December in La Caro, And Some Things I've Learned About Spain

Considering I've been super-slack in updating my blogs about everyday life around here, it would be good to make a start before I take off to travel around with my parents!

La Carolina is feeling more and more like home!  Work is ticking along, and I somehow fill up my days with playing the piano at the local music school, doing language exchanges, helping people out with English, and plenty of tapas.

I've learned a few things about Spain, too...

• Don't expect to get anything useful done between about 3 and 5pm, especially if you're in a small town.  It's lunch/siesta time.
• Don't expect to get anything useful done before about 9am (possibly even 10).  For example, our nearest supermarket doesn't open until 9.15am, and very few corner stores will be open before then either.
• Don't expect to get anything useful done on Sunday.  The only thing you can do is go out and have tapas, because bars are the only things which are open.  What a shame.
• If you want to go to the bank or the post office, do not leave it until the afternoon.  They shut for siesta and don't re-open until the next morning.  These need to be your priorities when doing morning errands!

That whinge aside, the positives definitely outweigh the inconveniences.

Patatas bravas.

• People here are extremely open and friendly.  Perhaps I just got really, really  lucky with the school I was placed in, but the teachers are always chatting to me, inviting me out for tapas, etc, etc.
• Spanish people know how to party!  All day, and all night, as the song says.
• It doesn't actually cost too much to go out for drinks and tapas with friends.  Andalucia: what can I say?  Sheer brilliance.
• Neither is it too expensive to rent a flat, buy your fresh fruit and veg, or travel by bus.
• Patatas bravas.  They taste great.
• Sure, Spanish people can be direct.  But it means that you'll get told you look 'guapo/a' far more often than you ever would in an anglo-saxon culture.

Another amusing aspect is their obsession with jamón.  I don't think I've ever seen a culture with such a fixation on one of its staple foods. 
I admit, I've tried enough jamón to understand why they're so obsessed, but it's still amusing.  I'll try to prove why...

• I was taken to a ham festival... by a hiking group?  I don't know how many people asked us whether we liked the ham.  Luckily, I did, because I think it may have broken their hearts if I had said 'no.'
• Apparently, students offer jamón to their teachers as a bribe, when they want to pass a test.
• My parents are coming to visit, and about 6 different people have told me that I have to get them to try jamón.
• One Spanish friend joked about using jamón as a method to convince another friend to let him marry her sister.
• And then there's this tv ad for Navidul hams, which shows the consequences of buying a bad ham (apparently, it can follow you for a lifetime).

However, much remains to be learned.  Thankfully, I still have 5 more months here!

Let There Be Lisbon (5)

Our last day in Lisbon!  Nooo... we still felt like there was a lot more that we could see.  Anyway, our puente (long weekend) was running out, so we had to head back to Spain.

First, we had to do a quick trip back to the cool street we had found the previous night, when we went in search of food.  I hadn't taken my camera on that outing, and I really wanted a photo of these cool buildings.

Near-ish Saldahna metro stop.

We suddenly had the brilliant idea of going back to Cais do Sodré before getting the airport bus, despite not having much time.  


So, we hop on a random bus, and ask the driver for an airport ticket (supposed to cover all buses for 24 hours).  He doesn't speak English.  I try to say 'airport' in Spanish.  He says, 'no, airport's that way.'  Man behind us speaks (some English).  We try to say 'day pass.'  He says we have to get off at the next stop.  We say 'never mind, we'll just pay to go to Cais do Sodré.'  They say 'no, no, we'll drop you off at the next stop, then you go to the Metro stop, and buy one.'  
At this point, we give up on trying to explain what we actually want, and just decide to cross the road and  go straight to the airport.


Since we have time to fill in, we see a couple of interesting things:

• tuna pate,
• 'sexy paper' in the loos.

We get to Madrid, get the metro to a completely random place (Nuevos Ministerios) and emerge, in search of food (again).  Café y Té came to the rescue once again, and one of Jess' friends came to meet up with us.  

Before we knew it, it was time to head to Estacion Sur for the bus.  By 11pm, we were safe and sound, back in La Caro.

Portugal: 

Let There Be Lisbon (4)

...

Well, this day was a dead loss, as I somehow got food poisoning, and didn't have the strength to leave the hotel room.

Jess did something interesting, though; and something not for the faint-hearted.  She got a bus to Evora, a nearby province of Portugal, and saw the Capela dos Ossos: a chapel made out of human bones.

Apparently, this was the skeleton of one of the guys who built the place.

Yes, that is right.  Human bones.  According to Sacred Destinations, the chapel was created by some Fransiscan monks in the 16th century, because the cemeteries were getting full.  Instead of just storing the bones somewhere, the monks decided to use them (skulls and all) to build the chapel.  Apparently, it was 'an opportunity to contemplate and communicate the inevitability of death.'  The estimated number of skeletons used to build the chapel is 5000.

Normal-looking... except the skulls along the edge of each panel.

Let There Be Lisbon: Jesus (3)

Today was the day of our 'pilgrimage.'  As I mentioned earlier, I had developed an obsession with the Cristo Rei statue.  So much so that, one evening, I just about tripped over in the square in my haste to get a view of him at dusk.

Jesus in the distance: the tall thing to the left of the Ponte de 25 de abril bridge.

A bit of background info (as much for my sake as yours):

• The statue is in Almada, Portugal.
• It was an extremely long project, which started in 1934, when the Cardinal of Lisbon visited Brazil, and saw their statue.  He was so impressed that he wanted one for Lisbon!
• It's situated on a 113-metre-high hill, overlooking the city of Lisbon.  
• To add to that height, the base of the statue is 75m tall; this is the part that you can go up to the top of in the lift.
• The statue itself is 28m tall.  
• It was sculpted by Francisco Franco de Sousa, who died in 1955, and therefore never saw the statue erected.
• It was opened to the public in 1959.
• It was built to thank God for having spared Portugal in WWII.

28m-tall Cristo Rei.

So, back to me and Jess.  Fittingly, on this Sunday morning, we decided to get closer to Jesus.  The guy in our hostel more or less gave us directions, and we set off to Cais do Sodré to get the ferry.  I can't remember the name of the line, but I believe it was this Cacilhas one.  Once there, we found bus, which took us up to the statue.  (However, this site shows other ways to get to the Cristo Rei statue). There was much excitement along the way, as the looming tower got closer and closer, and, finally, we were there.

So, up we went to the viewing platform.  It was 4E, so we were determined to make the most of the views.  They were indeed amazing.

From the viewing platform.

Looking up from the viewing platform.

View out over the Ponte 25 de abril. 

Then, off we went, running for the bus, which then sat for about 10 minutes before leaving.  D'oh.

Yes, those are the menus: on paper, on the barriers.

Apparently, the ferry service's frequency had been reduced that day, so we had ages to wait before we could get back to the 'mainland.'  So, we decided to pass that time in one of the many cute little restaurants that were near the ferry terminal.  I was pretty pleased about this, as it was the most 'Portuguese' place we'd eaten in so far, I think.  Plus, they brought out this cool cheese/pate plate.

And then the mains came out.  Wow... a binder, to say the least.

This, along with a quick walk along the wharf, easily filled in the time until our ferry left.

To be honest, I can't remember exactly what we did after that.  I think there was more wandering around, looking for the Rossio train station (awesome building: twice as awesome as what this photo shows).

Rossio Train Station, Lisbon

And then we were exhausted, so we chilled and watched MTV for a while, before making a big trip out to Telepizza!

Let There Be Lisbon (2)

Day 2: Jess and I head into the town centre like the intrepid explorers that we are.  However, this is a rather long trip, as we keep getting distracted.  There are vintage shops and plenty of photo opportunities along the way!

Somehow, every street was interesting.

And my obsession with Portuguese tiles begins...

See what I mean?  It's cute!

Love the architecture in this place.

So, eventually we got to the town centre.  After a wee ride on the tram, we decided it was time to visit the Sao Jorge Castle.  As it turned out, deciding that and actually finding the blimmin' fortress were two very different things.  You wouldn't think you could lose a whole castle, but we managed it.

Castillo Sao Jorge seen from the Praça da Figueira

Let's be educated and have a bit of history (since I didn't read the pamphlet when I was there).

First on the site was a Moorish fortification for the elite, which was built in the mid-11th century.  It really came into its own when Dom Afonso Henriques (first King of Portugal) conquered Lisbon (October 25, 1147).  Consequently, it became a royal palace.  Then, while Portugal came under Spanish rule, it played more of a military role.  This continued until the early 20th century.
It has been a national monument since 1210.

Possibly the coolest thing about it is that it has a 'Door of Treason' which allowed secret messengers to get in and out.  Sadly, I don't remember seeing that.  :(

Another awesome thing about the Castle is the sweet views over the city from its grounds.  Check it out!

From the Tower of the Cistern (I think...)

Looking out over the River Tajo, from near the entrance.

We had a good laugh at some of the absolute posers who were going around taking their glamour shots with every doorway/wall/anything-they-could-find in the castle.  Seriously.  The way they were taking photos, they were going to be there forever.

After all of the climbing up and down the stairways in the castle (and marvelling at the lack of handrails... we decided that it'd never pass health and safety inspections in the UK or NZ, and also wondered how many archers fell to their deaths during wars), we were pretty peckish.  Luckily for us, we found a good Italian restaurant at the bottom of the hill (Sapori d'Italia).  I know: not Portuguese.  But we were hungry!

We had a great meal and decided we weren't hungry any more.  However, we'd seen something about a great cake shop on a map, so we thought we'd go searching for the Confeitaria Nacional (open since 1829, and still going strong).

After wandering around for ages, getting distracted by the great views from the riverside...

By the River Tajo, looking across to Cristo Rei and the Ponte 25 de abril

... and frustrated with the useless tourist maps, we eventually headed back to the Praca da Figueira and found the Confeitaria by accident.  Luckily for us, the dude at the counter spoke about 5 languages, so we could get our dose of cakes.

Yep, the Portuguese can do desserts!

After that, it was time to go and chill at the hotel for a bit, before checking out Lisbon's nightlife!  (We tried to find fado, yet somehow ended up in a Cuban bar.  Portuguese culture fail!)

Let There Be Lisbon (1)

And there was.

Well, after a rather long trip.  Jess and I caught the 5.55am bus from La Carolina.  About 3.5 hours later, we were in Madrid, with plenty of time before our plane.  But, the other option was leaving ourselves 40 mins to get from Estacion Sur to the airport, and on the plane.  Ie: impossible.

So, we metro-d along to the airport, had a look at some shops, ate some food, and then decided to get into that EasyJet queue early so we could get half-decent seats.  Great relief as both of our bags made it on as cabin luggage.  Huzzah!

Somewhere after 13.40 we were off for our pretty-short flight to Portugal.  Needless to say, we were very excited!

Even before landing, we saw the Cristo Rey statue which I had somehow managed to develop an obsession with.  (More about him later.)

Cristo Rey, Lisbon, from the air!

We also saw the sea, and were very happy, given that we both hail from seaside places, and feel a bit water-deprived in Andalucia.

Just as we landed, they started giving the flight announcements in Portuguese.  I was surprised!  For a language that resembles Spanish so much on paper, Portuguese sounds really, really different.

We arrived at our hotel (Residencial Sao Pedro), and somehow managed to get upgraded.  Needless to say, we weren't complaining.  As an aside, I can recommend the place.  Our room was nice, and the staff were extremely helpful and friendly.  And it was cheap! 

Residencial Sao Pedro, Lisbon

We then took off in search of food and fado (traditional Portuguese music).  We found food, but not fado.  In fact, we repeatedly failed to find it, but never mind.

In Bairro Alto, we found the best chocolate cake in the world (that was actually what it was called) in a place with a dog that kept sticking its head over the edge of the mezzanine floor!

World's Best Chocolate Cake... 2 of those, please!

Then we wandered around a bit, past a possible drug deal, some cable cars, and one particularly random street, in which we found two men, one spray-painting, and the other barbecuing.  Good times.

Night time in Bairro Alto, on our first night in Lisbon.