Sagres: It's More Than a Beer

Long, winding roads roaming among the purest of landscapes. Lush, green fields complete with grazing animals and a mosaic of beautiful flora. Quaint villages with a real sense of community. Invigorating scents of natural freshness. All of these elements led to Sagres, the southwestern-most point in Europe.

To put it simply, Sagres did more than just pacify my sense of wonder & imagination. It sounds extremely cliche, but I honestly didn't understand how fulfilling looking out into the vast ocean could truly be. Sun reflecting across the irridescent waters, we were barred by nothing except the edge of enourmous cliffs. It seems as though most elevated coastal views in the US are outlined by some sort of fencing - now, I'm not against safety, but the natural outline of the landscape quietly stated that Sagres was anything but a tourist attraction. Even if by the common definition of the term, it just may be.

A sneak peak at some prime rib views of the namesake of a delicious brew:


*Defenders of the Fortaleza de Sagres!


*Imposing cliffs of Sagres..


*Voila! The photo that made us famous. Thank you, Improper Bostonian!

Sintra: A Small City with Rich Tradition

In my opinion, the title of this post really captures the essence of the village of idyllic Sintra. Before arriving in this quaint Portuguese municipality, we were informed by a friend with the same last name that Sintra better be our favorite destination in Portugal. I've already shared my affinity for Lagos, but this beautiful town in the district of Lisbon was my favorite for different reasons. It boasts many historic landmarks as well as a colorful, close-knit community and culture. It is also where all of my other traveling companions fell in love with Portuguese chourico [chorizo].

My words may not do Sintra justice, but the following images might..


*Please ignore our "outfits". All of our baggage was lost until later that night. The street cafe in the background was where our [minus me] meaty obsession mentioned above was birthed.


*Countryside view from the grounds of Sintra's National Palace, or the Palacio Nacional de Sintra.


*View from the main courtyard outside of the Palacio Nacional de Sintra.


*Pena Palace, or the Palacio de Pena, which has been described as a Disney-esque castle because of its color scheme.


*View of the intricate architecture inside the grounds of the Palacio de Pena.

Algarve to Sevilla. The Bermuda Triangle of European Transportation

In their infinite wisdom, the governments of Spain and Portugal decreed that there should be no direct rail connection between the Southern Algarve region of Portugal and Sevilla, Spain. Really making it the Achilles heal of one fabulous vacation, and causing it to be the only time I have seriously thought 5 ladies with huge backpacks might potentially make a pact to eat my first born child - ha - that's not true, there have been plenty of people who have made that pact.
It really all started with hours of careful planning to get our bodies from Lagos, Portugal to Sevilla with the goal of NOT spending a ridiculous amount of money on transportation, and NOT spending 12 hours of our precious vay-cay time making what should be a 3 hour trip. Let me first lay down some rudimentary knowledge on you, so if you should ever decide to make a similar trip (and oh for sweet baby jesus you should), there won't be any pacts made.

You might be thinking: "Molly, get a freaking rental car, and call it a day!" Wrong-o, boy-o! You will quickly find that taxes and fees for international rental car drop-offs are astronomically high (even between E.U. countries). In the spring of '08 (this year) it was going to be over $1,000 TOTAL for a four day rental of a four-door manual compact (www.arguscarhire.com actually had the best prices I could fine for Portugal). Don't be fooled by initial costs, they will stick-it to you just as you are getting super psyched that everything is going to work out.

With both trains and rental cars out, the only other affordable option I found (via the internet) was to take a bus. Even this option provided very few bus lines, departure terminals (direct), and departure times. Here are the handful of companies who "said" they make the trip: Rede Nacional de Expresso, Linsesur and Eva Bus. I ended up selecting Eva Bus, because they had the perfect timetable, responsive email customer service, and I noticed they were mentioned in several blogs and guidebooks. So, my perfect planning in place, the only thing left to do was to call and order tickets once we arrived in Portugal - damn international phone rates, damn them to hell.

Flash forward two months to find out via the concierge at my hotel in Lagos, Portugal that in fact no buses run between the Algarve and Sevilla on Sundays (apparently "daily" in Portuguese means any day but Sunday). No matter who we called or what insane ideas we came up with, nothing seemed to work out (shuttles weren't reasonable, there weren't any accessible rental car companies across the border in Spain. NOTHING). Then, a ray of hope - a Spanish company called Alsa departing out of the Portuguese border town of Vila Real de Santo Antonio. Everything seemed legit, and ready to rumble. So, we got up at the ass crack and high tailed it down the coast to Vila Real de Santo Antonio (which I would define as potentially quaint, commercialized, touristy, and grungy). We easily found the bus terminals, but no one who had heard of an Alsa bus line (even the other ticket agents). The only information we got was that in fact NO BUSES run from Vila Real to Sevilla on FAH-REAKING Sundays.

You might be thinking: "well what now", my dear reader, and to that I say for shame. Knowing the answer to that question is rule #1 for any traveler, especially when time and $$ are concerned. Rubbing our 6 domes (brains) together, we realized some key points: 1. We still had our rental cars - they were due to be dropped off later that afternoon in Vila Real. 2. The town of Ayamonte, Spain was only a 5 min drive away. 3. We had a better chance of finding a way from Spain to Spain, than from Portugal to Spain. 4. We had at least two people that could butcher Spanish, and no one who could butcher Portuguese.

So, away we went, pedal to the metal to Spain (no border guards wahoo - smoke em if you got em). Oh, and the travel gods were smiling on us my friends, and it was in the form of a four star hotel on the edge of Ayamonte. And now begins a tutorial in one of the easiest travel scams for any 20-30 something woman. First, throw a scarf around your neck (DO IT). Next, walk into any fancy hotel (larger is better), and head straight to the bathroom - you'll blend in more easily. Next, go to the front desk and state your problem - for us it was "we need a bus TODAY from Ayamonte to Sevilla." Make eye contact and don't be too nice, the concierge will simply assume you are a guest. Finally, let the concierge do the rest, they are trained in GD high class service.

ALLAKHAZAM, you'll be sitting in a cafe in Spain, drinking a beer in the sunshine, waiting for your bus to Sevilla. No joke. Harmless scam. For you reference we ended up getting a bus via the Damas bus company from Ayamonte.

P.s. Hotel Parador, Ayamonte- thanks for your services. No concierges were harmed in the execution of this scam.

An Irish Bar in Portugal

Irish bars are like mosquitoes in wet, dark wooded areas - they're everywhere. I had intended to use another analogy, but opted against it for the sake of being politically correct. Apparently I was programmed with some sort of ethical code..

On our virgin night in Lagos, we did decide to sample the local fare. The happening scene was about a 15 minute walk from Vilabranca, and we began our march to town just as the sun was going down. It was so romantic.. aside from the fact that I was with 3 of my female friends that I'm not intimately interested in.. no offense, lassies. In any case, we decided to follow the native crowd and wait in line at Adega da Marina, a barn-turned-restaurant renowned for its steak & egg cuisine, reasonable prices, large portions, & keyboard player. I mean, this guy can really tickle the ivories. Following suit, I ordered the Grade A entree along with the rest of my dinner-mates, but all I could think about was Dr. Seuss, green eggs, & a juicy slice from the rump of a boar. To be honest, I expected to just go through the motions, taste the meal, despise it, and chug loads of wine.. BUT, it truly was a delectable dish with more flavor than I'd anticipated. Fast forward to the end of dinner, and picture us rollin' .. into Mullens!

Maybe it was Molly and her magnetic, Irish force or maybe it was the desire to listen to good old-fashioned Irish / American drinking songs, whilst improvising some sweet chair-dancing moves..



Regardless, Mullens proved to be a place with cheaper drinks & lots of atmosphere. As we finished last call, we met a group of handsome, Portuguese men. Mom, Dad: EARMUFFS. I might have had some luck with the lads that evening - it really set the bar for the rest of the trip. Sort of.

And I'm still planning on upholding my promise of scenic Lagos pictures.. just experiencing some technical difficulties.. is this thing on? My future offspring better appreciate my sense of humor.

Lagos, Portugal: McWhat?

Molly, Skidz - I wasn't going to go here so soon, but I've received so many signs either related to McDonald's or Mc-ANYTHING.. that without subliminally being sent to snack on a Big Mac, I felt that writing a small tribute to the fine establishment was quite necessary. For the good of my health, of course.

I'm going to go out on a very flimsy limb here and say that Lagos, Portugal just may be the most beautiful place on this earth. You say bold statement, I say true story. On our coastal drive from Sintra to Lagos a few months ago, in a car that made me feel like Ashton Kutcher & Brittany Murphy in "Just Married", not only did we break the travelers' code by stopping at a foreign McDonald's, but we also found a saying that would be repeated at least 4 times an hour for the next two weeks. Are you curious? Feast your eyes on this [mind the homeless girl that wouldn't get out of the way]:



McDrive turned into McWhat, McDrunk, McNO.. and my personal favorite, McHUH?.. and the list goes on - it's a fun game, I'm sure you can develop a few unique sayings of your own.

In any case, once we arrived at our hotel in Lagos, I'm pretty sure that the 4 of us just sat back for a minute in awe. For 30 euros each [per night], we were staying in what felt like the White House. Remember, everything is relative. We had just come from a much needed - but not acquired - night's sleep in an older hostel situated above a night club. Note: If I were still in my early 20s, that would have been perfectly acceptable. If you're ever in Lagos, I highly recommend staying in the Vilabranca apartments. We had more than enough room for 4 girls - a feat rarely accomplished. Our apartment was complete with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen, living room, and balcony overlooking the pool and the distant Portuguese landscape. See how happy [or something] we were?



Visible proof that Molly & Skidz do exist! Molly is the one with the kerchief atop her dome, and Skidz is the only individual that isn't smiling as she normally would.. catch the sarcasm. There will be more scenic images depicting the actual beauty of this resort / fishing town in the Algarve in the near future.