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!

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.

Relaxing at Our Casual B&B Wine Bar in Montepulciano, Tuscany

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Ryan

One of our favorite memories from our Greece/Italy Honeymoon in 2011 was the time we spent in the wine bar at Locanda San Francesco, our bed & breakfast in Montepulciano, Tuscany. Check-in for the B&B was actually in the wine bar, and we were greeted with a complimentary drink and snack when we arrived. The wine list at the bar features a selection of local wines, most notably the famous Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. There is an option to enjoy a glass, a bottle, or even a tasting flight. We loved the wine, but the ambiance is what is most memorable. We not only returned for the experience the night of our arrival, but also each of the following four nights.

The wine bar includes a small bar as well as several tables, armchairs, and coffee tables. We usually opted for the comfortable arm chairs. The bar’s clientele included guests from the 4 rooms at the B&B, other tourists visiting Montepulciano, and several locals. Small snacks, such as nuts and olives, were served with each drink order. There was also a small food menu served during lunch and the evenings. We actually opted for dinner at the Wine Bar one of the nights, and were very satisfied with the quality of food. Continue reading →

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!

Possible Lisbon Side Trip: Sintra

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Ryan

On a recent morning, I opened a Portugal guidebook we are using to plan our trip to Lisbon to a random page with a picture of a quintessential castle. It reminded me of one of our favorite adventures in Umbria during our Honeymoon–exploring the Rocca Maggiore in Assisi. The castle described on the page was in Sintra, Portugal. To my surprise, upon further reading, I discovered that Sintra is a short 35 minute train ride from Lisbon, where we will be staying.

Sintra’s Moorish Castle’s appearance conforms to many storybook stereotypes of medieval castles.

Not only is Sintra home to the Moorish Castle, but also the National Palace (a historic royal residence that is still used for receptions today) and the Pena Palace (a “fantasy” castle built in the style of King Ludwig’s famous Neuschwanstein castle in Germany. Other sightseeing options include caves at Quinta de Regaleria and exotic gardens at Monserrate. With the LisboaCard that we are planning on buying, admission to the National Palace is free, and discounts are available on admission to the Pena Palace, Moorish Castle, and Monserrate gardens. The train trip (usually only 4 Euros round-trip) is also included with the LisboaCard. Continue reading →

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Tag Archives: Europe

Portugal and Spain: How we are spending our time

2009 Europe Scrapbook: Colors and Creations

Relaxing at Our Casual B&B Wine Bar in Montepulciano, Tuscany

Looking Forward to the Food in Lisbon

Possible Lisbon Side Trip: Sintra