Spain or España, Lisbon or Lisboa? - Carver

We are currently in Lisbon. But here, nothing will say we are in Lisbon. The signs on the highway pointed to Lisboa. Similarly, back in Spain, nothing said Spain. We were instead in España. So the question is, why in English, do we change names of cities and countries. Because I am fairly certain that where I am now was not called Lisbon and the Portuguese changed it to Lisboa.

However, English is not the only one to change the names. Take Deutschland for an example. In English, it is called Germany. In Portuguese, it is called Alemanha. It seems fairly sensible that we change the name of España because it has a letter that in English, we don't have. But why don't we just change it to Espanya or something like that. In Portuguese it is called Espanha. Admittedly, in English, the nh doesn't make the ñ sound. But the ny would be close. But why do we change it to Spain. But Deutschland doesn't have any letters or sounds that we don't have.

We have done a few things in Lisboa. We did the Science Museum yesterday but we are staying home today because yesterday, Syarra was running a fever. She will get lots of rest and tomorrow we will explore more of the city.

The Southern Shore of Portugal – Erich

Day one of our time in Portugal began in Spain. We traveled from our hotel by bus to another bus to the train station. But here, please, try not to be too shocked, we did not board a train. Instead we rented a car. And now Alrica is a Spanish (and Portuguese as you will see) driver.

You just have to believe me that this is in Spain

First, as we were leaving Seville, we were hungry. It was 14:00 or 2 PM, prime lunch time for the Spanish. The Spanish schedule is very different than ours at home. We never quite made the transition to theirs, but it goes something like this: Wake up at say 7:00 or 8:00 and have your breakfast. Then you go to school or work and go straight through until 14:00 (again 2:00 PM). Now you have lunch during siesta. Then you rest and hang out and many of the businesses are closed. Things then reopen at 16:00 or 17:00 (4 or 5 PM), and stay open late, maybe to 10 PM. Now, the Spanish, around 19:00 or 20:00 (that is 7 or 8 PM) eat tapas, small plates of food, almost like appetizers. They also tend to drink beer at this time. Finally, you have dinner around 22:00 (10 PM) and then don't go to sleep until 0:00 (midnight) if you are having an early night, or possibly 2:00 (which is 2 AM, no surprises there) if you are not.

Let me get back to my point. It is now 14:00 and we are hungry for lunch. But, this is also a Sunday. In Spain, a very Catholic country, there isn't much open on Sundays. So we go to the one place we can find that is near the highway and open. It's a McDonald's. And it is swarmed with people. Normally, we try to eat at more authentic places of the country we are in. But we don't have a lot of available choices.

So, Erich, how does McDonald's in Spain compare to McDonald's in the states? I hear you asking me this (so if you weren't asking this, you need to now pretend you were, because I'm answering anyway.)

This McDonald's had these digital kiosks were you could, if you chose, place your order with a touch screen and then go up to the counter to get it. We didn't use these because at first we didn't understand them. It was only while eating that we saw people using them and discovered that they can be set to work in Spanish, French, or English. That would have made things easier.

Instead we went to the counter and I communicated with the very helpful man at the register. My Spanish is not so good, but he was quite kind. The kids were splitting 20 Chicken McNuggets. In Spain, these are still called McNuggets. So that was no problem, though I had to order vente instead of twenty. But then he asked me about salsa (which is the dipping sauce). My kids enjoy Sweet and Sour sauce at home, but I didn't have any idea how to order this. They ended up with a creamy dressing that looked at lot like Ranch Dressing. Carver confirms that this is exactly what it was.

A Big Mac is called Big Mac (and not Mac Grande as one might expect). But instead of a combo, you order a Clasico which is a meal with patates (which literally means potatoes, but it's fries) and a bebido grande (large drink). As for drink choices, you have Coke, Fanta Naranja (Orange), Coke Cero (Coke Zero), and Nestea. No sweet tea. Sorry southerners.

I had a Big Mac, and it tasted exactly like a Big Mac at home. The fries tasted just like the fries at home. The kids reported that the McNuggets tasted just like the McNuggets at home. The Coke tasted just like the Coke at home. I suppose that last one wasn't a surprise.

When you go to throw away your trash, you separate it. There is a bin for plastics like your lid and straw. There is a bin for organics, leftover foods. And there is a bin for paper and containers.

There was a large play area for kids, though we didn't stop to use it. But it was in a detached building. And it was surrounded by a lot of outdoor tables for enjoying your meal. These too were filled, because even in February, it's nice out at 14:00.

Back on the highway, we went west and eventually reached the border of Portugal. Now, I had heard about the open borders of Europe. But I didn't understand just how open they are. There is no border patrol. There is no passport checking. We don't have our passports stamped for being in Portugal because there is no one there to stamp them. You just ride on the highway and you are in Portugal.

We did have to stop because we were driving a car licensed in Spain and not Portugal. We drove up to a machine where you have to insert a credit card. While you are parked there, a camera gets a picture of your license plate. And then whenever you use a toll road in Portugal, you just drive through the electronic lanes, they get a picture of your license plate, and the toll is charged directly to the credit card you used at the machine when you entered the country.

The place we were staying that first night was outside of Fuseta, along the southern shore of Portugal. We had purchased a SIM card in Spain and we were supposed to have data that could be used throughout Europe. Well, apparently not. Because once we crossed into Portugal, we didn't have access to the data anymore. Not a big deal, we had printed out directions. But...

The last line of our directions told us to turn left on EM1334. Well, the small roads coming off of the national highway don't have their numbers listed on the signs. So we couldn't figure out which road we were supposed to turn on.

We stopped at a man selling oranges on the side of the road in Livremente. By the way, we bought some oranges and they are delicious. Even I like them, and I don't generally like to eat oranges (though it is mainly about the texture for me). But before we ate the oranges, I was asking him for directions.

Now, I speak no Portuguese. He speaks no English. I speak a bit of Spanish, and it's rusty. But in some ways it is similar to Portuguese. He doesn't know the road, but he has data and is looking on his cell phone. It was an amazing moment. The two of us managed to communicate. He was super helpful. He wanted to help me. It was great. Don't ask me most of what was said, because I have no idea. I did learn that the words for north and south are very similar in Portuguese and Spanish, but the words for east and west sound nothing like those in Spanish.

We did find the place we were staying. We brought in our stuff and then headed into the main part of Fuseta. Fuseta is a fishing village. It has a channel leading into a river leading out to the Atlantic. In Fuseta, we walked along the channel. We met a very nice windsurfer named Pedro who encouraged Alrica to never give up windsurfing. Each day she will be better than she was the day before.

Syarra was nearly part of a fisherman's haul as you can see in the picture below. No worries, we cut the line before he cleaned and filleted her.

She needs to be more careful what she bites into

(Don't freak out. It's a sculpture of a fish hook and we were just having fun with forced perspective. Syarra wasn't actually caught on a giant fish hook.)

From Fuseta we drove to a village called Moncarapacho. Here there was a celebration for Carnavale! This coming Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras, call it what you will. And so on the weekend before it, Moncarapacho has a Carnavale celebration. We missed the main parade, but we got to enjoy singing in the streets. We saw the people of Moncarapacho, many of whom were in costumes. Superheroes are apparently popular. We ate churros filled with strawberry, caramel, and white chocolate. We ate Pao de Pizza (a sort of stuffed bread). And we did see a couple of floats leaving the area.

I find your lack of Carnavale disturbing.

So it was a busy and exciting first day in Portugal. And I can't wait to see what is still to come!

How Plans Evolve – Syarra

After some time we decided that we were going into Portugal. But this had been planned a long time ago. Now we knew where. We said that we were going to stay in Lisbon and Porto, but no plans were made of where to stay. Later research was in order and we found that in Porto there was the Hogsmeade bookstore in Harry Potter. There are lots of museums, cathedrals, castles, and more in Lisbon.

So we planned to do four days in Lisbon and three in Porto since it is on the ocean, which is supposed to be beautiful, and it is even better at this time of year. We decided to get a rental car and drive around for a week. But this is because we got selected for a house sit in southern France. The animals we are watching include dogs, chickens, and horses. You all might be asking do you know anything about chickens and horses? The answer is yes for chickens, not really for horses though we have a tiny bit of knowledge from girl scouts, and my mother has some from childhood. Back to the point we are focusing on. Soon we questioned if we wanted to be on the move that much. The decision was made and so we decided to go in to Portugal stay somewhere not to far the first day then go to Lisbon for 4 nights, then if we want another night in Lisbon we can or if we want to go to Porto that is also possible.

Those are our plans so far!

NO8DO and Other Cool Sights of Seville – Erich

All over Seville, you see this symbol:

It's on the bike racks, the signs in the parks, the street sweepers, and even the manhole covers. But what does it mean? I asked and learned it is a pun that comes from the history of the city.

Back in the 13^th Century, there was a king named King Alfonso X the Wise. He was a scholar, artist, philosopher kind of king. Not so much a bloody warlord kind of king. But one of his sons, Sancho IV of Castile was less like his father and more like the bloody warlord. So much so that he decided to usurp the throne from his father.

Much of Spain turned on Alfonso and backed Sancho. But Seville stayed loyal to the king. The battle kind of went back and forth, but ultimately Alfonso was restored to the throne. And to reward Seville for its unwavering loyalty, he granted the city its own motto: “No me ha dejado,” which means “It had not abandoned me.”

The way that Spanish is spoken in Seville, this motto is usually slurred a bit and sounds like “No-madeja-do”. And a madeja is a bundle of wool that is knotted or shaped like a figure 8. So No-madeja-do becomes No-8-do, and thus you have this symbol you cannot fail to see all over the place in Seville.

But there are many other impressive sights in Seville. The cathedral there is huge and amazing.

The Cathedral of Seville

It started life as a mosque, but was built into a cathedral after the Catholics conquered the land from the Moors.

I was excited to see a sundial on the side of the cathedral

Of special note: the tomb of Christopher Columbus is inside the cathedral, if anyone was looking.

Speaking of Columbus, there is a tall column in the city commemorating him.

Commemoration of Christobel Colon

At the top is a lion. Underneath the lion on one side it reads Cristobel Colon and on the other side 1492. Under these is a ship and on one side (the same side with Colon's name) is the name Isabel. On the other side of the ship is the name Fernando. And at the base is a portrait of Cristobel himself. (Maybe I'm being fresh, you know, using first names here.)

There is the man (much maligned these days) himself

But Seville is replete with art. There are sculptures everywhere, beautiful fountains, statuary. It's amazing. Here is a set of Alrica and the kids all taken in one courtyard near the cathedral.

Alrica and a Fish Fountain

Carver and a Lion

Syarra and a Dog

And here are some of the fountains we saw in the city.

Fountain commemorating El Cano

Not sure who she is, but if she distributes swords, we could form a government

And if that weren't enough, how about some other statues?

Just outside the cathedral

Just outside the Museo des Bellas Artes

I previously posted about El Alcazar, which is a huge castle. But that castle does not have a moat. But you know what does? The university's main building! Admittedly, it wasn't a university building when the moat was built. I know it was previously a tobacco warehouse. But I'm not sure what it was in the days when it needed a moat.

The dry moat around the University

But no list of impressive sights in Seville would be complete without the Plaza de España.

The Plaza de España

This is a gigantic, elaborately designed semicircular building curling around a plaza full of fountains, a man made stream, bridges, and columns. You can rent boats and paddle around the man made stream.

Here you can see the water

You may have seen it before. Ardent Star Wars fans may recognize this place. In Episode II: Attack of the Clones, this is where Padme and Anakin get married. I suspect there just wasn't enough budget to actually film on Naboo. It is, after all, in a galaxy far, far away. So some location scout chose Seville as the most compatible earthly approximation.

Earth or Naboo? You make the call.

And finally, perhaps the most unique sight was one that only half of our family got to see. I've been in many men's rooms in my days, as has Carver. Though I suspect I've been in more. And this is the first time either of us can recall seeing urinals with lids.

Do I need to caption this? I think it speaks for itself

It just goes to show you never no madeja do.

The Tapas of Seville – Erich

A delightful comic opera about tangled love between various foodstuffs of Seville and those who would eat them.

The Spanish are famous for tapas. At around 19:00 which is 7 PM, they eat small plates of food to tide them over until their suppers at 22:00 (10 PM) or thereabouts. And Seville is famous for its tapas. There may be no city with more variety and acclaim when it comes to tapas than Seville.

Good news is you don't have to wait for 7 PM to get tapas. You can get them most any time of the day. And while we were in Seville, we took advantage of this. And while we were at it, we tried a few amazing pastries and desserts too. Because, you know, why not?

So here are some of the foods we enjoyed in Seville. First the tapas. These were hard to get pictures of with the plate still full. People were a bit too eager to eat them.

Solomillo al Whiskey

Solomillo al Whiskey: This is sliced pork and sliced potatoes. And then they are cooked in a sauce that includes some sort of whiskey. I don't know which kind of whiskey (it probably varies by which chef is making it) nor do I know what the other ingredients are. But it is good and still has some of the flavor of the whiskey about it.

Arroz Negro con Calamar

Arroz Negro con Calamar: That literally means black rice with squid. There are small pieces of the calamari in there. But what is even more interesting is that it is the squid ink which is used (and apparently is edible) to make the white rice into black rice. Quite good. Alrica had me get a second batch of this she liked it so much. I think it was her favorite.

Queso Caliente

Queso Caliente: This mean hot cheese and that's what it is. It is a dish of melted cheeses with hard crouton like bread on which one eats it. Carver was a big fan of that.

Espinacas con Garbanzos

Espinacas con Garbanzos: Yes, this is spinach with garbanzos. Now, I am normally not a big fan of cooked spinach. I love raw spinach, but not usually cooked. Yet, this was my favorite. First, while it is one of the few “vegetarian” tapas it tastes like you are eating meat. I don't know what it is cooked in, but I suspect some semblance of meat is present. And the spices that are used, they are incredible. We got this plate at two different restaurants, and it was my favorite both times.

Now the pastries. Here I did some pictures of them uneaten, but only because we required everyone to eat up the tapas before the desserts. I don't know their names, but I can describe them.

It may look like a doughnut, but...

This first one is a pastry with a berry topping. It looks like a doughnut. But the inside is much flakier, more like a sweet croissant. Good, but not as good as the following.

Layers of goodness

This one has a pastry shell and then that is filled with some sort of unbelievably delicious cream, and then topped with a piece of caramel flan. The cream was already enough for me to declare it the best, and then add flan, genius!

Things that make you go, "Hmm."

Finally, one food we didn't eat, but caught Syarra's eye. You might recognize this restaurant as one we have in America. Or is it? Hmm, looks similar, but Dunkin Coffee? That isn't the name I remember. Well, maybe I have just been traveling for too long to retain this in my memory.

El Alcazar – Erich

The wall and the gate through which we enter

In Seville, Spain there is a castle. But that is hardly the right way to describe El Alcazar. Yes, it is a castle, but it is really more like castle upon castle next to castle abutting castle with extensive gardens surrounding this complex of castles. 

It all starts with the Moors of about a thousand years ago. They built a castle. Since that time, other kings have built new castles that connect to existing castles. Or sometimes, the castles are built on top of existing castles.

I know we didn't see everything. It would easily take a day to see it all, maybe more. But what we did see was amazing.

Once in an improv comedy sketch I had to be a character in a movie called "Under the Pillar"

First, there are walls, arches, pillars, and entire castles in very different architectural styles built at different times. But all of it is decorated with so much detail, some of it so elaborate, other places simple and geometric. Why just build a stone wall when you can build a stone wall in a brand new architectural style? Why have a gate when you can decorate every centimeter of the gate?

This wall was using exposed natural rock in a style with a name like grutanesca or something

Okay, maybe there is a centimeter unused

Even the ceiling is fancy

There is a part of the upper floor of one of the castles that is still used by the Spanish Royal Family when they visit Seville. That makes El Alcazar the oldest still used castle in Europe. (I don't think we got to see the rooms where the royal family actually lives.)

Look at the characters on the border. They aren't Arabic. I'm not sure they are even letters. A code?

El Alcazar has fountains, some of them inside a building, some of them outside. And what's more, there are huge gardens that take up several city blocks around the castles.

A fountain inside

A fountain outside (with a statue of Mercury in the middle)

We particularly enjoyed Jardin Labyrinto or the Maze Garden. It is a great place to play hide and go seek. Though for some reason, Syarra seemed to always find me quite easily. Maybe she has placed a radio transmitter tracking device on me.

Do you mind?!

We did see one of the residents of El Alcazar, a peacock. He seemed not to be inclined to socialize with us much, but did pose for some pictures. Can't blame him though. He must be a believer in that old adage: a man's home is his Alcazar.

Continental Drift – Erich

My title is perhaps misleading, as it may make the reader think he or she is about to read a treatise on tectonic plates, geological time, and ocean floor spreading. But alas, the reader anxious for such a blog post is about to be disappointed. Because what I am really writing about is our transition from the continent of Africa to the continent of Europe. 

Our story begins in Tangier, Morocco (that's in Africa). It's a beautiful sunny day. It actually happens to be February 2, or Groundhog Day. But they don't really celebrate Groundhog Day in Morocco. I suspect that those who are not Bill Murray fans have likely never even heard of it. For one thing, they don't have winter in the same sense that much of the United States does, so they aren't so concerned with whether or not there will be six more weeks. For another thing, I don't think they have groundhogs. That makes it a much less satisfying Groundhog Day.

On this beautiful sunny day, we walk to the Tangier Ville Port. Here we have our passports inspected and stamped indicating our exit from Morocco. Soon we board a large ferry. If we had a car, you can drive it right onto the ferry. The lower level is a huge garage. The upper level (actually two upper levels) are comfortable passenger seating. There is a cafe with waiters here as well.

And so by boat we leave Africa. We ply our way across the Straits of Gibraltar (on the Atlantic side of it) and land in Tarifa, Spain. We now set foot in Europe! Again our passports are inspected and stamped, our backpacks x-rayed, and then we board a shuttle bus which will take us from Tarifa to Algeciras. This is all happening so fast I don't really get much time to get pictures of Tarifa. This is a shame because Tarifa is a beautiful area. But I do manage to get one shot with the name Tarifa so I can at least prove we were there.

See! We really were there.

The trip from Tarifa to Algeciras is beautiful. The land is lush green with rolling hills or even a few low mountains. And there are wind farms all around Tarifa. It is, I am told, the wind surfing capital of the world, and the Spanish are using the wind for more then just recreation.

In Algeciras, the shuttle bus drops us off at the port there. We then walk to the San Bernardo Bus Station (or Estacion de Autobuses). We purchase tickets for the bus to Seville. Again, I do not get a ton of great pictures of Algeciras, but I do obtain a couple. One, from the bus, shows Algeciras climbing the hill.

The name proves our presence

Prettier picture of Algeciras

This bus ride is equally gorgeous and equally lush and green. And remember, this is in February. This is winter at its worst, if one can say the word worst in connection with the southern Spanish winter. We pass from Cadiz to Andalusia, and the landscapes are gorgeous. We pass through tunnels to go under some of the hills we must get past. Other hills we follow through their curves. And at last, we arrive at Seville, the great capital city of Andalusia.

There will be more blogs about our adventures in Seville. But one thing we note is the flying of three flags together. Whenever we see flags flying, which is common on the hotels of Seville, there are three of them in a row. There is the green and white flag of Andalusia (one of the provinces of Spain. Though to the people of Spain, each province is like its own country.) Then there is the red and yellow flag of Spain. And finally there is the dark blue with yellow stars flag of the European Union.

Three Flags, like half of a Six Flags amusement park

And so we have, like our early hominid ancestors, left the cradle of humanity in Africa and embarked into Europe. Though I suspect they didn't use the same means as we did of getting here. Thankfully, modern transportation brings the continents much closer together. Not as close as when they were Pangaea, but give it time. Continental drift will probably bring us all together again someday.