Weeks 18 & 19 (Part 1): Portugal

We followed the European coast through the capital of the Algarve, Faro, then further north to Lisbon, then Porto. The sunshine gave us a brief break in Faro where we wandered through the Medieval Old City and laughed at the numerous storks who had built enormous nests on top of anything tall - from the church bells to lampposts - and who's call was fun to mimic. On top of the cathedral we had views over the 'desert islands', more like watery straights of land, now bird sanctuaries and home to some flamingos who kept hidden from our view.

Bone Chapel...

The sun came back in Lisbon and we cooked ourselves walking all over the city. The tile-covered and (once) brightly coloured buildings made every steep cobbled street interesting with different patterns ready to capture our attention. Our apartment was at the top of a very steep hill and dragging our 20+kg packs up made sure our calves were alive. We got quite lost, determined that number 35 (says Google maps) was an entirely different number 35 then tracking up and down the hills to make amends.... only to find we were standing at the wrong end of the street. Google maps had failed us for the first time.

In Lisbon we visited the castle and were greeted with half a dozen peacocks showing off their magnificent tails to shoo away the pigeons and squawking to scare the children of tourists who wanted to take photos but weren't brave enough to get close themselves! We had some Monty Python moments at the top of the castle, and saw some great views.

He's already got one! Yes, it's very nice.

You knnnnnigget!

Jimmy down the well?

'cos them hills be steeeeeeeep!

In the new part of the city were wandered through the busy shopping streets and made ourselves comfortable watching people feed the seabirds at the waters edge. Later, we happened upon the oldest operating bookshop!! We were so caught up in the excitement and when we left close to an hour later realised the only picture we'd taken was when Ally said "the smell! Matt, take a picture of the smell so I can remember this forever!" and you can see that below ;)

Can you smell that?

On our second day in Lisbon we went to the other side of the city, where we found the beautiful Oceanarium - the largest aquarium in Europe. After a fun ride in a cable car where we had views over the area known for modern architecture, we set inside the large Oceanarium to see the temporary exhibit Florestas Submersas (Forests Underwater) by Japanese artist Takashi Amano. Forests Underwater promoted sustainable forest practices and was an art piece to demonstrate the beauty of freshwater landscapes. In the permanent part of the aquarium we saw fish of all sizes and shapes, leafy sea dragons and anemones in so many different colours! It was a great day and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves despite the hoards of school kiddies.

No Australia!!!!

Ugliest fish ever

Puffin!!

A friendly sea otter!

Cuttlefish

We found Nemo!

After a great day with sea-life we traveled north to Porto. Our hotel owner ushered us to our room, disappeared and reentered with a bottle of 20 year old local port and a plate of orange cakes. The next morning he sent us out with a suggested itinerary and we saw the whole city in a day. Like Lisbon, the buildings were beautifully decorated. As well as tiles and coloured paint we saw an impressive graveyard filled with fresh flowers (not shown below, it didn't feel appropriate to photograph the visitors to the working graveyard). Nearby was the old market hall, with fresh fruit & veg vendors opening stalls on the upper balcony, and bakers, fishmongers and ladies selling Portugese-printed fabrics on the ground level. In contrast, the main mall was busy with high-end fashion stores filled with people.

A major highlight in Porto was yet another bookstore! The fully functional bookstore Lello & Irmao was the inspiration for Flourish and Blotts (in Diagon Alley). The bookstore is stunning, with a central spiral staircase and books on all walls. The roof has a central stained glass window surrounded by wooden details and the wall panels are beautifully designed. Gorgeous bookstore!

Functional book cart!

Back to reality.. We found the Cathedral (Se) complete with a group of young boys playing football outside, perched over the edge of the main waterway and one bank was a secondhand market with locals selling clothes and nic-nacs. On the other bank was a line of perfectly Portuguese buildings and many boats docked or slowly moving along.

The train station

We wrapped up our time in Portugal at the LXFactory, back in Lisbon. The old factory has been converted into a number of indie shops and cafes selling vintage-everythings and delicious cocktails. We had a few hours to spare before our night train to Madrid and what better way to spend it than sipping G&Ts in another bookshop :D This bookshop was in an old printing factory with the four levels of printing press machinery still present and now separating various levels of cafes (bar, cafe, restaurant). It had a great atmosphere with large white decorations moving along pulleys between the bookshelves mostly stocking design and philosophy books.

We survived the night train to Madrid with our belongings intact but dreadfully tired and stiff. Madrid will round off this post in a couple of days before we head north!