Destinations | Ciao for Now

August 15, 2011

Home Sweet Verona

by Anna

As you can imagine, I was really looking forward to reuniting with Verona. It has been nine years since I lived and studied there for the summer between my Junior and Senior years at USC. I was so excited to visit my old stomping grounds and to show Johnny all of my favorite spots!

Our view every day walking into Verona’s center

Verona is as lovely, if not more so, than I remember. Situated in a bend of the Adige River, it is bordered by beautiful bridges and castle-topped, cypress-lined hillsides. Every piazza, alley, fountain and fresco in Verona is picture-perfect.

After settling in at our B&B, Lo Streggato, where we really enjoyed getting to know our hosts and their funny 6-year-old son Marco, we spent the week eating yummy breakfasts on their rooftop terrace, cruising through Verona’s picturesque streets, hanging out in Piazza Erbe, Piazza Bra and Piazza dei Signori, eating delicious meals, sitting alongside the river and climbing the surrounding hills to check out views of the city. It was a wonderful, relaxing week in a place that I love….and a place that I’m pretty sure Johnny loves now too!

Piazza Erbe at Night

Ponte Pietra, one of Verona’s oldest bridges

Porta Borsari, an ancient Roman gate leading into the city dating to the 1st century BC

Along the River Adige at night


Delicious melon and Parma ham	Osteria del Bugiardo


Verona sky	Gelato

Verona Madonna in Piazza Erbe

Castelvecchio bridge

One of the things I couldn’t wait to eat again (and for Johnny to try) was Risotto All’Amarone. Amarone wine, which happens to be my favorite but is always too expensive at home to buy, is produced in Valpolicella in the Veneto wine region where Verona is situated. Even though the dish slightly resembles baby food, it is DELECTABLE, and Johnny and I had it twice during our stay and wiped our dishes clean both times.

Risotto All’Amarone at Hostaria La Vecchia Fontanina

Because of my affection for this wine and for other wines in the Valpolicella (translated: “valley of many cellars”), we found a wine tour that took us into the surrounding countryside one afternoon. We had a wonderful time with another Swedish/English retired couple from Salzburg and our two Italian guides. The countryside is literally minutes outside of Verona’s city center, and we loved seeing the valleys dotted with medieval churches, villages and vineyards. The vines were heavy with grapes and we learned that the majority of the grapes are grown using the “pergola” system, resembling umbrellas, so that the grapes are more protected from the weather while still having access to the sun. Our tour led us to Fratelli Vogadori in the Negrar valley where we tasted Valpolicella Classico, Ripasso, Amarone and Recioto. One of the brothers (of Fratelli Vogadori) poured our tastings and explained that Amarone is so expensive because of how long the process is to produce the wine. An Amarone is rarely drunk less than 5 years after the vintage! We picked up a bottle for 18 euros (!) and were on our way back to Verona.


Plump grapes that will be ready to harvest in September	Amarone and Ripasso aging in barrels

Another highlight of being in Verona at this time of year is that it is opera season! The beautiful Roman Arena in Piazza Bra, which dates back to the 1^st century AD, hosts operas all through the summer. I had seen Carmen at the Arena nine years ago and remember it as being a truly magical experience. Because of this, Johnny and I bought tickets to see La Boheme about six months ago. We chose La Boheme, because the musical Rent was inspired by it, so we thought we’d have an easier time following the story line. We treated ourselves to an amazing dinner at Botega Vini (a must-stop Verona institution with a small novel of a wine list) and then made our way down Via Mazzini to Piazza Bra and climbed up to our seats on the stone steps within the Arena. With a full moon as a backdrop to the stage, and hundreds of people holding lighted candles as dusk set in and the orchestra began, we felt transported to another time. It was an amazing evening that I will always remember.


Bottega Vini	Pre-opera dinner

The Arena in Piazza Bra

The stage


Candles lit all around the Arena	La Boheme

We also took advantage of the opera on several of the other nights that we were in Verona and sat in Piazza Bra with pizza and wine and listened to the sounds of the other operas, like Aida and La Traviata, wafting from the Arena. It was like a free concert every night!

So, it’s “ciao for now” to Italy (don’t worry, we’ll be back in September) as we make our way to Slovenia where we’ll be celebrating our two year anniversary!

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August 15, 2011

A Day On the Lake

by Anna

After a loooong travel day on Sunday beginning at 5am that included almost all modes of transportation – a taxi, a bus, a flight, another bus, a train and then a short walk – and which also included me having a disagreement with my stomach and throwing up on almost all of these modes of transportation – we finally made it to Lake Garda, Italy!

Lago di Garda

We had a day to fill between San Sebastian and Verona, and Lake Garda, Italy’s largest lake and only a 25 minute train ride from Verona, seemed like the perfect spot. I had been to Garda on a weekend trip from Verona in college and remembered it being really pretty. There are towns scattered all along the edges of the lake, and we chose Desenzano for our one-night stop. It was a charming start to Italy (and a reminder to Johnny and I of how awesome this country and its food are!), and Lake Garda was even more beautiful than I remembered! After a nap at our B&B, I managed to refill my empty stomach with some delicious pizza, and Johnny got his first gelato (strawberry, in case you were wondering).

Desenzano

The next morning we checked our bags at the front desk of our B&B and headed over to the ferry to take a ride across the lake and spend the afternoon at another town called Sirmione. Sirmione stretches out into the lake on a peninsula causing it to have beautiful views from all sides. We had a great time exploring the nooks and crannies of the town and its 13th century Scaliger Castle and treating ourselves to a nice long lunch where Johnny had the best Caprese of all time! In a happy Prosecco, pasta and Caprese haze, we slowly made our way back to the ferry, grabbed our bags and caught the train to Verona.

The Ferry


Sirmione	Sirmione

Scaliger Castle


Prosecco…yummmm	Caprese….yuuummm

Chillaxin in Sirmione

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August 7, 2011

Back To Spain, San Sebastian

by Johnny

Not so fast, Spain. You’re not getting rid of us that easy. After hanging at Goose’s place in Lisbon for a couple days researching our next maneuver, we found an overnight train from Lisbon to San Sebastian, Spain and a super cheap flight from Bilboa (right next to San Sebastian) to Italy, where we have a couple things lined up in the coming weeks. Done deal. We were heading back to Spain.

A €0.75 box of wine can really work wonders on an overnight train

San Sebastian was one of my favorite stops on “Jimmy and Johnny’s European Adventure 2004,” and this time around it was even better than I remembered. A couple days earlier Anna and I were talking about how we’d like to see more sunrises, so we were stoked when our train arrived right when the sun was coming up. Even though our room was a good hour away on foot, we were too taken with the beauty of the place (and cheap!) not to make the walk all the way there. It was really surreal to see the place so calm and peaceful when just a few hours later it would be packed with vacationers.


Rolling my bag through the empty streets	Sun’s coming up

Early morning in San Sebastian

Given that the Basque country is considered the culinary mecca of Spain, if not the world, Anna and I were pumped to try all the pintxos we could get our hands on. My brother Jay trained as a chef in San Sebastian for a year, and he gave us some great recs of places to go and things to try. This was a huge help because I would have been lost trying to order food from the Eusko menus. Seriously, every word looks like “tzküzktkükzz.” Anna’s friend Marta, who works at the Quiksilver office in Biarritz and lives in San Sebastian, also gave us some recs of places to go, so we were armed and ready.

Our first night we headed to Goiz Argi, one of Marta’s spots, which is famous for their brocheta de gambas (grilled prawns on toast). It seemed liked everybody in the bar was ordering them, and for good reason. They were friggin’ amazing. I would have stayed there all night and had about a hundred if it weren’t for us being in the true pintxo spirit of trying a couple dishes and then moving on to the next bar. After Goiz Argi we made our way to A Fuego Negro, one of Jay’s recs. English menu, phew! We had a small grilled veggie salad, a couple of kobe beef sliders and some risotto and went home stuffed and happy.

Mouth-watering brocheta de gambas at Goiz Argi


Kobe sliders and banana chips at A Fuego Negro	Risotto at A Fuego Negro

On night two we were given strict instructions by Jay to go to his favorite pintxos bar La Cuchara de San Telmo and try the fois dish and the risotto. Done and done. Actually, they were so good that we abandoned any thoughts of bar hopping and ordered about six or seven more dishes. Some highlights were the pork rib in balsamic vinegar, the baked goat cheese with grilled veggies and the bacon-wrapped scallop.

Howdy Jay…thanks for the recs!

Night three ruled! We met up with Anna’s friend Jen, a Quiksilver alum, and her husband Juan Pablo for drinks and more gambas at Goiz Argi. Jen and Juan Pablo quit their jobs and traveled the globe for about eight months before settling in Madrid, and they just so happened to be in San Sebastian for the weekend (check out their travel blog). It was great to chat them up about their travel experiences and get some first-hand do’s and don’ts and must see places. The only problem is I’m now trying to figure out ways to add all of Africa and South America to our itinerary (please PayPal money to johnny@ciao-for-now). Remembering what it was like to be on a tight budget for so long, Jen and Juan Pablo picked up our tab at dinner. Say what?! Amazing, and greatly appreciated! We hope to pay it forward someday.

After dinner we headed across the street for some more drinks and listened to Juan Pablo tell awesome travel story after awesome travel story. He’s like the most interesting man in the world, and once he started talking about how much he loves REI, my man crush was in full swing. Before we knew it, it was 3:00am, which wouldn’t have been so bad if we didn’t need to wake up at 4:30am to catch our bus to Bilbao. We had a great time with Jen and Juan Pablo…they’re avid travelers so hopefully we’ll see them on the road someday.

Other than stuff our faces with pintxos, we basically just admired the beauty of San Sebastian. Our room was in the Antigua area on the far west of the city (coincidentally right around the corner from where Jay lived), so we would make the walk along Concha beach to the old town multiple times a day, all the while taking in the sights. I told Anna probably ten times that if I were a sailor or explorer back in the day and stumbled upon San Sebastian, I would have said, “OK…I think I’ll hang here for a while.” We hit the beach, got lost in the old town and hiked up to the Jesus statue…a very successful, though too brief, reunion with Spain. Check out some pics…

The view during our walk to San Sebastian’s old town


The old town’s crowded streets	Peppers at Goiz Argi (which I dubbed “Spanish edamame”)


Jesus watching over San Sebastian	He’s got the best view in the house

San Sebastian’s old town

Goodnight and Adios, San Sebastian

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August 6, 2011

The Best Of Portugal, Part Dois

by Johnny

So, where were we? Ah, yes. Well, after drinking half of the port in the Douro Valley…

WEDNESDAY, 7/27
We woke up and enjoyed the last couple of hours in our amazing hotel. It’s probably one of the nicest places Anna and I will stay on our entire trip. We didn’t let leaving the beautiful Douro Valley get us too upset, though, because we had big plans for the evening. Big plans. We were going to a Benfica fútbol match. Goose and Kick are Benfica fanatics, and tonight the team was playing against Trabzonspor from Turkey in a Champions League playoff. I don’t pretend to know a lot about the sport of soccer (actually I feel like Eddie Murphy talking about football in “Coming to America”), but I do know it’s kinda a big deal in Europe. After a quick pit stop in Lisbon, we all loaded into Kick’s car and headed to the stadium. The game, err match, was intense! The crowd seemed to get more excited when the referee would blow a call than when the team did something good, and Goose taught me just enough Portuguese curse words to join in the fun. After a slow first half, Benfica picked it up in the second half to win 2-0. Our first European fútbol match was a success!

Goose’s Graceland


Benfica babes	GOOAAALLLL!!!

THURSDAY, 7/28
After the Benfica match we drove to Troia, a long cape near Lisbon where Kick’s parents have a vacation home and where many people from Lisbon come for a weekend break from the city. We got some perfect weather, so we spent a full day on the beach sipping on Super Bocks and caiparinhas. We needed a relaxing day after our whirlwind tour of the Douro Valley. That night we went to a really cool restaurant right down the road called Museo do Arroz (Rice Museum), which had great views of the rice paddies outside and where Sarah got the best grilled octopus of the trip. So what are two Portuguese dudes and three gringos supposed to do in Troia on a Thursday night? You guessed it, play Portuguese Pictionary. The wine was flowing at Kick’s place, and Pictionary quickly turned into a hilarious game of charades. Team John-Goose may have dominated, but everybody woke up with sore abs from laughing so hard.

View from Kick’s balcony


The best thing Portugal brought back from Brazil	The second best thing Portugal brought back from Brazil

Nap time on Troia beach


Museo do Arroz	Inside of Museo do Arroz


Portuguese charades…no comment	You can’t teach this level of passion

FRIDAY, 7/29
We made our way back to Lisbon from Troia via the ferry, which gave us some pretty awesome views of the city. That afternoon, Goose was meeting his grandma for lunch, so Sarah, Anna and I spent a few hours exploring Lisbon’s old town on foot. We wandered around the Barrio Alto’s colorful streets before trekking up to the São Jorge castle to take in the views of the city. From the castle’s rampart walls, you can really see how unique Lisbon is with its seven hills and different neighborhoods. That night we had another great BBQ downstairs at Pedro and Marta’s place.


Troia ferry	Troia ferry

The entrance to Lisbon’s old city from Praça do Comércio


Lisbon’s cable cars	View of the city from São Jorge castle

SATURDAY, 7/30
Today Goose’s dad Flavio and his wife Virginia were hosting a big family lunch at their house, something Anna and I were looking forward to the entire week. Their place was incredible. It used to be some sort of African embassy or government building or something and a ton of the original African artwork is still left throughout the house. On the very top floor they have a huge ballroom with views of the city and bridge. Each week, a dancing instructor comes to the house and Flavio and Virginia invite all their friends to come over for ballroom dancing lessons.

View from Flavio and Virginia’s balcony


Ballroom	African art

Goose’s whole family came over for a swim and a traditional Portuguese lunch. We had a delicious, simple green salad and some salted codfish baked with olive oil, egg, potatoes and onions. And being in Portugal, we had a ton of homemade pastries to chose from for dessert.


Salad and baked cod	Chocolate cake, rice pudding and “hamburger pastry”

Clockwise: Little Pedro, Nuno, Kick, Marta, Pedro, Virginia, Flavio, Anna, Goose, Sarah, Martin, Veronica

That night we headed over to the local artisanal fair, which Goose assured us was a very Portuguese thing to do. The fair was lined with stalls selling handmade crafts, furniture, clothing, etc., and a ton of restaurants selling traditional Portuguese food. There was also a stage for live music, which was a nice treat. After another great meal with our new friends we made our way home, but not before picking up a fartura, aka the best churro in the history of the earth.

Entrance to the fair


Johnny, Anna and Pedro	Marta, Sarah, Goose, Goose’s snails

Fartura, the greatest churro of all times

Sarah and Goose left the next morning (boo!), and we were definitely sad to see them go. It made us realize how much we miss our family and friends back home. So you…yeah you reading this blog and not leaving any comments…start planning a trip to meet us somewhere, anywhere!

We can’t thank Goose and his family enough for their hospitality. Goose basically took his precious vacation time to come to back to Portugal and drive us gringos around his home country for a week. And his brother Pedro and his girlfriend Marta let us stay a couple extra nights at their place so we could catch up on some emails, laundry, budget, etc. Marta even left work to take us to the train station on our last day. They definitely have a place to stay if they ever come to Balboa Island! We loved Portugal. We’ll always remember the beautiful landscapes, unique history and tasty food, but more importantly we’re most grateful for all the people we met and the new friends we made. Obrigado!

Posted in Destinations, Portugal | 3 Comments »

August 2, 2011

The Best Of Portugal, Part Um

by Anna

The last nine days in Portugal with Sarah and Gustavo (aka Goose) were a whirlwind of good friends, laughter (and often hysterics), family, wine, port, Super Bock (and sometimes Mini Bock), BBQs, suckling pig, Benfica pride, octopus, more pig, Pasteis de Belem and other addictive pastries like Pillows and “Hamburger Pastries,” Capirinhas, sunbathing on the beach, charades, bad American music on Portuguese radio, castles, salted cod, and so much more. Goose went above and beyond to show us the best of Portugal, carting us across the country and back in his dad’s awesome ’95 BMW, which we lovingly called “the Beast.” We were overwhelmed by the amount of beautiful places that we were able to see and all of Goose’s amazing family and friends that we met along the way! Since we did SO much over the past nine days, Johnny and I decided to divide the trip up into two posts…..so, I bring you:
“The Best of Portugal, Part Um.”

25 de Abril Bridge

FRIDAY, 7/22
Johnny and I spent our 4 hour bus ride from Lagos to Lisbon in breathless anticipation, and were even more excited as we came across Lisbon’s “Golden Gate Bridge” (actually called the “25 de Abril Bridge,” it’s reddish-orange color makes it look very similar to the Golden Gate and was actually constructed by the same builders of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge). Lisbon lay before us, and because of the way it is built into the hills and juts out into the water, it really reminded us of San Francisco. Goose was at the bus station and immediately swept us off to our first authentic Portuguese meal, which included salted cod and blood sausage (Goose made sure to order the least gnarly type of blood sausage so that our stomachs wouldn’t have any adverse reactions). We then picked up Goose’s friend from Columbia Business School and old NYC roommate, Elia, and his girlfriend Sylvia, from the airport. They had flown in from Milan for the weekend to hang out. We were just missing Sarah who flew in the following morning from New York.

Salted Cod

SATURDAY, 7/23
The next day once the gang was all together, we headed off for brunch on the water and then to sip some Capirinhas at the beach, on the way stopping for famous Pasteis de Belem pastries and getting a blow-by-blow history lesson about Lisbon from our awesome tour guide, Goose. It was a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, and the beach was packed, and in an attempt to wedge the BMW Beast into a parking spot on the side of a sandy road, the entire car got stuck! At first we all tried to dig it out, but it was in deep. Luckily, we found a Portuguese MacGyver to pull the Beast out of the sand. After so much excitement we were ready for a few pitchers of Capirinhas and some Super Bocks.

Pre-beach lunch on the water in Lisbon


Famous Pasteis de Belem pastries	The first of many consumed over the next 9 days


The “Beast” gets stuck in a sand trap	Luckily Portuguese MacGyver comes to the rescue

Sipping on Capirinhas at the beach

That night Goose took us to his favorite restaurant in Lisbon, A Travessa. Because the restaurant is up one of Lisbon’s seven hills and tucked into winding narrow streets, the restaurant picks up its guests at the bottom of the hill in a shiny red VW Bus and zips you right up to the restaurant. The restaurant was unbelievable, not only because of the delicious food but also because of the ambiance, with the outside seating set under arched columns surrounding a beautiful little square. Johnny and I both agreed that this was one of the best meals of the trip so far!


Our ride to the restaurant	The Dudes

A Travessa

After dinner, we were off to a club…..Goose had warned us that Saturday’s itinerary would take us from “a.m. to a.m.!” We ended up at a club that opened up to the water, and met up with Goose’s brother Pedro and his girlfriend Marta, and his friend “Kick,” a nickname that came from kicking a stone and breaking his foot during a soccer/futbol match when they were kids.


You can find me at the club…	Sarah and I clubbin’

SUNDAY, 7/24
The next day we headed off to Sintra, a beautiful town that is a short drive from Lisbon and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site on account of its 19th century Romantic architecture. The area’s hills are dotted with castles and palaces that were once the summer homes of Portuguese royalty. The main attraction which we hiked up to is Pena Palace. It definitely did not disappoint. Perched at the top of a hill with stunning views on all sides, the palace itself was a mosaic of bright colors, intricate architecture and beautifully maintained interior rooms, our favorite of which being the colossal kitchen. The Palace is one of the Seven Wonders of Portugal, and we could see why. Surrounded by forests where the King used to hunt, we got a little lost getting back to the car, but finally made it out of Sintra and over to Guincho, where we met up with Pedro and Marta.


Pillow pastry	Sintra

Pena Palace


Pena Palace	Pena Palace

Pena Palace


View from Pena Palace	Good thing we aren’t afraid of heights!

Guincho is a world class recognized spot for windsurfers and actually hosts some international windsurfing competitions in the wave category. We were blown away (no pun intended!), when we looked down at the water from the Guincho bar up above. The water was filled with windsurfers, flying up and over waves and zig zagging like razors through the ocean. Goose’s brother, Pedro, an avid windsurfer, was actually one of those crazy sails out in the water, and we braved the fierce wind at the Guincho bar, with some Vino Branco and Super Bocks of course, until he and Marta were ready to go. That evening Elia and Sylvia flew back to Milan, and we spent the night at Pedro and Marta’s place having Portuguese-style chicken and meeting Goose’s sister Veronica, her husband Nuno, and their two adorable sons, Martin and Pedro.

Guincho windsurfing beach


Dinner at Pedro and Marta’s	Pedro and Marta’s outdoor BBQ


Sarah’s determined to bring baseball to Portugal	Portuguese chicken!

MONDAY, 7/25
Monday morning we packed up a couple bags and headed off for a two night excursion to the Douro Valley. Since it is a 4-5 hour drive, we stopped to check out a couple other attractions on the way. First, at Obidos, a lovely fortified medieval hilltop town, we stopped for a sampling of the area’s famous Ginja liqueur served in small chocolate cups and walked the town’s narrow, steep ramparts. Next, we hit up an area known for suckling pig, a delight that Goose had been describing in greasy detail throughout the car ride. After a giant platter of suckling pig, homemade potato chips and salad, we were stuffed and ready for the remainder of our car ride.

Obidos


Ginja	Streets in Obidos

Walking the rampart walls

Suckling pig!

Upon entering the Douro Valley (another UNESCO World Heritage Site), we were at once overwhelmed by its breathtaking beauty. The valley, sloping steeply on both sides into the Douro River, was lined with row upon row of terraced vines and dotted with picturesque quintas clinging to the valley’s slopes. I had never seen wine country that looked like this, with vines literally wrapping vertically up the sides of the valley. If this beautiful scenery weren’t enough, we pulled up the tree-lined drive to our hotel, Solar da Rede, a renovated castle with awesome views of the valley, and I pretty much thought I had died and gone to heaven. Everything about the place was amazing, from the rooms to the glistening pool to the vines surrounding the property. We ate at the hotel restaurant that night and spent several hours on the terrace overlooking the valley sampling multiple bottles of the wine produced from the hotel’s surrounding vineyard and laughing hysterically about anything and everything. I think the beauty of the place put us all into a state of euphoria.

The view of the Douro Valley from our hotel room


Arriving at our hotel	Sarah and Goose on their room’s balcony

Strolling through the hotel’s vineyards

The pool


The Finchwoods	The Schu-Barks

TUESDAY, 7/26
The following day was our big day of wine and port tasting, and we were greeted with bright blue skies and warm weather. We started our tasting at Quinta da Pacheca, and thoroughly enjoyed the tour and tasting with the Quinta’s owner.


Quinta da Pacheca	Quinta da Pacheca


The owner pouring our tastings	Our tasting lineup

Following this warm-up lap, we drove over a bridge and up some narrow winding roads to Quinta do Vallado. It was interesting to discover that even the more modern Quintas, such as this one, still make a percentage of port using the traditional foot treading process in large stone vats called “lagares.” We learned a lot about the production of port and the differences between White, Ruby, Vintage and Tawny ports. Our favorite saying used among producers in the Douro Valley was, “Tawny is made by men with the help of God; Vintage is made by God with the help of men.”

Checking out the legs


Quinta do Vallado	Our tasting lineup

After another great tour and tasting at Quinta do Vallado, we grabbed a quick lunch and headed to Sandeman. Although a little more commercial, Sandeman’s location is unbeatable. Goose maneuvered the Beast up switchbacks of narrow dirt roads dropping steeply to one side, till we reached the top where we had incredible views of the valley. Whereas we had mostly wine and a couple ports at the previous Quintas, Sandeman was all port all the time. The tasting was serious business, with a White, Ruby, Vintage, 10-yr-old Tawny and 20-yr-old Tawny.

View from Sandeman


Before	After

Tawny Johnny and crew tasting port


Sandeman	Sandeman

Another view leaving Sandeman

After enjoying the view and all deciding upon our favorite port varietal, we headed to our last stop, Quinta do Panascal. Yet again, this vineyard was beautiful, set on the banks of the River Tavora, which stems off of the Douro River. At this Quinta we were handed audio guides that would take us through the terraced vines to spectacular views of the valley. It sounded great, but with the sun beating down, Sarah getting a German audio guide, and me having flashes of dying in the middle of the vines from heat exhaustion, the girls only made half the tour and retreated to the cool stone rooms where the lagares were situated to wait for the boys who were braving the heat.

Cruising through the terraced vines at Quinta do Panascal

Goose and Johnny practicing their stomping in the lagares…check out those thigh muscles!

We returned back to our beautiful hotel and pool, cooled down, and although we had dinner reservations at a spot further down the valley, we decided our hotel was just too great to leave, and decided to settle back in on our terrace for dinner and sample some of the bottles we had purchased that day. Apparently all of the wine and port went to our heads, because we ended up having an impromptu photoshoot in the sitting room at the hotel and again rolling around in fits of hysterics. All in all, it was a very successful wine and port tasting excursion, and if I had the opportunity to go back and do it again, I would in a second! Stay tuned for: “The Best of Portugal, Part Dois.”


Chillaxing in the Sitting Room	Tawny Johnny, Photographer Extraordinaire


The Queen of the Castle	“Where’s Gustavo?”

Posted in Destinations, Portugal | 2 Comments »

July 22, 2011

Beautiful Beginnings In Portugal

by Anna

Johnny and I had big smiles on our faces when we finally arrived to Salema, Portugal on Wednesday after a 4 1/2 hour bus ride to Lagos followed by a 20 minute taxi ride. As we rounded the bend in our taxi to Salema, we were greeted by sparkling turquoise waters, whitewashed houses tucked on the side of a hill and our B&B, A Maré, perched on the edge of a cliff with an amazing view of the beach and tiny village below that consisted of a few restaurants, a couple tiny bars and one mini-market.


Our B&B, A Maré	Salema’s main drag


Chillaxin at our B&B	It’s always happy hour somewhere in the world!

At its core Salema is a fishing village, and weathered fishing boats with a lot of character sit along the beach and are towed in and out of the water by a small red tractor. Salema has caught on in popularity as a European tourist destination, and now has newer condos built into the hillside and menus translated into English and German at every restaurant, but the town still retains its salty charm, and its beautiful crystal clear waters and colorful rocky cliffs could not be beat. No to mention, every meal we had here was delicious! We tried to eat all locally caught fish and prawns, and we were not disappointed! We’ve also decided that we’ve become pros at eating the “whole fish,” leaving nothing but bones (we’ve even been eating the cheeks!).

Fishing boat heading out to sea

Aside from eating seafood, lying on the beach and swimming in the chilly Atlantic (Johnny’s first time in this ocean!), we took an awesome hike to a small secluded beach that was absolutely stunning. The sea had carved a cave in the rocks and you could see where other huge chunks of rock had fallen from the cliffs to make a visually impactful backdrop. The best part was that we had the whole walk and beach to ourselves, never passing another soul.

View from our hike


Trail down to the beach	Taking in the view

I tried to video the beach, because it was so amazing, but I still don’t think it does it justice (excuse my shaky camera work!).

Today we are BEYOND excited because we are packing up and heading to Lisbon to meet up with Gustavo (aka: Goose) and Sarah. Goose has already been in Portugal for the past week, visiting his family, and Sarah flies in on Saturday morning. We are putting our trip in Goose’s hands for the next nine days, and he’s already been hinting at wine and port tastings, fútbol matches, BBQs, golf, octopus and lots of Super Bock!

Ready for some Super Bock (Goose’s favorite beer)!

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July 21, 2011

Top 3 Tapas

by Anna

My mom always pokes fun at me because whenever I come back from anywhere, the first thing I talk about is what I ate…..and usually something that I ate was “one of the best things I EVER ate!” It’s true. I love food, and luckily Johnny loves it as much as I do…if not more:) With that said, I wanted to be sure to record our top three tapas restaurants that we ate at in Spain, in case any of you happen to be in the same place at some point and want a delicious meal. You never know; it might end up being the best thing you ever ate!
**Eslava and Alaljibe both had more expensive restaurants attached, so we made sure to ask for the tapas only menu. All three of these had the most inventive flavors and prettiest presentations of the places we went to while still being really well-priced.

Traga Tapas, Ronda
Favorite tapas: Grilled asparagus with shredded Manchego cheese and marmalade, Patatas Bravas, Curried chicken skewers

Eslava, Sevilla
Favorite tapas: Smoked salmon on toast (with some delicious secret sauce!), Grilled chili relleno stuffed with white fish, “Solomillo” pork in some delicious sauce with roasted potatoes

Alaljibe, Sevilla
Favorite tapas: Salmon ceviche with ginger, Tuna tataki with grilled vegetables, Curry shrimp with basamati rice and coconut milk
**We also had our favorite Sangria here!

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July 21, 2011

Seven Days In The South Of Spain

by Johnny

Sevilla is stereotypical Spain, in a good way. It’s overflowing with Flamenco, bullfighting, art, history, spontaneous festivals, colorful churches, noisy plazas, tapas bars and sangria. It’s exactly how I pictured Spain in my head…only 30° hotter. We’re lucky the apartment we rented for a week had air conditioning, because the city is pretty unbearable from about 3:00pm until 9:00pm this time of year (ah, so this is why I got the low season rate). Not to be deterred, Anna and I took full advantage of the cooler mornings to see the tourist sites and the evenings to casually wander the city.


Our air conditioned apartment	Orange trees line every street and plaza


We stumbled onto many random celebrations	Colorful Sevilla

We checked out Sevilla’s most famous attraction, its cathedral, which is the third largest church in Europe and the largest Gothic church anywhere. It’s got some pretty interesting things going on inside, including Christopher Columbus’ tomb and the golden Retalbo Mayor, but Anna and I thought it was more impressive from the outside, especially at night. We also liked the cathedral’s courtyard filled with orange trees and its tower with one long, continuous ramp going up so that horses could climb it.


Outside of the cathedral	Christopher Columbus’ tomb


Lots of gold in the cathedral	View of the bullring from the cathedral’s Giralda tower

As far as Sevilla’s tourist sites go, the Alcázar takes the cake. It is probably the most impressive building we’ve seen so far on our trip. It was built in the 10th century while Sevilla was under Muslim control, so the Moorish style architecture and elaborate tilework were unlike anything we had seen in France. The entire place was a maze of hallways, rooms, patios and gardens, each more elaborately decorated than the next.

A courtyard in the Alcázar


Alcázar ceiling	Doorways in the Alcázar


Ancient baths under the Alcázar gardens	Alcázar architecture

One of the incredible gardens at the Alcázar

Obligatory tourist attractions aside, Sevilla is a great city just to wander around and lose yourself in. Its Barrio Santa Cruz, the old Jewish Quarter, is a maze of tiny streets, dubbed “kissing lanes” because they were built so close to each other to maximize shade. There seem to be hidden plazas around every corner, each lined with orange trees (again to maximize shade, as they keep their green leaves all year long). And don’t even get Anna started on all the colorful tiles all over the city. They’re everywhere…park benches, floors, ceilings, doorways and even on the underside of balconies. As a recent effort to “green up” the city, Sevilla has made itself much more bicycle friendly. Anna and I took full advantage of Sevici, the city’s community bicycle program where you basically grab a bike at one of over 200 kiosks located throughout Sevilla and drop it off at another. This let us see some areas of the city we wouldn’t have otherwise, and it saved us from long walks home in the mid-day heat.

Sevilla is probably best seen at night. It was easy to lose track of time with so many people out and about. Plazas that looked like ghost towns at 3:00pm were packed at 2:00am with parents eating while their kids played soccer. Most nights Anna and I would grab a late dinner before sitting on a bench in the shadow of the cathedral listening to Flamenco guitar players for hours on end. The city even smells like oranges at night…it’s really amazing. One night we even caught an actual Flamenco show at La Carbonería, which is basically a sangria beer garden. It was a free show, and most Flamenco enthusiasts will tell you it isn’t the real deal, but I think you’d have a hard time finding a dancer more passionate than ours. It was serious business.

“Kissing lane” in Barrio Santa Cruz


Colorful plaza	Biking across the bridge into Triana


Tiles	And more tiles

If this was our last stop, Anna would have filled her suitcase with as many of these as she could


No shortage of tapas in Sevilla	Plaza in Triana

The scene in Alameda de Hercules at 1:00am


Cathedral at night	Flamenco!

The highlight of our week, and probably the biggest unexpected surprise of our trip so far, was an overnight trip to Ronda, one of Andalucía’s largest white hill towns. Anna and I knew nothing about Ronda before we went (I think I just googled “day trips from Sevilla” or something), but we were both blown away by the beauty and history of the place. For starters, the physical setting is unreal. Ronda’s old town and new town straddle a massive gorge connected by a bridge that will make you say, “How the heck did humans build something like this?” Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls was inspired by the tiny prison cell in the center of the bridge, where prisoners would be sentenced to death by jumping into the ravine below. And while Sevilla carries on the tradition of bullfighting today, the sport (or art form, as the Spanish like to call it), was invented in Ronda. It was an incredible place, and Anna and I both agreed we’d love to go back one day. Unfortunately I got a little antsy uploading our pictures and instead deleted them all (oops!), but we still got some good ones on Anna’s camera.

Ronda’s Puente Nuevo


View from one of Ronda’s parks	Valley below Ronda

Houses built to the edge of the ravine


Our B&B in Ronda	Adios Spain…Olá Portugal!

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July 14, 2011

Love At First Tapas

by Anna

After an incredible month-and-a-half in France, topped off by a week of music, sea and sunshine in Sete, Johnny and I bid “au revoir” to France and hopped our train to Spain! We were both excited to tackle a new country, and I was especially excited since it was my first time to Spain. After a pick-pocketing run-in that was a little too close for comfort on the metro (ie: Johnny catching a girl’s hand down his pocket, and another guy half unzipping my bag), we arrived – with all of our worldly possessions in tact – in Barcelona at our cool little spot, Solyk Guesthouse, in the Gothic quarter. Any reservations from our subway experience immediately evaporated once we hit the bustling streets around our hostel. After exploring the winding streets, beautiful palm tree-lined squares, some amazing cathedrals and the action-packed Las Ramblas, we headed to a local tapas spot to get our first taste of pinchos, or tapas speared with toothpicks which are then counted at the end of your meal to determine how many you ate and what you owe…AKA: Johnny and I in heaven. We probably spent a good few hours at the tapas bar, loading up our plates with different types of pinchos, sipping red wine and talking with others at the bar. We met a really nice Australian guy from Perth, living in NYC, who was in town speaking at a veterinary conference. Did you know that one can specialize in hard and soft palette mouth surgery on animals? Well, we learned all about it and made a new friend.


Tapas!	The first of many pinchos…

The next morning we decided to test Johnny’s Spanish language skills at the famous Boqueria Market. We thought we had seen some amazing markets in France, but this one really topped them all. Aisle after aisle of stands overflowing with ripe fruits and vegetables, glistening piles of shellfish and giant whole fish with jagged teeth positioned artfully in seas of ice, hanging ‘jamon’ dripping fat in plastic cones, all sorts of unidentifiable animal parts, mountains of spices, freshly made pastas, and everything in between were interspersed with small tapas counters featuring the surrounding ingredients. One of the main attractions of the market were the colorful arrays of fruit platters and blended fruit drinks to go. From green, violet, orange and crimson, cups lined the stalls in mounds of crushed ice. We couldn’t resist the mango-coconut and strawberry-coconut chilled juices and the bowls of kiwi, papaya and dragon fruit….a delicious treat that we hadn’t seen since our drive to Hana on our honeymoon.

We spent the rest of the day checking out some of the major sites in Barcelona, like Antonio Gaudi’s fairytale-like Park Guell and unbelievable Sagrada Familia, which was really unlike anything I have ever seen. And what better way to end a great day of sight seeing than with another night of tapas! This time we took our own “tapas tour,” starting with a cool Cerverceria with an awesome beer selection (making Johnny very happy) and ending with double scoops of icecream and an impromptu thunder storm.


Entrance to Park Guell	Picnic in the park


What is more impressive? Sagrada Familia or Johnny’s beard?	Sagrada Familia


Looking left from our room’s balcony	Looking right from our room’s balcony

We made the most of our two days in this gorgeous, lively city, and are looking forward to another week in Sevilla in the Andalusia region of Spain!

The airport didn’t stop us from more tapas!

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July 12, 2011

Worldwide

by Johnny

You know that feeling when you’re driving by yourself late at night, listening to KCRW and having your mind blown by music you’ve never heard before? Well, that’s kinda what the feeling’s like at the Worldwide Festival. Except the music is going 20 hours a day for five straight days. And you’re on the beach. In the south of France.

I really wanted to go to a music festival or two during our trip, and the Worldwide Festival worked out perfectly with our timing and routing. Even though I only recognized a handful of acts on the bill, we pulled the trigger and bought tickets. The music is spread across three different venues throughout Sète. There’s ACD Beach, which basically has DJs playing music on the beach from 10:00am to 7:00pm (think MTV’s The Grind). From about 7:30pm to 11:00pm the music moves to Theatre de la Mer, an open-air theater built into a cliff that hosts most of the festival’s live acts. It’s impossible to put into words or capture in pictures what it’s like to watch some great music overlooking the Mediterranean at sunset while the fishing boats come in from their day at sea. Finally, from midnight to 6:00am, the music heads to St. Christ, a square at the end of a long peninsula surrounded by the sea and beneath the town’s lighthouse. Anna and I made it to about 2:30am one night, which we thought was pretty good for this old, married couple. Everyday was a blast. We’d wake up, pack up some food, head to the beach for a couple hours, shower, cook dinner and then head out to the nighttime venues for as long as we could hang. And the absence of ‘faux-hippies’ and ‘I’m-hipper-than-you Indian headdresses’ was quite refreshing…just a bunch of really friendly Europeans dancing the night away.


ACD Beach stage	St. Christ stage under the lighthouse

I tried my best to capture the magic at Theatre de la Mer


Theater de la Mer from a different point of view	James Blake live at Theater de la Mer

Even if there was no music festival going on, we still would have loved visiting Sète. It’s a fishing village that’s been referred to as the Venice of France because of the canals that run through the old part of town. One day when Anna and I didn’t want to spend all day at the beach (read: got too sunburned the day before), we explored the town on foot. Like Avignon, Sète has a Les Halles indoor market selling fresh meat and produce. Being a fishing town, there was a ton of recently caught fish and shellfish on display. After loading up on picnic supplies, we trekked up Mont St-Clair, the 600 foot hill that the town was built around, and were rewarded with views of the Langeudoc mountains and the Mediterranean sea as far as the eye could see. On our way down, we swung by Sète’s Cimetière Marin, a cemetery overlooking the sea where the town’s fishermen and sailors who were lost at sea have been buried. Cemeteries normally give me the heebie-jeebies, but this one was too impressive not to spend some time checking out.

The view from Mont St-Clair


Cimetière Marin	Cimetière Marin


Seafood at Les Halles	Fresh seafood for dinner at L’amphore

Felt great to finally take a dip in the sea

Sète also has a proud water jousting tradition dating back to 1666. What’s water jousting, you ask? Well, two boats filled with 10 oarsmen each (and an oboist and drummer to play a traditional jousting tune) are rowed towards each other while a jouster waits on a platform at the rear of each boat. Once the boats get close enough, the jousters try to knock each other into the water. It’s like Medieval Times meets American Gladiators. Spectators fill the stands each afternoon to watch the display. It’s a little hard to explain, so check out the video Anna took:

A blog entry about Sète wouldn’t be complete without mentioning our B&B, Les Joutes Royales. After our relatively close quarters at the farm, this place felt like a penthouse suite. The best part was our balcony overlooking Sète’s main canal, Canal Royal. We’d have breakfast on they balcony every morning and some wine and beer every afternoon, all the time watching the fishing boats going in and out of the harbor. The B&B also had a communal kitchen, so we could save some bucks by cooking some of our own dinners. We made a tomato and courgette pasta and a vegetable curry that would have made our farm hosts Russell and Yvonne proud. Every other room in the B&B was jam-packed with a group of girls from the U.K. who were celebrating one of their bachelorette parties. They’d wake up around 11:00am for some breakfast, hit the beach all day, come back for a quick dinner, and then head out until the music stopped at 6:00am. How do these Europeans do it?


Ready for a brew	Intense petanque game outside our room


Veggie curry on the balcony	Watching the ships roll in, then I watch ’em roll away again

Les Joutes Royales was the little yellow building almost at the end; we had the top left room

On our last night in Sète (and last night in France!) we went to a restaurant called La Ola that was right on the beach and close enough to the festival to hear the music playing. I said au revoir to France with one last goat cheese salad and Anna had some of the locally caught, grilled dorado. Then we headed over to the festival in time to catch Brandt Brauer Frick playing at the beach as the sun went down. A perfect ending to a perfect five days in Sète.