chilean.” Haha, I know, that’s why we’re such good friends! Anyway, I think the FFF clip should be used at the next big Marketing meeting … make sure that gets spread around :)

Exploring Paris with a Viking, Cheesehead, and Chilean :) Day 1

We dropped our bags at the hotel, Tiff and Grube enjoyed their first baguette, and then the four of us had cafés at a place on the Seine. We walked over to Notre Dame, and that’s when I was able to confirm that I approve of Tiff and Grube’s travel style ... quickly appreciate the beauty of Notre Dame, take the obligatory photos (including “hunch-backing” in front of the cathedral), and then be on our way. No time for long, touristy lines and entrance fees – I like it! We walked along the river to the Louvre and then headed over to Pere Lachaise, the famous cemetery where tons of old Parisian families and famous French/international musicians/writers are buried. It was cool because I’ve always wanted to go there but have never made it. Jon’s mission, along with almost every other lost tourist we found in the place, was to find Jim Morrison’s grave – a harder task than you’d think … but it was really interesting to wander through. Lots of the graves are covered in elaborate, gothic-like, above-ground tombs. After that we went to a train station to take care of their Amsterdam reservations, and then took delightful afternoon naps at the hotel! Quick note about the hotel – I’ve stayed there before, great location, really good price, etc. The 3 of us paid about 15 euros each to split a triple room for the night, which is really good for Paris. When I made the reservation, I was told that we’d get a double room with an extra twin bed – perfect. So we found a room with a double bed and a mattress folded up on the floor, so I went down to ask for the cot/bed frame to go with it … but no, it was just the mattress, haha. It actually ended up being comfortable, but I still don't think they should be able to call that a "third bed" in the reservation.

Below: Hunchbacking at Notre Dame ... and totally lost in Pere Lachaise

After our naps it was time for Target Happy Hour, Parisian style. Tiff, Grube, and I headed over to the Bastille area where there you can find a different bar about every 10 feet. We found a 2-for-1 place and enjoyed beers an the beautiful night - once again, light out until about 9:30, I love it! The 3 of us enjoyed catching up, throwing in a little career talk, of course (to Grube's disdain, haha), getting the gossip on Minneapolis friends, etc, etc. Super quality time with both of them :) Then we headed over to Place d'Italie where we met back up with Andrea and a group of her Parisian friends. Most of them were architecture students, inevitably speak a bit of English, and I think they two of them enjoyed conversing with some Frenchies in English. We ended up in a great little neighborhood known as Botte aux Cailles ... definitely off the beaten tourist track, filled with tons of little bars/cafes/restos ... regardless of which bar you were actually in, it was easy to mingle with tons of people because everyone spilled out onto the sidewalks. Then a group of about 8 of us got hungry and found a nearby restaurant (Tunisian, I think?). Then we luckily got the last metro home before our hotel closed at 2am ... then proceeded to cancel our room for the next night at the hotel, since we found out that we could stay (for free) at a friend's apartment ... no brainer! But I wasn't sure if I had successfully cancelled it ... until our rude awakening the next morning with a 15-minute warning that we had to check-out ... brilliant!

Happy Hour (aka planning out tomorrow's path) & impromptu hood-of-car-bar a Butte aux Cailles ...

They had no problems making new friends in Paris ... :)

That was the first night I spent at the hotel with Tiff and Grube ... and when I realized just how perfect they are together. See below ... they both brought travel, night-reading lights. No joke.

Paris :)

Then we took a packed train from Toulon to Paris, and about 20 minutes before getting in, we heard from our friends in Paris that they were stuck in Lyon so we wouldn’t be able to stay with them that night. I called the two hotels that I know in Paris but no luck there. We thought of everyone we knew in Paris but ended up staying with a random friend-of-a-friend Chilean who lives in Paris. So Andrea and I called him, explained how she got his number, and basically asked if we could crash there for the night. It was slightly bad timing because his mom was there visiting from Chile; but they were awesomely hospitable and told us to come on over. It made for a slightly awkward situation but beats sleeping in a train station or street. He had a really nice studio about two blocks from the Louvre – good location! We slept on yoga mats on the floor in the same room as his mom sleeping on the couch – a bit uncomfy, but it was incredibly nice of them to let complete strangers stay with them. It’s crazy – there’s kinda an unofficial network of Chileans who seem to just open their homes to each other. I guess it’s not even just a Chilean thing at all – I’ve had tons of French people, or other Europeans, offer me places to stay, either with them directly or with their family/friends. I’m not so sure that this same mentality exists in the US. Sure, if you know someone personally, it’s not a problem to stay with them, etc – but I don’t think it’s as common to open up our homes to friends-of-friends, or foreigners who are traveling, etc. Anyway, here it’s awesome, very welcoming, and obviously helpful for travelers on a budget.

Friday morning we got up and went to the Opéra in Paris, my planned meeting point with Tiffany and Jon (referred to as Grube in the rest of this post). So I was walking down the street with Andrea, heard someone yelling my name from across the street – and that couldn’t be anything else but my friends fresh from good ‘ole Minneapolis! More to come on our visit together when I have more time to write ... but here's a quick picture of us being idiot American tourists in front of the mini Statue of Liberty replica on the Seine:

Beach Day in Toulon

Thursday we woke up to the joy of yet another French national train strike. That’s great news when you’ve already bought two tickets for the day. It was a bummer because we had tickets to go to Cannes (as it is the film festival right now!) for the afternoon, before coming back up to Paris. I have no idea what it would have been like in Cannes/how close you can get to the event/etc … but I’m sure it would have been a cool experience. But our train from Cannes to Paris was cancelled so we stayed in Toulon for the afternoon to take a different train. Not as if I was totally crushed … I mean, Toulon is another beach town on the Mediterranean coast and I wrote this post while sitting on the beach … so no complaints from this beach bum! If two of my besties from Minneapolis weren’t getting to Paris the next day, I would have had a hard time leaving the South. Regardless of what town you’re in, the dark blue sparkling water with back-drops of other coast towns & mountains … is amazing. It is a completely different charm from the rest of France, and I love it. The people, landscape, food, markets, etc are completely different from where I’ve been living the past 7 months. I’ll be back, Provence, don’t you worry! So the beachside afternoon in Toulon turned into five hours in the sun … after a winter in Bretagne, this kicked my butt! I got somewhat friend – face, arms, back, etc … but the sunburn has since died down and it’s good to have some color, haha!

Beach, Sun, Drinks, Pain au Chocolat ... think I just defined my paradise :)