Chapter Sixteen: Our Neighbor to the West o El Primer Día en Lisbon

I decided it prudent to take advantage of the relative proximity of Portugal and have a weekend getaway in Lisbon. As with many trips, I hadn't researched Lisbon until the night before the journey, so I looked through various suggestions, TripAdvisor, and Wikipedia to create a plan for seeing the city. These scrawled notes became the blueprint for a delightful trip.

Upon arriving in Lisbon, we dropped our belongings in a charming hostel -which served banana pancakes every morning - and continued to downtown Lisbon for lunch at an Indian restaurant. We strolled around the area, finding trams that went all over the city. While my previous experience with trams had mainly been the quaint and touristy trolleys in San Francisco, I learned through a bumpy half hour ride that the Lisbon trams are much more functional than decorative.

 

After staying on the tram too long and having to make another trip through the city, we eventually ended up in one of the city's higher neighborhoods, close to the Castle of São Jorge that overlooks the city. All bruises from the tram ride were soon forgotten as we looked out upon a sea of Spanish tile roofs and the Tagus River -which I called the "river ocean" given our proximity to the peninsula's coast and the fact that I wasn't sure if it was a river or the entrance to an ocean.

As we looked along the Tagus, we saw a reddish bridge that connected the two sides of the river known as the "25 de Abril" bridge. Given the tram ride and seeing the "25 de Abril" bridge, I almost felt like I was back in San Francisco, ready for some clam chowder courtesy of Fisherman's Wharf or an encounter with some junkies courtesy of the Haight. Anyway, climbing along the walls of the Castle was an adventure in itself and it was amazing to be walking along the rampart just as people in the past had - with no safety railings.

 

The trip back from the castle was a little more confusing and I ended up strolling through what felt like most of Lisbon. We ended up finding a tram to Belem, the city's historical neighborhood. After walking by the Jerónimos Monastery and seeing what I think is the Monument to the Discoveries from afar, we headed to the possibly world famous "Pastéis de Belém" where Lisbon's pastry delicacy "Pastéis de Belém" is served and theoretically originated. Apparently nuns started making them in the monastery (and apparently desert and pastry making is a popular pastime for monks and nuns according to my Señora) before they began selling them in the shop next door. Sitting in a large tiled room, I enjoyed a sandwich and pastéis before finishing the first day in Lisbon. Alright, this chapter has gotten sufficiently long, so I think the next chapter will deal with my visit to Sintra and the rest of Lisbon.

Chapter Fifteen: Why is Spain a Catholic Country Pt. I o Los Reyes Católicos

Seeing as I have to mention a cathedral in nearly every chapter, I thought it would be appropriate to address Spain's Catholic nature. The story begins in 1492, the same one Americans know as the year Columbus discovered America. In Spain, 1492 is known for two other events - the "Reconquista" and the "Expulsión/Inquisición." The "Reconquista" had been an ongoing effort - as in around seven hundred years - to kick those rascally Moors out of Spain. Of course, the Moors had been in Spain for quite a while and occupied a lot of Spain, especially in the South and Andalusia. But, while the Moors had basically become natives and built up Córdoba as one of the most cultural cities in their empire, the Spaniards just weren't having it. Led by legendary heroes like "El Cid" and St. James -who apparently became known as the "Moorslayer" at some point - the Spanish "Reconquista" ended in 1492 with the Catholic Monarchs finally triumphing and pushing out an Islamic influence.

The "Expulsión" and "Inquisición" effort, also supported by the Catholic Monarchs, meant the expulsion of all non-Christians. All Jewish and Islamic citizens were kicked out of the country, while those who stayed behind were forced to convert or killed during the "Inquisición." Removing the other major religions while uniting Spain through the joining of Aragón and Castilla, the "Reyes Católicos" made Spain the Catholic country it currently is. This cheerful story continues with a subsequent chapter titled "Why is Spain a Catholic Country Part II o Caudillo por la Gracia de Dios."

Chapter Fourteen: The Minds of Gaudí, Picasso, and Mariscal o Tres Artistas de Barcelona

The real highlights of Barcelona for me weren't in seeing the city's history, but in seeing the works and evolution of artists who at one point called Barcelona home.

The Sagrada Familia - "Holy Family"- Cathedral, Gaudí's most famous work, is a cool mix of Gaudí's Catholicism, attention to detail, and love of nature. The Nativity side of the Cathedral, with its numerous religious scenes and ornate arches, is an astounding start to seeing the cathedral, but it's made even more exciting by the spires that stand above the rest of the church. These spires - a conspicuous part of the Barcelona skyline - further separate Gaudí's eccentric design from the more conventional Spanish cathedrals. The museum underneath the cathedral gave more insight into how the cathedral and its intricate aspects were planned by Gaudí, an architect who was involved in pretty much every aspect of the buildings he created. Inside the cathedral, the work is still in progress. Some stained glass, pillars, and ceiling decorations have been put in, but more is to be added before the Cathedral is completed sometime around 2025 (although I have the feeling that this is a schedule that people in 2050 are going to look back and laugh at). The "Stations of the Cross" side features much more austere work and simpler architecture, providing an interesting contrast with the hopeful Nativity side.

Gaudí's other big contribution to Barcelona, the Parque Güell, is a park overlooking the sprawling city. It's a park filled with Alice in Wonderland style designs, a large lizard sculpture, and cave-like structures. Again, Gaudí's love of nature and eccentricity is on display for the flocks of tourists that migrate there and clog the steps at the center of the park. While a lot of people headed back after a quick walk through the park, I decided to stroll around more, further away from the crowds and Gaudí's work. I walked up the hill and found another great view of the city, in a much quieter area, although I'm not sure if it was part of the park itself or if it was a residential neighborhood.

 

 

I'm pretty sure the Parque Güell and the Sagrada Familia are the biggest Gaudí tourist draws, but my favorite piece of his is the Casa de Botlló. When I first passed it, it seemed like an "eccentricity for eccentricity's sake" piece of architecture. What I found inside was something entirely different - a piece of art that is exciting and displays the work of an artist who was truly ahead of his time. As the audioguide reminded me every minute or so, Gaudí's work is both aesthetically and functionally motivated. In the case of the Casa Botlló, located in the seaside town of Barcelona, that meant letting the sea in aesthetically and using the form of the house to let the pleasant weather in. Gaudí included large windows for natural light, vents to bring in outside air, and walls that twist in natural patterns - and almost appear to be the interior of an animal.

Aside from the genius of the Casa Botlló, I was able to explore a little of Gaudí's La Pedrera, which now houses the Caixa Catalunya Obra Social, a free modern arts exhibition space. When I visited the building, the work of the Barcelona (originally from Valencia, apparently, but has been working in Barcelona since the 1970's) artist Mariscal was on display and it offered a fun alternative to the intense and calculated Gaudí works. Apparently starting with experimenting with letter fonts and making his way to creating his own art, Mariscal gained a large audience with his work for the Barcelona 1992 Olympics, creating cute mascot characters. For the rest of his career, he has been working on different whimsical ideas, magazine covers, and fonts. His style is lively and while I guess some could see it as tacky or commercial, it was fun and didn't seem to take itself too seriously.

My final cultural adventure during the Barcelona trip was the Museo Picasso. Entering the Museum, I knew about Picasso's changing styles, but the Museo Picasso really brought them to life. Starting with his early days where he was a perfectly fine impressionist painter (following in the footsteps and using the last name of his father), it illustrates his transition into his "etapa azul," "etapa rosa," cubism, ceramics, and other areas and includes some of his best work. Some of my favorites in the collection are "La Salchichona," some of his early Impressionist miniatures, and his "Las Meninas" series in which he plays with Velázquez's classic. A temporary exhibit of Picasso and Degas paintings were set up, which made it easy to see Degas' influence on Picasso. Placing the two artists' works side by side, the similarity between the subject matter (dancers usually), movement, and positioning of the subjects were evident. So, like a certain Catalonian artist said himself, "good artists copy, great artists steal."

 

On the subject, for legal reasons and what have you, I'd like to note that I did not create or take pictures of the Picasso and Mariscal pictures featured here, just got them off of Google's image search para mostrar ejemplos de lo que dije. The Picasso paintings are some of my favorites and the Mariscal pictures are his Olympic mascot and his font design.

Chapter Thirteen: Homage to Cataluña o La Vista de Barcelona

Ah, Barcelona. The city so nice I have to divide my trip there into two chapters. Well I don't really, but how else am I going to fit all these pretty pictures here? My visit to Barcelona began with a view of the city from Montjuic, a mountain overlooking the city and the sea. Around some of the buildings that housed the 1992 Olympic games, I could see all of Spain's cultural capital. The old neighborhoods, new shopping districts, and the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. Barcelona continues to be Spain's most sophisticated city with a lot of concerts and exhibits rolling through as well as an active nightlife scene.

From there, we wandered through the Barrio Gótico - the "Gothic Quarter" and older political center of the city - seeing yet another cathedral and the current Ayuntamiento City Hall. Heading back towards our hotel, we strolled through La Rambla, a road filled with shops and markets. Later that evening, I walked around the newer part of the city, passing by expensive clothing stores, bars, tapas restaurants, clubs, and Gaudi's Casa Batlló which was lit up beautifully at night.

The rest of the weekend was spent seeing the artistic highlights of Barcelona as well as visiting the "Barrio Viejo," the historic market center of the city and home to more quickly-built cathedrals that the rich merchants could finance. Really three days was not enough to appreciate all of Barcelona, but it was an interesting city that I would love to spend more time visiting. My experience with the art of Barcelona will be recounted in a subsequent chapter entitled "The Minds of Gaudí, Picasso, and Mariscal."

Chapter Twelve: Tapas - A Chapter Unto Itself o La Noche en Tascas

So while I've already discussed food and the Spanish meal schedule, I haven't discussed one of the culinary aspects Spain is known for - tapas. Basically tapas are small dishes that you have, usually for dinner, while enjoying a nice drink. The tapas atmosphere is really informal, with people usually cramming into bars and throwing their trash on the floor, but it has a friendly vibe. Larger size tapas are known as "raciones" and in País Vasco, tapas are known as "pintxos," cause obviously the Basques couldn't do the same thing as the Spaniards.

Typically, people buy a few tapas to share and just have small portions of each dish. This is actually a pretty excellent way of eating and gives you a taste of things without weighing you down like a 7 course lunch meal. Plus, when you're splitting cheap $2 to $7 tapas between a lot of people, the bill is quite cheap. People usually take tapas strolls from building to building, keeping the evening moving, but I kind of like just staying at one establishment - if the tapas are alright - and enjoying it there.

What's interesting about tapas is that tapas restaurants - tascas - run the gamut in terms of style. There are super grimy hole in the wall bars, but there are also the more sophisticated sit-down restaurants with a smaller bar area. No matter which end of the style spectrum the tasca is at, it will be crowded if it's a good one. Plus, even with the best elegant tapas restaurants, the tapas dishes rarely go over $7, so it's easy to tell if you're being overcharged. I haven't tried a real tapas bar yet in the U.S., but I have a feeling that when I do it will probably be overpriced and a little pretentious in its taste and atmosphere. What's great about the tascas here is that while they serve some of the best Spanish food I've had yet, it still hasn't gotten too pretentious or touristy (although for some locals I'm sure it has). Every night at the best tascas you'll find a crowd mixed with younger adults and senior citizens, casually enjoying a fine variety of Spanish cuisine.

So, since I've laid out the basic idea of tapas, I think I'll include a list of some of my favorite tapas and where I've had them - just cities because I'm not giving away my tascas recommendations for free.

1. Solomillo de Ternera con Cebolla Caramelizada, Sevilla
This is from one of the classier tascas, and it's a finely cooked - but still medium to rare - steak with caramelized onions and salt on the side for dipping.

2. Brocheta de Gambas, San Sebastian
A nice shrimp on a skewer, served on a piece of bread. It's a little more simple than some of the upscale tapas places, but a delicious taste from País Vasco.

3. Surtido de Queso, Madrid
Just going to a cheese stall at one of Madrid's markets is a great call where you can pick up a few Spanish cheeses to try.

4. Risotto de Idiazabal, Sevilla
A beautiful sheep cheese risotto that is basically the thinking man's mac and cheese.

5. Pimiento con Atún, San Sebastian or Atún con Tomate y Cebollitas, Sevilla
So pretty much any tuna dish in Spain is worthwhile, but combining red peppers with tuna brings it to this list. In this case, the pepper was filled with tuna, but another delicious traditional dish is cooked tuna with red peppers on top. The "Atún con Tomate" dish included tomatoes and onions rather than peppers and was further proof that Spanish tuna is where it's at.

6. Lomo de Salmón Fresco a la plancha con guacamole, Sevilla
An excellent salmon dish with the added bonus of being served with guacamole.

7. Brocheta de Ternera, San Sebastian
A steak on a skewer with an excellent sauce, on top of a piece of bread. As with the brocheta de gambas, simple but delicious.

Aside from these specific delicacies, a few tapas are safe and delicious no matter where you go in Spain.

1. Tortilla Española
Basically a potato omelet, it's split into pie sized pieces and is a delicious substitute for bread. It's a Spanish specialty, so it's pretty safe to have these anywhere in the country.

2. Croquetas
A breaded and fried ball of cheese, usually mixed with ham. I've enjoyed just the plain cheese or ham and cheese croquetas, but having a bacalao (cod) filled croqueta has also been interesting.

3. Champiñones al ajillo
Mushrooms served in a garlic sauce. While I'm not a huge mushroom fan, if the chef has the right balance between mushroom and garlic, it can be quite nice.

4. Patatas alioli
Fried potatoes with a garlic mayonnaise sauce, they're a delicious side dish and I like them better than "Patatas bravas," which are fried potatoes in a hotter sauce.


5. Montaditos
Small sandwiches, filled with whatever is around. I usually like them filled with tuna, but the chain Cervecería de Cien Montaditos fills them with just about anything including Tortilla Española, shrimp, and Jamón Ibérico, Spain's ham specialty. I'm not a huge ham fan, but it's still required to try while visiting.