Tag Archives: Portugal/Spain 2012 Trip

City Overview: Barcelona, Spain

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City.  Barcelona, Spain

When?  Thursday, September 6 – Sunday, September 9 (3 nights).  An extra day would have been nice since we spent so much of our time relaxing.  However, had we not done that, I think three days (actually two and a half) would have been plenty to see the sites we really wanted to visit.

Where?  We stayed at the W Barcelona, which was right on the beach, way out past the Barceloneta area.  The rooms were gorgeous, the staff was friendly, it was very luxurious and had several bars and restaurants.  Oh, and it has a pool and direct access to the beach, with a private section for hotel guests only.  We used our starpoints for the entire stay – 20k per night for a total of 60k.  For the room we stayed in, it probably would have been around 300 euros/night.  The real downside is the location, and then also cost if you don’t have starpoints to use for a free stay.  If we were to stay in a Starwood hotel the next time we go to Barcelona, we would probably try Le Méridien since it’s less starpoints per night and located right on La Rambla.  However, the Gothic neighborhood was really our favorite, so I would be more likely to find a hotel there. Continue reading →

Flying Discount Air Carrier Vueling in Europe

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Traveling within Europe via air can be very affordable, often even cheaper than train travel.  On our recent trip to Spain and Portugal, we travelled between Lisbon and Barcelona on Vueling Airlines, Spain’s leading discount air carrier.  Our basic fare was much cheaper on Vueling than other carriers, at €18 per person.  Like all European discount carriers, the actual price we paid was significantly higher due to extra fees.  After €4 per person to book our seats ahead of time, €12 per suitcase (x2), a €10 credit card fee and €44 in taxes, we ended-up paying €61 per person for the flight.  Although it’s always difficult to stomach unadvertised fees, our total cost for the flight was far less than other options, and very affordable in comparison to flights of similar lengths in the United States.

Although air travel in Europe is fast and can be cheap, it’s not always necessarily the most convenient.  Lisbon is one of the few European cities with an airport near the city center, and even they are looking at options at relocating the airport to a less populated area.  The decentralized location of airports means extra time and money spent on taxi or transit to get to and from the airport.  Delays can also be more frequent than those experienced in the United States due to the high airspace congestion and airplane utilization.  In Lisbon, we weathered a 2 hour delay due to mechanical issues on our intended aircraft.  Finally, Europe enforces strict limits on luggage weight, including carry-ons.  This can make travel difficult for those who don’t pack lightly.

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Portuguese Fado in Lisbon

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FadoA popular evening past time in Portugal is to enjoy local cuisine with the national folk music, called Fado.  We included a night of Fado on the trip itinerary we lined-out before we left.  At that time, however, we had know idea that the experience would turn-out to be a trip highlight.

Our original plan was to see Fado at a restaurant that specializes in performances.  Guidebooks include a list of restaurants with Fado every night, mostly in the Chiado and Alfama neighborhoods.  However, at the recommendation of our hotelier, we decided to go to a traditional Portuguese restaurant, called Guarda-Mor, that focuses on serving good food, but brings in Fado singers once per week as a special treat to their customers.  We really lucked-out with the recommendation.  Our dinner was one of the best meals of the trip and  experienced an absolutely captivating Fado performance. Continue reading →

Missing the Food in Lisbon (Part II)

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In addition to the delicious food that we were planning to try in Lisbon, there were many other foods that we were given the opportunity to order and I’m so glad we did.  It’s fair to say that we did not have a bad or even average meal in Lisbon.  I would even venture to say that all of the meals were closer to excellent (especially all three of our dinners).  We tried to order appetizers, main dishes, and desserts as often as possible in order to take full advantage of of our meals in Lisbon.  So, it’s understandable that we have several great dishes to share!

Appetizers.

We shared two appetizers that I keep dreaming about – grilled sardines and fried green beans.  We ordered grilled sardines on our second night in Lisbon.  If it’s not obvious yet, we both love seafood.  We saw a grilled sardine dish as a special of the night, but since we had already decided on our entrées, we asked if it could be an appetizer instead (it came with sides as an entrée).  I’m so glad we ordered this – five whole sardines, complete with bones, tails, and heads!  The aroma of the freshly grilled sardines hit us right away, and we could not try them quickly enough.  The crispy, salty skin and the fresh fish inside was perfect – there was nothing to distract us from the wonderful taste of the sardines.  We ate as much of each sardine as we could, starting with the head and going down to the middle of the tail.  After finishing, Ryan wished he had ordered it as his entrée, and I don’t blame him!

We were torn on which appetizer to order on our last night in Lisbon (at the Fado restaurant), but our waiter recommended the fried green beans, so we went with that.  Although a little disappointed that a seafood appetizer was not recommended to us, our anticipation grew as the plate of green beans was placed in front of us.  They were still hot and crispy.  They were surprisingly light, and not oily or greasy like most fried foods.  The green beans themselves retained their flavor and were not dried out at all.  Another excellent choice.  We noticed that every single table also ordered the green beans, so they must be a house specialty (try them if you go to Guarda-Mor!).  I wish we would have ordered a second helping!

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Portugese Castles, Both Old & New, in Sintra

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Back in August, we published a post on planning a possible day trip to Sintra, Portugal.  Sintra is a short 35 minute train ride from Lisbon’s central Rossio station an offers sightseeing opportunities at a variety of castles within a short distance from the town center.  After comparing the attractions in Sintra to alternative activities in Lisbon, we decided to make the day trip.  In fact, we were so excited about Sintra that we went there the day of our arrival from the United States, despite our jet lag.  Our visit did not disappoint, although we left feeling we only scratched the surface of the city’s sightseeing opportunities.  Our fatigue led to a rather rushed tour of the Pena Palace (described below) and a longer than expected lunch pushed the caves at Quinta de Regaleria and the gardens at Monserratte out of our schedule.  We still thought the journey was well worth the effort.  Sintra offers very unique landscapes and an appreciation for Portuguese royals that is very distinct from experiences in Lisbon.

The train station in Sintra is about a ten-minute walk from the town center.  The walk provides some excellent views of the National Palace (as seen in the picture above).  We did a very thorough tour of the palace, using the provided audio guides.  Highlights included the Stag Room with it’s dramatically-adorned ceiling and Atlantic views, and an ivory pagoda on display in the Chinese Room.  Unfortunately, we needed to work a little bit to avoid a huge tour group by backtracking.  We were unable to avoid large crowds in the kitchens directly underneath the palace chimneys.

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