Portugal and Spain: How we are spending our time

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Kristin

The Westin Palace, Madrid – our hotel for two nights.

For our upcoming trip to Portugal and Spain, we will be gone for a total of 13 nights. While I originally wanted to stick to three or four cities, it was so hard to limit the options. I want to share the itinerary for our two week vacation, since we’ve been sharing bits and pieces of the travel-planning process:

Lisbon, Portugal – 3 nights

Arriving: around 8:30am at the Lisbon Airport
What to Do: explore the neighboorhoods, enjoy the food and wine (and hopefully experience Fado!), visit Belém, visit Sintra (as a day trip)
Leaving: around 9:30 from the Lisbon Airport

Barcelona, Spain – 3 nights

Arriving: around 12:30 at the Barcelona airport
What to Do: nothing is set in stone, but we plan on visiting some of the popular sights like Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell, hanging out at the beach, exploring La Rambla, enjoying tapas
Leaving: around 9:30am – this ticket is already booked! Check out Ryan’s post here on direct online booking to potentially save a lot of money on train tickets.

Sevilla, Spain – 2 nights

Arriving: around 2:00pm at the Sevilla train station
What to Do: Alcazar, Flamenco, food!
Leaving: We aren’t sure yet. There are a few train options we’re looking at – one leaving around 7am, one that would leave around 9:30am and one that would leave around 12pm.

Granada, Spain – 3 nights

Arriving: Depends on the train we decide to take from Sevilla, but we would get in around 10:30am, 1:30pm, or 3pm at the Granada train station.
What to Do: the Alhambra, a possible day trip to Nerja
Leaving: around 9:00am from the Granada train station. This ticket has also already been booked.

Madrid, Spain – 2 nights

Arriving: around 1:30pm at the Madrid train station
What to Do: tapas, tapas, tapas! Ok, and the Royal Palace, Prado, and
Staying: At The Westin Palace, Madrid. This is the only hotel we haven’t written a post on, so I wanted to share the information now. Long story short: Starwood had a “points and cash” option for the nights we will be staying (pay partially with starpoints, partially with “cash” in USD – this is usually an awesome deal) and we couldn’t pass it up. The location is great, so honestly, we didn’t even look at other options.
Leaving: around 11:30am from the Madrid airport.

We’ll continue to do research on activities, places to eat, and things to see, but we look forward to changing our plans according to what we want to do while we’re there!

Kayaking in Morro Bay

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Kristin

Our original plan for an activity at the coast was a (half) day of sport fishing. However, the company we were planning on going through received pretty bad reviews and the other company we found already had a private charter booked for Saturday and was not doing a fishing trip. So, those plans fell through, but we decided to spend an afternoon in Morro Bay anyway because another review from Humber Sport recommended the activity in this region. Take advice from Jimmy John Shark, if you need fishing advice!

We arrived in Morro Bay around 12:30pm and immediately began looking for a place to eat lunch. After successfully finding a place (our only real objectives were a place with oysters and without a super long wait) and enjoying a delicious meal, we walked around town a bit and ultimately decided to kayak. It was cold, windy, and overcast when we arrived (you could barely see the famous Morro Rock), but it cleared up and was much warmer by the time we were ready to begin our kayaking adventure.

We stopped at the first kayak rental company we saw and after checking their prices, we decided to go for it! The company was Rock Kayak Co., and it’s located pretty close to the tourist information center. The prices are $12 for the first hour for single kayaks ($8 for additional hours, and more discounts for longer rentals) and $20 for the first hour for double kayaks. Ryan, Ryan’s dad, and I each decided to go for a single kayak. Since all three of us had been before, we grabbed life jackets, were set us up with kayaks, received a quick overview of the bay, and pushed out into the water. The Rock Kayak Co. does offer first timer lessons for anyone who hasn’t been before.

The water was calm and we started out by heading across the bay to the sandy island. Unfortunately, the sand dunes were all roped off so we were only able to walk around a little bit. It was nice to enjoy the town of Morro Bay from across the bay!

On the way to the sand island, we passed a platform in the middle of the bay full of sea lions. We got pretty close and one jumped in right in front of me. It was creepy because I didn’t know where he’d pop up (and I have no idea if they’re dangerous). Luckily nothing happened, and I was able to get a few close-up pictures!

We kayaked away from Morro Rock and enjoyed the calm water. We weren’t sure how long we’d been out, so at one point we decided to turn around and head back toward the rock. It didn’t take too much effort to get over there, and we went around for a bit and eventually headed back to the starting point.

Our adventure ended just over an hour after it began. We weren’t charged for the extra 5-10 minutes, which was nice! It was a great way to spend part of the afternoon and I would recommend it for anyone who wants to be a little active after a big lunch in Morro Bay. No need to plan ahead, just go down to one of the rental shops and get started in minutes!

2009 Europe Scrapbook: Colors and Creations

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Kristin

The following scrapbooking layouts are some examples where I was inspired by something – colors, an object, an idea. Our trip to Italy and France brought us to so many different cities and sights, and as I put together my scrapbook, I wanted to incorporate as much of their unique qualities as possible. Enjoy!

On colors: In the first two scrapbooking layouts (Burano and Vernazza), the brightly-colored paper choices were influenced by the colorful buildings seen throughout the towns.

The only “side trip” we took from Venice was to the nearby island of Burano, known for colorful buildings and delicate lacework. The other option we considered was Murano (known for the glass blowing), but we opted to go to the less popular, slightly further island of Burano. We spent our time wandering through the empty streets, admiring the colorful houses, and shopping in the many lace and souvenir shops. I wanted to capture the fun, colorful aspect of the town in my scrapbooking page for Burano.

Taken on our visit to Burano, Italy. A nice break from the crowded island of Venice!

Vernazza was our home base for the three nights we stayed in Cinque Terre (the other four fishing villages in Cinque Terre are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, and Monterosso al Mare – we spent at least a little bit of time in each). All five fishing villages are known for their colorful buildings. I wanted to construct the Vernazza scrapbooking page by capturing the dominating salmon and yellow colors of the buildings and the beautiful aqua of the Mediterranean.

A picture taken on our hike from Vernazza to Monterosso al Mare.

On creations: In Nice, we stayed at the Mercure hotel, which was separated from the Mediterranean only by the Promenade des Anglais. This wide promenade was perfect for strolling throughout the day and one of our favorite routes to travel to different parts of the city. I decided to recreate the look of the promenade by using gray paper for the aspahlt and white ribbon for the line separating the two sides. While it isn’t a super accurate depiction, it’s a fun way to decorate this scrapbooking page!

A closeup of the paper-and-ribbon Promenade des Anglais.

Finally, one of the last pages I completed for the Europe 2009 scrapbook was the Montmartre page, in Paris, France. I wasn’t feeling terribly inspired, however I loved the Montmartre area and wanted to include the pictures and memories from that time on our trip. I had a thought of using a chevron design for the background, but couldn’t find anything that fit what I was looking for. So, I decided to make my own background. I love this because it’s something anyone can do – I used a ruler, a pencil, and scissors. No special scrapbooking tools. Best of all, I was able to choose the colors and exactly how I wanted the design laid out on the page.

I don’t always have a great idea or use the colors of the photos to influence my pages, but when I do, I generally love the results! My favorite of the above layouts is probably the Vernazza page – the layout is clean and those colors look fabulous together.

Looking Forward to the Food in Lisbon

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Kristin

Thinking about the food I will be able to taste plays a huge part in building my excitement for a trip. I am so excited to spend 3 days in Lisbon – the sea-faring capital of Portugal – and indulge in some amazing foods that are hard (or impossible) to come by in Bakersfield.

The top priority for meals in Lisbon will be the seafood. I’ve heard about the bacalhau, or salt cod, which is the national food of portugal. In my researching I’ve found so many different ways to prepare and eat bacalhau. Perhaps we’ll try bacalhau com todos (with everything) or bacalhau à Gomes de Sã (with potatoes and onions, made like a casserole – pictured at the above, from here). Ryan and I are both fairly adventurous when it comes to trying new foods, and one thing we will be seeking out is the barnacles – we love clams, mussels, crab, oysters, and other shell fish, so why not barnacles? These gooseneck barnacles (called percebes in Portuguese) pictured below look strange, but if we’re presented with an opportunity to try them, we’ll go for it! This picture was found on this blog, where she also talks about other “strange” foods in Portugal. Yum!

On some trips we plan ahead and come up with some ideas of restaurants we want to try, but in this case, we are going to trust the owners of Orange 3 House, which is where we’ll be staying. We love getting recommendations from locals to increase the chances of an authentic and successful meal. We’re looking forward to the salted, fresh, and grilled seafood we’ll be able to taste in Lisbon.

For something sweet, we are excited to try the Pastéis de Nata. The famous pastry shop in Belém, Pastéis de Belém, began serving these egg yolk custards in the 19th century after the closure of monasteries and convents in Portugal. Since we’re planning on spending time in Belém, we might just make a stop here to try this delectable treat!

And finally, to accompany our meals, or for sipping in between meals, we will be exploring the wines of Portugal. Despite having “verde” (green) in the name, Vinho Verde actually means “young wine” and can be white, red, or rosé. I’ve tried a white Vinho Verdo before and found that it was different than other white wines – it almost seemed semi-sparkling. I found out that this is one of the characteristics of Vinho Verde wines, along with being light and fresh. I can’t wait to try more! We also can’t visit Portugal without trying Port. Grapes used to produce this fortified wine are grown in the Douro region in northern Portugal. A great option for trying Port may be the Port Wine Institute, where we can taste a variety of Ports at different price points.

Left: the Douro region in Northern Portugal; Right: A glass of tawny Port
(both taken from Wikipedia)

For the next couple of months, I’ll be dreaming of the seafood, pastries, and wine we’ll be tasting in Lisbon. Hopefully we’ll have some great food and restaurant recommendations after our trip!

Wine Tasting in Santa Ynez – A (Digital) Scrapbook View

Posted on July 15, 2012 by Kristin

Since I began scrapbooking, I have been spent almost 100% of my time and energy on creating physical scrapbooks. However, I know that not everyone has the time to put together a scrapbook with printed photos, paper, and embellishments (apparently I don’t either, considering I just now finished the scrapbook for a trip from over two and a half years ago). I am finally stumbling into the world of digital scrapbooking and can’t wait to share what I’ve come up with! It’s a lot quicker and a lot cheaper. I love how I can choose the size of the pictures without ordering several options. I can also swap pictures very easily. I’m looking forward to spending more time on the digital side of scrapbooking, but I am sure I will never give up the physical scrapbooks.

Anyway, during our visit to Solvang, Ryan and I wine tasted in several areas in the Santa Ynez Valley – Solvang (wineries that were not downtown tasting rooms), Los Olivos (downtown), Foxen Canyon (Los Olivos), and Lompoc (the wine ghetto). On past trips, we have also tasted in downtown Solvang and Santa Maria. Here are a few pages that I made (my first digital pages!) with pictures from our trip. I started out with some background “paper” that I created – two using pictures we took and one using Adobe Illustrator.

Left: Created from a picture taken at a vineyard in Solvang, CA; Center: I took a picture of a bar at one of the wineries we visited. I used a few copies of the picture to fill the page; Right: Created in Adobe Illustrator based on the Danish-style buildings throughout Solvang.

And now for the three pages I completed using the “paper” above:

1. These pictures were taken while wine tasting, and I wanted to stick with the traditional mix of green and purple to accompany them. Nothing too fancy (expect for the gorgeous font – Some Weatz Swatches). I love rounded corners, so I incorporated that easy technique to this page.

2. This next page is so completely different than any wine tasting page I’ve ever envisioned. The Lompoc Wine Ghetto consists of 17 wine tasting rooms in warehouses, so the metal background and warehouse flooring seemed very appropriate. For your warehouse flooring needs, your local warehouse flooring installers can be of great help.

3. And finally, a few pictures from downtown Solvang! I used the Danish-style building background for this and found red push pins at this site. I’ve used brads, eyelets, and other embellishments on pages I’ve created in the past, but real push pins would obviously pose a problem. I love the cork board look.

And that’s it for the recap of our Solvang trip over the long 4th of July holiday. We are very much looking forward to all of the other fun trips we have planned this year!

SuitcaseJournal

Travel experiences and insights from a young couple

Author Archives: Kristin

Portugal and Spain: How we are spending our time

Kayaking in Morro Bay

2009 Europe Scrapbook: Colors and Creations

Looking Forward to the Food in Lisbon

Wine Tasting in Santa Ynez – A (Digital) Scrapbook View