Two Grande Coffees for Princess Shannon of Portugal

We ended our incredible journey around the world with a week of exploring and relaxing in Portugal. First up, we spent a few relaxed, sightseeing-filled days in the beautiful city of Lisbon, before driving south to check out the jaw-dropping beaches of the Algarve. This post is the Final Leg Part 1: Lisbon

Lisbon was even more than we anticipated!  Simply Stunning are the only words that come to mind.

These little trams took passengers up and down the busy and steep hills in and around the city.

I love this photo...it's of a man on the second floor and a woman on the third...just enjoying life and peering in on the lives of passers-by. (I want this to be Andreas and I when we are...90 & 81 respectively...)

That's me...taking a break! I mean, if you have to stop and rest for a while...I couldn't think of a better view to be blessed with!

This bridge takes you outta town...heading south towards the Algarve...but I took the photo because I saw the Lisbon version of Brazil's Touchdown Jesus, and loved it!

VIDEO:
Leaving Lisbon (Touchdown Jesus)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_pOcOo5yV8



The Red Bus Tour
On the trail end of our traveling journey it's safe to say we gave in a little, and let laziness get the better of us... We decided to buy two tickets on the City Sights Red Bus Tour. The two of us knew virtually nothing about Lisbon, so it turned out to be a very relaxing, educational ride...worth every penny. Unfortunately, the free gifts that were handed out at the end of the ride were not to welcome....as we realized that we were the new, proud owners of two very red, and very painful sun burns....turns out the top deck of a double-decker bus is not the best seat in the house...unless you remembered to put on sunscreen. Ouch!

Get on the bus...

That's me...slowly roasting...

At times, we were the only ones on the top deck of the bus...it was great!

While on the bus, we heard about this castle up in the hills of the city...we found this little sitting area, with a great view...on our walk to the castle.

If I remember correctly...this was taken during our walk down from the castle...I believe we found ourselves a great little bar overlooking the water...and well, the rest is a blur!

Just for the "Food of it"
A little tip to all those junk food loving people out there. You know who you are....you make decisions for the "food-of-it"...
During the afternoon of the red bus tour, Andreas and I stumbled upon the Centro Vasco da Gama Shopping Mall in an effort to escape from the scorching sun. Inside the mall, we discovered a pastry/chocolate shop with the most delicious looking sweets. After some savy internet research, I have found the name and location of the shop (Woo hoo, I should be a detective!). The shop is called PORTELA CAFÉS and its located on the second floor of the shopping mall, near the food court.

Andreas and I shared three of the most delicious baked sweets imaginable. I don't want to play up the expectations so much that I leave you disappointed, but if you are ever in Lisbon, I recommend tracking down this bake shop, and testing these desserts out for yourself! For us, there was nothing better! (For all of your visual people out there...I've added a photo of the shop below)

Yummy-Yummy Deliciousness!

Through Andreas Eyes

Andreas took some really amazing photos on this leg of the trip (when has he not?)....I tried picking the best 5-10...but couldn't...I decided to scatter all of my favorites throughout the remainder of the post...ENJOY!

Big City Views...

The Drug "Giver-Away-er"
Hmm, I think this a good spot for a story...
On our first day in Lisbon, before the Red Bus Tour...we were wandering around the area in the picture above...when a gentlemen approached us, and asked if we would like to buy some drugs...he then proceeded, to pull out a baggie of some sort of substance and shake it in the air...as if that made it more enticing! Did I mention that this was in broad day light, in the middle of the morning, with several other people around??? We were really confused by how UN-discrete this drug-pusher was in offering us...whatever it was he was offering. Strange, we thought...as we declined to purchase and walked away.
Later we read in a travel book that drugs are legal in Portugal...what is illegal is SELLING DRUGS! So, either the dude from earlier was giving us drugs for free...or he was still committing a crime! Can you imagine a world where drugs are legal...but people somehow continue to get arrested for drug related crimes...because they didn't read the fine print on the new rule? Well, now we can!

Boat Harbor just outside the main part of the city.

He kicked my ass...
Now I have to reveal a very embarrassing story...I feel that it's only fair, since I've freely embarrassed Andreas, as well as many others, throughout this entire trip!
Andreas and I went for a run one afternoon....while running up this hill, I had to stop and walk, while Andreas continued onward towards the top, where the flag is flying...he therefore beat me in our 25 min run, which has NEVER HAPPENED before, NEVER!
I'm therefore, sending out a special Congrats to Mr. Andreas Heid for his accomplishments...no medals were awarded at this event...however, the winner was allowed to take home some level of Pride!
There you go, great story....The End! ;-)

The scene of the ass whooping 25 min race! We have in-officially renamed this hill - "The Hill that Andreas Took"

This was the view from our hotel room at the Sheraton - Lisbon.

City Streets (Street Lights, People...)

I'll take the chicken sandwich, and a map to the nearest toilet...
Just an interesting piece of useful information...in Lisbon, just because you sit down at a nice restaurant then order and pay for a meal, does not mean you get to use a complimentary toilet after your meal has been eaten and paid for...
That's right, public restrooms are for paying customers only...toilet paying customers that is...restaurants generally, do not have public toilets...we found that these toilets were community owned and operated, and had nothing to do with the restaurants in the area. So, while we were at a restaurant one afternoon, I asked our waiter where the restroom was...the man actually had to give me directions to the nearest toilet, and reminded me to bring money...odd, don't you think? Sadly, I found that after hiking to the toilets, mid-meal, I discovered that they were out of order...frustrated, I returned to my seat...uncomfortable, and unhappy! Good news is, after tears started to form in my eyes...Andreas quickly found a gift shop that was willing to let me use their "for customers only" toilet...after Andreas bought something, of course!

The city was beautiful...mostly due to all of the little details around each corner!

Shinez Restaurant - not as nice as it sounds….

One Sunday night, we were a little slow in getting ready for dinner…by the time we made it down to the concierge for some suggestions on where to go at such a late hour…it seems our selections were few and far between. We were looking for some good Portuguese food.  So, the concierge directed us to a restaurant that “should still be serving” not far from the hotel. Did I mention we were starving?

We arrived at the recommended restaurant, and the waiter at the door greeted us and began to show us inside to a table when a voice came from the back of the room. The waiter turned around, and in so many words, informed us that they were no longer serving. Disappointed, we were out of options…the hotel concierge didn’t give us a plan B.

So, we asked the waiter for a suggestion…something that is nice, and still open! He got a little glimmer in his eye as he told us about Shinez – A great restaurant…always open! Just up the street! Wonderful, we thought!!! We were dressed nicely, and looking for a lovely, late night dinner together.

Oh wait, he didn’t say Shinez….he was trying to say Chinese…all-you-can-eat Chinese, to be exact! Our starving tummies and happy faces quickly turned into feelings of sadness as we knew this was our ONLY option for the evening. So, we sat in a late night Chinese all-you-can-eat restaurant…only ate one plate each (yes, it was that good!)…and called it a disappointing night!

These are tiles cemented to the exterior of someone's home...they were all over the city and beautiful!

One of my favorite photos of the city...taken from the top of the castle walls.

We found this little park overlooking the water and sat here for maybe an hour, just talking...it was really a peaceful place to relax.

Again, another Andreas favorite!

That's me...peeking into peoples homes! ;-)

Please order before viewing the merchandise....

 I initially took this photo because it said Summer 2011 on the license plate...at the time, I had no idea that the "woman" behind me was flashing us a boob! RUDE!

Miss you - Meggi Meggi Bo Beggi, Banana-Fana Bo Becki, Fe Fi Fo Mecky....Meggi! ;-) (I think Meg might try to deny this...but my mom used to to sing this song to Meg growing up...I think it's time we brought it back...don't you?)

How do you actually make money?
While on our bus tour, the first day, we were told about this incredible bakery outside of town - and, well, the words Incredible & Bakery were all I needed to hear! I convinced Andreas to stop there on our way south, to the Algarve....
However, the experience was less than delicious! Don't get me wrong, the pastries were to die for! It was the process of obtaining a pastry that was difficult. As we walked in, we were told to immediately place our order at the counter before walking over to the pastry cases...."well, how are we supposed to place our order if we don't know what you SELL???" We thought this was a fair question - We were told, in an annoyed tone, to go look at the glass cases and come back when we were ready. Hmm, this is where we encountered problem #2..."How do you know what's IN the pastry, if there are no signs???" We thought, another fair question - We finally got someone to help us, as she looked us over suspiciously for not already knowing what was inside each item. We were so damn confused at this point! I told Andreas to just close his eyes and pick two things..anything..I felt like we were the subjects of some mean candid camera joke! Good news was, we ended up with two Chocolate Croissants and two Chocolate filled muffins...SCORE!

I just have to say...Bakery...this sign is useless and stupid!!! How do you prepay for something that you have no idea exists? "Yes, I would like two apple muffins"....We don't sell that...."Ok, two choc brownies" ....We don't sell that either....Ok, great...why don't you tell me what you sell, better yet, give me a freaking menu...Ahhh, how do you make money??? Really how, I need to know???!!!!

Princess Shannon
While driving south, we stopped for a Starbucks, and while I was ordering, the employee asked for a name for the order. I said, my name is Shannon...to which he replied: "Oh, like the princess!". Naturally, I probed for further details...and he informed me that there is a Portuguese princess named Shannon. That was all I had to hear...it made my day. I held my head a little higher....spoke a little softer...and required Andreas to only address me as Princess Shan for the rest of the day.
However, I have since been unable to track down any photos or information related to this Princess Shannon from Portugal. I'm starting to think that this was just some lame barista's overused pick-up line, which he tries out on blonde, American tourists. Whatever, I'm over it...but not letting go of my new title....especially since Andreas already un-officially had a hill named after him in this country!

Next stop - The Algarve!

New Project Update:

Hey Fellow Travelers & Travel Lovers alike! I’m working on a new project, and I need your help!

Remember that hilarious photo you snapped while on vacation that one time? That’s right, I want that photo! In fact, I want all of your LOL travel photos. The only rule / request is that photos contain NO nudity or crude/disgusting humor of any kind. The goal is “Making You Laugh” and adding a little humor to our every-day lives. This site is all about finding the fun in travel!

If you have a photo or photos that you would like to share, here is what you need to know. Please send all digital photos, in JPG form, to the following address: humortravel@gmail.com.

Please include the following information with each photo submitted: 

1.     Contact Info: Name (you can be listed as an Anonymous participant) and city & state you currently reside in

2.     Where was the photo taken? (country, city, famous landmark, etc)

3.     Photo explanation (of course, some photos need no explanation, but if you feel the need to explain....knock yourself out! Just keep it to 2 sentences or less)

Standby:

** If you're rockin’ it old school and have photo prints to share…sit tight…I’m working on a mailing address that will allow you to snail mail me your shots. (However, it would be nice to know that you are out there...and waiting for the snail mail address to appear. It just might motivate me to move faster with getting that address out to you.)