So, we're done. It took over three months after we returned to finish blogging about the three months we were there. The three months we have been back have seemed infinitely longer than the three months we were gone, which I suppose makes sense. To some degree, I think we're still recovering from what was obviously a bit of a dream.
So where does that leave us now? Honestly, whatever big ideas we had with the blog didn't come to fruition. I had some intention of listing some of our favorite cities, restaurants, hotels, and other things, and I still might at some point, but it's not a priority for now. If you have any questions feel free to ask and we'll give whatever recommendations we can.
For those of you that are still reading at this point, we say thanks. It wouldn't have been the same if we hadn't been able to share it with everybody (whether you wanted us to or not).
Now we have other things to share with people. You can head on over to our wedding website at aliandkevin.wordpress.com. For now it's pretty basic, but we'll be updating it with events and registry stuff as things get closer. We look forward to seeing everybody then.
Ali and Kevin
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Porto, Portugal - November 6-9
Finally, three months after we returned, we've reached the end of the trip. I wish I could say that we went out with a bang, but due to a convergence of factors it was more of a whimper. We were tired, the end was near and we were admittedly looking forward to getting home, and we spent the majority of our three days there like this:
It rained. And rained. It was not the ideal way to see a city when we were already unmotivated. We spent most of our last day in Europe holed up in our hotel room reading. In some way, it seemed strangely appropriate. The rain also set the mood for visits to our new favorite place: Portuguese pastry/coffee shops.
It's a shame because Porto really was a beautiful city. The topography makes for some cool scenery and there were some interesting sights. Perhaps next time.
Of course most people go to Porto for the Port. We planned poorly and went on a Sunday meaning the only lodges open are the big, touristy ones. Of course, the whole thing is touristy now. Back in the days, the specially designed port barges would bring in grapes from the Douro Valley through the rapids of the Douro river. Now the grapes arrive in trucks and the river is damned. Nevertheless, the barges linger to maintain the atmosphere.
The port lodges are all piled together on the other side of the river from the rest of town.
Because of the location and the time we arrived, we went to the well known Sandeman's lodge.
It was, like the Guiness factory, an over the top tribute to the founder with minimal current usefulness. They did have a storage area with 150 year old ports which probably the most interesting thing. Admittedly, most people go for the tasting. Presumably some of the smaller places are more liberal with the pours, but Sandeman just offered a few small pours for us to try. Nothing interesting enough to remember. We enjoyed it nevertheless.
Later in the evening we went to the Crystal Palace Gardens. We went to the Romantic Museum which is the former residence of the exiled King of Sardinia. I'm sure it was interesting, but the Portuguese language tour made it difficult to understand. We smiled and nodded and laughed when everybody else did. (Ali wants me to add that she liked the little ballroom upstairs.)
In the same building is a port bar which was a bit more enjoyable than the lodge tour. We got some cheese and asked the server to pick some ports to pair with it. The attached garden went right out on a cliff over the water and had a great sunset view of the river feeding into the Atlantic.
In retrospect we got a bit done when the rain let up. But the next day the rain returned and we conceded defeat. Plus we had to be up early the next day for a 24 hour trek back home. Not that any amount of rest prepares you for that.
It rained. And rained. It was not the ideal way to see a city when we were already unmotivated. We spent most of our last day in Europe holed up in our hotel room reading. In some way, it seemed strangely appropriate. The rain also set the mood for visits to our new favorite place: Portuguese pastry/coffee shops.
It's a shame because Porto really was a beautiful city. The topography makes for some cool scenery and there were some interesting sights. Perhaps next time.
Of course most people go to Porto for the Port. We planned poorly and went on a Sunday meaning the only lodges open are the big, touristy ones. Of course, the whole thing is touristy now. Back in the days, the specially designed port barges would bring in grapes from the Douro Valley through the rapids of the Douro river. Now the grapes arrive in trucks and the river is damned. Nevertheless, the barges linger to maintain the atmosphere.
The port lodges are all piled together on the other side of the river from the rest of town.
Because of the location and the time we arrived, we went to the well known Sandeman's lodge.
It was, like the Guiness factory, an over the top tribute to the founder with minimal current usefulness. They did have a storage area with 150 year old ports which probably the most interesting thing. Admittedly, most people go for the tasting. Presumably some of the smaller places are more liberal with the pours, but Sandeman just offered a few small pours for us to try. Nothing interesting enough to remember. We enjoyed it nevertheless.
Later in the evening we went to the Crystal Palace Gardens. We went to the Romantic Museum which is the former residence of the exiled King of Sardinia. I'm sure it was interesting, but the Portuguese language tour made it difficult to understand. We smiled and nodded and laughed when everybody else did. (Ali wants me to add that she liked the little ballroom upstairs.)
In the same building is a port bar which was a bit more enjoyable than the lodge tour. We got some cheese and asked the server to pick some ports to pair with it. The attached garden went right out on a cliff over the water and had a great sunset view of the river feeding into the Atlantic.
In retrospect we got a bit done when the rain let up. But the next day the rain returned and we conceded defeat. Plus we had to be up early the next day for a 24 hour trek back home. Not that any amount of rest prepares you for that.
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Lisboa, Portugal - November 2-6 (Part II)
As I said in the first post, we really didn't know what the sights were in Lisbon before we got there. After we took the first few days to survey the situation, we spent the last two days revisiting places we had passed earlier.
We went to two churches that Ali was interested in. Despite being right down the street from each other, the yare total opposites in an interesting way. First we went to Igreja de Sao Roque which looks plain from the outside, but is extremely ornate on the inside. Inside is the Capela de Sao Joao Baptista which is filled with goal and was the most expensive chapel in the world at the time it was made. Notably, Sao Roque was one of the few buildings to survive the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. The other church we went to was right down the street and clearly did not survive the earthquake.
This church was entirely destroyed in the earthquake. They attempted to rebuild it, but then stopped. So the outside looks entirely normal, then inside it's just a shell of a church with grassy grounds. Quite a contrast.
We also went to Belem which is the home of the original port in Lisbon. It has a lot of history and some very cool sights. The first is a boot-shaped tower on the water. Sadly, it was a victim of laziness stemming from being way too far of a walk on one of the last few days of the trip so it will have to wait for another trip. The other is Jeronimos Monastery which is a whimsical building which we really enjoyed despite not knowing anything about it beforehand. There are lots of famous people entombed in the attached church (like Vasco de Gama). The monastery itself is filled with intricate carvings.
You can barely see them in that picture, but you can tell that they are not plain columns. Maybe you can see them better in this one.
Ali really liked the playfulness of the whole place.
Belem also has a great view of the area and it was a beautiful, if slightly cloudy day.
Belem is also home to the famous Pastel de Nata which was first made at the monastery and then made popular at the nearby pastry shop.
It was delicious. They really know how to do pastries in Portugal.
One of our favorite things (we went at least 3 of the 5 nights) was to go to the main pedestrian area and get a couple of cups of ginja, a sour cherry liqueur served with or without the cherries. There are number of tiny bars that serve nothing but ginja to go so you can hang out in the streets and drink it. Even on cold, rainy Fall nights it was a great way to get a feel for the city. The picture below is a little blurry, but from the main square you could enjoy some Ginja, stare up at the castle and enjoy the scene.
There was a lot more to Lisbon than we were able to fit in even two posts. It really was a cool city. The people were great, there are great views everywhere, the food is delicious, the prices are reasonable, and I could go on. It's certainly high on my list of places to return to.
We went to two churches that Ali was interested in. Despite being right down the street from each other, the yare total opposites in an interesting way. First we went to Igreja de Sao Roque which looks plain from the outside, but is extremely ornate on the inside. Inside is the Capela de Sao Joao Baptista which is filled with goal and was the most expensive chapel in the world at the time it was made. Notably, Sao Roque was one of the few buildings to survive the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. The other church we went to was right down the street and clearly did not survive the earthquake.
This church was entirely destroyed in the earthquake. They attempted to rebuild it, but then stopped. So the outside looks entirely normal, then inside it's just a shell of a church with grassy grounds. Quite a contrast.
We also went to Belem which is the home of the original port in Lisbon. It has a lot of history and some very cool sights. The first is a boot-shaped tower on the water. Sadly, it was a victim of laziness stemming from being way too far of a walk on one of the last few days of the trip so it will have to wait for another trip. The other is Jeronimos Monastery which is a whimsical building which we really enjoyed despite not knowing anything about it beforehand. There are lots of famous people entombed in the attached church (like Vasco de Gama). The monastery itself is filled with intricate carvings.
You can barely see them in that picture, but you can tell that they are not plain columns. Maybe you can see them better in this one.
Ali really liked the playfulness of the whole place.
Belem also has a great view of the area and it was a beautiful, if slightly cloudy day.
Belem is also home to the famous Pastel de Nata which was first made at the monastery and then made popular at the nearby pastry shop.
It was delicious. They really know how to do pastries in Portugal.
One of our favorite things (we went at least 3 of the 5 nights) was to go to the main pedestrian area and get a couple of cups of ginja, a sour cherry liqueur served with or without the cherries. There are number of tiny bars that serve nothing but ginja to go so you can hang out in the streets and drink it. Even on cold, rainy Fall nights it was a great way to get a feel for the city. The picture below is a little blurry, but from the main square you could enjoy some Ginja, stare up at the castle and enjoy the scene.
There was a lot more to Lisbon than we were able to fit in even two posts. It really was a cool city. The people were great, there are great views everywhere, the food is delicious, the prices are reasonable, and I could go on. It's certainly high on my list of places to return to.
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