The Adventures of Mary and Ingle in Portugal

I'll warn you, this post will probably be very long...but I don't want to forget anything from our wonderful weekend in Portugal! On Thursday afternoon, I left straight from class, after a long week of midterms, and headed to the airport to catch a plane to Lisbon where I would meet up with Molly! I got to Lisbon an hour before she did and anxiously waited on her in baggage claim. We saw each other a month ago but I was still so nervous not knowing when she'd come around that corner! I can't imagine what I'll be like this weekend when my parents and Graham get into town! We caught a bus that would drop us off close to our hostel. The directions the hostel gave on their website were pretty vague and we were getting a little nervous that we had no idea where we were going. A guy next to Molly had a map and let us borrow it, pointing out to us where he thought we should go. We were speaking to him in Spanish, thinking it was our best shot at communicating, but he wasn't really saying much back. He just smiled bashfully whenever we talked to him, so we started to wonder if he even actually spoke Spanish. Molly asked him where he was from and he said Madrid. I was so excited you would've thought he had said he graduated from Wofford and lived in Charlotte. We chatted for a little bit and figured out that we lived in the same neighborhood. He said something that translates into "the world is a handkerchief" which means "what a small world" and something that made Molly and I laugh as we learned that expression way back in Spanish 4 with Senora Sanchez. 

After quite the nauseating bus ride, we finally arrived at the bus stop close to our hostel. We climbed up an extremely steep hill, which I had been warned Lisbon was known for, and found our home for the weekend. We were nervous about it due to our past hostel experiences, but we were in for a treat. After introducing us to her staff as "Mary" and "Ingle," the owner of the hostel showed us to our room. We almost cracked up when she opened the door. The room was huge with old wood floors, a tall ceiling, a crystal chandelier, and an air freshener we wanted to pack up and take home with us. We freshened up and then headed to dinner downtown. We found a little side street dotted with restaurants and looked at a few menus before settling on one that had a great deal on swordfish! This choice in restaurant was just perfect. We had 4 waiters who gave us so much attention and who we got to be fast friends with (especially Ricky...see picture below!). It was so nice outside, the food was good, the wine was good, and we were so happy to be together...in Portugal! 

On Saturday morning, we woke up early, and headed out to explore. We walked around a little bit in downtown Lisbon so we could see it in daylight and then we took a bus to a historical district called Belem. When we got off the bus we were so relieved and happy that the sun was breaking out of the clouds and proving weather.com's 80% chance of rain wrong. Belem was adorable. All of the buildings were painted in pastels and the sidewalks and streets, just like in downtown Lisbon, were mosaics. We walked down the streets and along the water of the Tejo River until we reached the Belem Tower. The weather was so nice and we were wishing we could trade in our boots and jeans for Rainbows and shorts. 

Downtown Lisbon:

Belem:

After having lunch in Belem, we went to the Alfama district. This area of Lisbon is on top of one of Lisbon's "7 hills" and we felt like we took a step back in time. It was so quaint and we found the best views of the city and the water. We didn't really have any idea where we were headed but armed with our trusty map (that was starting to get holes), it was so nice to wander around together without a schedule. We stopped at an arbor to take in some beautiful views and a guitar player. We then continued to climb to the very top of the hill and rewarded ourselves with some delicious gelato. 

We then headed back to downtown Lisbon. On our way back to "hostel heaven," we passed a bakery. In Westport we always get Portuguese English muffins and sweet bread so I was dying to try the real thing. I found something that I thought might be it and asked the woman at the counter, "dulce?" She nodded and so of course I bought a loaf. I was so excited and offered Molly a piece to try. As soon as we took our first bites we started dying laughing as this was definitely not sweet bread. This was just plain old bread. Oh well, I tried! 

In our hostel, Molly and I rested up and then around 7 o'clock tuned in on Molly's blackberry to cbs.com's live feed of Wofford's first time at the "Big Dance." We were glued to the screen, waiting for it to refresh. Even though the Terriers ended up losing, they played a great game and Molly and I will never forget "watching" that game in Lisbon! After the game we headed to a cozy little Italian restaurant in the same area we had eaten in the night before. We ate outside again and had delicious pizza and some wine. We then headed to Barrio Alto, the area of Lisbon famous for it's nightlife. We walked around the streets, passing by bars to hear samplings of Portugal's traditional music called Fado. 

On Sunday morning, we got up early, nervous to look out the window again due to weather.com's rainy predictions. So far so good. We decided to catch a train and go to a beach about 35 minutes from Lisbon called Cascais. As soon as our train rolled into the station, the sun was breaking through and we were two very happy girls on the beach! Molly was being a dud and needed a coffee so we stopped into McDonald's and got her a caffeine fix. While she sipped her cappuccino we sat on a bench overlooking the beach and took in the beachy smells that reminded us of home. Once Molly had some pep in her step we went walking around the beautiful streets of Cascais. After wearing it thin the day before, we decided to free ourselves in Cascais of the ol map. It was so relaxing and we were so happy to just get lost in these quaint streets with blooming flowers, cobblestone roads, and pastel buildings. We worked up quite an appetite on our walk and ended up at a restaurant close to the water for lunch. I got fettuccine alfredo, something I've definitely been missing, and Molly got a good salad fix with mozzarella and avocado. We headed back down to the beach after lunch to digest our delicious meals. Eventually we made it back to McDonald's again and got ice cream cones and enjoyed them on the beach. We had such a beautiful, perfect day in Cascais and we felt like we'd found a hidden gem.

Back in Lisbon, we ended up back at the lovely little restaurant we ate in the first night in Portugal. Our new boyfriends were so excited to see us back at their restaurant and gave us our "regular" table outside. It was such a pretty night and Molly and I were feeling pretty bittersweet that it was our last night in Portugal. We made friends with a couple sitting next to us, celebrating their one year wedding anniversary. It turned out they were from Madrid and again I was so excited to find this out! I love how hearing Spanish in Portugal was just as exciting and comforting to me as hearing English is. What really topped off our dinner was a guitar player/singer we stopped to play outside of the restaurant. Ricky, one of our waiters, dedicated a song to his favorite customers, and then the musician went on to play some favorites like Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" and "Stand By Me." I cannot even tell you how happy Molly and I were at this dinner! It was the perfect way to end a perfect weekend and left us wishing we had  more time left in Portugal. Ricky also added to our night by buying each of us a flower. Red for Molly and her red wine, and white for me and my white wine.

 

It was hard to leave our room this morning at 5:30 a.m. as in just a few short days it had come to feel like home! Thanks Moll for such a great weekend...I'll never ever forget it!!