Day 1 (Atlanta to Madrid to Lisbon) November 3, 2016

Day 1 (Atlanta to Madrid to Lisbon:

Left for airport around 3 PM for 6:35pm flight to Madrid.  Flight was on time and I had a chicken with vegetables with a beer for dinner.  Watched the movie Central Intelligence (with The Rock) and got a small nap in.  Landed in Madrid around 7:15 AM.  We found a place (“left luggage”) to store our luggage for the day because we had a flight to Portugal latter in the evening.  We “left” our luggage and grabbed a cab to Playa de Mayor, the historic area of Madrid.  

Playa de Mayor

Our cab driver told us about a Churro’s and Chocolate place but they didn’t take credit cards.  While looking for a Deutche bank (no transaction fees from BOA) and got Euro’s, we found a “free” guided tour that was starting at 10 AM.  Before we started the tour we stopped at a little bakery and Al had a coffee and I got a pastry.  We then walked back to the Playa and met with our tour guide and group.  There were approximately 8 of us on the tour.  We walked all around the historic district for three hours and got a really nice tour.  Along the way our guide stopped at a small restaurant and we sampled the local liquer and had a drink.  The tour ended at the Royal Palace of Madrid.  

Royal Palace of Madrid

We then walked back to the Market of San Miguel and ended up eating lunch across the street because the market was so packed and sold a lot of fish and pork, which Al doesn’t eat.  

Mercado de San Miguel

We had a nice Tapas lunch (spicy potatoes, fried peppers and some chicken dish).  We also found out that the bread they put on the table is not free.  They charged two Euros without us knowing beforehand.  After lunch we walked around a little and then grabbed a cab back to the airport.  We got our luggage and waited at the gate for our 6:35 PM flight to Lisbon.  We arrived in Lisbon around 8 pm and grabbed a cab to our hotel (Pousada de Lisboa Hotel).  The cabby “screwed” us when he doubled our fare because he said we are responsible for paying for the trip back.  We knew something was odd, but we paid it anyway.  We went to the room and put our luggage down before heading out to dinner.  The concierge recommended a restaurant right on the square outside our hotel.  I had a dish of Cod prepared three different ways:  smoked, fried and in a “mold/cake” form.  Cod is the local dish so I had to try it out.  It wasn’t bad with a cold beer.  After dinner, we went back to the room and I hung out in the gym Sauna for awhile before Hannah arrived around 10 PM.  It was great seeing her but we were exhausted and we all passed out.  It was a long Day one.

Day 2 (Lisbon) November 4, 2016

Day 2 (Lisbon):

We woke up around 8 AM, showered up and then went downstairs for breakfast.  The hotel had a beautiful courtyard where they served a wonderful buffet breakfast.  After breakfast we went back to the room, brushed our teeth and then headed out for the day.  We walked over to the tram station which was across Commerce Square (Praça do Comércio) from where we were staying and picked up an all-day transportation ticket.  

Commerce Square 

From there, we grabbed a tram to Belem.  Our first stop was the Jeronimos Monastery.  One of the highlights of the Monastery was Vasco Da Gama was buried there.  

Vasco Da Gama Cript

From there we walked over to a Modern Art Museum 

Hannah and Al at the Museum outside

to use their bathrooms and then continued on to the Tower of Belem.  

Hannah and Scott at Belem Tower

This was an old watch tower on the water that helped protect the water ways.  We walked up the 92 spiral steps to the top and had a good view of the surrounding area.  

Going Down, Yeah!!!

After that we walked passed the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and then had to back track to get the bus since we were a little lost.  

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

We grabbed a few bottles of water and waited for the bus.  The arrival time for the bus kept changing so we decided to grab a cab to take us to the Time Out Market.  This was a huge renovated building where there were numerous food stalls to each lunch.  We ended up trying a number of different foods and hung out there for awhile.  It was starting to get late so we took a bus and visited an old local Basilica.  

Hannah in front of the Basilica

When we finished up we spent awhile trying to figure out the proper bus number and waited for the bus for some time.  We finally gave up and took a cab back to the hotel.  We rested for an hour or so and then walked over to a restaurant called Sacramento.  Since we didn’t have a reservation, I had a beer at the bar and Al had a Sangria.  We got lucky since another reservation opened up and they were able to seat us.  I decided to have the Salted Cod which added up being pretty good.  After dinner we walked back to the hotel and passed out.

Day 3 (Lisbon) November 5, 2016

Day 3 (Lisbon):

We woke up around 8 AM, went downstairs for breakfast and then we had a private driver/tour guide for the day who met us at the hotel lobby around 9 AM.  Our first stop for the day was at the top of the hill that looked down on Lisbon.  There was a monument there and gave us a good view of the city.  

From there we drove about an hour outside of the Lisbon to a city called Sintra.  In Sintra, there were a couple of very old palaces but we went to a spectacular one called the Pena Palace.  This place was amazing with the size, architecture and colors.  

It was too bad that there was overcast and off/on rain, since it sat on the top of a mountain and had wonderful views of the surrounding area.  We toured the palace for a couple of hours and then drove back down the mountain.  Our next stop was the western most point on continental Europe.  There is a monument there (no surprise) to mark the spot so we played tourist and took some pictures.  

Since it is right on the coast, there were some major cliffs around that area and it was very, very windy (as you can see in the pictures).  

Hannah and Al blowing  away

We took some more pictures and then drove to another spot along the coast called the “Mouth of Hell”.  This was a place where the water had eroded sections of the rocky coast and created this “mouth” where the water rushed in.  

It was lunch time so we stopped in Cascais (a very nice port town) with some high end residents.  We were told many wealthy people live there and commute to Lisbon.  

Our tour recommended a restaurant that specialized in Chicken Piri Piri (which Al and Hannah had) as well as fresh grilled Sea Bass (which I had, along with a cold beer).  It was a solid lunch.  We walked around the shops for a little bit and Hannah wanted some chocolate, so we found a place where Al had a coffee and Hannah had a chocolate tart.  We met back up with the tour guide and started driving back to Lisbon.  On the way, we went through Estoril where they happen to have a Casino.  Of course, I ran in and got my souvenir poker chip for the collection.  We were told that Ian Fleming stayed at the hotel across the street from the casino and got his inspiration for his James Bond series while staying there.  It was a nice drive back along the coastline and pulled over once to watch the surfers and take a few pics. 

Since we had a driver, we decided to have them drop us off in Lisbon at the Castle at the top of the mountain.  There wasn’t much to do at the castle but it had awesome views of the city (especially because of sunset).  

We walked around there for an hour or so before they closed the castle and we had to leave.  We started heading down the windy road and stopped at a store that only sold canned eel.  The cans came in two sizes: small and large.  I had a sample of the eel which was ok, but we were surprised at how popular this place was.  We also found out that Portugal is the number producer of Cork in the world.  They have many stores that sell cork products including hats, bags, umbrella’s, etc… The Iberian Pig is also very popular in Portugal which eats acorns from the cork tree.  We got back to the hotel and Hannah and I used the Sauna at the hotel to relax for a little bit before dinner.  After the sauna, we chilled out in the chairs there and Hannah passed out.  I woke her up and then we got ready for dinner.  We weren’t very hungry so we picked a restaurant close to the hotel where we got a salad and pizza (I had a beer also).  For dessert, we had a waffle with ice cream.  We walked back to the hotel and passed out.

Day 4 (Lisbon and Seville): November 6, 2016

Day 4 (Lisbon and Seville):

We woke around 8 AM and went downstairs for breakfast.  This was our last day in Lisbon and we decided to do a walking tour of the city.  We met the guide at a Plaza about 15 minutes from the hotel.  This tour guide moved very quickly and had an immense about of knowledge that he wasn’t shy to share with us.  He would stop us at a particular spot, spew his knowledge, ask if anybody had any questions and then say “Let’s Walk”.  It became our on-going running joke to mimic him whenever he said that.  We did see some very interesting sections of the city that we would not have thought to look at.  

About 2 hours into the 3 hour tour, we had logged in some serious steps walking up hill and we decided it was time to break off and do our own thing.  We left the group and took a cab back to the original Plaza we started out because there was a pastry shop that we were told had the best local pastry that you “had to have in Lisbon”.  It was basically a custard tart that was nothing special.  From there, one of Hannah’s friends told her about a place called Pop Cereal Café.  Basically, this place has numerous cereals from around the world where you order a bowl of cereal and you can add any number of toppings.  Hannah had a bowl of two different cereals and Al had a couple of coffees.  We hung out there until they asked us to leave because Google was doing a 360 degree video inside the store.  We walked around the city some more and then started heading back towards the hotel.  We found a local “diner” type place and I had a grilled fish with beer and Al/Hannah had the turkey.  FYI, besides pork products, most of the meats are a little different then we are used to.  After finishing lunch, we went to the hotel and got our bags for our drive to Seville.  Hannah had a later flight back to Barcelona and the hotel was gracious enough to allow her to stay in the room until she had to go.  We had arranged for a private driver who picked us up in a nice Mercedes to take us on the four hour drive to Seville (cost us 400 Euros).  Our driver, Jorge, was a good guy and he stopped along the way at an old city called Elvora.  There were Roman ruins and an old church.  

We walked around and got lost.  Before we knew it, we were down some random street in front of a hospital.  Luckily we took the driver’s phone number and texted him to come pick us up.  We finally arrived in Seville at the Gran Melia Colon Hotel at 9:45 PM (one hour time difference than Lisbon).  We dropped our bags off in the room and walked to a Deutsche bank to get cash and then to dinner at a little local tapas restaurant.  It was a cool place and the food was tasty.  For dinner, we had olives, bread and I had a salad with shrimp tempura and Al had a hamburger.  It was getting late, so we headed back to the hotel and passed out.  Another very busy day.

Day 5 (Seville): November 7, 2016

Day 5 (Seville):

Woke up at 7:45 am and the sun was starting to come up.  There was an 
awesome view from our room of an old church across the street and the big cathedral in the distance. 

We showered up and then went downstairs for the buffet.  Good spread.  Lots of “Piggy” like the other place.  Went upstairs to brush up and then walked about 10 minutes to a Plaza for a walking tour of Seville.  Good tour with a guide that didn’t move too quickly, but gave a decent amount of information.  We saw all the major tourist spots in Seville. 

The tour lasted 3 hours and finished up at the Plaza de Espana in the Maria Luisa Park.  This was a very interesting structure with cool mosaics and a little man-made river where you can rent a row boat. 

The building was used in the filming of the Star Wars movie Attack of the Clones.  We then walked through the rest of the Maria Luisa Park towards Seville University where we took a bathroom break. 

Seville University

I was lucky someone showed me where the men’s bathroom was since it was not labeled at all.  We then found a Mediterranean restaurant across from the University and we sat at an outside table eating Baba Ganouch, Falafel, Pita and Kabob (with a beer).  Our next stop was the Royal Alcazar of Seville where they filmed some scenes from Game of Thrones.  This was a very majestic place with outdoor gardens and a labyrinth of mosaic rooms and courtyards. 

We spent a couple of hours there and then headed over to the Cathedral but it had closed, so we went inside another smaller chapel that was attached. 

Next we found a cool semi-circular courtyard with an interesting antique shop selling some old Jewish relics.

We were tired by that time and decided to head back to the hotel.  Since we were some special “Red” level, it provided us access to the “happy hour” room that was stocked with food and alcohol.  We spent some time in there eating and drinking “on the house”.  By the time we finished up, we were full and decided to head back up to the room after another busy day.

Day 6 (Seville to Cordoba to Madrid): November 8, 2016

Day 6 (Seville to Cordoba to Madrid):

Woke up at 7:00 am and had a nice buffet breakfast downstairs at the hotel.  We then grabbed a cab to the train station and took the 9:30 AM train to Cordoba.  Since we were heading to Madrid that night we had to bring our bags with us.  It was a 45 minute train ride and when we got there our guide and porter met us right when we got off the train.  The porter took our luggage and we scheduled to meet him back at the train station at 4:30 PM.  We then grabbed a cab with the guide and went to one of the entrances to the old city.  We started the tour through the old Jewish Quarter.  Not much remained, but there was an old synagogue that we looked at along with a Jewish sculpture of Maimonides.  We continued through the old cobblestone streets and went to the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba. 

This was a Muslim Mosque that was converted to a Roman Catholic Church in 1236.  We then went to the Alcazar of Cordoba  and walked around the grounds for a while. 

We then finished up our 3 hour tour with the guide and went to lunch at a local restaurant in town.  I was adventurous and ordered the Oxtail Stew along with a beer.  The meet tasted like brisket and was pretty good.  We walked around town a little longer and spent some time at the Sephardic Museum (nothing special) and then grabbed a cab back to the train station.  We met the porter who had our luggage and then took a train to Madrid.  When we arrived in Madrid we waited on a long line to get a cab to take us to our hotel.  The Hotel (Hotel IBEROSTAR de las Letras) was on the main street and about a 15 minute drive in rush hour traffic.  We settled in and then changed for dinner.  We had a dinner reservation at Botin’s (The oldest operating restaurant in the world, Est. 1725) For dinner, we met Hannah’s friends Marley and Hailey who go to Tulane and were doing a semester abroad in Madrid.  I ordered the grilled shrimp and shared a pitcher of Sangria with the table.  Interesting to note, Al asked for some butter for her bread.  They brought out two small slabs of butter for her.  When we checked the bill, they actually charged 2 euro for each butter (Crazy!!!).  After dinner, we went over to supposedly one of the best Churro’s and Chocolate places in Madrid.  It was good.  You get 6 hot Churros along with a bowl of hot chocolate to dip the Churro’s in.  After dessert, we took a cab over to the girl’s apartment so they could show us where they lived and asked us about the “mold” situation they were having in the kitchen.  Their landlord wasn’t doing anything about it and they were concerned as to what to do.  We hung out there for a while and then took a cab back to the hotel.  We got back to the room around 11:45 PM after a very long day.