Day 199 of 364 - Sat 2/18: Trip #10 -- Lisbon, Portugal

Word of the day:   Schrijver   (Writer)

For breakfast we headed over to the oldest cafe in Lisbon, Cafe a Brasileira, where there is bronze statue of the great Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa.

We then took the train about 25km west of Lisbon to the beach town of Cascais. Again, another perfect day... not a cloud in the sky and was in the low 60s! Who could ask for more?!?!

Once in Cascais we just walked around and down the path that runs parallel to the ocean. Gorgeous day for a walk! After a bit of a walk we settled on a little patio restaurant overlooking a little inlet and ordered up some Sangria and fresh fish for lunch. Honestly who could ask for more?!?!

Then for our last dinner in Lisbon we headed back up the hills which we biked yesterday to a little restaurant, Claras em Castelo. A very tasty Portuguese dinner!


I definitely wasn't looking forward to heading back to Maastricht Sunday... back to the gray and cold :( 


Til next time...
Sarah

Day 198 of 364 - Fri 2/17: Trip #10 -- Lisbon, Portugal

Word of the day:   Kers   (Cherry)

Up bright and early for our bike tour of Lisbon. It was perfect... you couldn't ask for better weather, and the ride besides a few up-hill climbs was at a nice relaxing pace. Very scenic!! The ride started out in the more business district of Lisbon, with a stop to taste the local liquer Ginjinha (a Portuguese brandy tasting of sour cherry). Then we headed into the Alfalma area, followed by Baixa and then to Belém.

Up in the hills of Alfama we stopped for a wine tasting, where we even had some Porto!! ("facebook")  Then it was onto a view from atop, out to the ocean. Can I stay year round?!?!

Once in the Baixa area we stopped to taste the local pastry , pastéis de Belém (an egg tart made w/ flaky pastry)... yummy!!! 

Later that evening we experienced what we all thought was the strangest dinner EVER!! It looked like an old hospital, and even gave you the heebie-jeebies bc they used stuff from hospitals. Plus the service was just plain wierd... IMAGINE!!

To end the night properly we headed to the Barrio Alto area for an impromptu bar crawl.    

Til next time...
Sarah

Day 197 of 364 - Thur 2/16: Trip #10 -- Lisbon, Portugal

Word of the day:   Hotel   (Hotel)

What a nice feeling right when we got off the plane in Lisbon. It felt like we were in Mexico and going for a tropical vacation seeing that we would be in 60* weather vs. the 30* we came from!
(So you get a feel for what Portugal was like... I didn't feel like we were in what I consider "Europe" w/ typical Europeans in France, Netherlands, Germany, etc.... It felt more like Mexico (some thought Spain, but I haven't been yet), and then w/ the hills and colorful buildings of San Francisco. I Loved it, and didn't want to leave when Sunday came around!)

After checking into the hotel we went to meet up with Elissa, a friend of ours we met while Steve was in school at Michigan. We walked around a bit and of course you can't help but notice the sidewalks. All the concrete and asphalt you would see in other cities is replaced here by imaginative cobbled patterns.

We landed up at a waterfront restaurant for lunch and some drinks. It was soooo sunny, that we of course ate outside on the patio! (How I miss those days! "Soon, very soon," I keep telling myself, soon Spring will be here!) While there we debated if we should head back to our hotel to meet up with Kim and Jamie or give them a call, but no need... They too knew where to be, and I spotted them along the waterfront only a few 100 feet away!!

Next up were more drinks! (Who could pass up such in this kind of weather?!?!) We went to the Barrio Alto hotel rooftop bar for a drink during sunset. (Again, Trip Advisor did not let us down :)) It was just wonderful up there, with great views!

Til next time...

Sarah

Day 195 of 364 - Tues 2/14: Valentine's Day

Word of the day:   Liefde   (Love)

Surprisingly Valentine's Day is celebrated here in the Netherlands, and of course having the best husband he didn't forget or fall short :)  He bought me roses, sugar candy (which I have been craving!!), champagne and then took me out for a nice seafood dinner!

Can you believe he and I have celebrated 14 VDays together?!?!

Thanks Steve... love you always and forever!!

Til next time...
Sarah

Day 186 of 364 - Sun 2/5: Trip #9 -- Berlin, Germany

Word of the day:   Bevriezing   (Freezing)

Holy crap is it FREEZING COLD!!! It was only 19*F with blowing snow and we still had more of the city to see!.. (Brrr! It's cold!  That was for you Steve, if you are reading :) )  First up was a quick 3 block walk to the hop on/off bus by our hotel. Well we waited there for 15mins freezing our butts off and finally a bus came rolling up, but to our amazement it just kept going!!   It totally just went right by and didn't even stop! Boy was I pissed when no bus showed up as we continued waiting another 15mins+. (Let me remind you, a bus is supposed to come by every 10mins, and yes they DO run on Sundays.) So cabbing it was!

We went to the Jewish History museum, and then actually took the hop on/off bus back to the center of town and headed to the Berlin Fernsenturm, or better known as the TV tower. We went up and took in the snowy sites from above, grabbed a drink at a bar that seemed stuck in the 70s, and then went a floor higher to the cafe for some lunch. The cafe offers some great views since it is circular and actually rotates all the way around every 30mins. Then it was time to head to the airport and head home.

Berlin was definitely a city worth seeing. I am glad we did a quick 36hr trip, especially since it was so cold!!

Til next time...
Sarah

Day 185 of 364 - Sat 2/4: Trip #9 -- Berlin, Germany

Word of the day:   Muur   (Wall)

Early flight to Berlin for 36hrs! Once we checked into our hotel, which kindly accommodated our early, we hit the streets in search of one of our favorite tourist activities... the Hop On/Off Bus!!! It was cold so this was perfect!

The bus went all over Berlin, which is actually quite spread out. We saw Check Point Charlie, the Berlin Wall, the Fernsehturm (tv town), Brandenburg Gate, and the Berliner Dom (Berlin Cathedral). Of course we got out at a few of the sites, but the bus was an easy and warm way to see the city.  We even saw ppl on a pedal pub in the freezing cold, though the sun was out and helped!  It was 18*F, but again sunny :) 

Later that night we had dinner and drinks at winebar, Rutz. Tasty!! 


Til next time...
Sarah

Day 182 of 364 - Wed 2/1: Mr. Sunshine!

Word of the day:   Zon   (Sun)

I can't believe it!!! This is the 3rd day of SUN, in a row! I hadn't seen the sun for more than 5 mins a few days here and there since returning to Maastricht, but things seem to be turning around here!   I definitely rather have it  freezing cold w/ sun vs balmy temps and gray skies every day in the winter.

Just in case you were wondering... it is colder here than both Chicago and Minneapolis!

Til next time...
Sarah

Day 180 of 364 - Mon 1/30: Winter has Arrived

Word of the day:   Sneeuw   (Snow)

It has snowed ALL day today! Actually nonstop since last night, though only to an accumulation of about 3- 4". It is the first measurable snow I have seen here, so some exciting stuff... ha ha!

Til next time...
Sarah

Day 177 of 364 - Fri 1/27: Weed!!

Word of the day:   Soep  (Soup)

Sorry to disappoint you, but no I am not talking about that kind of weed! I am talking about weeds that grow in your garden. Yes, that is what kind of soup Kim and I were served when we went for lunch today.

We ordered the broccoli soup, which we were told would be cream based. But when our soup arrived we were a bit surprised bc it was not cream based, and once tasted we knew it was not made with broccoli, but we couldn't quite come up w/ the taste we were experiencing.

The waitress didn't quite know the English translation for the other soup, but knew it was an herb soup w/ bits of potato.  So I looked it up when we got back, and here is what we found!!

http://www.coquinaria.nl/english/recipes/06.3histrecept.htm

Sorrel - There are several varieties, like the common sorrel (Rumex acetosa) and the French sorrel or oseille (Rumex scutatis). The leaves taste more or less sour, depending on the amount of sunlight (more sun means more sour). Sorrel grows in the wild and chances are that when you have a garden, it will turn up unasked for. Don't dig it up root and all, just cut of the leaves and use them in the kitchen, in salads or boiled as vegetable. However, do not eat it in great quantities or too frequently, because of the high content of oxalic acid. When sorrel is boiled the colour changes to a greyish green.
Eating large quantities of raw Purslane (especially the roots) may be hazardous to health due to the oxalic acid in the roots.

Don't think I will be ordering that again!   Bon Appétit!

Til next time...
Sarah