Don't Worry Mum, I'm in Lisbon!

After the hellish experience of Seville, our weekend in Portugal was AMAZING. We went to two cities: Lisbon (the Capital, called Lisboa in Portuguese) and Porto (where we flew out of).



We spent the entire day basically waiting in the bus station so that we could catch a seven hour bus that went from Seville to Faro to Lisbon. Even that BUS ride was so much better than the buses in Spain. They had comfy seats, friendly drivers and they even served us some sandwiches because we were driving through dinner time. We arrived in Porto at like 10pm and found our hostel very easily.

We stayed at Home Hostel in Lisbon and man, did it live up to its name. It felt like we were really at home! Very relaxed, chilled atmosphere and they also had free laundry!! And even though we were going to be back in London in like two days, it was nice to get laundry done and have fresh clothes the next day!!

The next full day we had in Lisbon, we actually didn't even stay in the city! We had been told by numerous people to go visit Sintra, a small town outside of Lisbon that housed Pena Palace as well as a 9thC Moorish Castle called Mouros. We took at 3 euro train there and were blown away. Unfortunately the weather was reallllly gross. Cold and wet and we were in the forest, but it was absolutely beautiful. I think the prettiest scenery are in Forests. I know mountains and oceans are impressive, but every time I see a gorgeous forest and green trees everywhere, I fall a little bit in love.

We took a bus (good call, apparently it was an hour plus walk up!) to the Palace to see it first. The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal. It was very pretty, but also VERY busy. We waited forever to get inside and tour around. The Palace served as the summer residence of the royal family before Portugal became a Republic. Its ontop of a giant hill, overlooking Sintra and apparently on a nice day you can even see it in Lisbon.



P.S. Fun Wikipedia Fact: The last queen of Portugal, Queen Amélia, spent her last night at the palace before leaving the country in exile.

I, however, much rather enjoyed the Castelo dos Mouros as you were free to roam and explore the ruins at your own leisure (instead of being led around in a massive line like at Pena Palace). Also recognized as a World Heritage Site, these ruins still stand today despite being built by the Moors in the 9th/10th CenturY!!! It was pretty cool to go stand up on the top of the towers, overlooking the Pena Forest and the town of Sintra, imagining that ages ago, people fought and died on these very spots during sieges!! SUSAN THE "COOL HISTORY NERD" REJOICED.



We explored the rest of the Town and during a late lunch, made friends with our waiter, Bruno. And by friends, I mean, he blatantly hitted on us. He ended up giving us his card telling us that "Sintra is only 40 minutes from Lisbon and the last train leaves at 2!" hahaha, needless-to-say we didn't take him up on that offer! :P

Because we were tired from the day trip to Sintra, we didn't want to go out and party that night (we decided to save it for our last night in Porto). Instead, we bought some pasta and wine, made dinner, then met some nice people in our hostel, got a free shot of a yummy cherry liquour and watched movies (Juno and Ace Ventura). Prefect ending to a great day.

The next day we spent half of the time in Lisbon and the evening in Porto. We woke up early, checked out of the hostel, left our bags in storage and went on a walking tour. We met a really nice Canadian from Saskatchewan, Tyler, on the tour. Unfortunately, it was raining the whole time during the tour. We learned a lot of interesting things and ended up at a neat little flea market to do some shopping. Then, The SUN came out! We warmed up a bit and went to lunch in a hole-in-the-wall Cafe where we had the MOST DELICIOUS PORTUGUESE PASTRIES! They are called "Pastel de Nata" (nata tarts). They are a custard type tart that is sprinkled with Cinnamon. They were so good that the three of us ordered two each!! :)



We then jumped on the bus to Porto, meeting an American traveler along the way named Nick. Nick, Melissa and I navigated our way to our hostels (although Melissa and I had a bit of difficulty without a map and with the directions of "Ask someone where ___ Garden is and we're there!"). Since it was our last night on the trip, we decided to do the Porto Late NIght Tour (mostly because we ran into the tour guides while lost and they took us to our hostel and also advertised thier pub crawl at the same time). Everyone except the three of us spoke Spanish, but by the end of the night it didn't matter! We got so many free shots and drinks from the tour guides that it ended up being a very fun but messy night, ending around 6am!!

All in All, we had a WONDERFUL time in Portugal and I really want to go back. I've heard Lagos in the south is gorgeous and I would love to explore more of that country. Everyone was SO nice and friendly. :-) What a great way to end our trip!

Me robaron el pasaporte!!!!

Now to tell you about the scariest moment I have ever, ever had while traveling.

We were at the bus station in Seville, around 11 pm about to head on our overnight bus to Lisbon, Portugal. We bought some drinks and postcards at the shop in the bus station just before heading down the escalator to the bus. Normally, I keep some of my money in my little wallet and the rest in a big red travel wallet (that also houses my passport, train tickets, oyster card, Canadian credit card, etc). However, I was a little short of cash so I took out my travel wallet from its secure place to get some extra money. Either I must have put it down on the counter after I paid for my drinks / souvenirs, or more likely someone was watching me from the waiting area and saw where i put it and then pick pocketed me as I walked to the bus.

It was really really scary. I was bawling the entire time in the bus station and the shop keeper was really nice to me because she spoke a bit of English and gave me the number of the police and talked to security for us. We looked around the station then thinking that someone tossed the passport and stuff after they took the money. We even rooted through the garbage bins. Some really nice Spanish people even taped my glasses together for me because I was carrying them around broken (imagine two monacles being held up to your face) and since I didn't have my contacts in, I couldn't see. It was really nice of them, especially since they didn't speak ANY English.

We decided the best bet was to then go somewhere where they speak English so we went to a hostel. It wasn't the one we stayed at but another one that was affiliated with it so we thought they would be helpful.

They weren't.

They were rude, yelled at us to leave because I was crying and then we just went upstairs to use their computers to try and find the number of the Canadian embassy. There was one in Madrid so we made a plan to call the police, then head to Madrid tomorrow to talk to the embassy.

The hostel people wouldn't even let us use their phones to call the police!! I was crying upstairs and then this nice German girl and an American boy calmed me down and helped me out. The girl, Linda, let me use her phone. Well, when we called the police (the emergency line) it said all the lines were busy and to call back later?! Stupid Spain and their lazy attitudes!

One of the nicer hostel workers (actually the lady from the hostel we were staying at BEFORE) then gave us the location of a 24 hour police station. Melissa, Linda, Linda's boyfriend Marcus and I all walked there planning to make a report about what happened. When we got there, Linda, who speaks a bit of Spanish, told the police what happened. They gestured for her and I to go to a room and then they.... pulled out my red passport holder!!!! The money wasn't there (about 150 euros), but my passport, Canadian credit card, oyster card, Ryan air ticket, etc were all there!!!

I have only cried out of happiness twice and this was one of them! I even hugged the police man (he was very wierded out by that).

We then had to figure out what to do about sleeping. The Germans were so nice and let us take one of their bunks. We slept, then Melissa got yelled at by the hostel worker the next day saying we were trying to rob them by not paying. It was pretty awful because in reality, THEY DIDN'T HELP US AT ALL and told us there was no room there to sleep! We just slept there out of the kindness of the German couple!!!! Whatever, we paid. Then went to the bus station and were able to get a bus that leaves at 4pm and goes to Faro and then Lisbon.

I have never been so scared in my life but everyone in the hostel (the guests NOT the staff) were so helpful and calming me down. So many people have told me that either they or their friend had things stolen in Spain, so at least I am fortunate that my camera and ipod weren't stolen too.

I am so so so lucky. I keep thinking that maybe it was because the thief saw me hysterical in the bus station and left everything they couldn´t use. Or else its holy week and there are a lot of nice Samaritans around.

However, it's all part of the adventure of traveling. And as Noah and the Whale sing, "L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N." but it was really terrifying at the time.

The Rain in Spain!

Oh Seville... What can I say about this city that everyone told me was amazing, gorgeous and wonderful?

Only that it wasn't really my experience when I was there!!!

First off, the weather didn't help. Raining all day and on and off the second. So that automatically put us in funks.

Secondly, while the processions seemed interesting and impressive in Malaga, they were just too many and too big in Seville. We could hardly get anywhere in the city as every other street was blocked off, there were crowds of spectators everywhere and we eventually started dreading hearing those drums (very akin to that scene in Lord Of the Rings where they hear the drums in moria and all those orcs start attacking them!)

Finally, the whole being robbed issue wasn't much fun (I'll dedicate a whole post to that)

However there were some good things about that town:

1. Seeing the Dad from "My So Called Life" at a flamenco show (even tho he said he wasn't an actor when our friend asked him, Melissa and I maintain it so was.)



2. Visiting the Palace of Naboo!! For all you fellow Jedi geeks, the Plaza de España was where they shot a lot of the Palace scenes in Episode II. Pretty cool!!!



3. Finding out how NOT to be ripped off. We went into a bar to get some tapas and drinks but when we got the menu in English, we compared it to the Spanish one left on our table and the prices were more expensive in English!!! So we tossed that one aside (but used it to figure out what was what) and ordered in Spanish to get the "correct" price! SO HA. Can't rip off us!!

All in all though, I was very glad to get out of Seville and onto the bus to Portugal....

Semana Santa in Malaga

Malaga is a beach town in Spain, off the Mediterranean, close to Gibraltar and supposed to be our two days of suntanning on the beach. The first half day we were there it definitely was sunny and bikini worthy ( although I was still recovering from Granada so I spent most of it sleeping in bed).

The next day though? Total overcast grey day. Chris was determined to go to the beach so melissa and I separated from them and explored the city. We wandered around and climbed up a giant hill to the castle to get a great view of the harbor and downtown.

We didn't realize it, but it was Semana Santa (holy week) in Spain and they had all these catholic processions going on every day all week. It was pretty intense. Especially when you saw what their outfits were when you weren't expecting it...



So what came to mind when you saw that?? Growing up in North America and focusing on American History in undergrad made me think of one thing.... The KKK. And seeing hundreds around town, marching, carrying crosses/incense/giant statues of Jesus, Mary and a whole slew of other biblical things was a little intense!! Being the only "heathen" in the group of Catholics I was traveling with, it was even more over the top in my mind. But at least it was something different and that's what traveling is all about: experiencing other cultures firsthand. No matter how zealous they may seem to you. :)

Granada!!

Granada has been by far my favorite city in spain... And I was sick for half of it! It's gorgeous, friendly, not too pricey, has great tapas and we stayed at an amazing hostel (oasis - much thanks to Lisa for recommending it!)

We missed our bus stop on the metro getting to the hostel, but were able to grab another one and got there fine. The Oasis hostel really WAS an oasis after the rubbish one we stayed in Madrid! Comfy beds, great lounge area, friendly staff and lots of planned activities. We were still not used to the Spanish schedule of siestas and staying out late but luckily found a great tapas bar near our hostel.

All the bars in Granada serve free tapas! And they are huge portions. We got some cheesy ham garlic bread and chips (French fries) with our mojitos and after we ordered a second drink, it came with mini hamburgers! Yum! Ps it seems like all I did on this trip was eat and drink....

We went on our own little walking tours around the cathedral and souvenir shops until it was time to head back to the hostel for a hostel dinner of delicious paella ( but I still cannot eat the prawns... They have eyes!!!)

We played a bit of Egyptian ratscrew (thanks wedge!) and met up with a group of British boys who were teaching English in Madrid and on holiday. A simple drinking game led to us 3 girls joining them out at a bar and club. We got to the club at 12 and were the only ones there. The ONLY ones. Still fun though and by 3 am it finally go busy. Many drinks and a stumble home by monsoon ended the night (Melissa stayed behind to earn her Spain patch).

Unfortunately, awesome nights often lead to horrible next days. Little sleep, a decision to go walking by myself ( and then met an American from my hostel also exploring), and food that i wasnt sure I was eating resulted in a very very sick Susan. I will spare you the gory details but it resulted in a bed ridden day/ night and the toilet and I were on a first name basis.

The rest of the group got to visit the famous Alhambra but that just means I have to go back right?

Off to Spain!!

It's spring term holidays so we get two weeks off from school (unfortuently unpaid) and us Canadians (Monica, Chris, Melissa, and I) have planned a trip to Spain and Portugal! Madrid to Grenada to Malaga to Seville and then Melissa and I will continue on to Lisbon and porto in Portugal.

After a little bit of a hectic time getting to the airport ( and finding out that the oyster card doesn't work from London bridge to gatwick) we got aboard our ever so roomy and smooth Ryan Air flight ( hahahaha yeah right). We touched down in Madrid around lunch time and easily navigated ourselves to the city center and our hostel.

Our hostel wasn't that great: tiny rooms, small uncomfortable beds, not very social, awkward shower arrangements... But it was bearable for the two nights. We were starving so we grabbed food from a nice spanish cafe.

Now last time we went to Spain, we had michelle's grade 11 Spanish to help us get by. This time? No such luck as none of us speak a spec of Spanish. Deciphering the menu with the help of our lonely planet translator helped a bit, but the waiters weren't too pleased with our struggles (especially poor Melissa who is part veggie and only eats chicken! It was a flashback to James trying to find vegetarian food in Germany!)

We ended up getting a three course meal for 9€! I had gespacho soup to start ( I knew what that was and it as delicious!) and then a main course of chicken paella (my favorite Spanish dish of rice, chicken, veggies and spices like saffron). I ended with a Spanish caramel flab for dessert. Oh and some wine too.

In the middle of our dinner, a crazy old woman came to our patio table and tried to steal our bread and drink our wine! I kept telling her "no" (mon said I sounded like I was talking to a reception kid) until some old man walking by yelled at her and she left! It was a little intense!

We ended up just walkin around til he evening as it was sunny until like 9pm before we had a quick nap/shower before heading out for some sangria! We went to a nice patio in a big square and split a jug before moving on to try and find some food. As we were walkin we heard flamenco music and caught the tail end of a flamenco show. Ordered another sangria jarre, got some tapas and even some free tequila shots ( we were a little confused when they brought those over).

Now the day had been so good so far that I was doomed for some disaster. And that came in the way of me climbing up on my bunk in the dark and snapping my glasses in half!! If I got some tape I can so be Harry potter.

The second day in Madrid consisted of a walking and later tapas tour with "Sandeman New Europe Free Tours" (well they work for tips so it's a 5€ tour). I've been on the ones in London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, and Dublin so I knew they were good. We toured around places like the royal palace, plaza major, and Plaza de la sol. We also learned about the history of Spain and the Spanish inquisition. Pretty informative and right up my ally. Plus our tour guide grew up near Lewisham so that was a pretty cool bonding point!

We ended up joining up with the tour guide again for his tapas tour (8€). We went to four tapas bars,with sangria and tapas included! Tapas is a small dish of food that is served wih your drink. Back in the day, the farmers could only afford either food or drink when they went to lunch (and if offered the choice between only one, most chose drinking cervesa!) therefore, when they returned to work after lunch they were not as productive! So the king made it law for bars and restaurants to serve some sort of small dish with every drink bought. It's not mandatory now but still customary ( but tourists often get charged money for tapas!). Anyways, we tried a whole bunch in Spain and my favorite has been either croquetas (deep fried cheese ham things that are kinda like mozza sticks) or patatas bravas (homefries in a spicy tomato sauce). But since I was trying new things, I even tried ox's tail cooked in chocolate (not bad) and escargot ( never again).

Next stop, Granada!!!!

Sometimes...

Sometimes, you have weekends that are spent inside because you're too sick to go out and have fun.

Sometimes, you have days when all you want to do is be back home with your family and friends.

Sometimes, you hate having to wake up early and teach kids who will never remember your name after that day.

But then sometimes, when you have a class that is wonderful, it makes you remember why you love your job and living in this country.

:)