We’ve been so busy that it’s been hard to find time to sit down and write all of this stuff down! But I know that someday I’ll be happy to have this, so I shall persist!
The hotel shuttle took us back into Sintra and we walked over to one of the more popular tourist attractions, the Quinta da Regaleira. It’s a mansion/palace with a chapel and park that has lakes, grottoes, fountains and many other interesting attractions. The property has been owned by many different people, including members of the Royal family and a hand full of “capitalists” (I think they mean entrepreneurs). One of such capitalists, Carvalho Monteiro, hired a famous Italian architect named Luigi Manini, who spent twelve years developing new and interesting features that contain hidden symbols and references to alchemy.
The palace was a bit boring (seeing as all of the furniture has been removed and replaced with historical information and messages about the architecture) but our trip up into the sky tower via an extremely narrow spiral staircase provided an AMAZING view of the entire valley. We particularly enjoyed the well that goes 60 feet into the ground and has a spiral staircase around the perimeter of the walls (it felt like we were in the Lord of the Rings), as well as the garden. I will include some of the pictures we took instead of writing anything more about it.
After the Quinta da Regaleira we headed back into downtown Sintra and grabbed a drink at a little bar. It had a pool table and several computers that you could use to access the Internet. The guy working the counter was really nice. Allison and I both got a little cookie for a snack, and when I asked if it was a gingerbread cookie, he looked up the ingredients on his iPad and told us it was a gingerbread cookie with own-ny (honey). We sat and read Portuguese tabloids for a while (they are exactly like American tabloids, and Portuguese people are OBSESSED with their own version of The Biggest Loser), but there was too much smoke in there and so we headed back out.
We walked into the urban part of the city but everything was completely closed. All of the shops and restaurants outside of the touristy area were completely shut down; probably because it was a Sunday afternoon. Allison and I really had our heart set on eating at the Portuguese restaurant that we had tried to go to a few days before, but it was “fechado”, just like everything else.
We decided that our best bet for finding an open restaurant would be to head back into the Centro do Historico. On the way back we ran into a friendly little kitten and against my advising, Allison decided to pick him up! Sintra is full of what appear to be feral cats, and I thought this little guy might have rabies or something. He was totally sweet and floppy and didn’t mind Allison holding him at all. The grounds of the Quinta da Regaleira were full of wild cats and they were MUCH less friendly. All of the cats in Portugal are a lot smaller than American cats, with rounder eyes and smaller heads.
We had dinner in the main square of Centro do Historica and caught a cab back to the Viva Marinha. Our taxi driver was a really grumpy old man who amused us both (he was really nice to us though). Everyone in Portugal seems to speak English except for the cab drivers, so it’s always an adventure to see if we will make it back to the right place.
We spent our last night at the Viva Marinha reading our books and relaxing in bed. We woke up early for the buffet and packed up all of our stuff. It was really sad leaving the hotel, but we were definitely looking forward to our time in Lisbon. We’re city people at heart and we were very excited to get back into an urban environment.
The cab driver that took us from the Viva Marinha drove like a bat out of hell the whole way and took us to the wrong hotel. We are staying at the Hotel Britania, but he took us to the Hotel Botanica (honest mistake, right?). When we tried to check in, they couldn’t find our reservation and we quickly identified the problem. Allison was relieved because she said that the Hotel Botanica as well as the surrounding area looked “super ghetto”. (It totally was!!!! - Al.)
Instead of catching another cab we got directions from the front desk of the Hotel Botanica and decided to hoof it. At this point the weather took a turn for the worse and it started raining on us. On top of that, we could not find the goddamn hotel. We looked like all of the annoying tourists that get in my way every day during the summer in San Francisco. This was some sort of sick way that the universe was getting back at me for complaining about tourists in San Francisco and I guess I deserved it. At this point we knew that we were close to the hotel but we decided to grab a cab anyway. As soon as we jumped in and told him where we were going, he made the same mistake as the first driver. We had to repeat the name many, many, times, show him where it was on the map, and FINALLY we were en route to the right hotel. It turns out the Hotel Britania is actually on a side street (not the main avenue) and we probably wouldn’t have found it ourselves.
We checked in and made our way up to our room. The second we walked in we were thrilled with the room, and it really reminded us of home (San Francisco, not our actual apartment). The floor tiles are made of cork (Portugal’s main export) and the design of the room is beautiful.
We were expecting a double bed but quickly discovered that we were given the biggest goddamn bed in the history of beds. It could easily sleep four children or small adults and is probably made for some weird Euro sex parties or something like that. *Related side note: there is a strip club across the street from our hotel that I suggested we go to, but Allison vetoed the idea. It would have been hilarious to see what Portuguese strippers are like! Anyways, we FINALLY had free Internet access so we spent an hour or so checking email and posting photos on instagram.
Despite the rain we were determined to head out and explore Lisbon, so we grabbed an umbrella from the hotel and headed out into the streets. The downtown portion of Lisbon, as well as the Avenida da Liberdade (where we are staying), is absolutely gorgeous and extremely European. We walked down the Avenida da Liberdade and made our way to the water, looking at all of the sites along the way. The Avenida da Liberdade is filled with high-end retail shops (Louis Vuitton, Prada, etc) and the downtown area is full of large public squares and with different eateries.
One other notable/hilarious thing about Lisbon is that they have a bridge that is a total knockoff of the Golden Gate Bridge. It looks exactly the same, and even the locals are aware of this fact. It’s actually a compliment that a city as rich and cultured as Lisbon would want to borrow something from the city that I love and am currently living in, so I actually found it to be endearing. I mean, who WOULDN’T want their own Golden Gate Bridge?! It’s one of the most beautiful bridges in the world!
We grabbed a sandwich at a sandwich shop and I was able to get a beer with my “menu” (aka value meal) for no extra charge, which was awesome. They sell beer at every restaurant (including McDonalds, Pizza Hut etc) although I think only the tourists are the only ones that take advantage of this amazing opportunity. We ate out in the rain under and umbrella and decided that we were tired of dealing with the weather so we made our way back to the hotel.
After a nap, we headed back out to grab some supplies (beer, water, and snacks) from a cool little grocery store and came back to the room. I wanted to go out to dinner, but Allison’s stomach is a bit upset and she isn’t hungry. Instead, I ate multi-grain Pringles with Laughing Cow cheese (healthy dinner, right?) and we’re going to call it an early night again tonight.
It’s really great being in Lisbon. I can’t wait to see some of the attractions and eat at their fancy restaurants. We might go to the aquarium tomorrow, or check out one of the castles that they have here in downtown. Until then, goodnight!
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