Porto - Wine and Rain

After our adventures in Lisbon and Sintra, we headed north by train to Portugal's second city, Porto.  When we arrived in Porto, the weather looked more like the wind and rain we had left behind in San Sebastian rather than the sun and relatively warm temperatures we enjoyed in Lisbon. Unfortunately, we feel like we did not have a fair chance to truly enjoy Porto and are already thinking about our next trip there, which we might combine with wine tasting in the Douro Valley (oh, the horror!).

In any event, we did have one relatively decent weather day in Porto, and the city is extremely pretty:

Another thing that we really liked about Porto (and Portugal generally) was the extensive use of tiles both inside and outside buildings:

The second picture above is from inside one of the train stations in Porto. The walls are covered by tiles depicting all kinds of historical events. Most of the tiles are blue and white like above, but the tiles nearer the ceiling are in full color (sorry, no picture).

And, of course, we had to do a couple of tastings of the city's namesake wine - port. The Douro region has been the only place where grapes for port wine can be grown since 1756, making it one of the oldest appellations in the world. Port is a fortified wine that has much higher sugar and alcohol content than "regular" wine. We did two tours and tastings while we were in Porto, and they were most notable for the fact that we did them in Spanish! We were very happy with our ability to understand the tours (it helped that (1) we have a pretty good knowledge of how wine is made already, and (2) our tour guides were not native Spanish speakers, which meant they spoke slower and clearer than a native speaker might have). All of that said, we decided that we like, but don't love, port. The tawny's tended to be our favorites overall:

Overall, Portugal was a very fun break from school. Now, we are in our second week back and already looking forward to our next break in ... Paris!

Cheers,

Jeff and Shana

A Daytrip to Sintra and the Edge of Europe

We are not tour people; we generally like to explore places on our own. But tours do offer advantages when you want to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. So, we bit the bullet and took a full-day, small-group tour of Sintra and Cascais. It turned out to be a great decision and good investment of both money and time. We saw the highlights of a very beautiful area, learned a ton about Portugal, Portuguese history and the language, and met some very nice people.

Sintra is about 20 miles west of Lisbon. It is quite easy to see why Portuguese royals spent their summers in Sintra and why Lord Byron referred to the town as a “glorious Eden.” There are multiple palaces to visit in a small area, many of which are built near the top of the forested hills offering spectacular views toward the Atlantic and to Lisbon.

Our day started at the Pena Palace, built in the late 19th century in a mish-mash of styles and colors. This place truly is a sight to see. It is colorful and outrageous in its design and decorations. King Ferdinand II was a true “Romanticist,” i.e., he had extravagant taste. This was the last palace occupied by the Portuguese royals before ceding the throne in 1910.

The best part about the castle, besides the jaw-dropping décor, were the 360-degree views. You can see the 8th-11th Century Moorish Castle (picture below) and the Atlantic. We were happy to be in a small van going up the narrow and twisty roads to the palace rather than the full-sized city tour bus we would have had to ride in if we didn't take a tour!

We had lunch in the town of Sintra, a charming but touristy village, and tried the famous travesseiros (pillow like cream-filled pastry) and queijadas (cheesecake tarts). Then we were off to see the coast.

Portugal is the westernmost country in continental Europe, with a beautiful coastline. We stopped at the westernmost point – Cabo de Roca, where the sun sets on the European continent.

Then we were on to Cascais, a former fishing village that gained fame as a resort for Portugal’s royal family. In addition, the current King of Spain grew up in Cascais where his family was exiled during Franco's regime. Of course, we tried the local ice cream.

It was a full and enjoyable day and we would not have seen as much or had the opportunity to pepper our guide with questions if we had taken the train and done it on our own. Our group included 3 Brits, a woman from Malaysia, and a couple from Rochester, NY. If you head to Lisbon, be sure to check out Sintra one way or another!

Até a próxima,

Shana & Jeff

A Visit to Lisbon

As our regular readers know, we can only handle about five weeks of Spanish class in a row before we need a mental break. Amazingly, our first five weeks of class in 2018 were up the Friday before last (February 9) and we took off for a week in Portugal (Lisbon and Porto).

Heading to Portugal, we admit that we knew little of its history other than what we studied in connection with the explorers -- who doesn't remember Vasco de Gama? It turns out that Portuguese history is very similar to Spain's, including rule by the Moors, the expulsion/forced conversion of Jews in the late 15th century and a less heralded Inquisition. In the Age of Exploration, the Portuguese generally sailed east while the Spaniards sailed west. (They did head far enough east to "claim" Brazil for Portugal.) Portugal overthrew its monarchy in 1910 and was a republic (technically 2 republics) until the Salazar dictatorship (1933-1974). In the current Third Republic, Portugal has seen many changes of governments and has generally remained poorer than its larger neighbor.

Portugal is a small country (about 10 million total population) with about a third of its population living in and around Lisbon. Since we are now used to our little town of San Sebastian, Lisbon seemed like a big city to us.

Because of its many hills, Lisbon is known as the "San Francisco of Europe" and we can vouch for that! (It also has old-style trolley cars.) We walked many hilly neighborhoods exploring the sites and city. One of our favorite sites was the Sao Jorge Castle. Built high atop a hill (of course) overlooking the city and Tagus river, archaeologists believe that the site was inhabited as early as the 6th century BCE and that the (unnamed) group that lived there traded with the Phoenicians. The current castle was built primarily by the Moors although there has likely been a fortification in that location since the Roman period. The views were great.

 A lot of the walls of the castle are still standing and it was fun to walk on them - they had a very Game of Thrones feel. And of course, a castle needs its banner.

This being Europe, of course we went to see churches and monuments. There had to be at least one grand plaza with an impressive gate entrance and large statue:

There were also smaller sites including a defensive fortress (the Belem Tower) that is now into the river:

And, a monument to the Age of Exploration right at the river's edge:

The food in Lisbon was very good and very reasonably priced, although not super-cheap compared to San Sebastian. We had a wonderful meal at a restaurant near our hotel and ate twice at one of the best pizza places in the city. (We feel a bit deprived because there does not appear to be really good pizza in San Sebastian, so we had to go back a second time). But, of course, our favorite food experience in Lisbon was at a wine store called Lisbon Winery. We went for a late-afternoon snack of local cheeses and charcuterie and had the owner of the store all to ourselves as she introduced us to some wonderful and interesting Portuguese wines. It was fabulous!

All in all, we liked, but did not love Lisbon. Maybe it was just too big, maybe it was that it seemed to lack the kind of a center that most Spanish cities have or maybe we were just tired of climbing hills. But, we would definitely return for more pizza and a continuation of our education in Portuguese wine.

Yoga . . . In Spanish

Many of you know that I love yoga. I’ve been taking yoga classes for more than 20 years now. Yoga keeps me sane. (Can you imagine if I didn’t do yoga?? Do NOT answer that!) Although I don’t need yoga mentally as much as I did when I was working as an attorney, I still enjoy both the mental and physical benefits yoga provides. So, of course I had to find a yoga studio here in San Sebastian, and I’ve found a good one that is a 10-minute walk from our place that I try to go to about three times a week.

Taking yoga classes in Spanish has been a bit challenging. Yoga is first and foremost about breathing, combining breath with movement. The problem is that when I am so focused on understanding what the instructor is saying in Spanish, I don’t always remember to breathe! So, combining practicing Spanish and yoga often means I’m not doing either very well. Of course, you can look around and figure out what you are supposed to be doing, and it doesn’t matter much if you are a step behind. Still, there are times when I’m so focused on the teacher’s words that I don’t even realize that she has used the Sanskrit word for a pose! (And sometimes I think I know Sanskrit better than Spanish!)

But things have improved for two reasons. First, we had a more extensive class about the Spanish words for body parts last month. Second, I have identified the teacher that speaks most slowly and clearly, and she has become my favorite, both because I can understand her most of the time and because her classes are varied and move at a pace I like. One of the other teachers does not enunciate well and she speaks softly – there are days I honestly think she is teaching in Basque instead of Spanish.

Up until December the studio had two classes a week taught in English. My Spanish teachers were disappointed that I would go to these classes – which I understood because they encourage us to practice listening and speaking Spanish as often as we can. But I must admit that I loved these classes because I could focus on my breath and relax! Since our return, my ability to understand has significantly improved, but it still depends on the teacher.

We also take spin classes, and it is even tougher to understand the spin instructors who speak through a microphone with the music blaring. But after years in spin classes, we speak “spin,” so what the teachers are saying doesn’t much matter to us. The instructors play a lot of American music, which we enjoy and find amusing. I also take a weights class that is much easier to follow, especially since it is consistent from week-to-week in the different exercises we do.

One additional note, taking yoga and spin classes reminds us that people are the same all over the world. Just like in any yoga or spin studio in the US, there are people who are always jostling for their spot or their bike. You learn to stay out of their way.

Namaste,

Shana

PS – Boy do I miss my Saturday 10 a.m. yoga class with Morgan in Seattle!

PPS – Another reason I love yoga here in SS...John John is often there. She is both beautiful and sweet.

Hooray for Visitors!

This past weekend we had the privilege of hosting friends from Kansas City, Missouri. Cindi, a former colleague of Shana’s and AUSA extraordinaire, and her husband Mitch visited us here in San Sebastian. They are hardy travelers, coming in the dead of winter. But 45 degrees and rainy here certainly beats 0 degrees in KC! We had a terrific time showing them the sights and taking them to our favorite restaurants. It didn’t take them long to figure out why we live in San Sebastian.

Although the weather left something to be desired – and Cindi and Mitch got an opportunity to use those large umbrellas we wrote about – there’s always something fun going on here. And this past weekend, it was the Caldereros crews, who announce the arrival of Carnival. The Calderero crews are groups dressed as Hungarian travelers who bang pots and pans to the rhythm of the melodies written by Raimundo Sarriegui (who also wrote many of the tunes we heard during La Tamborrada). They are accompanied by the Queen, the ladies-in-waiting, the director and his assistants, a bear, bear cub and handler. The original Caldereros crew paraded in San Sebastian the morning of February 2, 1884, to celebrate the Catholic festivity of Candlemas.

When we left dinner on Saturday night, we heard live music being played. As I explained to Mitch, in San Sebastian, when this happens, you head towards the music. We encountered the crew and listened to the music and singing, which was enthusiastic. We did not see a bear or bear cub, but our Spanish teacher informed us on Monday that we would only have seen people dressed as the bear and bear cub. (So, we didn’t miss an actual bear.) It was tremendous to have one of these typical Basque traditions happening while we had visitors!

The next day we encountered a creative Basque artist who was creating art in the sand of La Concha, the main beach here.

The moral of the story is . . . come visit us in San Sebastian, you never know what you’ll see,

Shana (AKA Julie, your cruise director) and Jeff (who does not go by Gopher or Doc)

Cider House Rules - Txotx!!

January is the start of cider season here in Gipuzkoa, the part of the Basque region where we live. There are are many Sidrerias (cider houses) close by. With the cider season opening (and lasting until the end of April) we decided to head to Sagardoetxea, the Basque Cider Museum, and a cider house in nearby Astigarra.

On Sunday, January 28, we took the bus with our 19-year old German classmate, Lisa, to the museum for a tour in Spanish. A lovely couple on vacation from Zaragoza joined us for the tour. We learned that the apples for cider are not picked off the trees but are collected after they drop onto the ground to ensure maximum ripeness. Basque cider is different from the cider you may be used to in the US. Here it is made from fermented apple juice with no added sugar and no other carbonic gas, other than what is produced in the process itself. The taste is less sweet and more bitter with an alcohol content of about 4.5%.

As part of the tour we tasted two ciders, an apple juice and two apple cider liqueurs. The tasting also gave us the opportunity to practice collecting cider directly from a barrel, a skill we would need for the cider house.

After the museum tour we walked to Alorrenea to taste cider and eat lunch. Traditionally cider houses would allow buyers to taste cider from different barrels before choosing the one they liked best. To fend off the effects of drinking on an empty stomach, customers would bring along terracotta dishes containing prepared food, plus rib chops to grill at the cider house. This tradition is now reflected in the customary cider house menu: bread, cod omelette, fried cod with peppers, rib eye steak, and cheese with walnuts and quince – all washed down with cider.

Lunch was a communal experience. The food is served family style and you eat without a plate. Although this custom led to a collective pause from our newly acquainted group, we all dived right in and enjoyed the meal. The Basques know how to cook and eat and they do not mess around when it comes to steak.

As you know from a prior post, txuleta is served fairly rare by US standards. We’ve come to really appreciate this style of cooking. Although it is a bit strange to eat without a plate, at least we had a table and benches to sit on – in some cider houses you eat standing up!!

As for the cider, there are “rules” to be followed when el sidrero (the cider master/host) calls out “txotx,” which means a particular barrel is being opened for a taste. Everyone lines up with an empty glass in front of the barrel and puts their glass directly into the stream of cider that is pouring out from the barrel like a fountain. You hold your glass tilted so that the cider breaks on one of the wall of the glass and foams up. This way you aerate the cider and can enjoy the fresh aromas. You only fill the glass about three fingers high. You taste/drink your cider while standing before returning to the table or waiting for the next call of “txotx” at another barrel.

It is a little tough not to get your sleeves wet and not to allow any cider to hit the floor as you get your pour directly following the person in front of you. It is also not the easiest photo to take!

Overall it was a delicious and fun experience that we highly recommend – although not as much for vegetarians.

Cheers,

Shana & Jeff

PS – the lovely couple from Zaragoza and our tour guide thought Lisa was our daughter (LOL!).