More Than Your Average Bathroom Tiles

Cobblestones, decorative tiles (azulejos), scenic viewpoints (miradouros), salty foods, and sunshine - Lisbon. Our recent trip to Portugal's old and rustic capital city was quite picturesque, given the plethora of hilltop castles and palaces, seemingly endless canyons of red rooftops and small alleyways, antique trolleys and trams, and tiles literally everywhere - streets, buildings, bathrooms, and metro stations, all adorned with tiles. Lisbon - think hilly, waterfront San Francisco meets protective, old-world Middle Eastern Architecture for a casual lunch date over local beer and french fries, later meeting up with graffiti-artist Rebellious Youth and sultry, somber Bluesy Singer for a bottle of house wine and dry cheese.

Our three-day stay in Lisbon involved a LOT of walking (a bit of a task after Brandina bruised both of her knees on the first night after slipping on the smooth, slippery tiled streets), snapping literally hundreds of photographs (which have now been edited down to 169 pics), and indulging in regional specialties, including whole roasted chickens, pork & clams, custard tarts, cheap house wine, and roasted chestnuts from numerous street vendors. We did, of course, have a few of our safe favorites, such as pizza and kebabs (which, by the way, we discovered we have eaten in every new city thus far...looks like a kebab tradition has begun). We took a day trip out to nearby Sintra, a small hillside town known for its extravagant palaces, once summer homes for the royal family, made famous by the poetry of British Lord Byron, who described Sintra as "a glorious Eden." To immerse ourselves in Portuguese architecture and culture, we took rickety tram #28 to Alfama, the old city of Lisbon, where we roamed the streets, visited the miradouros, climbed around at Castelo de Sao Jorge, and spent an evening listening to live Fado music. Fado, or "fate," has a bluesy feel to it, with a slow and somber singer accompanied by a couple of stringed instruments. Our final day involved a short-trip to the suburb of Belem, boasting a glorious waterfront, unobstructed views of the 25 de Abril bridge (which looks remarkably similar to the Golden Gate bridge), and several monuments dedicated to the rich history of Lisbon as a port city.

Below are some photos from the trip (and if you want to see the full 169, send us an email, and we can send you a link to our online album!)

SINTRA:

Palacio da Pena, Sintra (wildly painted, combining Gothic, Renaissance, Manueline, and Moorish architecture, reminiscent of a Disneyland castle or the Excalibur hotel in Vegas, boasting a gorgeous view of the Atlantic coastline):

LISBON TRANSPORTATION:

Elevador da Gloria

Elevador de Santa Justa (built to transport
people from the lower neighborhood
to the higher neighborhood,
similar to Elevador da Gloria)
City tram with Castelo de Sao Jorge
on the hilltop

THE MIRADOUROS IN ALFAMA
View from Miradouro de Santa Luzia:
Wall tiling at Santa Luzia, depicting
Lisbon's Waterfront, prior to the
Great Earthquake of 1755:
View from miradouro at Largo das Portas do Sol:
View from Miradouro da Graca,
with Castelo de Sao Jorge
Views from Castelo de Sao Jorge,
with 25 de Abril Bridge behind the cityscape:
Bryan, King of Castelo de Sao Jorge
Tile map of the city skyline at
Castelo de Sao Jorge
(a little shout out to Northern
California in the center!)

Richness of color in the city
streets, winding alleys,
and local restaurants:

BELEM:
Padrao dos Descobrimentos, a monument
dedicated to Henry the Navigator
(note the immense size of this
monument, with Bryan seated nearby);
25 de Abril bridge over the Tagus River
In front of the Torre de Belem,
a fortress built to defend
entry into the city

Boats lining the waterfront

-B&B

“Wise is he who enjoys the show offered by the world.” - Fernando Pessoa, Portuguese poet

"Ghosts by Gaslight": Route 10

Today's walk, "Ghosts by Gaslight," led us through the exceptionally tranquil Middle and Inner Temples, featuring the dining hall that allegedly housed the premier of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night in 1602, as well as the Temple Church, built by the Knights Templar in 1185, featured in the The Da Vinci Code (both book and movie). Emerging out onto bustling Fleet Street, we visited the dark courtyard behind No. 185 Fleet Street, the site of fictional character Sweeney Todd's executions behind his barber shop, as well as Bell Yard, home to the infamous pie shop belonging to Mrs. Lovett, Todd's accomplice. Below are a few pictures of the Temple Church:

We ended our walk at Google's London headquarters to meet up with our friend Laura, who is in town for work. Gotta love a company that gives you the option of choosing "social visit" when signing guests in. Gotta love them even more when they allow those "social visitors" to indulge in their infamous cafeteria, at Google's expense---complete with a variety of options including sushi, ahi, falafel, couscous, pies, cupcakes, and of course the British bangers and mash.

On the docket tomorrow - a late matinee theatre showing of Avenue Q, which we've heard is hilarious and a must-see! Brandina discovered that Avenue Q is running a special, until March, on Friday matinee show tickets - £12.50 each, for the cheap seats!

-B & B

"What really matters is what you believe." - The Da Vinci Code

A Regal Birthday

I was going to blame my late birthday blog on the weather, but cold snowy days usually mean you're stuck inside with plenty of time for blogging (or building awesome, professional looking, contest-winning worthy snowmen!). I thought about blaming it on our travels, but that didn't stop Brandina from posting a few blogs. I can't quite blame it on a job, because frankly I don't have one yet. I could blame it on my obsession with fantasy sports, but that's neither here not there. So I'll just be honest and say I've procrastinated, but the time has come to tell you about the fun day Brandina planned for me back on that clear, but crisp December 6th.

Since my trip to Israel, my interest in history has grown substantially, so Brandina cleverly organized a day of history, shopping, relaxation, and delicious food. The day revolved around Windsor Castle, which is the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. This is where the Queen and her family generally spend the holidays----must be nice. On a tour of castle we weren't able to take any pictures, but my personal favorites were the weapons room, St. George's Hall, Henry VIII's chubby armor, and Napoleon Bonaparte's tiny bed. St. George's Hall is decorated with the coats of arms of all of the Knights of the Garter. We noticed the Prussian eagle on a few, which was especially significant because for my birthday present last year, Brandina surprised me with a completed version of the coat of arms my dad and I had designed---which also included the Prussian eagle, where the roots of my family tree begin.

After we toured the castle, in keeping with the theme, Brandina gave me a red velvet pouch filled with British coins (£1 takes the form of a coin in the UK) to do a bit of birthday shopping. The town of Windsor is much less touristy then I imagined, complete with a huge mall, grocery stores, and lots of restaurants---I had envisioned it to be more along the lines of a Shakespeare Festival, but I was a bit off. It felt a bit weird popping in and out of stores like H&M, Zara, and Gap with a historic castle as the backdrop, perhaps a little different then William The Conqueror had intended.

Once my pouch was empty, we walked to the next surprise---a relaxing couple of hours at a day spa. Back when we used to work, we could afford such luxuries as a gym membership with a hot tub, steam room, sauna, etc, but that doesn't quite fit in the budget at the moment, so it was a nice surprise to just indulge for a bit.

After our pores and toxins were nice and cleansed, it was time for some tasty eats---dinner and wine at a Thai Restaurant down the street---a delicious ending to a wonderful birthday!

-Bryan

“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.” ~Abraham Lincoln

"A Brush with Royalty": Route 6

With a slight break in the weather here today, albeit with some light rain, this morning we took our second weekly walk, Frommer's Route 6, "A Brush with Royalty." Beginning at St. James tube station, down historical Queen Anne's Gate, through slushy St. James Park, past St. James Palace, near the Duke of York Column, through Trafalgar Square, alongside the Sherlock Holmes Pub, and past Benjamin Franklin's only remaining house in the world.

Queen Anne's Gate, a street with many wooden door canopies (as seen above), dating from the early 18th century. Notice all of the faces on the building as well, with a variety of expressions (above and below).

St. James Park Lake, covered in a very thin layer of ice (notice the birds walking across the top of the frozen layer)

View of the London Eye from the bridge in St. James Park (if you turned around on the bridge, 180 degrees, you would see Buckingham Palace)

St. James Palace, once home to Prince Charles, currently housing the Royal Court (strangely, both royal guard houses on either side of the central arch are empty!)

Pickering Place alley, home of The Republic of Texas' London Embassy (Or Legation since it wasn't a recognized country), leading to a hidden courtyard dating back to the 1830's

-B&B

"There is nothing like walking to get the feel of a country. A fine landscape is like a piece of music; it must be taken at the right tempo. Even a bicycle goes too fast. " ~Paul Scott Mowrer,

Frosty's Photo Shoot

In the middle of what is being called Britain's worst winter in 30 years, today we took a quick break from job-related reading and job applications to indulge in a bit of playtime in Kensington Gardens, adorned with our London-bought Wellies lined with Stockholm-bought sheepskin shoe inserts. In true man fashion, Bryan felt the need to mark his territory once we arrived at the park by destroying the one other snowman in our immediate vicinity, pillaging the carrot in the process :). Enjoy the pics!

Vaguely reminiscent of a men's winter clothing advertisement


Much like our living room becomes a bedroom with one simple motion, Snowman becomes Snowwoman with relative ease, boasting a fabulous hour-glass figure

The End

- B & B

"Don't knock the weather; nine-tenths of the people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while." ~Kin Hubbard

Lacing up our Adventure Shoes: Route 20

Recently, we realized that we lived in San Diego for 5 years, and neglected to see/do several of the city's sights and destinations (though we discussed doing them several times as we prepared to move to London) - the Balboa Park museums, the Harbor Cruise, the Adult evening tour at the Wild Animal Park, Opening Day at the Del Mar Races...quite unfortunate, really. Creatures of comfort and habit I suppose---or as some of our San Diego friends would say---stuck on the West side of Mission Blvd.

Well, enter Frommer's book 24 Great Walks in London, given to us as a parting gift from our San Diego friends, Jeff & Jenny. Determined to see and experience all that we can in London, we have decided to take at least one adventurous, explorative walk each week (at least for now anyway, while we are unemployed). The book jacket (barely salvaged from the leaky flat fiasco) reads, "Discover London's most colorful neighborhoods-one step at a time." That is exactly what we plan to do.

Prying ourselves away from our computers and our job applications, today we decided to embark on the "Shipshape in Greenwich" walk, #20 in the book (we are going to select in random order). A quaint maritime town, currently covered in snow, Greenwich is alive with museums, shoe stores, maritime souvenir shops, and for some odd reason Asian noodle houses and Spanish tapas bars. A few pictures from today's 4-mile trek....

St. Alfege Church, built in 1712

Greenwich Park, blanketed in snow

Pausing on our walk up Croom's Hill Road, parallel to Greenwich Park

(notice our rosy, rather chilly faces!)

Sunset behind a field of snow, Croom's Hill Road

The Royal Observatory

London City Scape, view from the Royal Observatory
(the figures on the hill are children sledding)

The Prime Meridian Line, at the Royal Observatory, at which the longitude line is zero degrees. Brandina (left of the line in her warm Fuggs (fake Uggs)) is standing in the Western Hemisphere of the world, while Bryan (right of the line in his freezing Fans (fake Vans)) is standing in the Eastern Hemisphere.

One of the many nautical souvenir shops - this one advertises itself as the "First Shop in the World," sitting on the longitudinal line 00˚00.4' west, just yards from the Prime Meridian Line.

Greenwich Church Street at night

Perhaps we should find a Greater London map for our wall, to track and pin our local explorations? Would be a nice complementary art piece to the Europe map we have....

-Bryan & Brandina

"Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time." ~Steven Wright