Capture the Colour Photo Contest 2013

For the second year in a row, Travel Supermarket is hosting Capture the Colour, a contest in which travel and photography bloggers showcase five pictures, each featuring a different color -- yellow, red, green, white, and blue. Each blogger then nominates five fellow bloggers to enter the contest, which ends October 9.

Recently, Joe of Cosmic Smudge nominated me. Yay! There's no way I'm winning this thing, but it's fun to participate because 1) it makes me feel like part of the travel blogger community and 2) it gives me an excuse to spell the word colour with a u. So here goes.

A Night Out in Lisbon

- "Do I look Portuguese?"

In the middle of a pedestrian, bar-lined street in Lisbon, Ali and I had a 30-minute conversation with a couple of guys who were convinced I was Portuguese. "But I don't even speak the language!" I insisted. "You're just messing with us," they theorized.

In a jumbled blend of Spanish and Portuguese (Spantuguese?), we talked to the boys about economics, American politics, and how they were entirely too young for us. They disagreed on all counts. Suddenly, a fight broke out, the police arrived, and Ali and I bolted and hopped in a cab.

Sir Gnome Has Fun Storming the Castle

For years, Sir Gnome had been looking to exact revenge on a six-fingered man who had terribly wronged him. He knew where he would find this man -- at Castelo de São Jorge, Lisbon's stunning medieval fortress. Once he spotted the monument from afar, he made his move. It was time to storm the castle.

Good Eating in Lisbon

Food Post Disclaimer: In the era of Anthony Bourdain, Andrew Zimmern, and the Food Network, everyone seems to be an expert in the art of food description. I'm only an expert in the art of food eating, so I'm afraid that readers of Travel, Je T'aime will have to excuse adjectives like "yummy" and "flavorful." 

On the first day of 2012, I boarded a flight to Portugal. Although I was trying to recover from an eventful New Year's Eve in London (read: rum and champagne), I was also looking forward to a delicious Portuguese meal. Ignoring my nausea, I called over a friendly-looking flight attendant and asked for restaurant recommendations. He reached into my seat pocket, pulled out a paper bag -- hey, I might need that! -- and proceeded to jot down a few names.

A Portuguese Light Drama

- "It's not a European vacation unless the lights go out."

Our apartment in Lisbon is fully-furnished, centrally-located, roomy, and beautiful. It has a wraparound balcony with views of the castle and the sea. It has cable TV, a hairdryer, and a free bottle of wine. What it doesn't have is electricity.

"It's not a European vacation unless the lights go out," quips Kellie. It's 1:30 a.m., and we're sitting around the couch soberly discussing whether or not to flip a mysterious switch above the breakers.

"I think we should do it," Kellie declares. "It's the one thing we haven't tried."

"But what if it's the gas? You said it might be the gas!" Ali isn't feeling daring tonight.

New Year, New Travels

Tonight I head to London, where I'll be having tea, visiting the Tate Modern, and ringing in the New Year! Then on January 1, I'm off to Portugal for the first time. I'll be visiting Lisbon and Porto as well as a number of smaller towns.