So I Think I Was Talking About Portugal

Yes, still. I had one more day of traipsing around Portugal to recap here on the old blog, and then life rolled along, so today's the day.  You can read the whole thing beginning with the post found here. 

Three of the seven couples had to leave on Sunday, but the four couples remaining had a splendid day driving up the coast to a town called Sintra. 

The coast is stunning. 

Truly. We all said we'd love to come back and spend some time here, walking along the high coastal path and sitting in one of the many seaside cafes watching the waves roll in. Hubs wanted to get down on the wooden walkway hanging out over the sea, but we needed to be on our way, so I vetoed that idea. Plus I thought the higher portion looked questionably attached to the cliff, so it was back to the cars and on to our planned destination.   

The town of Sintra was much different than the area around Obidos, and the first thing you noticed was how lush it felt. Sintra is jam packed with castles in the cliffs, beautiful buildings in town, winding roads, narrow lanes, and wonderful shops and restaurants. No wonder it was a favorite summer retreat for the kings of Portugal. I'd liked to have had another day to explore here, but we take what we can get, right? First things first-espresso! Must fortify ourselves for the trek up the mountain.

Gosh I love these people. 

And also Portuguese espresso sipped while sitting in an ancient city square.

Since we had limited time here and so much to choose from, we opted to visit Parque da Pena, a palace and surrounding parkland built on the highest peaks of the Serra de Sintra. The castle ruins you see high on the hill in the picture above are not the ones we visited. They are a place I'd like to visit, but that will have to wait for another day. Castelos dos Mouros is a thousand year old Moorish castle, about a fifteen minute walk from our destination, Pena Palace. 

Pena Palace sits above the Moorish castle, and was built in the 19th century on the ruins of a monastery founded in the 16th century. Portugal's Prince Ferdinand was cousin to Bavaria's crazy King Ludwig (if you've been to Neuschwanstein you're familiar with him) and also England's Prince Albert, husband to Queen Victoria.   

Pena Palace is unusual in that when a Republic was declared back in 1910 the palace became a museum, and has been preserved exactly as it was when royals lived there, furnishings and all. 

The views are tremendous and you can ramble all over the castle and surrounding grounds, climb towers, and even sip a coffee or have lunch on the terrace.

Wandering around a castle is one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon.

These four. 

They had themselves a little fun on the way down the mountain. We'd taken taxis to the top, but you had to ride the bus down or else hoof it, about thirty minutes along a steep path. One couple opted to walk, but not all of us had the proper footwear for hiking down so we got in the bus queue and waited. We had the bus timetable and three scheduled stop times came and went, still no bus. By now the queue had grown quite long and loud and a little restless, which made us wonder if a bus did eventually arrive would the crowd storm the doors? One of the guys managed to snag a taxi and suggested the girls ride down and the guys would walk and meet us below.

So we girls sat in a little outdoor restaurant and figured we'd have at least a thirty minute wait. Ha! We should know better than to underestimate their resourcefulness. We'd just gotten settled in our seats when the guys came round the corner laughing and singing. Turns out a very sweet young Italian couple took pity on them and picked them up part way down the mountain. The couple tuned their car radio to a station that played old 'American' music and they sang the whole way down.

You can always count on the Italians to love life wherever they are.

After a very late lunch we did a little shopping up and down the narrow streets of this charming city before heading back to the hotel to pack up. Sob.

I compartmentalize pretty well, and most days I just get on with things. This trip reminded me though, of how very much I miss my other life. Foreign cities and old buildings and new places and accents and languages not my own. A big wide amazing world that most days feels really far away from the New Jersey suburbs.

Don't misunderstand...I like the suburbs and I love America with all my heart, but still...sipping coffee on a castle terrace in the hills of Portugal makes me long just a little for all the world out there I'll never get to see.

Thirty years ago I never imagined I'd be that person who wants to see the world. In my mind those people were 'out there'...the fringe. They wore Birkenstock with thick socks and walked around airports with ginormous backpacks. They were adventurers, daring embracers of change and all things new.

But hey, did you know it's also possible to see the world with a too heavy great big suitcase checked through to your destination? To be a little bit adventurous and a little bit chicken all at the same time? To embrace change but insist on a few constants too?

 Trust me...it is. 

Summertime and the Hodgepodgin' is Easy

Welcome to the Hodgepodge Hodgepodgers! Glad you've joined the party today...don't forget to add your link at the end of my post. Here we go-

1. Since you weren't Hodgepodging last Wednesday, how did you pass the time?

I was gallivanting around Portugal. 

I wrote about it in great detail (don't I always???) starting with the post found here.

2. What's the first word that comes to mind when I say marriage? Yes, one word.

forever

3. Summer officially arrives in the Northern hemisphere this week. Does it feel like summer where you live? Describe your idea of the perfect summer day.

Today yes (it's Tuesday), but check back with me tomorrow because that's kind of how the year has gone weather wise. Ka-razy! We endured a relentless winter, followed by a really wet spring. In fact I don't feel like we had much of a spring this year, there were so many cold-damp-gray days. On the bright side, our water bill should be way down this month.  

My idea of a perfect summer day would be my toes in the sand at the edge of the water, a good book in my hand, hubs and my girls in beach chairs beside me. Add in a beautiful sunset and fresh seafood for dinner and yeah, I think you can call it perfect.  
4. "Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability."(Sam Keen) Is laziness ever respectable? Do you have a lazy summer planned or something semi-ambitious?

I don't think summertime laziness fits the strictest definition of the word. Laziness to me is doing nothing when you should be doing something. Summertime laziness is different. We all need time to slow down, breathe deep, and find rest for our world weary souls. Summer is often the perfect time to do just that. 

We have a few things on our calendar, but nothing too ambitious. Mostly enjoying friends, family, and evenings around the firepit in our own backyard.  

5. Past or present, who's your favorite television dad? Why is he a favorite? Is he anything like your dad?

Well I've always loved Andy Taylor (The Andy Griffith Show). He had integrity, was calm, fair and a protector of his family and community.  My dad was a man of great integrity and always made his family feel safe, so in that sense they were similar. He could not however, play the gi-tar or sing. Nor was he a sherrif, although he did maintain the law in our household. 

In newer programming I like Phil Dunphy from Modern Family. He's funny, cares about his family, and his optimism is refreshing. 

6. June 18 is International Picnic Day...share a favorite picnic memory.

I haven't been on an honest to goodness picnic in quite a while. Some of my favorite picnic memories are from my own childhood. My parents best friends also had four children of similar ages, and we'd often load up the station wagons for a picnic someplace. Sometimes my mom would fry chicken and sometimes we'd bring a little Hibachi grill with us and cook hamburgers. 

We always played games too, wiffle ball, baby in the air, and one I especially loved called Kitty in The Corner. One person was dubbed 'the kitty' and everyone else spread out and took a 'corner'. The object was for two players to switch places without the 'kitty' beating you to the spot. Does anyone else remember that game? 

7. The travel site Trip Advisor lists the top five islands in the world for 2014 as-Ambergris Caye in Belize Cayes, Providenciales in Turks and Caicos, Bora Bora in French Polynesia, Marco Island Florida, and Lewis and Harris in The Outer Hebrides (Scotland).  Have you been to any of these? Of the ones listed (and if price were not a factor) which would you most like to book for a holiday?

When it comes to island holidays I'll pretty much go anywhere.  The only one on the list I've been to is Marco Island. It's my family's favorite vacation spot in the world so I'd never turn down a trip there.  

Best sunsets in the world are found there too, just fyi. 

Of the islands listed I'm going with Bora Bora. I've never been and it's on my list. 

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I do believe planning a wedding is a lot more fun since the advent of Pinterest.  Just sayin'. 

Obla-di-Obidos

Are you feeling like I was away for a month rather than a week? Sometimes my recaps are like that. Just a couple more days and we're home. But... they were full days and maybe my favorite days of our holiday.

On Day 4 we took a little breather. We wanted to walk on the beach, the one sitting just on the other side of the cliffs at the edge of our resort. The beach was accessed via wooden steps built into the very steep hill side. The Atlantic is wild and rugged here. It pounds the shoreline and there are places you can see where the mountain has literally moved. Thankfully not while we were on it. ahem. The highest wave ever ridden by a surfer happened just up the coast and there's a crazy photo of it here.  

We did not ride the waves. I almost accidentally rode a wave, but it wasn't 100 ft. and it only soaked me up to my shorts.  

We noticed a particularly prominent point and thought it would make a fun picture. You know, pretend I'm holding up the hillside? So I jogged out that way while hubs got the camera ready...

SURPRISE!!

The surf came up a lot closer to the rock than it appeared from a distance. And it was fa-ree-ZING!

I changed my mind...

Decided this plan had the potential to go awry, and I might end up on the nightly news as the tourist swept out to sea because she was doing something stupid.

Hubs and I regrouped. We re-evaluated the tide and tried again...

Whoohoo!  I lived to tell the tale-ha! After our beach adventure mama needed to lie down. The sun was brilliant and the air just right so we planted ourselves beside the pool for a couple of hours. Delightful.  

Later that afternoon we drove a few miles down the road to the nearby medieval city of Obidos. Enchanting! A storybook hilltown encircled by a wall dating back to the 14th century. The construction is impressive. 

Somebody had to haul an awful lot of rock sans bulldozer and forklift back in the day. Lots of somebodies I imagine. 

Way back in 1282 King Dinas presented this charming little village to his beloved Isabel as a wedding present. 

You enter through a gate whose underneath side is dressed in colorful tile. FYI-beautiful tile is everywhere you turn in this country.

Once inside the city walls the narrow streets wind and climb, and flowers spill out of window boxes and up the sides of ancient white washed buildings.  

There are shops and restaurants and churches, and a castle turned hotel.  

You can also climb up onto the wall and walk the sentry path, so up we went. 

Mind your footing now!

Uh, it's high. 

Scary high. 

And along much of the wall along one side, there's no railing. Yup, open all the way to the ground, some 50 feet below. 

In some places you can crawl climb more cobbledy cobbled steps also without a railing, and go even higher. 

Not nervous at all. Ha!  

And to make it more 'exciting' it was gusty up there!  Hubs wanted me to climb into this space in the wall which in essence was like climbing into a wind tunnel. 

If you look closely you'll see me  peeking out of the rampart.  Hubs kept shouting for me to 'lean out a little further'. My stomach kind of flip flops just writing about it. 

We walked the entire way around, and some parts were less terrifying than others. When I had to press myself against the wall so a dad carrying a baby on his shoulders could pass by I told hubs we had to climb down. I did not want to witness him stumbling with that baby. Seriously dad! Come on! Not smart!

We were meeting up with the rest of our group for dinner in one of the restaurants and it was such a cute spot.  Low beamed ceilings, stone walls, and wonderful local cuisine.  The perfect ending to a perfect day. 

I love the way it makes me feel to walk in these old cities.  To think about the people who built them and how very different the world is today. The way time, for just a little while, stands completely still.

The Rain in Portugal Falls Mainly on the Vineyard

Shoutout to my travel pal for the post title-hi Aud! Day 3 of our little getaway rolled in with the rain. All day rain, but fortunately we had mostly indoor activities planned. Not completely of course so by day's end we were all soaked and chilly, but it was still a really interesting and enjoyable day. Also this post is heavy on the words and pictures, but we squeezed a lot into a single day. 

A few in our group really know their wines. I am not one of them, and go along mostly for the history, the people, the peek into another culture, the food, and all the sites along the way. I enjoy learning new things and wine plays a huge role in the Portuguese economy. 

Since there were fourteen in our group, we'd booked a small bus for the day and ventured out into the countryside to visit three different wineries. Our first stop was my favorite-Quinta Do Sanguinhal.  What a beautiful spot! We were greeted by Ana, who is the owner's niece.  

The first thing you noticed was the soft beauty of the buildings and the enormous hydrangeas and geraniums all around. We had planned a tour of the gardens and vineyard here, but it was raining buckets so we opted to head inside instead. Judging from the flowers and plants we could see I imagine the gardens here are beautiful. 

Before we went inside Ana had us stand beneath one of their big cork trees, and she explained a bit about them. I didn't even know cork was a tree, but I guess I never really thought about it before.  There are cork forests all over this part of Portugal and we were fascinated by the trees themselves.  They make everything under the sun out of cork including purses, wallets, shoes, and corks. Obviously. 

This tree was on another property we visited, but it shows how the cork is harvested. The trees can live to be about 200 years old, and once they get to be about 25 years old the cork is stripped every nine years. No I don't remember Ana saying all that, but isn't that why we have the Internet? She told us a lot of information in our visit, and her knowledge was impressive. I was distracted by the sheer beauty and age of the place upon which we were standing.  

Our first stop was the barrel room. That may not be it's official name, but that's what I'm calling it here. We moved on to the distillery housed in a separate building...

...and then the best part-lunch. Not just any lunch either, but lunch eaten in this amazing space sitting beneath the old wine presses. 

When you sit in this space you think, hmmm...maybe I'd like to own a vineyard? 

Lunch was prepared for us by Ana's mother and it was positively amazing. There was a wonderful homemade creamy vegetable soup to begin, just right for a cool rainy Portuguese afternoon. This was followed by an enormous assortment of dishes including marinated pork, tomato salad, scrambled egg, fabulous breads and cheeses, and a flourless chocolate cake for dessert. We also tasted some of the wines made here and I think everyone would have been quite happy to stay put for the rest of the day.  

We reluctantly bid Ana farewell and braved the raindrops to get back on the bus and head to stop #2. This particular place is known for something called The Buddha Eden Garden.  

Really there are no words to adequately describe what greets you as you step outside into this expanse of Portuguese countryside on the Quinta dos Loridos estate. It was practically a monsoon the day we were there, but we didn't want to miss it, so opted to ride around the grounds via their tram. The driver sped over hill and dale, hitting the squeaky brakes on three different stops so we could hop out and take a few photos.  

Most of ours were taken from inside the tram, with water streaming down the camera lens, but still I think you get an idea of what's here. It's the kind of place you need to see to believe.  

The garden was created as a result of the destruction of the Buddhas of Banyan in Afghanistan, which you can read about here. There is a long and complicated history associated with these, but suffice it to say, the owner of this winery in Portugal wanted to create a garden of peace in response, and thus The Buddha Garden was born. It's still a work in progress, so he's not through yet. It feels completely touristy and more than a little amusement park-like, but you can't look away. It's fascinating.  

We were now thoroughly drenched, considered briefly skipping the final stop of the day, but figured we're already dripping, might as well trudge on. And we were rewarded for our efforts by the most charming young Portuguese wine maker who was the most gracious of hosts. The bus had to park at the top of the property and we all had to make our way down this little dirt road.

Totally worth it. 

Wine has been made on this property for over 500 years.  

Not by Rodrigo's family, but by someone.

He greeted us with a big smile, I'm sure he figured we'd bail, and then escorted us into a tasting room. He promptly cut up a ridiculous amount of bread and produced a fabulous cheese, and we talked and laughed with him for far longer than we intended staying. 

His vineyard is completely organic which was interesting to hear about, and also something a little different.

Before we left we took a picture. Honestly, hubs and I stood admiring the view from his patio and we  were both thinking, what an interesting, totally different kind of life this would be.

To wake up every day and check on your grapevines. To slow down while nature sings a lullaby. It's my favorite part of travel, this glimpse into all the many ways the world lives.

There's more because of course there is.
Tomorrow the sun shines and we talk medieval ramparts and the sea.