2017 May Spain/Portugal
April 29th, 2017 - May 18th, 2017
Madird - Spain
Arrived Madrid in a raining day, took bus to Atocha station. In the station, we asked the security guard for the direction to hotel; most security guard we saw in Spain are all armed, tall, macho and handsome. 5-10 minutes walk to hotel. Had our first Paella in a small restaurant next to the hotel, not the best. Rice is not fully cooked and there is not much seafood in it.
Dinner at 'O Pazo De Lugo' near Atocha train station is great. The complimentary olive dish served before the meal is delicious, not as salty as we have in US. We found out not all restaurant are serving complimentary olive and bread, so take your luck. The dry fish nugget are so fresh and delicious.
Segovia - Spain
Segovia Aqueduct -The Ancient Roman engineering of the structure that's said to transport water from the river Frio. No mortar or cement is used to built the tall structure, prove another project of ancient wisdom. The date of construction cannot be determined, it was thought might be during the 1st century AD.
Early morning walk in the village of narrow street, preserved to be like the old time. The weather is not good, rainy, windy and a bit chilly. Touring the church outside and inside, enjoying the nice built architects and heritages.
The coffee shop is anywhere you can find in Spain; serving early travelers like us.
The huge white Spanish bean called Judiones, originally from America continent are named 'Queens of the Beans'. We bought a bag just for the curiosity for it's taste.
Back to Madrid - Spain
Museo del Prado -Waiting line is long every time we walked by the museum, however it is worth the wait. Many famous paintings hanging on the wall one hall after another, walking/viewing the pictures, trying to understand what the artiest is trying to say/express, riding along with their imagination to their time/world.
Dinner at Madrid -
Small squid is popular in Spanish dish, they cooked it very tenderly and delicious.
Toledo - Spain
Train Ride from Segovia to Toledo -Band singing in the train to earn some tips is quite common in Madrid. The music they play and sing are so lively, even I can recognized some old Spanish songs they sing.
Toledo Old City -The Old City of Toledo was declared a World Heritage Site for its extensive cultural and monumental heritage. Toledo is the capital of Castilla–La Mancha.
Castilla-La Mancha was the region of many historical battles between Christian crusaders and Muslim forces during the period from 1000 to the 13th century.
We walked along the street and trying to find Catedral Primada, mistakenly got into a long line that is actually for viewing the famous paint 'El entierro del Conde de Orgaz' by El Greco which he worked between 1586 and 1588. The painting is divided into two distinct sections: Heaven and earth. The painting is on the wall by the entrance of the church, there is no light, no photo allowed. You can only grasp a glimpse of the feeling for viewing the painting. Not sure the long line waiting is worth the time (except the musician plays the music outside under the tree shade is quite enjoyable) since we can hardly see anything in the dark room.
During lunch, we run into a parade protesting something seems to be employee salary, pension, benefit related.
Shopping is fun in Toledo old city street. Jamon Iberico is a traditional Spanish cured pork meat that you can find everywhere in Madrid. We have tasted it in Hotel's breakfast and find it okay. The store sells Jamon Iberico attracts a lot of tourists, the legs hanging on the ceiling looked very much like Ham in US, they but are raw instead.
Back to Madrid - Spain
Madrid - Plaza Mayor
In the center of the city Madrid. Rectangular shape and surrounded by 3 story residential buildings having 237 balconies facing the Plaza. Lots of activities happening here and mostly tourists in and out the center of the plaza. A group of young girls dress brightly, dancing, yelling, partying at a corner of the center catch our eyes. The leader with a small camera notice our interest and start approaching us. I suddenly realized something strange and then urge our group walk by quickly. It is sad that we heard too much bad thing about gypsy girl thief that scare us off. We may be too cautious; it's better be careful than sorry during the travel.
Madrid - Mercado San Miguel (Market)
Ready to eat seafood and fruit, variety of olives, all looked very delicious. We had our dinner here. Price is considerably little cheaper than US.
Masque on the way to Madrid Royal Palace
Madrid - Royal Palace
Madrid - Plaza de Espana
Monument of Spanish novelist, poet and playwright Miguel de Cervantes. Stone sculpture of Cervantes overlooking bronze sculptures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. It is considered the Spanish most famous novel that made major influence on Spanish literacy. I have read bits and pieces review of the novel and Don Quixote controversy character, now I have visited this place where the novel originated, maybe I will read the book sometime in the future.
Cordoba - Spain
Airbnb host Gracie is very nice and gave us a very detail introduction of the city and surrounding areas. The apartment we rent has 3 bad room, is the best among the three that we rent via Airbnb and the price is reasonable also.The city is small enough that we walked to most of the attractions including -
Alcazar de los Reyes Cristianos
walking along the wall in the morning is quite a pleasant experience
one of the corner in the village
where we meet the tour guide for a free 2 hours quick tour
Old bullfighting center (Plaza de Toros) - according to the tour guide, there were massacre in the history during the battle period between the revolution of different ruling in different era. Under the hot bright sun, looking around the surrounding building, many windows facing the center, I felt a little chill.
Mezquita Cathedral de Cordoba
The Catholic cathedral of the Diocese of Córdoba dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and located in the Spanish region of Andalusia. The structure is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of Moorish architecture.
Originally a small temple of Christian Visigoth origin, the Catholic Basilica of Saint Vincent of Lérins. When Muslims conquered the Iberian peninsula in 711, the church was first divided into Muslim and Christian halves. This sharing arrangement of the site lasted until 784, when the Christian half was purchased by the Emir 'Abd al-Rahman I, who then proceeded to demolish the original structure and build the grand mosque of Córdoba on its ground. Córdoba returned to Christian rule in 1236 during the Reconquista, and the building was converted to a Roman Catholic church, culminating in the insertion of a Renaissance cathedral nave in the 16th century.
Since the early 2000s, Spanish Muslims have lobbied the Roman Catholic Church to allow them to pray in the cathedral. This Muslim campaign has been rejected on multiple occasions, both by the church authorities in Spain and by the Vatican.
The history of the Cathedral mixed between Muslim and Christian under their ruling period and the architect reflects its time.
Jewish Quarter
The monument of Moshe ben Maimon, Jewish philosophy – a preeminent medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher and astronomer, became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages. Born in Córdoba
As a custom, you will gain good luck and intelligence if you rob the feet of the statue, of course I did.
Balcony Decoration contest is going on...
Inside the wall and the gate of the village exits to the Roman bridge
Roman Bridge (Mezquita de los Andaluces)
was built by Romans in 1 century BC, has been rebuilt, re-constructed, expanded and restored several times.
The view from the bridge looking the direction to the village
Very tender and tasted good, but it missed some flavors.
Baked squid
Granada - Spain
On the bus from Cordoba to Granada, from the window looking out , all we saw is Olive tree field endlessly. Local people eats Olive and Olive oil just like they drink coffee and beer every day.
Alhambra
We got the ticket for touring the Garden and fortress, but not the main palace. It is impossible to get the ticket for main palace building without pre-reservation. The complex are built on a hill
Originally constructed as a small fortress in AD 889 on the remisns of Roman Fortifications.
Renovated and rebuilt in Mid -13th century by Moorish Emir Mohammed ben Al-Ahar of the emirate of Granada - palace and walls
After 1492, the site became the Royal court of Ferdinand and Isabell, the palaces partially altered to Renaissance tastes.
Alhambra's late flowering of Islamic palaces were built for the last Muslim emirs in Spain during the decline of the Nasrid dynasty who were increasingly subject to the Christian Kings of Castle.
One of Spain's major tourist attractions, exhibiting the country's most significant and well-known Islamic architecture, together with 16th-century and later Christian building and garden interventions.
Hop on/off tour bus took us for a short run of the city tour. As many other city that you can see in Spain, graffiti art painting work on the street wall are a very common scene.
Flamingo Dance
Heart pumping experience - sorrow song in a native voice with the Flamingo style guitar music; fast and strong both in hand and feet dance steps, in a small room with loud echoing effect on the hollow wood platform... quite an impact
Seville - Spain
Airbnb we rent is not as expected, small and only 1 bed 1 bath. For the price we pay, I guess it is for its location, very close to most of the attractions we want to visit.Metropol Parasol
Wooden structure and there is tower allows you to take elevator to the very top and walk down to see the city. Known as Las Setas de la Encarnación (Incarnation's mushrooms), it does look like a huge mushroom. I think the nigh scene with light would be magnificent, but we didn't come at night time though.
Build in 1928, a landmark example of the Regionalism Architecture, mixing elements of Renaissance Revival and Moorish Revival styles of Spanish architecture.
Food -
Have dinner in a restaurant on the way back to our airbnb apartment, the seafood dish is surprisingly good... save the effort of looking for the yelp good review restaurant, luckily we ended up to a good one.
Real Alcazar
Royal palace originally developed by Moorish Muslim kings. Very beautiful and detailed hand craft architect, it is being regarded as one of the most outstanding examples of mudéjar architecture found on the Iberian Peninsula.
Food -
Decided to eat in the same restaurant as we liked it yesterday. We ordered a dish of Lamb leg that we saw served in every table. The leg is so large, really worth the money. The flavor is not quite as strong as we have in US, but stomach is satisfied after a long day walk.
Faro - Portugal
Entering Portugal,I smell the ocean
Beautiful small town by ocean water, it’s a wonderful place for honey moon vacation. Sun setting and night scene are so beautiful and romantic!
Seagulls, Pelican, sea bird are everywhere... we saw oyster net, claim picker during the boat tour
The boat tour guide points us to a Portuguese water dog on the other boat and kept making the comment on it is the same dog as Obama's dog. Sounds very proud of the Nation's puppy.
The octopus dish is very different and specially cooked in Portuguese style here. They are so tender and tasty. I have never had octopus this good.
Lisbon - Portugal
Train RideThe Food court where you can find high quality food called 'Timeout Market'. we also saw Thai and Japanese food here. There is long line in every restaurant. We ordered seafood dishes and they are all very fresh and delicious.
Sintra - there are several castle in the area, due to the weather condition (rainy and windy), we visited two castles
Castelo dos Mouros (Moors Castle) -
We took train to Sintra, the ride is about 10 minutes.
The Medieval Castle is on a hilltop, built by Moors in the 8th and 9th centuries. It was taken by Christian forces after the fall of Lisbon in 1147.
Inside the castle displays a lot of valuable art works from all over the world.
We hiked to the top of the castle, the castle stone wall and the view are magnificent, but the rain and wind were going so strong, we have to stop the journey for going other castles. Leaving an opportunity for next trip to visit.
Walking and shopping in the area of the square are so much fun. We had Portugal dish of Seafood Rice, similar to Canjun's seafood gumbo, with more seafood and fresh nature flavor instead of using spices.
Padrao dos Descobrimentos (Discoveries Monument)
The monument celebrates the Portuguese Age of Discovery during the 15th and 16th centuries. Sit on the northern bank of the Tagus River, not very far from Torre de Belem.
Torre de Belem (tower of St Vincent)
is a fortified tower, built in early 16th century and play a significant role in Portuguese maritime discoveries era. It was designed as a deference system for the mouth of the Tagus, and built on a small island in the Tagus River near the Lisbon shore.
The famous Portuguese egg tart is indeed good, a bit sweeter than the one we had in Taipei.
World largest Portugal Egg Tart shop, it is so big. It extended from the back of its main store front to the back of other stores and ended in a long block. Coffee and desert is an essential part of life here.
We also tries Portugal famous dish Bacalhau. Originally thought it is a fry rice dish, in fact, it uses fried shred potato, saute cod fish, olive, olive oil and egg as ingredient... yummy yummy, tastes very good.
Porto - Portugal
Train ride from Lisbon to Porto - in a high speed train and there is a pretty young Portuguese women sit in front of us facing our way.Another rainy day when we arrived Porto.
During our 3 days' stay in Porto, the weather are all cloudy and rainy...still the small town's beauty did not degrade because of the this. The town are so beautiful that I already missed and want to go back again.
Most beautiful train station'
Most beautiful coffee shop
Most beautiful book store
The oldest train used in city tour
Ponte de Dom Luis I (Dom Luis Bridge)
a double-deck metal arch bridge that spans the River Douro between the cities of Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia in Portugal
Cais da Ribeira (Ribeira Square)
Very nice and relaxing walk along the river. Beautiful scene even in a cloudy day. The colorful houses reminds me of Bergen city in Norway. The houses here are built out along the hill, makes the view even more wider and broader. On the other side of river from the square, we found the best deal Portuguese Egg Tart and croissant. They are also very tasty.
Food
Famous food in Portugal -
Pasteis de bacalhau (fried mixture of potatoes, cod fish and eggs in a foot ball shape)
Francesinha (cheese wrap with meat in layers)
Another Bacalhau dish
Barcelona - Spain
Basilica of the Sagrada Familiaa large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona, designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926).
It was originally the work under architect Francisco Paula de Villar until 1883. Gaudí became involved when Francisco resigned as the head architect. Gaudí transformed it with his architectural and engineering style, combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms. Gaudí devoted his life to the project until his death from a car accident at age 73 in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete.
His Roman Catholic faith brings in many religious images to his design; nature elements created by God describe in the bible ... light, palm tree, palm leaves, fruits, animals...this earned him the nickname "God's Architect" and led to calls for his beatification. There were seven of his works declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
Sagrada Familia's was majorly damaged by the Spanish Civil War, and the work resumed in 1950s. The construction progressed slowly, as it relied on private donations and construction passed the midpoint in 2010 with some of the project's greatest challenges remaining. The anticipated completion date is set on 2026, the centenary of Gaudí's death.
We shall return to see the completed project at that time.
Casa Batllo - Gaudi's design
Walking along the main street to the harbor where cruise ships parked. On the way we passed -
Street center corner
Columbus statue high up there, holding a map points to the far direction of discovery...
Sitting on the bench, enjoying the beautiful sun setting scene... what a relaxing day!
Park Guell - also one of Gaudi's design.
We are so hungry after few hours stay in Sagrada Familia. Lunch is very rewarding after a long morning walking learning and viewing. We stopped by the restaurant just outside of the Sagrada Familia and again surprisingly, they are very good and price is reasonable. We concluded that average chef in Spain/Portugal is better than US's.
Next to the lunch place, the 365 coffee shop has the cheapest croissant you can get. 10 small croissant for 1 euro.
Last dinner - treat ourselves with good food in a nice restaurant.
End our trip's with last morning coffee in Cafe Zurich in Barcelona. The Cafe opened since 1920.
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