SO...I went to Portugal last weekend!
Initially I thought it was going to cost a lot of money, since I was traveling internationally, but we had some luck.
I found round trip bus tickets to Porto for 56 euros per person for me and two friends, Andrea and Marissa. Our plan was to stay with Andrea´s housekeeper, Isabel. We left at two in the morning from Salamanca's bus station to Porto, on the coast of Portugal.
We arrived there after a 5 hour bus ride from Salamanca. We took a taxi to the train station from the bus station for four euros, where we met Isabel, her daughter, Isabel, and her son-in-law Aderito. They showed us around Porto for a little bit before taking us to their town, Aveiro. We were exhausted from the bus ride, so they took us to their home and showed us where we would be sleeping.
I had hardly expected to have my own room, let alone my own bed. It turns out that Isabel was the most accomodating hostess ever. Not only did she provide housing in her four floor mansion, but she absolutely refused to allow us to pay for anything the entire time we were there. We had homecooked meals and traditional portuguese treats, including Bacalao, tripas, and ovos moles.
We took a nap before actually starting our day in Portugal. When we woke up around 2 pm Portugal time on Saturday, we went to lunch at the mall with three generations of Isabels. Again, Isabel I refused to let us pay for the buffet that she bought us--which was basically a three course meal where I tried fresh sardines. They were good.
Then Isabel III, the granddaughter, wanted us to visit the mall's pet store. (For those of you who know my puppy obsession, I had no objections). There were adorable puppies, including white labs and alaskan huskies. Aww...
Afterwards, Isabel I took Isabel III and Nicolas (grandson), and Andrea, Marissa, and I went with Aderito and Isabel II. We went to the river and took a boat ride through the city, which resembles Venice. When we finished there, we got in the car and were just getting tired when we made our next stop. We were at the beautiful Aveiro beach (the closest beach to Salamanca). There we walked down the pier and could see the entire Atlantic Ocean.
The walk woke us up a little bit, so we decided to stop for tripas, which are these portuguese waffle crepe things. Delicious. You can get them filled with chocolate, ovos moles, or some other options.
After that, we visited Isabel II's house, and guest house. Isabel II has her own hair salon in the house. It was really a fantastic place. Additionally they had a farm in the back of the house, with geese, sheep, bunnies, and a chunky chicken.
When we had seen their house, we returned to Isabel I's house for dinner. Outside, she had been grilling chicken and other meat for us to eat. It was uneccessarily nice of her. She simply refused any help. We sat down to dinner with the entire family and talked in a mix of Portuguese and English.
We were too tired to go out again, so we went to sleep, and woke up at 7 am to head back to Salamanca.
The trip to Portugal cost me 56 euros. I doubt to receive any greater generosity in Europe than I did in Portugal. Overall a very fun experience.
Pictures are here.
Barcelona this weekend!
-Michelle
We arrived there after a 5 hour bus ride from Salamanca. We took a taxi to the train station from the bus station for four euros, where we met Isabel, her daughter, Isabel, and her son-in-law Aderito. They showed us around Porto for a little bit before taking us to their town, Aveiro. We were exhausted from the bus ride, so they took us to their home and showed us where we would be sleeping.
I had hardly expected to have my own room, let alone my own bed. It turns out that Isabel was the most accomodating hostess ever. Not only did she provide housing in her four floor mansion, but she absolutely refused to allow us to pay for anything the entire time we were there. We had homecooked meals and traditional portuguese treats, including Bacalao, tripas, and ovos moles.
We took a nap before actually starting our day in Portugal. When we woke up around 2 pm Portugal time on Saturday, we went to lunch at the mall with three generations of Isabels. Again, Isabel I refused to let us pay for the buffet that she bought us--which was basically a three course meal where I tried fresh sardines. They were good.
Then Isabel III, the granddaughter, wanted us to visit the mall's pet store. (For those of you who know my puppy obsession, I had no objections). There were adorable puppies, including white labs and alaskan huskies. Aww...
Afterwards, Isabel I took Isabel III and Nicolas (grandson), and Andrea, Marissa, and I went with Aderito and Isabel II. We went to the river and took a boat ride through the city, which resembles Venice. When we finished there, we got in the car and were just getting tired when we made our next stop. We were at the beautiful Aveiro beach (the closest beach to Salamanca). There we walked down the pier and could see the entire Atlantic Ocean.
The walk woke us up a little bit, so we decided to stop for tripas, which are these portuguese waffle crepe things. Delicious. You can get them filled with chocolate, ovos moles, or some other options.
After that, we visited Isabel II's house, and guest house. Isabel II has her own hair salon in the house. It was really a fantastic place. Additionally they had a farm in the back of the house, with geese, sheep, bunnies, and a chunky chicken.
When we had seen their house, we returned to Isabel I's house for dinner. Outside, she had been grilling chicken and other meat for us to eat. It was uneccessarily nice of her. She simply refused any help. We sat down to dinner with the entire family and talked in a mix of Portuguese and English.
We were too tired to go out again, so we went to sleep, and woke up at 7 am to head back to Salamanca.
The trip to Portugal cost me 56 euros. I doubt to receive any greater generosity in Europe than I did in Portugal. Overall a very fun experience.
Pictures are here.
Barcelona this weekend!
-Michelle
Me alegra que te haya gustado protugal :D
ReplyDeletesuena bien divertido
Spanish people, maybe just Cubans, also have bacalao.
ReplyDeleteI love when my grandmother makes it.
Your adventure in Portugal sounds so unreal! Have fun back in Spain.
ReplyDeleteSo funny. I can just visualize the salon in the house. Glad you're being treated nicely. Aren't nice people just so cool?
ReplyDelete