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Lisbon, Portugal

This week feels like a week in the Amazing Race. After leaving France, we had 8 nights to see 4 cities spread across 2, or maybe 4, countries depending on the way you look at it. The time limit was set because we could get cheap flights to Morocco the following week. With that came sacrifices to the quality of travel. We spent most of the week on trains, running to trains or waiting at train stations.
Looking retrospectively at the week that was, I think the biggest thing we have taken away from this experience from a political perspective is ‘the Spanish situation’. If you look at both Spain and Portugal, they are doing pretty terribly economically. The unemployment rate in Portugal is 42% and Spain’s is a bit lower but the youth unemployment is at 52%. For the first time, the Spanish population is decreasing not increasing, as people are leaving for stable European countries. What I didn’t know is that Spain is made up of autonomous regions and”nationalities”. So, in this week we visited 3 cities in Spain but only 1 of them actually calls themself Spanish. San Sebastián is part of Basque Country and Barcelona is part of Catalonia. 70% of Catalonians want to leave the Euro as they’d be better off leaving the dire straits Spain is in. It was only the other day 500,000 Catalan demonstrators linked arms to form a 250-mile human chain to push for independence.Obviously there is no way the Spanish government would approve the independence of Catalonia – if they did Spain would quite literally be up **** creek. The reason I mention it is, even from a tourist’s perspective, when staying in San Sebastian but particularly Barcelona, they are passionately not Spanish, including speaking their own language. It wasn’t like this a few years back but it’s getting more predominant nowadays.

With that heavy prelude complete, here’s the week that was:

-24 hours in SAN SEBASTIAN – ‘Spain’s culinary capital’
Our departure from France was delayed due to a nationwide public transport strike, so getting to the northern coast of Spain made for a challenge. Arriving 7 hours late meant we were left with less time to explore this little coastal town. It’s definitely a foodies destination with the highest concentration of Michelin starred restaurants per capita than anywhere in the world. Of course their famous pincho or pintxo bars, often referred to as tapas bars, were to us very interesting as we eat ‘tapas’ back home and see that the word tapas is thrown around very loosely. We didn’t actually find out what a true tapa was until days later in Madrid. Without getting hung up on the words, this is what we experienced in these unique bars. Firstly we chose a less populated bar to be able to understand the concept of how to eat and order pincho/pintxos (spelt differently depending if you’re Spanish or speak the local language of Basque). Each bar has a wide variety of about 30 different plates of hot and cold, Spanish inspired pincho snacks. It’s all displayed on the bar top and you just get a plate and help yourself to all the different little snacks, combining them to make a full meal. They are usually ‘spiked’ with a skewer or toothpick, often to a piece of bread. So with the concept understood we headed to a jam packed bar and started helping ourselves to the most wonderful gourmet food we could get our hands on.
The following day, Dave headed to the Spanish coastline for a long overdue surf in the cool 18 degree water. The beach along from the surf beach is considered to be one of the best beaches in Europe. Unfortunately we couldn’t go swimming as we had to head straight from the beach to the overnight train. Without fail every overnight train has had a complementary drunk to make the 13hrs more painful than it already is. From San Sebastián, Spain, to Lisbon Portugal we suffered the sounds of **** continuously waffling from someone’s mouth. At times, I wished we’d paid the $150 for a sleeper-berth rather than the $20 for two seats in with the ferals.

-37 hours in LISBON, Portugal – ‘the more you look, the more you see’.
Off the train, backpacks down, out the door within 5 minutes to join up with a group of Lisboeta friends showing tourists around their city. It’s a strange city. It doesn’t quite ‘fit’ together. A mismatch of architecture, from Phoenician to medieval, Greek to Roman but mostly Arab influenced. Arabs love their tiles as the exterior of the buildings and tiny, tiny cobblestones on all the streets show. To give a bit of context to this mismatch, the city was rebuilt after the world’s third most destructive earthquake. On a public holiday in 1755, 85% of the buildings were destroyed and 80% of the population was killed either by the quake itself, the fire caused from the candles burning in the wooden houses, or the tsunami that followed. Our favourite area in Lisbon wasn’t destroyed by the quake. A 1,300 year old Arab Moorish quarter named Alfama. It felt like a country village right in the heart of Lisbon. A little old lady popped her head out of her window and sold us sour cherry liqueur, ginjinha for $1. Very cool place if you want to feel as if you’ve stepped back in time.
As if the town of Lisbon couldn’t get any better, 30 minutes away is a coastline of endless beaches. A perfect way to end our short stay here. As we watched people on these picturesque beaches while polishing off 2 litres of sangria, we both wished our type of travel wasn’t so rushed. Portugal, more particularly Lisbon, was a place we fell in love with. Always a continuation of music, endless accordionists setting the mood. This is a place that has so much to uncover, but you really have to look for it.

“What should be but isn’t fact #741: As butter chicken isn’t popular in India and sweet and sour isn’t in China…well neither is peri peri chicken in Portugal, and no Nando’s or Oporto to be seen. But, chupa chupas (translating to licky lick) which are from Barcelona, can be found in Barcelona!”

-23 hours in MADRID – ‘the heart and soul of the tapas’
Fortunately, last night’s overnight train to Madrid didn’t have any drunks so we managed to get some shut eye. We throughly appreciated this because as soon as we were off the train we were straight on another tour. Madrid didn’t have that wow factor. It’s just a city. There’s alway stuff to be uncovered though, like buying biscuits from a hidden nunnery, where the nuns behind a wooden turning circle, speak only Spanish. One thing that did grab our attention, was the opportunity to further investigate tapas on a ‘tapas tour’. I think the key to what makes a tapa a tapa, is it’s a complementary snack provided when a drink is purchased, as opposed to a pincho which is always ordered and paid for independently from the drinks. It was invented in the 13th century, when the farmers of this area could only afford either a drink OR food. Obviously they chose drink so when returning to work they were pretty useless to their bosses, therefore a law was imposed to serve a complementary tapa. It was the night out we needed, chatting for hours with like minded strangers over copious amounts of ‘free’ tapas and some sangria or spanish summer wine.

-49 hours in BARCELONA – ‘something for everyone’
With 2 minutes to spare and a hell of a lot of luck we made our train out of Madrid bound for Barcelona by lunchtime. Barcelona, in Catalonia country, is a fantastic city. Very multicultural and tolerant. This is a city where they turned the city around to face the Mediterranean for the Olympics. They relocated Europe’s biggest port to make way for a 4km beach and planted 200,000 palm trees for the event. They are so passionate here about not being Spanish that they have their own Catalan Christmas tradition that doesn’t involve Santa but does involve the ‘Catalan Nativity Little *******’ mascot. It’s about a little statue taking a number 2. They say it’s about ‘giving back’. So at Christmas the kids whack a log and it “***** out lollies”. (Quoted). The log even has a face.

All Barcelona blogs have to mention two things:
1) Gaudi
. I would say we are ignorant travellers, never heard of the bloke. But I tell you as you wander the city, regardless if you have an interest in architecture or not, this guy’s work sticks out like a sore thumb. As the “inventor of modernism” buildings have chimneys with mosaic fruit and other bits and bobs on the roof. The most famous of his buildings is the Sagrada Família church. It was a shame he died getting hit by a tram.
2) The 1970’s flamenco show at Tablao was by far the best show I have ever, ever seen. Think of the passion associated with the guy who holds the red flag before a bull race and whips it down. That fire is displayed in a flamenco show through the musical instruments, the voice of a singer and the extraordinary talent of tap dancing professionals. This emotionally moving style of dance exudes expression and says so much about Spain and its spirit. After the show a few of us went for tapas and sangria. Different cities have different variations on pinchos or tapas. People from Madrid seem to be the ones who are the most passionate about it being correctly understood. As it originated from there, I’ll go with that. What is similar about it though, is the purpose. It’s to designed to encourage conversation because people are not so focused upon eating an entire meal that is set before them.

Unfortunately in this blog I don’t think I have really captured the life and energy, yet contradiction that is Barcelona. I say that after doing a ‘behind the tourist scenes tour’ look at the city just a few hours before departing and publishing this blog. I feel as if I have left with so many unanswered questions.

I’ll reflect back on this week in Portugal and Spain with fond memories of food, sangria and the passionate locals we have met along the way. Over the last week we have also met a lot of travellers in bars, on tours, in restaurants and on trains. We love the instant bond you create yet, their names are unknown, or if you find out, it’s when saying goodbye after hours of conversation. Over the past four months we have met so many of these like minded people who are now following this blog and I just want to say thank you for making our stay in those cities so much more personable.

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