A twelve hour train ride to Lisboa (Lisbon), Portugal was not fun. I thought I loved trains. Turns out I love sleeper trains at night and any train during the day, but a night train without a bed is miserable. The train got delayed at the border as well, adding time and hassle to the trip. The twelve hour train ride turned into 14ish hours, but the extra hours were good. Otherwise I would have arrived at Lisboa at 7:10AM, coming in around 9AM meant things were open and I could do touristy things before I met my couch surfing hosts.
So I saddled up my bags and headed to metro, randomly picking a metro stop that look touristy, biaxa-chiado . And score!!! I found the coast, windy streets and a castle. Lovely.
I walked around a bit taking pictures and enjoying the view of the coast and some spectacular buildings. Who knows what they were for, but they were pretty. Then I found signs to the Saint George Castle. I walked up the hill along all these beautiful houses. A lot of the houses are in poor repair, but even so they are usually covered in painted tiles. It is so gorgeous. Most houses use blue tiles, but many have green, rust red and yellow. The walk to the top was short but sweaty, carrying 30 kilos of luggage will do that to you. I needed the exercise after 10 days of doing nothing. This is what it must feel like to have a kid and be pregnant. Not too bad, but it required a few sit downs. The view at the top was wonderful. I was not disappointed. Take a look.
After my adventure walking up and down stairs and all around the castle I headed back down the hill and found a plaza. Walking around I eventually found the main boulevard and walked to the area of "parque." Of coarse this had a manicured lawn and lovely places to sit. I sat and read a book for a while. I'm pretty sure people thought I was homeless. There were quite a few homeless people in the park, and they had all their stuff with them too. It was a new experience. The guy that hawked hats to tourists left me alone and the tourists just gave me a wide berth when walking by me. After a bit of reading I met up with my host, Goedele, and she took me to met her girlfriend and see her home.
I was in for a surprise; the girls had picked up a goat from veterinary school and were taking care of it. The goat was called Cabbage, I called him Cabbage Head, and he was only a week old. It was so cute running around in diapers and needing to be fed formula three times a day. It was so young it sucked on fingers (looking for mom) and didn't like to be left alone for too long other wise he would talk.
I met Susana too and she was just a sweetheart. After chatting for a little bit about school and what she likes to do she made a yogurt cake for tea time. I also met the cats, Jakie, Frankie and Jay. I was surprised that they didn't bother my allergies. Jay was just a big puddle of love while the other two didn't know me very well, so they avoided me. This avoidance ended at night when one would sleep with me in my bed.
After tea we had to take Cabbage Head to Susana's parents house. So we packed up everything and walked the goat (on a cat leash) to the point where he was going to be picked up. Walking a goat is a difficult thing. In the beginning Cabbage Head really like it. It was probably the 1st time he had been able to stretch his legs in a while. Living in an apartment really isn't a good idea for a goat. The girls only had a small back room to keep him in and he kept on trying to jump on everything and nibble things. In the end the walk was a bit much for him. He was scared of the cars and it was tiring to go up and down all the roads. We all took turns carrying him when he refused to move. But despite being a bit contrary, he was a celebrity. People kept on giving second glances, taking pictures from their cars and coming up to pet him. It was an experience.
After getting him and Susana safely in the car, off to the farm, we headed off to see some more of the city. Goedele took me to the part of the city where she and her friends would go at night. There we found a drinks stand in a park. She introduced me a traditional Portuguese liqueur, very similar to port. We sat under the oldest tree in Lisboa and chatted for a bit and sipped a bit. After this we went to a burger joint that serves a nice array of vegetarian and non-vegetarian burgers. It was so good. I didn't end up getting a vegetarian burger, but when I saw what Goedele had gotten I kinda wish I had. They had several different ones to choose from. I got a cheese and wild mushroom burger and Godele got a felafel burger. yum yum yum...
In the morning we went down to the coast and saw Belem tower and the area near there. There were tons of sail boats on the canal and it was just a perfect day. After a bit of site seeing we went to Casa Pasteis de Belem. This place is famous for their egg tart pastries. We both had coffees and a pastry each. I'm glad I don't live in Lisbon, I would eat these every day. They were crunchy and flaky on the outside crust, with a rich and sweet interior.
After a bit of excitement in my mouth we headed back to shop for dinner and lunch. I promised the girls I would make them Korean pancakes for lunch. So I did. This was the second time I've made them, and both with squid. The girls really like it. The timing was perfect, Susana was just getting home from the farm and after lunch we could spend the afternoon together.
We went out and about and saw some more beautiful views. The lighting was perfect at this time of day. Everything had a golden glow. After walking around for a bit we headed back and made dinner. Well Susana made dinner, Goedele and I were stuck to our computers. We started the night with three different Portuguese cheese with crackers, honey, walnuts an wine. After we ate all of that we had an almost forgotten Bacalhau, a traditional Portuguese dish. This has salted dried cod, olives, olive oil, potato, eggs, onion, garlic, cheese, salt and pepper. It was pretty darn good. But we were all so full from the wine and cheese we didn't hardly eat any. Lunch for tomorrow.
I was making bread at the time with FRESH yeast, while Susana was making dinner. I had never used fresh yeast before. The stuff is amazing, its gooey and smells so... yeasty. I burnt the very top of the bread in my usual, forgetfulleaveitintheoventillitisdone, manner. Even though it was just the tiniest bit chard, it still tasted pretty good. Susana had brought me home milled wheat flour, from her mom. So I should have had everything for great bread, but we ended up with ok bread. Oh well. I feel like whenever I bake bread in a new place it takes at least two times to get it perfect.
The next day was pretty chill. Goedele and I went to a park with flea market. They had some pretty cool stuff and I got to see more of the city. After lunch and saying goodbye to Susana we left to get me off to the airport. It was perfect timing, almost too perfect. I didn't have time to mail my postcards. I guess they will get mailed in Venice. I had brought lunch with me, and the security guard took it. I think He was really just hungry. Lisbon was the best city I have been to so far. I'm pretty sure having the girls as company is what made it amazing. I can't wait to go back and see them again.
So I saddled up my bags and headed to metro, randomly picking a metro stop that look touristy, biaxa-chiado . And score!!! I found the coast, windy streets and a castle. Lovely.I walked around a bit taking pictures and enjoying the view of the coast and some spectacular buildings. Who knows what they were for, but they were pretty. Then I found signs to the Saint George Castle. I walked up the hill along all these beautiful houses. A lot of the houses are in poor repair, but even so they are usually covered in painted tiles. It is so gorgeous. Most houses use blue tiles, but many have green, rust red and yellow. The walk to the top was short but sweaty, carrying 30 kilos of luggage will do that to you. I needed the exercise after 10 days of doing nothing. This is what it must feel like to have a kid and be pregnant. Not too bad, but it required a few sit downs. The view at the top was wonderful. I was not disappointed. Take a look.
I was in for a surprise; the girls had picked up a goat from veterinary school and were taking care of it. The goat was called Cabbage, I called him Cabbage Head, and he was only a week old. It was so cute running around in diapers and needing to be fed formula three times a day. It was so young it sucked on fingers (looking for mom) and didn't like to be left alone for too long other wise he would talk.I met Susana too and she was just a sweetheart. After chatting for a little bit about school and what she likes to do she made a yogurt cake for tea time. I also met the cats, Jakie, Frankie and Jay. I was surprised that they didn't bother my allergies. Jay was just a big puddle of love while the other two didn't know me very well, so they avoided me. This avoidance ended at night when one would sleep with me in my bed.
After getting him and Susana safely in the car, off to the farm, we headed off to see some more of the city. Goedele took me to the part of the city where she and her friends would go at night. There we found a drinks stand in a park. She introduced me a traditional Portuguese liqueur, very similar to port. We sat under the oldest tree in Lisboa and chatted for a bit and sipped a bit. After this we went to a burger joint that serves a nice array of vegetarian and non-vegetarian burgers. It was so good. I didn't end up getting a vegetarian burger, but when I saw what Goedele had gotten I kinda wish I had. They had several different ones to choose from. I got a cheese and wild mushroom burger and Godele got a felafel burger. yum yum yum...
In the morning we went down to the coast and saw Belem tower and the area near there. There were tons of sail boats on the canal and it was just a perfect day. After a bit of site seeing we went to Casa Pasteis de Belem. This place is famous for their egg tart pastries. We both had coffees and a pastry each. I'm glad I don't live in Lisbon, I would eat these every day. They were crunchy and flaky on the outside crust, with a rich and sweet interior.
After a bit of excitement in my mouth we headed back to shop for dinner and lunch. I promised the girls I would make them Korean pancakes for lunch. So I did. This was the second time I've made them, and both with squid. The girls really like it. The timing was perfect, Susana was just getting home from the farm and after lunch we could spend the afternoon together.
We went out and about and saw some more beautiful views. The lighting was perfect at this time of day. Everything had a golden glow. After walking around for a bit we headed back and made dinner. Well Susana made dinner, Goedele and I were stuck to our computers. We started the night with three different Portuguese cheese with crackers, honey, walnuts an wine. After we ate all of that we had an almost forgotten Bacalhau, a traditional Portuguese dish. This has salted dried cod, olives, olive oil, potato, eggs, onion, garlic, cheese, salt and pepper. It was pretty darn good. But we were all so full from the wine and cheese we didn't hardly eat any. Lunch for tomorrow.
I was making bread at the time with FRESH yeast, while Susana was making dinner. I had never used fresh yeast before. The stuff is amazing, its gooey and smells so... yeasty. I burnt the very top of the bread in my usual, forgetfulleaveitintheoventillitisdone, manner. Even though it was just the tiniest bit chard, it still tasted pretty good. Susana had brought me home milled wheat flour, from her mom. So I should have had everything for great bread, but we ended up with ok bread. Oh well. I feel like whenever I bake bread in a new place it takes at least two times to get it perfect.
The next day was pretty chill. Goedele and I went to a park with flea market. They had some pretty cool stuff and I got to see more of the city. After lunch and saying goodbye to Susana we left to get me off to the airport. It was perfect timing, almost too perfect. I didn't have time to mail my postcards. I guess they will get mailed in Venice. I had brought lunch with me, and the security guard took it. I think He was really just hungry. Lisbon was the best city I have been to so far. I'm pretty sure having the girls as company is what made it amazing. I can't wait to go back and see them again.
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