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.

Portugal in a Nutshell

The “In a Nutshell” series superficially summarizes an entire city, region, or country in a few bullet points. Ignoring historical and cultural complexities, I give you Portugal … in a nutshell:

• When ordering hot chocolate, be advised that this means melted chocolate in a cup. It’s delicious, but I wouldn’t suggest drinking an entire cup for breakfast unless you’d like to wage war on your stomach.

• There are hills everywhere, and they’re truly alive with the sound of music. Okay, I made the second part up.

A Porto River Cruise at Sunset

On the first leg of my trip to Portugal, I stood atop Lisbon’s ancient castle overlooking the city to watch a stunning sunset. It seemed fitting that I should say goodbye to Portugal by taking in another sunset, this time while cruising the Douro River. Hopping onto one of the many boats from the riverfront Ribeira neighborhood is a great way to see the city from a different angle. These cruises generally last about an hour, an hour in which there’s nothing to do but relax and snap a few photos. Below are some of mine:

Good Eating in Porto

Although our time in Porto was short, my friends and I made the best of the city’s varied dining scene. We opted for one trendy restaurant, one elegant, and one casual. All were yum (which is what matters).

Bugo Art Burgers

Not Doing Things in Porto

We arrived in Porto, a picturesque city in northern Portugal, ready to sample tons of port wine. As soon as we checked in, we took a cab across the river to Vila Nova de Gaia, where all the wine cellars are. We insisted on beginning our tour at the wine cellar that also sold cheese and crackers because we were famished. Thing is, our cabdriver was capable of finding any wine cellar but that one. He drove round and round, practicing his French with me, talking about keeping up with French news and keeping in touch with French friends and loving all things French. He also spoke extensively about Porto -- pointing out the architecture and providing a detailed history lesson -- all in French. This was amusing, but we were hungry and wanted our cheese right now. Now! At long last we found the cellar, bid adieu to our Francophile Portuguese cabdriver, and ate some freaking cheese. We managed to tag along on two wine cellar tours and sample four ports that afternoon. Success!

Chocolate Shot Cups? I Seriously Love Coimbra.

A popular Portuguese liquor made from ginja (a sour berry), sugar, and schnapps, is my new favorite thing. They call it Ginjinha (so it’s fun to say) and serve it as a shot (so it’s fun to consume). As if that weren’t enough, at a small shop near Coimbra’s central plaza, Ginjinha comes in a chocolate shot cup. That’s right, people. Chocolate. Shot. Cup. Drink the liquor, eat the cup. It’s a thing of beauty.

Heavenly shots are ready for consumption

Visiting Coimbra Hogwarts

Students at the nearly 800-year-old University of Coimbra wear black capes to class. When I learned about the traditional uniform, I decided that the University of Coimbra was Hogwarts. Students study Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. They learn to cast spells and play Quidditch. Seriously. You can quote me on this.

Since we were in town over the holiday break, we sadly missed out on meeting any Hogwarts students in their medieval garb. To compensate, we pretended to be them.

Fado and Falling for Coimbra

To me, there's no better souvenir from a foreign country than a CD. I like to pop into a record store, grab some music off the shelves, plant myself at a listening station, and go for the ride. Usually, I feel like I gain insight into a culture by listening to its traditional and popular music, even if I can't understand the lyrics.

Portugal is famous for fado, a musical genre that typically features mournful lyrics and an emotional, expressive singing style. I tend to find beauty in all things melancholy and was therefore eager to learn more about fado. On a hop-on-hop-off bus tour of Lisbon, I discovered Portuguese fado singer Cristina Branco, whose songs played between historical anecdotes on my headset. I learned the singer's name from the bus driver and now own one of her albums. It turns out that Cristina Branco is one of the most popular current-day interpreters of the fado style. Below is a taste.

A Stroll Through Evora

Portugal is known for its many charming towns, so my friends and I were determined to visit a couple during our visit. Evora was a priority. Like Sintra, it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an easy day trip from Lisbon. As soon as we arrived, we popped into the tourist office for a map of recommended sites, but we quickly realized that our time would be best spent by roaming around the town without much forethought. More than 2,000 years old, Evora feels like a walking history lesson. Beats the classroom, and this coming from a self-professed nerd who always sits at the front of the class.

Sintra: Chasing the Fairytale

Once upon a time, there was a quiet, enchanted town where castles and palaces sat atop wooded hills, beckoning visitors to enter and explore.

This was the image projecting in my mind when I headed to Sintra. I felt compelled to make the short day trip from Lisbon after reading and hearing so much about the town’s beautiful castles and stunning views. I had read words like “mythical” and “magical” used to describe the UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a friend had told me that she’d felt like Cinderella there. Of course, reality is never quite like a fairytale. The castles are striking, and the views are impressive, but that uphill climb kills!

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.