Full disclosure: I am over TWO MONTHS behind on blogging! Our time in Europe and back in the US was so fun that I took an extended hiatus from the site. Here’s to catching up in 2017!
From the moment we knew we’d be in Europe at the end of the year, my parents said they wanted to visit. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a time that worked for everyone, and I was really upset. About a month out, my dad had a big event get rescheduled, so they immediately booked their tickets!
Let’s time travel back to November 2016. Mom and Dad’s almost two-week excursion began in Lisbon, Portugal. (Cowgills in Portugal = Portu-gills!) They flew on Thursday, and we met them there on Friday after work. The plan was that we’d explore Lisbon with Meadows, travel around Portugal during the week and meet back up with him for weekend #2 in Seville. For the grand finale, we would back to Madrid for two days to celebrate my mom’s birthday! I planned a jam-packed printed itinerary, complete with meal reservations, tours, snack breaks and weather predictions.
Our flight into Lisbon got delayed and our bags (which they forced us to check) took over an hour! We went straight to meet my parents for a late dinner at Mini Bar Teatro. Our besties Ellie and Andrew gave us a ton of great Lisbon recommendations, and this was one! We had awesome wine and an insane tasting menu in a cool atmosphere, courtesy of famous Portuguese chef, Jose Avillez.
Our Saturday started bright and early, as we had a lot of ground to cover. First stop: Jerónimos Monastery. Construction began in 1501 and lasted a hundred years; the monastery houses countless room surrounding a beautiful courtyard. Throughout the ornate buttressed walkways, we saw where monks lived, worshipped and more.
We worked our way to the second story, where we found the Church of Santa Maria. From the second story, we could survey the entire gothic masterpiece, including a shockingly realistic sculpture of Jesus on the crucifix.
The four of us wrapped up the visit by exploring the first floor of the church. We said goodbye to the monastery (after physically dragging my dad out!).
Next door, we explored Museu de Marinha (the Maritime Museum). This was one of my favorite things we did in Lisbon!
It was so insanely cool to learn more about the investments, competition and routes during the Age of Exploration. We saw artifacts from the spice trade and even the royal cabin of a 19th century yacht.
Our final stop at the Maritime Museum was a huge showroom of boats. We had the opportunity to see so many different vessels up close. My dad was in heaven!
Mother Nature decided not to cooperate, so we battled rain that day. Taking this (and my love of sweets) into account, our foursome drove to Pastéis de Belém for a sweet treat!
These egg pastries are a delicious taste of history; convents and monasteries used a large quantity of egg whites to starch clothing, so the nuns developed a recipe with the remaining egg yolks. When the monasteries and convents were shut down in 1834, the nuns at Jerónimos Monastery sold these custard tarts and eventually sold the recipe to the nearby sugar refinery. In 1837, the Pastéis de Belém shop opened – the ancient secret recipe has never changed, and no other bakery can call their pastries by the same name. These bad boys are always served warm and are best eaten with some cinnamon and powdered sugar on top!
After devouring our custard pies, we walked around Torre de Belém (Belem Tower). Built in the early 16th century, the fortification played a major part during the Age of Discovery. Its location at the entrance to the Tagus River served as a powerful defense.
As our afternoon came to a close, we made our way back into town for a food tour. Ellie and Andrew loved their tour, so we did the same one: the Downtown-Mouraria Food & Cultural Walk with Taste of Lisboa. My parents have never been on a food tour, so we had a blast introducing them to our favorite way to see a city!
On our first stop, our sweet tour guide introduced us to a Portuguese favorite, salted and dried cod. Throughout the rest of the tour, we tasted green wine (white wine that is very young), sardines, local cheeses, Ginja (a cherry liquor), Portuguese-influenced food from Zimbabwe and much more!
We walked through the neighborhood where Fado was born; fado means “fate” in Portuguese and is a sad, almost hopeless form of music with vocals and two guitars. We walked through the route of the Fado singers, where portraits of famous musicians line the walkway.
We strolled past a larger than life graffiti in honor of Fado. Our guide led a port wine tasting before we wrapped up the evening at a bakery that offered subpar custard pies. They weren’t even warm! Aside from the pies, the entire evening proved so fun and extremely informative. Mom and Dad loved it so much that they wanted to do food tours in every city we visited! Meadows and I vetoed that idea.
It’s hard to believe it, but our night wasn’t quite over. We headed back to our hotel for drinks overlooking Lisbon.
We spent our final day in Lisbon (Sunday) checking off the final items on our tourist to-do list. Our foursome visited Castelo de São Jorge, a fortification built on a hill overlooking the Tagus River in the mid-11th century. The views were spectacular!
We climbed up and down stairs, around cannons and through walkways. It’s the most picturesque castle.
We worked up quite an appetite, but it wasn’t quite lunchtime. On our way to the Time Out Market for lunch, we sat down for a peaceful moment by the river. We soaked up the beautiful weather and Lisbon scenery.
Then… lunchtime! I have to say that I loved this meal – like Ponce City Market or Krog Street Market in ATL, Time Out has gourmet food stands around a communal seating area. I got an amazing ceviche, the guys got some meaty sandwiches and my mom got a chicken soup. We all shared “the world’s best chocolate cake” – a bold claim, but I think it was accurate!
At this point, Meadows left for the airport to go back to Madrid. As always, I was so sad to see my travel companion leave, but I was thrilled to have extra time with my parents.
Having conquered Lisbon, we hopped in the car and drove to Sintra. It quickly became clear that Sintra was a hotspot for extreme wealth back in the day. We toured the homes/castles there on Sunday and Monday, and we still didn’t get to see everything!
Our only stop on Sunday was to Monserrate Palace. Originally a chapel built in 1540, the palace and park embody a whole new level of opulence. The property changed hands, expanded and eventually went into disrepair until Francis Cook purchased it in 1863. A wealthy Englishman from his family textiles firm, Cook rebuilt and reinvented the palace and gardens.
The exterior is stunning and unusual, while the interior exudes Indian, Gothic and Moorish flare. The imprinted walls, lace-like designs, geometric patterns – it was all fabulous.
The gardens surrounding the palace were equally exquisite! Cook collected plants from around the world to curate themed gardens: Japanese Garden, Mexican Garden, Rose Garden and more.
We stumbled upon the ruins of a chapel, which are perfectly overgrown with flowers and trees.
In the evening, we went to a hole in the wall restaurant in Sintra for dinner. We absolutely adored the delicious food and fascinating company (the restaurant owner). It was an unforgettable experience.
The next morning, we ambitiously sought to see three more castles in Sintra. Due to time restraints, we only made it to two of them. We first visited Quinta da Regaleira, my favorite palace in Sintra.
The estate did not become the opulent, fascinating 4-hectare place it is now until wealthy Portuguese businessman Carvalho Monteiro bought it in 1892. He began a massive 6-year construction project in 1904. The gothic architecture, endless statues, romantic details and immaculate landscaping make this place a true dream.
After a hysterical search for a parking spot, a delicious lunch and about a million stairs to get back to the car, we drove to the top of the mountain to visit Palacio da Pena. Pena Palace almost looks like a kids’ playhouse with all the wild colors!
The site was originally a chapel from the Middle Ages, which remains on the site to this day! I loved the beautiful blue and yellow tiles.
A monastery was built next to the chapel, but the 1755 earthquake in Lisbon demolished it. King Ferdinand fell in love with the property and purchased it in 1838. His first order of business was to refurbish the monastery.
You can see the Moorish influence in the textured patterns on the ceiling!
Sometimes the ceilings bore paintings to give the effect of texture.
The Romantic and eccentric palace became the Portuguese royals’ summerhouse. I loved the entertaining room – a giant pink room with white details and giant gold chandeliers!
Exhausted from a full day of Sintra tourism, we hit the road for Porto!
Just like being there!
I have missed your posts and I must say you have outdone yourself on this one—commentary and pictures–superb! Where are you two now?
OH ANN ! Such a GREAT BLOG this morning–why didn’t I know years ago how terrific Portugal is? The Gothic architecture is so intricate it is hard to imagine how a workman could make it. Your Grandad and I could have enjoyed one of those pastries at the Pasteis de Belem. Incidentally, I never knew that egg whites could be used for starching ! I want to look at this trip again-it is worth studying-THANKS- Grandmother
Wow, wow,wow! Want to go there!
Gorgeous, loved seeing the cities again through your eyes!