Lisbon

After a quick trip through the countryside, we finally found our “home for the holidays”. Lisbon felt very cozy for a big city with several distinct neighborhoods all sloping towards the sea. Christmas lights decorated the numerous squares and narrow streets, all helping to boost the holiday spirit. But none of this mattered much to the kids, for them Lisbon meant the arrival of Blake and Hannah from Minnesota. Our friends the Theisens (Ann, Joel, Blake, and Hannah), flew into Madrid, rented a car, and arrived right on schedule to our apartment in Lisbon. Angie and I were very impressed with their flawless arrival. They will be with us for two weeks as we travel through Portugal and Spain, so you’re bound to see some new faces in our photos.

Our apartments overlooked Lisbon’s main square called the Rossio (the photo above is taken from the Theisen’s living room), which has been the stage for everything from chariot races to bull fights. From here we meandered through the old fishing villages, found some great restaurants, took in the local fado music, and explored the city's vast history of Portuguese sailors. Our kids were so excited to have fellow explorers though, it didn’t matter what we did.

Since the mid-1800’s, fado has been Lisbon’s blues. (Fado translates to fate.) The singer is usually accompanied by two or three guitarists, one playing a Portuguese (12 string) guitar. Interestingly fado was banned from 1932 until 1968 as it was considered “harmful to social progress”. Today though it’s as popular as ever and can be heard all over town when the sun goes down.
When in Portugal, a glass of Port is a must.  The Port Institute offers hundreds of different bottles to sample along with some equally tasty chocolates.  
One of Portugal's most famous residents was the explorer Vasco da Gama.  If you're rusty on your history, he navigated Europe's first direct trade route to India in 1498.  The new trade routes made Lisbon one of Europe's richest cities.  Before leaving home, Blake had just finished a course about da Gama in school.  The timing could not have been more perfect as he breezed through all our questions about the explorer.
The day we visited happened to be the anniversary of his death (a mere 484 years ago), thus the flowers on his tomb.
The naval museum covered several centuries of Portuguese navigation and the boys loved it all.
The girls on the other hand found other ways to keep busy.
On Christmas morning we attended mass at the Se' de Lisboa. Mass was led by the Archbishop and broadcast live around the country.



This was a fun statue at a downtown construction site.

Portugal

Our stay in Salamanca was way too short, but it was time to head to Portugal. We had two days before we were due in Lisbon and no real plan for must-see sights along the way. After crossing the border our first stop was in Coimbra, coincidently another old University town. After looking around campus, a walk down Main Street, and a quick bite to eat, we decided to keep the train rolling. Next stop was Batalha, best known for its monstrous church and monastery. Built by King Joao I in 1388, it was his thank you to the Virgin Mary for victory over the Spaniards in the Battle of Aljubarrota. The sun was setting now, but we kept moving and found ourselves in Sintra for the night. Not far from Lisbon, Sintra has always been the summer retreat for the kings of Portugal. After a good nights sleep and a few local specialties for breakfast, we headed out to explore a couple of the palaces. The National Palace of Sintra is the oldest, built by King Joao I in the 14th century. It was occupied until 1910 (when the monarchy ended) and is still used today for receptions and other special events. Portuguese King Ferdinand, a cousin of Germany’s Mad King Ludwig, added the Palace of Pena to the landscape in the mid-1800’s. It was a real treat to tour and is beautifully furnished as if the King still occupied it today. In fact it was so completely furnished that the Queen’s sitting room included the following quote; “The profusion of objects demonstrates the horror of empty spaces and the desire to collect.” (I know a few ladies that think like this.)

We had a little more time to fill before our friends arrived so we headed over to the Lisbon Oceanarium. Built as part of the 1998 World Expo, this amazing facility (2nd largest in the world) has over 25,000 marine species. After we had our fill of fish it was on to the Mall as we were running out of days to see Santa Claus before Christmas. This Mall was huge and had a very lively and jolly Santa Claus. Speaking only a little English, he did an awesome job entertaining the kids (and Angie as you’ll see below). We even got a special Portuguese Christmas book (authored by Santa himself) full of Christmas stories from his many years of visiting kids at the mall.
Coimbra was Portugal's original capitol.  Then in 1290, the university was founded in the former royal palace (pictured above) and the capitol moved to Lisbon.

Surprised to see a Hamburger on the menu at lunch, I decided to go American.  When in Portugal though, this is what you get.  Yes there is a little patty hidden under the egg, but no bread or ketchup.  None-the-less, it was pretty good.
Batalha Monastery.
This statue of Nuno Alvares, the man who masterminded the Portuguese victory, sits just outside the main entrance of the Monastery.
Everywhere you look, homes and businesses are decorated with the locally made tile.  The next photos are two very different examples.

The National Palace of Sintra is easily recognized by its unique 108 foot high chimneys. 
Palace of Pena


This troll/serpent keeps watch over the main gate.

Built high on a hill, it offers great views out to the ocean.

Lisbon Oceanarium.


The ocean sunfish (aka Mola Mola) is the largest bony fish in the world.  This one measures over 6 feet long and weighs in at almost 3,000 pounds.
Santa Time!!!

Salamanca

We’ve made it to Spain! After arriving Madrid, we rented our car and headed out for our first stop, Salamanca. After several months in countries like Italy and Croatia, it quickly became apparent that we had reentered the western world. The airport was beautiful, the roads were all like brand new, shopping complexes and hotels lined the highway, and people were even driving the speed limit. As we got closer to Salamanca (about 2 ½ hours west of Madrid) we got another surprise, snow! I didn’t realize Salamanca was at an elevation that we would be seeing the white stuff. Anyway we arrived to a very chilly 32 degrees and searched out our hotel on the main square. We originally booked one night but after our first stroll we quickly changed the reservation to two. What a beautiful town this is. Day and night it’s buzzing with youthful energy and was so much fun to explore. The Cathedral, University, and Main Square dominate the old town and provide the best sights. And with the season, dense fog in the morning and Christmas carolers in the evening, added perfectly to the ambience.
The carolers handed out the lyrics, so we all sang along to songs such as Feliz Navidad.


The main University entrance.  Built in 1230, this is the oldest University in Spain.
Ornate decoration on the buildings were around every turn.
For centuries, when students passed their final exam they would write their symbol on the University walls.  Much of the red paint still remains.