Weekend Getaway to Serra da Estrela

After a solid couple of months digging in, and working hard to establish ourselves in the new school year, we finally found the time to get out into Portugal to explore a new place.  The Serra da Estrela is the roof of portugal; a not too expansive granite mountain range that humbly  scratches at the sky (as the Portuguese do) and tops out at around 2000 meters in elevation (AKA a bit above 6000 feet).

We intended to spend the weekend hiking and venturing around the area, but when our AirBNB housing reservation at "Salto do Lobo" turned out to be a lovely rustic property complete with fall colors, mountain streams, an alluring stone fireplace, and a super friendly mountain dog, we ended up spending most of our time staying put and enjoying what was right outside our window. 

Notice the giant granite boulders

We rolled into the property late on Friday, led there from the nearby city of Covilha up hairpin switchbacks by the property manager and vibrant visionary, Delfin Antonio.  We went to sleep at a shamefully early hour (at least for not-yet parents) to the roar of nearby water.  I woke before the sun could peak over the mountain just to get a look at what seemed a bit spooky by lamplight the night before.  The roar from the night before was a series of gorgeous waterfalls and pools literally right outside of our window.  Our "cabin" was unlike any I've stayed in or even seen before, with many of the walls build right into gigantic granite boulders, and made if feel old and integrated into the landscape. 

After a morning filled with warming tea, stone yoga, and a failed attempt to submerge in the frigid waters, we took a mid-day hike to the extent of the large property with Mondego, a super playful and affectionate Estrela Mountain Dog, as our escort.  EMDs are well known in the area and in Portugal, and are reported to be hardy, loyal, and bred to navigate the somewhat rugged mountains (they even have an extra set of dew claws, which apparently help in descending steep declines).  We saw this in action on our walk as 2 dogs managed an enormous herd of goats without any help from a shepherd. 

After our walk we enjoyed local bread, cheese, and wine (just a taste for Jyl), lit a fire, played games, listened to good old midwestern folk music (Greg Brown, Jeffrey Foucault, Peter Mulvey, Hayward Williams, etc) and even finally braved the shockingly cold mountain pool; all activities that warmed the soul.  Later Delfim invited us to join his family for some food and good conversation about politics, electric cars, driving in Portugal, the mountains, the land, and on and on.

We may not have experienced everything the Serra had to offer, but it's hard to imagine a better way to spend a few days... 

 

Festival of Light

There are those days where we are visually and viscerally reminded of how lucky we are to live in such a dynamic place.  The annual weekend of the "Festival of Light" in mid-September is one of those times.  We wandered the town on a Friday evening admiring the impressive array of different artistic exhibitions that all use different light elements to make their point.  From the thunderstorm of light bulbs... to the 100 meter citadel wall covered in rotating slides... to the large "light flower" made up of the work of many school children... to my favorite: the luminous 30-foot long koi fish gracefully floating above the buildings... it was all a feast for the eyes. 

Quão incrível! Looking back after 1 year abroad

Wow.  One year ago we were still recovering from our jetlag, overwhelmed by the prospect of starting at a new school, and had positively no Portuguese skills to speak of.  A year later, and we're jetlag-recovery experts, we can certainly hold our own in any Portuguese grocery or restaurant, and starting the school year seems relatively exciting (as much it can...).

Living in Cascais, Portugal has been a very enriching experience, and I'm absolutely grateful for the opportunity.  Getting some distance from the USA seems like taking time to get from space from one of your best frenemies... I feel like I have a better appreciation for some of the things that we really have going for us, like hoppy ales, Mexican food (even if we've commandeered that), and a general outgoing, optimistic go-get-em' attitude.   I also have had time to realize some of the things that America is missing out on, including a relaxed pace of life, roundabouts, and truly socialized healthcare. Taking this time has allowed me to travel to a host of fascinating and beautiful places in Spain, Andorra, Morocco, France, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, Lichtenstein, & Italy, in addition to exploring all that Portugal has to offer.  We have a fantastic day to day living experience; example numero uno: right now the musical sounds of the "Festa do Mar" are floating in the window from next to the beach, just 200 yards away, in one of the many fun activities that our city hosts throughout the year.   If we go 200 yards in the other direction any Saturday, we can buy cheap delicious organic produce any Saturday of the year at a farmers market.   We can easily walk to a diverse array of restaurants, cafes, clubs, beaches, or parks.  How could someone not appreciate all this?


As we cross this threshold and start to roll into our second, it's hard not to think about what things will be like one year hence.  If all goes well, it looks like it'll be the beginning of a completely different part of our lives.  In February, if/when the tiny person growing in Jyl's womb decides to come out and rock our world, it's safe to say that we will never be the same.  Will we be able to resist the urge to nest closer to the family we love so much?  Will baby me mad if she/he finds out that we blew his/her chance at EU citizenship?  Could this lovely place pull us to stay and settle in where the ocean air whispers softly through our windows and the sun kisses terracotta tile roofs and white-washed walls?   It's hard to say.  For now, we will just enjoy the blessed lives we live, and let that be enough. 

The Great Iberian Road Trip of 2014!

With the school year contentedly behind us, it was time for our first summer adventure.  We packed up the Peugot, kicked up some tunes, and put the pedal to the metal (which for a Peugot 206, isn't really saying much).  Warning:  This post is ridiculously long. 

First stop: Toledo, Espana.  We survived driving through the hardest rain we had ever experienced and enjoyed an amble through the picturesque medieval town of Toledo.  I had a local beer which was not too shabby, and we found an american food store... we were tempted to buy salsa, but resisted.

Uh oh...

Just in case we forgot where we are...

Vending machine burgers?  Really?

Toledo at Sunset... ah...

Second stop: Barcelona, Espana.  Another long drive took us from the middle of the Iberian Peninsula to the East Coast.  After we spent our typical hour getting lost while driving in a big Spanish city, we arrived at our first AirBNB rental of the trip; an expansive and ultra modern apartment not so far from the action.  We spent that evening and the next day wandering the city, aimlessly coming across the beautiful constructions of the famous architect Gaudi (who I knew nothing about beforehand).  This guy knew his stuff!  The structures he designed felt both alien and organic... flowing and honeycombing in fascinating ways. 

The city struck me to be a similar to Paris in some of its charm and elegance, although it presented a decidedly more spicy flair.  We spent most of our visit meandering and watching from the streets, although eventually we decided to pay to enter the Cathedral of Barcelona (not the Gaudi one... that would come later) and were rewarded with the enchanting sounds of a choir, rehearsing for a later concert. 

On our second day we were happy to retrieve our friends Jenna & Curtis from the port, where they entered Spain after a 20 hour ferry from Rome (their flights had been cancelled because of a French airport strike of some sort... it's hard to keep track of all of the labor protests in Europe these days...)  Together we enjoyed some World Cup action, some more wandering, and finally a tour of the most famous site in the city: Gaudi's epic cathedral, Sagrada Familia.  WOW.  I've seen many of the most famous cathedrals in the world; the Duomo in Florence, The Cologne Cathedral in Germany, the Notre Dame in Paris, and even St. Peters in Rome... but none of them impressed me as much as this.  It felt like being in a majestic forest... so full of light and positive energy, even with construction hammering away on the roof (it's still got another 25-40 years before it's finished).  A great finish to a great portion of our trip. 

Arc de Triumph, spanish-style. 

Gaudi

On top of the Cathedral of Barcelona

Sagrada Familia

Third stop: Andorra de Vella, Andorra. Up and away into the tiny country of Andorra!  We did expect the beautiful mountains, and were not disappointed... we did NOT expect the over abundance of shops and stores.  Apparently because it is a tax haven, there are 4 times as many stores as people in the country.  Kind of weird, but worth a look-see.  People were nice, and it was very clean... it sort of felt like Colorado.  After a night here, we headed on through southern France towards the Northern Coast of Spain.




 

 

Fourth stop: San Sebastian, Espana, in Basque country. This town is fantastic.  The food culture was reputed to be great, and delivered, big time.  Essentially it has lots of warm and inviting bars covered with little plates of excellent food (called "Pintxos") in which you can help yourself, buffet-style, to some of the tastiest and most interesting bites you could imagine.  The Basque culture and language was intriguing and interesting... did you know that the Basque most likely had been going to North America for centuries before Mr. Colombus Fussy-Britches started the avalance of imigration to the "New World?"  (Check out the book "Cod" or "The Basque History of the World" for more fun facts).  On top of all that goodness, it's gorgeous; a beautiful blend of hills and beaches, with attractive boulevards and lovely buildings, to boot.  I'd move here in a heartbeat.  

Fifth stop: Santillana del Mar, Espana, in the Cantabria Province. Up to this point, we had planned our locations and lodging ahead of time.  We rolled out of Basque country into the province of Cantabria with a bit of an open slate.  We ended up in the very quaint town of Santillana del Mar, complete with 800 year old church and surrounded by rolling pastoral farm fields of grain and livestock.  I managed to get a delicious micro-brew, and a rib-sticking stew, so I pretty much fell in love with it.  Although the very cute, very cheap hacienda that we stayed in ended up having paper thin walls, we were glad to have stopped despite the sleep deprivation.  

The following morning we took an incredible trip through time in the cave of El Castillo.  The extensive caves contained myriad ancient (up to 30,000 years old) cave paintings of bison, aurochs, and the reliefs hands.  Incredible.  

Yum. 

Double yum.

Sixth stop: Puebla de Sanabria, Espana, in the Castille y Leon Province. Another day without a plan, we had hoped to wander the large coastal mountains of the Picos de Europa... but persistent rain made that seem like a not so fun idea.  We decided to head a little south and west, towards Portugal.  Castille y Leon opened up like the great plains of the US, with expansive skies and big clouds.  Puebla de Sanabria is a ox-bowed river border town with a guarded by a castle with a very nicely developed tour.  Many of the roofs were made from slate.  We had excellent food.  Not much more to say... it was a good stop, but we didn't stay too long.  

 

 











Seventh stop: Campia, Portugal.  We drove into Portugal through wolf country, in the Northeast corner.  We rolled through the lovely Upper Douro river region, where much of the port in the country is grown, which we would benefit from later.  We stopped in a very rural part of the country, west of Viseu, and spent a couple of days revelling in an amazing small AirBNB known as the "Wood house on the village", complete with goats, chickens, friendly dog, and (of course) guinea pigs.  I highly recommend staying here! 







 
 

Eighth (And FINAL) stop: Porto, Portugal.  After several very restful days, we were ready to venture into the second biggest city in Portugal (and one of our favorites).  We hit the highlights: port tasting, Francesinha gut-buster sandwich, stroll over the bridge, and incredible dinner at Pedro Limao.  

Awesome bar with a car on the wall, hundreds of knicknacks, and trumpets for a chandelier

Great Trip! 

A great end to a great journey!  After 4 countries, over 2,000 miles, and lots of great fun, it was nice to head home.