Europe

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Wrapping up a magical trip with a sunset over Lisbon

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The previous post in this series is here..

Our tourguide decided to drive through the Bangladeshi/Indian area of Lisbon before dropping us off in the Baixa square. The place had a ridiculous population density. Our guide told us that folks in this area live through a horror story but no one seems to be able to do anything about it!

We walked back towards our hotel area to the nicest Indian restaurant in Baixa, Swaagat. San made good on her promise. The food was just Amazing as was the ambience! It was not too expensive compared to the other places we tried either. Just fantastic!

After dinner, we decided to walk up the hill to see the sunset. There was a church which was part of the places to see in Lisbon that we missed the previous day. So off we went, walked to the Church, took pictures and found a spot among the crowed to take in the sunset. There is a timelapse video that is embedded within the video at the end of this post..

It was an evening to remember. Walking back (San ran back and as usual was catching up to her) chatting about the place, enjoying the tiled facades of every house on the hillside.. we packed up our stuff and got all set for our return early the following morning.

I have really enjoyed reliving this trip from last July over the entire year in bits and pieces. We covered so many places across Europe, had a fun time together and I got to watch my bride smile and dance and be a kid again after so many years. The whole thing was planned by her. All I had to do was follow and take pictures and videos. Happy wife, happy life! Also I lucked out big time with this girl. Some divine intervention got us together and for that I am forever grateful!

25 years has almost become 26 over the course of writing this blog series. In two weeks it will be yet another wedding anniversary! The last year has been a blur, but after writing this series of posts, I am really looking forward to the next many anniversaries.

A video highlights reel of our last evening in Lisbon to wrap up a fantastic trip!

On another note, the blog can now cover other things outside this trip..

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Cascais area of Lisbon

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The previous post in this series is here..

Haven’t been able to finish blogging about a trip from July last year because life always throws some distractions. The last three weeks have seen me try to do yoga thrice. That is a new low. Severe allergies which kept me from office twice last week, then a sinus infection, fever, migraines, body pain thanks to some bug, then promptly followed by embarasing nose bleeds while in office.. it has been one thing after another.

Finally a long weekend which is going to be dedicated to recovery, lots of sleep and finish all those blog posts that were long overdue.. given the nose and throat, my sruthi is now enabling me to sing classics like “meow meow poonaikutty” and similar songs… so singing is also ruled out for now.

There were only two things we did after visiting Sintra on that Viator tour on our last day at Lisbon. The last stop on the tour was to Cascais area of Lisbon. We drove down the hill past beautiful beaches. I love beaches but we did not get to even wet our feet in one on this leg. We were in Cascais for lunch stop.

It was already late afternoon and my stomach acid had arrived in style. Badly needed some ginger tea to calm my head. There were visions of butter naans, malai paneers and jeera rice.. but google searches showed zero Indian restaurants in Cascais. San suggested that I just drink some water and wait till the acid subsides. She was going to eat at a Vegan place called House of wonders, which had rave reviews. The menu was all laid out and you got to choose with your eyes! She thoroughly enjoyed the food.. Even though I am allergic to lots of things and didn’t get anything, was very impressed with the visuals of the food and the service. After that we walked by a pizza place and I got to eat a nice full cheese pizza. We were the only customer in the second floor and the pizza was amazing!

Then we decided to walk around the souvenir shops and all three touristy blocks of Cascais and the waterfront. It was very windy and we mostly stayed in the side streets. That is when we found multiple really nice Indian restaurants! San saw the disappointment in my face and agreed to make up for the miss later. We were to meet outside a Mcdonalds before making our way back to the Baixa area on the return ride. So I got an ice cream to cheer myself up. McD’s does not disappoint.

A short video of our time in Cascais..

We were dropped back in Baixa where we were picked up early in the monring. It was our last evening in Lisbon… will finish that in the next post..

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Pena Palace and Cabo De Roca in Portugal

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The previous post in this series is here..

After Sintra, we drove to the Pena Palace. This was a humongous palace. There was a garden on the way to the castle and we got to walk a bit through it with our guide.

The guy who built the palace for his wife did not get to enjoy it with his wife. A staggering amount of money went into building this in three different styles and connecting them. The artwork, the architecture (columns, staircases, ceilings, arches) are all very distinct and different in these three parts. This is a must see for any architecture fans and architecture students.. just fantastic!

This is one of my favorite photos from the entire trip. Had asked her to go and peek from that turret structure.. she came out with such a beautiful smile.. while this is all I got on camera, the rest is in my head.

Another favorite.. this was the closest to a “bench photo” for this trip!

These pictures and videos don’t do enough justice to this palace. If you are visiting Lisbon, do NOT miss a visit to this palace.

We met a couple from New York and another from New Zealand and had great conversations with them throughout this day trip. We also took photos for the other group. After the walk through the castle, we sat at the Palace souvenir shop and got some sweet popcorn. Then off we went back to the bus for a visit to Cabo de Roca.

This is the western most point in continental Europe. It was extremely windy and we spent a good hour here walking to the monument and back.

A landscape gallery

and a portrait gallery

a video highlight reel of this leg of the trip

Then it was time to head to the last stop in the tour.. Cascais.. that in another post!

Copyright © 2012, Sundar Narayanan. All rights reserved.