Spaing and Portugal 2001

Tuesday May 15. Arrived Madrid then flew to Lisbon. Weather was really beautiful as expected. Lisbon was supposed to be cooler than Madrid but it was still great weather. The first hotel we stayed at was the Holiday Inn. The group was given two hours to freshen up after quite a long flight. However, who can compare a flight to Malaysia right? For me, the best way to freshen up was to have a nice bath. Once I got the bath, whatever fatigue I felt kind of disappeared. Now, we were all pretty much ready to embark on our 12 days of adventure. We started the tour with a nice city tour. While on the city tour, we were given the history and etc. about Lisbon. Lisbon is very different than what I have ever really experienced because we went to a neighborhood where people lived and it was like a community. Close knit and very protective of their neighborhood. Needless to say, they were not too happy to see this bunch of new people coming to their neighborhood. Next stop was a Cathedral where St. Anthony was baptized. It was magnificent to say the least. I had no idea that St. Anthony was the patron saint of Portugal. Next, we went to an old monastery. Took some pictures there. Portugal had a replica of a plane that flew from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro. We are talking about a flight that took place centuries ago. I really had no idea that Portugal was a pretty old city. There was the discovery monument and that, in and of itself was grandiose. Dinner was at around 7.30PM. Dinner was served in the hotel and it was pretty good. Since most people were afraid of the mad cow disease, we had pork for dinner. Dessert was really yummy. As with most meals, we had wine. My preference was red. A few of us had an adventure after dinner. A number of us wanted to walk off the food so we decided to walk around the neighborhood. Somewhere along the line, we realized that we were lost. It was indeed an interesting experience. I told Father that I knew how to get back and so, we split from the group and found our way back. The irony of it all was that everyone arrived at the same time! That was the end of the first day.

Wednesday May 16. Today was the second day of the trip. Got up at around 7.30AM. Breakfast was served starting at 6.30AM. By the time Father and I headed down for breakfast, it was close to 8AM. I had a pretty hefty breakfast. Since it was a buffet, I saw no reason in having a small breakfast. Moreover, lunch was on our own. Since we spent yesterday around the city, we spent today outside the city. The first place we visited was the National Palace. Talk about out of this world. The palace was huge. The place opened at 10AM and we were there for around an hour. One could definitely spend a whole day just touring the palace. There were many rooms, paintings and gifts. Most of the displays were from the 16th and 17th century. There were a number of gifts from China. I saw some really old and beautiful China. The ceiling for all the rooms had designs and almost all had chandelier. I was telling someone during the trip that if I could have in my hand one of the crystals from every chandelier, by the end of the tour, I would be a millionaire! Once we got done visiting the palace, we headed to Sintra. Sintra is a place that is located on the top of a hill and it is definitely a tourist attraction. There were numerous small shops there for people to buy anything and everything they wanted to buy. Sintra is also famous for its cheesecakes. Since I was still kind of full from lunch, I had cheesecakes. It was pleasing very pleasing to the palate. If you had it, you could not really tell that it was cheesecake. It was small and had cinnamon in it. After Sintra, we went to a place right next to the sea. The name of the place slips my mind. Once again, there were tons of tourists and the prices of gifts there were pretty expensive. I somehow managed to find some pretty cheap but nice gifts and postcards. Once we got done with Sintra, we headed to the Capo de Roca. It is the most western point in the European continent. One could get a certificate saying that one was there. However, I did not get one. Once we got done with Capo de Roca, we headed back to the hotel. Dinner was on our own. I scouted around for some restaurants and found a couple. All in all, there were four people in our group who went for dinner. The place was a pretty small restaurant that served authentic Portuguese food. We all had fun trying to figure out what to eat and drink because the guy did not speak a single word of English and we did not speak Portuguese. Thank goodness my colleague had told me that “Agua” is water! After some time, we all decided on fish. As with any western dinner, there was bread which was really good. There was also deep fried liver sausage which had a unique taste. I had some of that! When the fish came, it was really good and I have to say that were all very happy with our dinner. After dinner, I went back to the hotel because I wanted to watch the UEFA cup final where Liverpool was playing. Liverpool won it and it was indeed a nail bitter! When Father came back to the room, he told me that I missed an opportunity to step into a former bullring. Too bad for me I guess.

Thursday, May 17. Got up at around 7am. Today’s the day we left Lisbon and headed to Fatima. Once again, I had a hefty breakfast. One the way to Fatima, we made two stops. The first stop was Obisha which was a former monastery. There were three chapels in Obisha and it was really gorgeous. From the monastery, one could get a wonderful view of the city. There were also a number of old castles there. It was for me, a very nice stop. Once we got done with Obisha, we went to a Cathedral that is protected by UNESCO. Needless to say, this cathedral had its own splendor. The cathedral was located in Batalha. When I was in DC, I visited the National Cathedral which is the fifth largest Cathedral in the world. This Cathedral was slightly smaller compared to the one in DC. I would say that looking at the sheer magnificence of the cathedral, one could drop down to ones knees. The climax of the day was Fatima. All in all, we spent close to 3 hours at Fatima. The first thing Father and I did was to find food for lunch. I somehow got hungry along the way. We ended up having lunch in a restaurant located in a hotel. The food was really good there and definitely reasonable. Once that got done, we both shopped around for souvenirs from Fatima. All in all, I spent close to $35 which was really surprising for the amount of gifts I got. I charged it all to mum and dad! Once we finished shopping, we started touring Fatima. There was definitely a lot to see. There was an adoration chapel that was really nice. I wanted to take a picture but there were tons of people inside. Next, we went to the main basilica. Once again, tons of people. Outstanding and incredible are two words I would use to describe it. Two of the three shepherd’s bodies were buried in the basilica. We continued walking and found a place that sold candles. All in all I lit 7 candles. So, not to worry, everyone’s prayers were accounted for! Mass was at 3.30PM. Father had the opportunity to concelebrate Mass but decided against it. Mass was in English and it was celebrated at the apparition chapel where Mary first appeared. Personally, it was very meaningful to celebrate Mass there. After Mass, we left Fatima. So, what did I think of Fatima? I honestly felt that there were too many shops there trying to make more than a buck or two. There were an unbelievable amount of shops that sold anything and everything that took away the spirituality aspect of the whole Marian apparition. On a spiritual note however, I think visiting Fatima made me look at my faith a little differently. We shall see what happens next! We left Fatima for Evora to spend the night. We stayed at a Posada which was an old monastery and it was really beautiful. Evora itself is a beautiful town. However, we did not really have the time to walk around. That would take place tomorrow. We had dinner at the Posada and the food was excellent. We had bread, salami, fish, salad, pork, dessert and coffee. Talk about a good meal. It was definitely a great way to end the day.

Friday May 18. Today was a day full of traveling. I had a good rest at the old Monastery. Breakfast was good. I had quite a lot of bacon to eat and that did not work out well for me later in the day. After breakfast, there was a tour around Evora town. Father and I joined the group at first but then we decided not to. The first place we visited in Evora was a Cathedral. It was called the Cathedral of Evora. It truly was a gorgeous cathedral. In the cathedral was a statue of Mary pregnant. As far as I know, this is the first time I had ever seen a statue of Mary pregnant. Definitely an eye opener. After the tour, we got on the road to Madrid, Spain. We all said goodbye to Portugal. The journey took a good 6 hours. We stopped in a small town in Spain for lunch. I did not have anything to eat, as I was not feeling too well because of the bacon. We arrived Madrid, Spain at 7.30PM. The hotel was called Crowne Plaza City Center in Madrid. It was located right smack in the heart of Madrid. To me, Madrid felt a lot like KL or NYC. Dinner was at the restaurant in the hotel and once again, it was very nice. No one really did any walking as we would be walking quite a lot tomorrow.

Saturday May19. Got up at around 7.30AM. Had buffet breakfast. It was good. I had some bacon but nowhere near what I had yesterday. The morning was spent touring the city of Madrid. The first place we went to was the Museum de Prado that is the National Museum. For many people, this is a world famous museum. They had displays of Goya, Velazquez and El-Greco. For someone who does not really appreciate art, I managed to admire some of the art pieces. After a while, I split from the group to go on my own. I like drawings so I went to the top floor. There were drawings by this not too famous artist but the drawings were really wonderful. I can tell you that I truly appreciated it. After the art museum, we toured more of the city and I had a good look at what Madrid had to offer. The afternoon was free. Father and I had put our names down for a bullfight that would take place that night. However, it was too expensive. What happened was that we joined Sister Carola and her sister on a walking tour. It was a good walk. One our way back, we took the Metro (subway). It was a neat experience. One that was very similar to the metro in NYC. The only difference what that everything was in Spanish. Since we had nothing planned for dinner, everyone was curious to know what would we do. We all contemplated different stuff to do and ended up with the idea of watching a soccer game. One of the teams, Real Madrid was playing another team pretty close to Madrid. I took the Metro to the stadium to find out if there were tickets available. Alas, all the tickets were sold out long ago and only members were able to get tickets. At 7.30, we went to someone’s room for some snacks that consisted of wine, crackers and cheese. We all ended up going to dinner at 9.30PM. People in Spain eat really late. Somewhere within the region of 10PM-12AM. We started walking to look for places to eat. By chance, we saw this one restaurant. They advertised Paella (Pronouced Paeya) for two for 3000 Pesetas which was around $7 per person. That was really cheap. Father and I decided to share it. Other people had salmon. I had a good seafood soup as an appetizer. It tasted really good. I have never had Paella in my life and it tasted scrumptious. The serving was huge and there was no way Father and I could finish it. All in all, dinner was excellent. Madrid is a really vibrant city that comes alive at night. While walking back after dinner, we saw a lot of young adults walking around. It seems like that nightlife only begins at 12AM and goes till 6AM!

Sunday May 20. Got up and had breakfast then got ready to head out of Madrid to the suburbs. The first place we visited was an outstanding monastery. One would think that this monastery was a palace. We spent two hours in the monastery. The basement of the monastery housed the body of former kings, queens and their children. The tour lasted 2 hours but one could easily spend at least a day in the monastery. After visiting the monastery, we visited the basilica located in the valley of the fallen. A majestic site indeed. The site was located on top of a hill and on the basilica was a cross that weighed 250,000 tons! When I stood at the base of the basilica, I could really see how huge the cross was. I did not manage to get any souvenir books at the site but that was fine. The next place we visited was Segovia which is a really neat small town that had a grandiose cathedral. It also had a palace for everyone to ooh and ahh! There was a place where everyone would take a picture in front of the palace. A Kodak picture moment to say the least. One would think that by now, after visiting all the cathedrals and museums, they would bore me. On the contrary, I look forward to visiting more and more cathedrals. Segovia was truly a wonderful place to visit. When we got back to the hotel, we celebrated Mass in one of the halls in the hotel. After Mass, a few of us went out for dinner at a seafood place. Father and I shared the seafood platter. The food was broiled not fried and it tasted different but still nice. Tomorrow, we would be visiting Toledo and Granada. Toledo is the religious capital of Spain. I am sure there will be tons to write!

Monday May 21. Like I had mentioned yesterday, today was Toledo and Granada. The drive to Toledo was not a long one. The first place we went to was a mind-boggling place to take a picture. We shall see how the picture turns out. If it does turn out the way I want it to, it definitely needs to be framed. Many people say that the place where we took a picture is the spot where everyone who visits Toledo takes a picture. Toledo was packed with a lot of tourists. It is definitely a major tourist attraction spot. We walked to the cathedral of Toledo. That, in and of itself is capable of humbling anyone. One of the most spectacular parts of the cathedral was where the choir sat. It felt like the choir was more important that then presider. In the cathedral was a statue of Mary smiling broadly holding the baby Jesus. It is probably one of the most unique statues that I have ever seen. In the sacristy were paintings by El-Greco. Sheer awe-inspiring. After we left the cathedral, the group headed to a museum that displayed El-Greco’s most famous art piece. Me, being a huge art fan (not!) did not go for the visit. I went instead to shop for souvenirs. That was pretty much what we did in Toledo. We really did not do Toledo any justice by spending half a day there. One could easily spend three days in Toledo. We spent 3 hours! One the way to Granada, we stopped in La Mancha to have lunch. I bought some post cards there. In Granada, we visited the Al-Hambra (Red Castle). The Al- Hambra is synonymous with Granada. It was a castle with very rich history. To cut a real long story short, there were a lot of Arabic influence in the design of the castle. I took a number of shots in the castle. We spent an hour in the castle which really was insane. I guess this is what joining a group tour is about. I really could not complain though. How many people have the opportunity to visit the Al-Hambra? We headed to the Melia hotel where we spent the night. For dinner, we had Andalusian food. Basically, it was salad, swordfish and cake. After dinner, a few of us walked around the neighborhood. There was the cathedral of Granada which we saw. It was outstanding even at night. We would be going there for Mass tomorrow. After touring, we had dessert at Haagen-Dazs. I told father that we were having Haagen-Dazs under a Heineken tent in Granada, Spain. How interesting.

Tuesday May 22. Today was really not too eventful a day. Got up at around 8am which was not too early. The plan was to have breakfast, go to Mass and visit the cathedral where Mass was said. After breakfast, father and I headed to the cathedral. At first, we were not allowed in because Mass had started. However, we did manage to go into the cathedral and celebrate Mass. It was a turbo Mass because it was finished in 30 mins. I managed to catch a glimpse of the tombs of some royalty because it was located right in the middle of the church. After Mass, we were supposed to be allowed to have a tour of the place but alas, it was not going to happen. The guards ushered everyone out of the cathedral. Next stop was Costa de Sol which is the final highlight of the tour. Costa del Sol translates into the Sunshine coast. It is a huge tourist spot come summer. Father and I checked into the resort and it seems that they were overbooked. So, we were given the royal suite! It was out of this world. The size of the suite was beyond belief. The biggest drawback was that because it was a suite, there was only one bedroom. Father slept in the room and I slept on the floor. I had the couch but I felt that the floor was more comfortable. There were two separate bathrooms and a spectacular view of the Mediterranean Sea. Truly, it was a splendid way to end the day. For dinner, we went to Mijas which is a quaint little town on top of a hill. We had in my opinion, the best food during the tour. As an entrée, I had sole. The fish was just wonderful. When we got back, I wanted to walk on the beach, but the gate was closed. So, I ended up in the suite just enjoying the grandiosity of the room.

May 23 Wednesday. Today was definitely an interesting day. I had a very good sleep. Breakfast was very fulfilling. For today, we were going to the Rodeo Drive of Spain. People could shop for anything and everything there. My friend Kathy and her roommate Pam decided to break away from the group and head to Ronda. We were supposed to go to Ronda on Friday but will only be spending an hour there. According to Pam and Kathy, an hour was not enough in Ronda. Therefore, after walking around Marbella (Rodeo Drive), we took a cab to a bus station and took a bus to Ronda. The road leading to Ronda was not an easy road. Since Ronda is located a couple of thousand feet above ground level, we needed to ascend numerous hills. By the time we arrived, it was close to 3pm. We managed to find the town square and decided the first place to go would be the tourism information place to get a map. With a map, we managed to find our way around. We had lunch at around 4pm and then started looking around the town. Ronda is famous for two things, its bridge which is a couple of centuries old and its bullfight ring. When we found the bridge, it was spectacular. The bridge was a couple of hundred feet above the ground and when you look down, there is a small river. I did not manage to visit the bullfight museum because Pam and Kathy wanted to go somewhere else. That was fine with me since we would be coming back to Ronda on Friday. We left Ronda at around 7.30PM and got back to the resort at around 10PM. I went to the reception to find out where my room was and father and I were moved directly above our royal suite. We ended up in a suite.

Thursday May 24. Today was definitely a lazy day. I was really tired from all the walking yesterday and had decided to just laze around the whole day. Pam and Kathy had decided to visit Cordoba which is famous for a cathedral that was built in the middle of a mosque. Imagine that! I just wanted to spend the day relaxed in the warmth of the sun. After breakfast, a couple of us spent time next to the pool and played cards. After we got done playing cards, we went to the grocery store to get some snacks and wine. We then ended up in someone’s room and chatted for hours. Once that got done, I went next to the swimming pool and played some ping-pong. I then decided to walk on the beach and got myself a couple of beautiful stones. There is something about walking on the beach and collecting stones. For dinner, we went to Benalmadena town to have some good food and wine. That was the end of a very relaxing day. Tomorrow, we head to Seville where we will spend a night before leaving for Spain on Saturday.

Friday May 25. We left Costa del Sol and went on our way to Ronda. At Ronda, I did not do much there. I sat in a restaurant and had some coffee. I did buy a book to read on the flight home. We ended up spending 1 ½ hours in Ronda. After Ronda, we headed to Jerez where we visited a sherry wine factory. The name of the factory is called Tito Pepe which is world famous for its sherry wine. It was an interesting tour to say the least. I have never been to a wine factory before. At the end of the tour, we were served sherry. I had a little taste of it. After Jerez, we were on our way to Seville. At Seville, we checked into our hotel and freshened up before embarking on a tour of the city. One could easily spend a couple of days in Seville. Alas we only spend a couple of hours touring the city. We saw the cathedral but did not go in. It is the third largest cathedral in the world. Our farewell dinner was a flamenco dance and dinner. It was an eye opener to say the least. Personally, I prefer Irish Dancing to Flamenco, but now I know what Flamenco is all about. We have to get up early tomorrow for our flight. All in all, it was a very good and relaxing trip. I am glad I had the opportunity to be part of the trip. The biggest downside of the trip was that now, I want to travel more!