Lisbon, Portugal

I had another 3-day weekend in March, just before spring break. Since I’m on the Iberian Peninsula, I figured I ought to travel to Portugal at least once. It’s not really a place I’ve ever felt a strong pull towards, but I was not opposed to going. Let’s just say I was a bit indifferent. However, I was very happy to be seeing someplace other than Valdemoro.

So, I arrived in Lisbon, and followed the signs for the bus. Well, I guess I turned the wrong direction initially (big surprise), but there were still signs. After walking through the car rental area and a parking garage, the signs just disappeared. I continued to follow in the direction the last sign had said, and that sidewalk wrapped around the building to arrive at the ‘departures’ part of the airport. So, I walked through, got to the place I started at originally, and noticed that there was another sign for busses. Long story short, I followed those signs the second time around, and voilá! The busses were there.

After checking into my hotel, I asked the concierge for a restaurant recommendation. He pointed me in the direction of a place that served typical Portuguese food, and I went to this restaurant. Outside they had a display with tons of codfish (it’s very popular over here, bacalao), and I wasn’t too sure about it. Well, I went in anyway, and there were maybe 3 tables occupied. I asked for a table for one, and after the waiters ran around for a few minutes they came back to me and told me it wasn’t possible. I wasn’t too disappointed, and as I was waiting I had noticed that every single open table had a reserved sign on it. Since there were several restaurants around the area, I decided to try a pizzeria next. This place was packed, and they also told me that it would not be possible for me to eat there (I did find it strange, though, that they didn’t tell me to wait, they just flat out said no, and I saw this restaurant say no to other people coming in as well). Right next to the pizzeria was a place that served Nepalese food. I was unsure about it, but the décor looked nice, and there weren’t many people. I went in and got a table immediately. I got a mango chicken dish that had very thick sauce with basmati rice. It was very filling, and in the end I think I preferred the atmosphere at that restaurant to the other restaurants I had attempted to go to.

The next morning I hopped on the metro and made my way to the river. I got off at a stop that would land me where I wanted to be. I wanted to go to the Torre de Belém located about 4 kilometers from where I was, and I figured that there would be a bus that would follow along the riverside to get me there. I was right, but I walked around a little bit before getting the bus. On this walk, I saw the Praça do Comércio and some nice (albeit cloudy) views of the river.

One thing I noticed about Lisbon that I greatly enjoyed was the fact that all of the sidewalks were made of small stones that were often intricately patterned. It added a touch to the city that made it feel like you were walking somewhere special, not just on another sidewalk. The buildings also had a lot of tiles with colorful patterns. At times, these touches made the city feel beautiful, but then I would also see how run down many of the buildings were. Some places were kept up very well, and others had windows knocked out and were falling apart. Then, apart from this older part of the city, there was the newer modern section, which I will talk about more in a bit.

After walking a bit further and through a market where produce, meat, and flowers were being sold, I finally decided it was time to hop on the bus, and it was partly due to the heavy downpour that had started, and the fact that the bus stop would shield me from the rain.

I decided to follow the crowd of obvious tourists from the bus and ended up at a huge monastery, Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. I hate to say it, but all cathedrals/monasteries/religious buidings are starting to run together in my mind. I still have the same sense of awe when I walk inside one of them, and I still enjoy visiting them, but unless there is something that really sets it apart, it just goes into the file of ‘huge cathedral: spacious, beautiful, etc.’ in my mind. So, I guess what I’m trying to say that while this cathedral was wonderful, it was hard to distinguish it from many others that I have visited. I guess I just didn’t find that one thing that would make it special in my memory. Plus, the place was packed, so it was a little difficult to even enter the place, and I didn’t want to hang around there forever.

From the monastery I walked a little bit further to find the Belém Tower. This tower was used as a fortified lighthouse to protect the port, as well as the monastery, and was built in the early 1500s. I went when tide was low, and I could walk down to the sand. I walked around and took my photos, and I noticed a group of teenagers ‘playing’ with something in the rocky area that had been exposed due to low tide. Well, I guess they had found a big dead fish, and one of the boys was trying to prop it up with a stick. Can you say ew? After finishing my walk around the outside, I decided to check out the inside. To be honest, I probably shouldn’t have bothered, especially with the price. The building was amazing, and I was glad I got to see the inside, but I didn’t walk all the way to the top of it. It was also overrun with the tourists that I first got a glimpse of at the monastery, and the spiral staircase was a two-way ordeal. I dislike spiral staircases to begin with, and I don’t like having people walk up one side and down the other when it’s that narrow. So, after making my way up one landing, I decided to not bother with the very top, and headed back down and out.

After the tower, I walked back towards the bus stop, and along the way I got to see the Padrão dos Descobrimentos. I ate at a nice little Italian joint (spinach cannelloni) that was right on the water with a nice view of the huge Monument to the Discoveries. I walked around the Monument after lunch, and watched some of the people in sailboats on the water for a while.

Since it was still cloudy and rainy, I then decided to do something that would take me inside: the aquarium!

The Oceanário de Lisboa is located in the newer part of Lisbon that I mentioned before. After riding the bus along the riverside and through an area that was chock-full of port businesses, the bus finally took me to the new part of the city. All of the architecture was modern, and there were parks and modern fountains everywhere. The reason why this area was so different from the rest of the city is because it was built up for the 1998 World Exhibition, and is now known as the Nations’ Park.

I found the aquarium and got the audio guide tour of the place. I probably didn’t need it, but I always enjoy walking around and seeing what lives lurking in the ocean. I really enjoyed the layout of the oceanarium. In the center of the square building they placed the huge main tank, and then in each corner there was a different theme and climate for the area it was supposed to represent. From what I could tell the water was all connected throughout the exhibits, but they preserved the water temperature and climate characteristics in each area. Maybe there were glass barriers or something, but it was fascinating to watch the penguins swim into the main tank in any case.

When I came out of the oceanarium I was overjoyed to see that the cloudy, windy, rainy day had become calm and sunny. I noticed that there was an aerial tramway, so I got a ticket, sat back, and enjoyed the ride. From the higher vantage point I was able to see more areas of the Nations’ Park.

In the attempt to profit from the amount of daylight I still had left, I went back to the main city and endeavored to find the castle in the city. I thought I saw it from the bottom of the hill, and I started climbing through the city streets in that general direction. When I got to the building I thought was the castle, I realized that it was a church. I walked inside thinking that there would be an entrance to the castle, but I had no luck. So, I walked around the outside of the building, and indeed it seemed to have a walled-in interior that I thought would be the castle grounds, but I found no entrance. After walking around the entire proximity, I went back and sat on the church entrance’s stairs for a while. There were a couple of people playing banjos nearby, and it seemed very out of place to me. I always associate banjos with country livin’ and hearing it in a European city was surreal. They were really good, too. I sat on the steps listening to the music, and I also watched as several of the old city trams rode by.

Lisbon was a very unique place with its old run-down yet sometimes well-kept city center, and the modern new area. It was nowhere near as hilly, but in some respects it reminded me of San Francisco. Lisbon had the old trams, and the city even had a bridge that (in my opinion) greatly resembled the Golden Gate Bridge. Of course, it was nowhere near the same, but a similar structure and color helped the resemblance become apparent.

I left the church steps thinking that I had found the castle, but there was no entrance to it. It was not until I was back at the bottom of the hill that I looked back up and saw that where I had come from was indeed not the top of the hill, and that I had walked up to the area I saw, but that the church I had seen was not the castle I had seen on my map. So, I resolved to come back the next day. I was exhausted, and just wanted to eat dinner and collapse.

I went back to my hotel, and ate at a nearby restaurant (pizza, so I guess I should mention I never actually ate Portuguese food). After eating, I discovered that Stargate was on TV at my hotel. Due to the magnificence that is digital TV, I was able to change it to the original version and enjoyed watching an episode as I unwound from the day. I got out my folder of travel information to see what time my flight would leave the next day, and then I saw him: Flat Stanley. I could not believe I forgot about him! My coworker Sara is helping out a second grader back in the states by taking pictures of Flat Stanley at places around Madrid. I thought the idea was cute, so I offered to take Flat Stanley with me to Lisbon to take some pictures of him in a different city. I was disappointed that I had forgotten about him all day.

Even though there were a lot of places Flat Stanley didn’t go with me, I was still able to show him around the city the next day. He rode on the metro and on a tram, and he got to see the castle with me.

I took a tram so that I wouldn’t have to walk the entire way up the hill, but I didn’t get off at the appropriate stop because I thought the tram would continue going up. By the time I realized it was going down for good, it was too late. I got off at a stop near the church I had been the previous day. It was probably a good thing, though, because it was still very early for places to be open (around 9:30), so I was able to grab a coffee and pastry from a café. While I was sitting in the café, a homeless man came in and asked for what I assumed to be stale bread or something. He was refused, and continued on his way. After I left the café and continued my way back up the hill, I ran across this man several times. It seemed like he was just poking his head into every business along the way. I was zigzagging my way up the hill in a manner that probably made my journey longer, and it seemed he was zigzagging in the other direction. On my walk, I went from tourist shops to a residential area to a place that was just in ruins (literally, just stones that had once been walls crumbling down).

I finally made it to the top of the hill and into the castle. The morning was sunny, but incredibly foggy in areas. I could see the cloud levels in the view around me. I took the opportunity to take pictures of Stanley and myself with the amazing view in the background. At one point, I got a couple of Germans to take a picture of Stanley and I together. They thought it was hilarious, and asked if Stanley was my boyfriend. They seemed really interested in the Stanley project, and were shocked to hear that he was all the way from Illinois.

Well, you know how I am with castle playgrounds. I had a wonderful time climbing around the old stones and seeing all of the different views of the city. I had a heyday taking photos of Stanley, and I really enjoyed that I was able to get to the castle. Also, there were countless cats that seemed to live there. They seemed to be well taken care of and they were comfortable with all of the humans walking around, so I went up to one and let it smell my hand. After it seemed to accept me, I tried to pet it, but it decided to try to scratch me instead. I gave up after that cat, but it was nice seeing all of the cats that lived in the castle.

From here I left the city. I went back down the hill and decided to try to use the city busses to get back to the airport instead of the ‘airport’ bus, which costs a ton more than public transport. I got to the bus stop, and saw that there was a marathon going on in the city, so some of the busses were taking a slightly different route. Mine was fine, and I successfully made my way back to the airport and back to Valdemoro.

Milan

Way back in January I left the cloudiness of Spain and headed to the cloudiness of Milan. Due to the clouds, I read nearly the whole way, and about three quarters of the way there I glimpsed out the window expecting to see the clouds floating below with no view of the ground. To my surprise, I could see the Alps swimming in the sea of clouds. I was entranced and continued to watch them for quite a while, and before I knew it we were descending into Milan.

On this trip, I wasn’t much in the mood for traveling (I had a rare three day weekend, and I booked trips in November for those long weekends). I was feeling a little bit out of it, and when I saw the Alps my day brightened. I put my book (read: Kindle) in the pouch in front of me, and forgot about it. Yes, I left it on the plane when we landed. I was also sitting at the front of the plane, and they were selling bus tickets into the city. I didn’t stop the steward when he walked by because I was looking at the directions to my hotel, and they didn’t mention taking a bus but a train. I decided to go against the directions, and buy the bus ticket. I waited for the steward to walk back down the aisle, and I stopped him when he did. I asked if I could buy it, and he told me that they were landing and the store was closed. All of this I understood fine, but he continued and demanded to know why I didn’t stop him when he walked by the first time. I just felt awkward during that entire exchange… Luckily we were being taken to the terminal by bus, so I realized I didn’t have my book when I opened my bag, and I ran back up to the plane. Woo. But this just goes to show that I was out of it, and probably not in a mind-set to travel to a country where I didn’t speak the language.

However, everything worked itself out in the end. My awkward experiences ended here, and I greatly enjoyed Milan. I was able to buy a ticket to a different bus in the terminal, and it left earlier than the bus I would have bought on the plane. The bus went to the main train station, and from there I took the metro to my hotel. It wasn’t too far away, and I checked in and was given a restaurant recommendation where I could also get 10% off with a card from the hotel. I dropped off my things, and it was only around 6:30. I decided to explore a little bit around my area of Milan, and when I got outside it started to snow. This greatly calmed my nerves, and I enjoyed walking around in the winter wonderland, even if the snow didn’t stick. As I was walking I even had a random guy ask if I wanted to go for coffee, and when I declined he said thank you. Whether the ‘grazie’ was for the response or what, I don’t know, but it seemed polite. I found the restaurant and ate a yummy marguerita pizza. I was there fairly early, and was pretty much the only one in the restaurant until the time I started to leave.

Since it was fairly early in the evening when I finished, and because I didn’t want to abandon the snow since I knew it probably wouldn’t stick around until the next day, I hopped on the metro and went to the major cathedral in Milan, Il Duomo. It was abandoned and gorgeous with the snow falling. It was magical, and I kept hearing music. After I walked around the plaza, I found another exit from the metro where the city had set up ‘musical stairs.’ A few people were playing on the stairs, and I played a little myself. I just stayed near Il Duomo and watched it snow for a while before going back to my hotel to retire for the evening.

The next day I had booked a tour to see Milan and Da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper.’ I ate breakfast at my hotel and went to the starting point of the tour. I was amongst the first to arrive, and I spoke with a nice couple from London while waiting. The husband had been working in Milan for several weeks, but had been too busy to see any of the sights. The wife had come in for his last weekend in the city, and they had decided to take the tour to try to fit in the most important things before going back to London. I ended up speaking with them a lot throughout the tour, and it was nice to speak English with a few different people than my usual bunch.

The tour first took us to the castle in Milan, Castello Sforzesco. We walked around the grounds and the guide pointed out the Italian’s copy of the Arc de Triomphe from Paris. Apparently Napoleon I wanted one in Milan, too. Also, there were old stone sculptures hanging in the castle grounds that had been found in Milan while excavating for metro lines.

In the castle, there were men trying to hand out bracelets. They reminded me a lot of the guys that hang out at Montmartre, and if you’re not careful they’ll put a bracelet on your wrist and demand money. I carefully avoided them and continued walking.

After the castle, we went by bus to see the Last Supper. I never realized it was in Milan before I booked this trip, and thinking about it I was curious as to why it was kept here. Now, realize that I haven’t studied art, so I had no idea that this painting was on a wall. I always thought it was a canvas painting. It was drawn so that if you stand in the middle of the room and look at the painting, it looks like the walls continue and the last supper is happening on the other side of the room. Da Vinci used a lot of strange methods painting this masterpiece, and as such it has faded a lot over time. It’s been restored countless times, and sometimes the restorations have been said to have dramatically changed the painting. It was pretty amazing. Also, during World War II, the building was struck by a bomb. There had been a few measures taken to save it from damage should something occur, but it’s still amazing that the wall even survived. The surrounding walls have been reconstructed to reflect the original architecture, but it is obvious where the new structure has been built. Due to the delicate painting, only a certain amount of people are allowed in the room for 15 minutes at a time, and it’s also necessary to pass through several acclimatization zones before entering to see the painting.

There is also a church there called Santa Maria delle Grazie. Our tour group was around 30 people, so while part of the group saw the painting, the other went to the church. It was full of intricate designs and was much more beautiful than the outside would have suggested since it wasn’t the huge cathedral that I’m more used to these days.

From here we went to the Teatro alla Scala. We walked inside the theater, and it was huge. We were told that shows sell out months in advance and it’s next to impossible to get a ticket. We also walked through the theater’s museum which featured the myriad of singers that had worked there.

We walked from the theater through Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II to get to Il Duomo. The Galleria is a medieval street that was closed down to road traffic and covered to make it more of a covered shopping area. It was very nice, and sort of surreal to see a fancy McDonald’s next to one of the nicest restaurants in Milan. In the Galleria, there was also a bull on the ground, and for success in marriage you’re supposed to step on it and spin around. It was fun watching people do this.

We continued on to Il Duomo. We went inside the cathedral, and I learned a few things that I never would have known if I had gone on my own. For example, if you look at the picture of the interior, you can see a red light on the ceiling. The light points out where a nail is kept. This nail is a relic, and is supposedly one of the ones used during Jesus's crucifixion. It is only taken down once a year during Easter, and while it is out it has to be protected by guards 24/7.

After going inside Il Duomo, the tour was over. The couple from London told me that on a clear day the Alps can be seen from the top of the cathedral, and that it is definitely worth the trip up. Well, it was cloudy and they weren’t visible, but I still made the trip. It was pretty at the top, but I wish I could’ve seen the mountains.

When I went back down I took a few pictures of Il Duomo in daylight. I was approached again by the bracelet guys, and adamantly refused the bracelet. They kept insisting it was free (in 4 different languages), and I realized later that they were just trying to promote a good image of an African country, but I still didn’t take one.

I then walked towards the Corinthian columns. I found a restaurant near them, and ate a delicious dish of mashed potatoes baked with spinach and cheese while getting a glimpse of the columns. While I was eating, a man that worked with the restaurant was playing catch with his dog. He was either the manager or the owner, and when I paid, he was the man who had to make the change. He threw the ball, and went back inside leaving the dog running after the ball. The dog brought the ball back to the door, looked around, then just dropped down to the ground and put his head on his paws looking devastated while he waited. Unfortunately, the owner didn’t even go back out after getting the change, and the dog gave up after a while.

After lunch, I headed to the Monumental Cemetery. It was amazing. If you’ve seen Phantom of the Opera, the huge tombs in the cemetery reminded me of that film. I wandered the grounds and came across all kinds of monuments. Some represented grief, others showed religious scenes. A lot of them held the theme of the body becoming part of the earth again, and then there were modern pieces that just looked like artwork.

I left when it was starting to get dark outside. I went back to Il Duomo to maybe go shopping in the Galleria. I ended up seeing an outdoor market, and walked through the different stalls. There was one stall that had Venetian masks. Now maybe I should have waited to go to Venice to buy a mask, but I found one that had playing cards all over it. Since I have no idea what to do with my collection of playing cards, I thought the mask might help me to tie a theme together once I get on my own in a place of my own.

For my last meal in Milan, I went to the restaurant next door to my hotel after checking out menus from all over. I ate lasagna and tiramisu and listened to a French couple discuss the role of women these days. Should women stay at home or work: discuss. After my dinner, I turned in for the night and then I headed back to Madrid the next morning.