What. A. Day. I suppose the most logical way for me to continue this travel log is to begin where I left off yesterday.
After I finished typing up our adventures, Allison and I decided to head down to the spa at the hotel. The entire back room of the spa is basically a mild version of a sauna (meaning the heat was only slightly cooler than an average day in Texas during the summer). We arrived approximately forty-five minutes before it closed (the spa closes at 9!) so we were only able to soak in the hydrotherapy pool for about 30 minutes. A hydrotherapy pool, for those not in the know, is a small pool with jets that’s slightly warmer than bath water. Both Allison and I expected it to be hotter, but considering the fact that the entire back room was already hot and moist, the water temperature actually felt pretty amazing.
After our soak we headed back to our room, changed back into our street clothes and hit the hotel’s restaurant for a late dinner. I’ve always heard that people in Portugal eat late and stay up late but I think maybe I must have been confusing Portugal with Spain (or just believing some American myth about how Europeans live). We arrived at the restaurant at around 10pm and they almost wouldn’t seat us. I ordered a steak and Allison had the cod. Both of us really enjoyed out dinners, but it was definitely a bit on the pricey side. As of now, the dollar is about 1.5 times weaker than the Euro, so we were paying an additional 50% for each meal from the listed price. We were able to charge the meal to the room (such a luxury) and so it felt like the meal was basically free. Now I know why they do that!
We headed back to the room and fell asleep around 1:30 pm. The jetlag was long gone but we still hadn’t fully acclimated to the new time schedule so both of us had a bit of trouble going to sleep.
I woke up around 11am and still felt a bit tired. After a shower and a breakfast that was comprised of leftovers from yesterday’s room service, we were ready for our day. We found out the shuttle wouldn’t be available until 2pm, so both Allison and I read our books for a few hours. The plan for today was to head to another little town called Sintra, which is only about 20 minutes by car from our hotel.
We asked the driver to drop us off at the Modern Art Museum, which happens to have free admission. According to Allison, the Modern Art Museum is basically just the private collection of some rich dude (must be nice). After being dropped off and taking several pictures in front of the gorgeous building, we came to find out that the museum was closed. Apparently they close down the whole goddamn museum when they change exhibits and don’t let people browse through the permanent collection. I took a bit of solace in the fact that American museums are much more efficient than this, but I was still sad that we weren’t able to see any art.
[The museum we didn’t see :( - Al.]
We decided to head to the Centro de Historica (aka the super touristy part of the city) to check out the sites. The weather was amazing and we were both eager to see what this beautiful city had to offer. After walking in circles for close to 45 minutes, we stopped off in a little café for waters and a bathroom break. I ordered us two waters and used the bathroom, speaking only Portuguese through the whole experience. I was able to greet the barista, ask to use the bathroom, order waters, and pay for everything without saying a single word of English. At this point, things are going pretty well. Not only do I not feel like a douchey American, but I was feeling a bit more self sufficient. I mean, what’s more basic than acquiring water and using the bathroom! J
After the café, we returned to the map that we had previous viewed at least two times before to try to figure out how to get to the Centro de Historica. While we were looking at it, two English couples came up were attempting to find the same area that we heading to. Allison and I ended up stealthy following them and were finally heading the right direction.
The walk to the Centro de Historica was filled with views of beautiful houses, narrow valleys with lush vegetation and street vendors selling their various wares to the tourists. There was also a very old looking castle at the top of the mountain that looked both ancient and beautiful and I kept peeking at it, knowing I probably wouldn’t want to hike all the way to the top just to see it. I ended up buying a cool little tile that had a ship on it and Allison bought a tile with the some Portuguese buildings on it. I was able to complete the transaction all in Portuguese again, and again I felt fairly pleased with myself.
We continued along the long winding path toward the Centro de Historica looking at the various wares and statues along the path. Once we finally reached the square we were surprised by how busy it was with the hustle and bustle of tourists. There were two main museums (the Toy Museum and the Natural History Museum) as well as many different shops and restaurants. We continued to explore the winding side streets and peek inside several of the shops. Allison bought a bag and I purchased a Portuguese-style rooster for my Grandma (she collects chickens).
After that we decided that it was time for a drink so we sat down at a little outdoor restaurant right in the middle of the busy square. The service was pretty poor but we were able to order two 40cl cervejas (beers) and some french fries. Allison brought along some of the pages from one of our travel guides and found a cool museum that we decided we wanted to check out. The museum was outside of walking distance, so we made an attempt to hail down a taxi. The entire time we were sitting at the restaurant there were several cabs parked right next to us, waiting for a fare to come to them. Of course when we were done eating and ready to use one of those taxis we were unable to find an available one and gave up after about 10 minutes of waiting. The whole thing seemed futile, and we didn’t feel like putting up with the stress. Instead, we checked out the front of the Museum of Natural History and headed back in the direction of the downtown area that we got dropped off in.
On the walk back, I told Allison that I really wanted to get a tattoo from the tattoo shop that we saw near the Museum of Modern Art. After a bit of discussion it was settled, I was going to get a tattoo in Portugal. We briefly stopped by a book faire and then made our way back to the tattoo shop.
As I entered the tattoo shop, I was wondering how in the world I was going to explain what I wanted to the tattoo artist. So far I’d done a pretty good job of getting my message across to everyone in Portuguese, but I had no idea how I was going to explain the intricacies of a tattoo design in Portuguese. I’d had such an amazing time in Portugal so far and I was extremely inspired by the ship tile that I‘d purchased a few hours earlier that I decided I was going to get an old school ship tattoo on my inner bicep. I thought that it would be a really cool way to always remember this amazing trip. Luckily, after an awkward greeting, the tattoo artist working the front desk said “I speak English”. Woohoo!
The way that the tattoo shop was decorated transported me directly back to California. There was 50’s rock n’ roll playing on the stereo, tons of Coop and flash art everywhere, and the place just felt like any tattoo shop that you would see in California. I handed the artist my tile and he told me it would take about fifteen minutes to sketch it all out. Allison and I flipped through their portfolios and decided that this guy was pretty legit. I was super stoked.
I told Allison that she didn’t need to wait around and that she should continue to walk around and explore the area while I got my tattoo. The artist set up his station and we got down to work. I had a really great conversation with the guy, who was super super cool, and we talked about how much he loves Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco. The man was obviously a work traveler-type, and I really enjoyed hearing his stories of visiting the states.
After about an hour Allison returned and watched my tattoo get completed. I offered the artist a tip, but he refused to take anything more than five dollars, and he gave me a free soap to wash to tattoo with. I was on a complete high having gotten a tattoo on a whim in a foreign country, and I was thrilled with how the tattoo came out.
Allison and I were both super hungry, so the tattoo artist suggested a little Portuguese restaurant right around the corner. We walked in and the place was insanely packed. Every other place in the area was completely dead or closed, but this place was completely hoppin’. We stood at the counter with several other people for close to fifteen minutes, but we were never really acknowledged and decided to head somewhere else. We had a feeling that the Portuguese people that walked in after us were going to be seated before us, so we decided to move on. Both of us were drooling from how delicious the food both looked and smelled, so we decided that we’re going to try to go there two days from now when we return to Sintra. We want to hit the Toy Museum, the Natural History Museum, and that restaurant and bypass all the aimless wandering that we had done today.
We ended up eating pizza, pasta, and beer in a Pizza Hut (yes, Pizza Huts in Portugal serve beer, wine, and liquor!) and found a cab to take us home. Our cabbie spoke no English and there was a bit of a mix-up about where we were staying, but we managed to make it back without too much trouble.
And…that brings us to the present. Right now I’m writing this journal entry while drinking a vodka/Joi (lemon soda) and staring at my tattoo every time I pass by a mirror. Allison is reading a magazine, wishing we were in bed. All in all, it was another amazing day filled with beautiful sights and tons of fun! I seriously love this country.
*Side note: I bought a cheap bottle of vodka from the grocery store the other day (surprise, surprise) and the shit FROZE! The top half of the bottle turned into some kind of vodka slurpee while the bottom half turned into a thick liquid. I guess that’s what I get for only paying a few dollars for a whole bottle.
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