Kobi & Brian: Europe 2013-2014: Portugal

After the craziness of leaving London, and the craziness we know awaits us at home, we knew that we would need a week of sun, sangria, and not much else. So we packed our bags again (seriously this is just getting annoying now) and left Megan's house in Richmond where we're currently staying.

First stop was the Algarve, the southern region of Portugal, famous for its beaches, chilled out vibe and sunburnt Poms. We stayed in Lagos, an easy 5-10 minute walk from the beaches. While we haven't been in decent sun for about 9 months, we definitely haven't lost any of our Australian-ness. When borrowing the hostels beach umbrella I found myself checking for redbacks (it was kept outside!) and at the polo club in London we had to walk through the woods to get there and I caught Brian stomping his feet as he walked to scare away snakes. You can take the Aussies out of Australia....

Things we loved about Lagos:

Piri Piri chicken and the Espumante Sangria (sangria made with sparkling white wine instead of red wine) Delicious!
The beaches. There was actually some pretty big swell while we were there, so some of the more secluded bays which the Algarve is famous for weren't accessible, but the main beach plus the smaller Potato Beach were really close by and were perfect. The sun was shining and lying on the beach was so relaxing. The water was freezing so only Brian went in. Then he got straight out.
Spending the afternoon at Slide and Splash Waterpark like kids. We didn't feel like kids the next day though, we felt like a couple of oldies as we had bruises and bumps from the slides!
The pancakes as Cafe Odeon. They were way too filling, but I think the owner hosts young travellers a lot because he wrapped them in tin foil for us and they lasted us another whole day they were so huge!
All the friendly dogs, and the friendly locals.

After Lagos we caught the train to Lisbon, and checked into what is probably our favourite hostel so far. Free milkshakes on Mondays, free soup on Tuesdays, movie and free popcorn night on Saturdays, and awesome pancakes in the mornings.

Lisbon is the second oldest capital city in Europe, after Athens. The Portuguese empire used to be really powerful, and they sailed the world conquering new lands. We could definitely see the Portuguese influence in some of the cities we've travelled to, like Goa in India, which has all the same architecture and still has a really similar feel to Lisbon. Lisbon is a thousand times busier than Lagos, so we joined our usual free walking tour to get our bearings.

Things we've loved about Lisbon:

Our walking tour. It was long (4 hours!) but we got a great overview of the city from our guide Miguel.
Learning all about the Lisbon earthquake in 1755, which killed over 80% of the population from the quake and subsequent tsunami. The tsunami was so powerful it even destroyed Seville in neighbouring Spain, which is 60km inland. Most of Portugal had to be completely rebuilt after the earthquake, which measured a 9.0 on the Richter Scale. To put it into perspective, the Japanese earthquake in Fukushima only measured an 8.7 in comparison.
Brian wants me to include trams. Again. He thinks every city is better with trams. Lisbon is built on three hills and the roads are very windy and cobbled, so there are also 4 funiculars to take people up and down the hills.
Tasting local treats, like the sour cherry liqueur ginjinha, the delicious custard tarts, and ordering a bica. Bica is a version of espresso in Portugal. Originally the Portuguese thought it was too strong, so they added sugar to it. Bica stands for "Beba Isso Com Açúcar" which literally translates in to Drink That With Sugar.
Our day trip to Cascais, which is a well-to-do fishing village just out of Lisbon. It was seriously hot, so we got in some more beach time before wandering around the village.
Hearing some fado, which is Portuguese folk music played on a guitar with 12 strings.
Getting to board a war ship which had docked in the main bay of Lisbon. I don't know how the sailors live on there. Brian banged his head climbing a ladder about 5 minutes into the tour.
Hearing all of Lisbon go mental for about 5 hours after they won some important soccer match.
Trying the local green wine. It's not actually green, but the grapes are picked before they are fully ripe, so the grapes are a bit green. It was really good and a tiny bit fizzy. I approve!

Portugal has been excellent, and just what we needed!

We are now a tiny bit tanned, and a whole lot more relaxed. The excitement is definitely building for our trip home - even when we were leaving London it hadn't really hit that going home was a reality and we'd soon be seeing all the people we have missed so much. But now that it's almost here, we just can't wait to be on the plane home to Perth!

So our 14 month long adventure is coming to an end. While it's sad to leave the place that has been our home for the past year, we have made the best memories! We've ticked every item off our bucket list, and done a million more things we had never even thought of. We've made friends all over the world, met up with old friends all over the world, and have made promises to visit and host those friends in the future.

Taking this time off to travel has been the best thing we ever did - both for ourselves and as a couple. I wanted to come home knowing how to read maps, and liking beer. I can use google maps and find my away around using the blinking GPS dot (Brian will dispute this) and I now like 3 types of beer. Brian wanted to try as many weird foods as possible, and can now claim he has eaten frogs legs, chicken feet, zebra, shark fin, ostrich, snails, haggis and springbok. Looks like everyone is a winner!

Thank you to all our family and friends for all your emails, phone calls, postcards, gifts in the mail, love and support. Knowing we have such awesome people in our lives makes us so excited about coming home to you all. And a big thank you to all our new friends, who made our year away everything we ever hoped it would be and more

Europe, it's been a pleasure.

Lots of love,

Kobi and Brian

xxx