going to Portugal?

I recently learned about a friend going to Portugal and she asked for tips. I know I've written up tidbits for people over the last 3 years (since we went in 2006) but I couldn't find any of the notes I've ever written...so I thought I'd publish what I wrote about our experience for future reference:

We loved it (naturally, since we got engaged there) My husband proposed to me from our hotel in Cascais and we loved much of our stay. We visited in mid-May, so similar time of year--and hence why we didn't go down south to the beaches. Our 2-week itinerary was:

Lisbon - Belem - Sintra - Cascais - Porto - Braga - Douro Valley - Buscaco Forest - Fatima - Ourem - Lisbon

We covered a lot of ground and loved it. The Douro Valley is gorgeous and will feel like a getaway---so glad to hear you're going to head out there since it's true wine country (Porto has all the port wine lodges where you can see the barrels aging, but none of the actual vineyards). I'll go through each city with top things to see and do.

LISBON & BELEM

The heart of Portugal, of course, so there's a lot to do. Get ready to put on good walking shoes as there are lots of hills in this city! Highlights of things to see and do here:

• Listen to Fado singers at Café Luso in the Bairro Alto. There are tons of fado restaurants so you don't necessarily need to go here, but we enjoyed it. We did learn that there tend to be 2 sittings--something like 7pm and 10pm. We went with the later one and were glad we did, because there was a huge group of cruise ship passengers at the earlier show! As a result, we got a much more intimate dinner and show.
• Ride the Tram #28 through the Alfama district
• go to "A Ginjinha" and try ginginha with cherries! It's like a sweet liquer, which is typical of Portugal. I think this bar is in the Rossio district.
• go to the Castelo de Sao Jorge - the views are amazing. This is a must visit.
• if you get a chance, go up one of the Elevadors--like the Elevador Santa Justa for another great view of the city
• take a walk along the Baixa, sit in an outdoor café -- get a croissant mixta and a café com leite while people watching.
• other great neighborhoods to walk around: Bairro Alto (artsy, lots of bars at night) and the Alfama (much older neighborhood, narrow windy streets)
• if you end up liking the glazed tile art (called azulejos), there is a museum of Azulejos located in the Alfama neighborhood
• if you go to Belem (can be done in a few hours):
• visit the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos in Belem--great example of architecture from Portugal's 16th century (and the delicious pasteis of Belem are just steps away)
• along the waterfront, you'll easily see the Torre de Belem and Monument to the Discoveries

SINTRA & CASCAIS

• visit the Palacio Nacional which is in the heart of Sintra and one of the top reasons to visit, Sintra.
• definitely visit the Palacio de Pena which is at the top of this hill with GORGEOUS views. The Palace itself is whimsically decorated and there are lots of beautiful picture opportunities
• I never visited here, but there are old remains of a Moorish castle nearby also that is also popular to visit. If you have limited time, I recommend the national palace and pena palace for sure.
• Cascais is just a cute seaside town, and not much touristy to see. However, it's beautiful since it's along the coast and you can stand there looking out in the ocean. We stayed at and got engaged at this great former fortress called Fortaleza do Guincho (GORGEOUS AND ROMANTIC), which is located next to Guincho Beach, a popular beach for windsurfers.
• go to Cabo da Roca which is just slightly north of Cascais. We visited it when we were driving from Sintra back to Cascais, but you could do it the other way too. The drive there is great. Anyhow, it's considered to be the westernmost point of continental Europe and has a beautiful view of the ocean as well.

PORTO

• we stayed in a hotel along Cais da Ribeira (Pestana Porto---it's really old and it's fun to see old paintings of Oporto that show the hotel), so we stayed primarily in this area
• the main thing to do in Oporto is to cross the bridge over to Vila Nova Gaia where all the port wine lodges are. The view over there is incredible as you'll recognize every brand of port you've probably ever had. Be sure to check on when the wine lodges are open though as there are days when they are not. My opinion is that there isn't much to do in Porto except for this, so I'd limit the stay to 2 days at most....so plan accordingly to be there when all the port wine lodges are open. You'll find that once you go on one tour, all the tours are very similar---so it's up to you if you want to continue taking tours.
• the only other thing we did was walk up to the Cathedral (the Se) where the views were quite beautiful

BRAGA

• we primarily went here, to be honest, because my husband's mother's maiden name is Braga and we wanted to visit...but you can totally skip. We only stayed one night. It's an old Catholic town that's quaint with a couple of pretty sites, but nothing to go out of your way for.
• on your way out to the Douro Valley, highly recommend you stop and visit the Bom Jesus do Monte, which is Portugal's most photographed church with its series of winding steps

DOURO VALLEY

• [sigh] we wished we had stayed out here longer as it was just relaxing and heavenly. We stayed at the Casa de Casal de Loivos, a B&B in Pinhao which was wonderful. The owner, Manuel, is a hoot and the view from here is spectacular. (decently cheap too at 100 euros/night)
• you can go to the vineyards and take tours--many of them offer self-guided walking tours too.
• while we didn't do this, we saw a lot of people take river boat tours. Some people would even leave their cars, take the boat cruise to the Douro Valley, stay a few days and then return. Of course, you're then limited to where you can walk...and the Douro Valley is definitely more of a driving place to get from one point to another.

BUÇACO FOREST

we didn’t actually stay here, but on our way back down south from the Douro Valley, we took a tour and decided to drive through the Buçaco Forest and eventually arrived at the Buçaco Palace which is GOR-GEOUS. If anything, the visit here is worthwhile just to see this palace. We had joked that if we had decided to get married in Portugal, this is where we'd do it because the palace and grounds were really beautiful.

OUREM & FATIMA

We decided to stay in Ourem for a couple of days to rest before heading back to Lisbon. This was probably one of our favorite places we stayed at -- the Casa Alta Royal Lodge. It's literally run by this priest from San Francisco--and while it's very Catholic in nature, they don't impose religion to you whatsoever. The rooms are great with beautiful views and it's a very personal experience.

While there, we got a tour of the area, including going to Fatima, which is fascinating since it's considered, like, one of the most religious places in the world. I mean, there are people here who will crawl on their knees while doing hail mary's. It is famous because the Virgin Mary reportedly appeared before 3 young children, who then confided 3 secrets. If anything, the amazing thing to see here is the Shrine and Basilica of Fatima -- it's HUGE!!! It's one of the largest in the world and thousands of people pilgrimage here yearly.

In the area, we also saw the cathedrals at Batalha and Alcobaca as well as out to Nazare to see the coastline...but these are just bonus places to visit.

credit card checks

You know those pesky checks you get from the credit card companies so that you can transfer a balance or pay something big off? You know, the ones that typically have some low APR? Well, like most of you, I shred those up and throw them away as soon as possible. But this last week, I had something big to pay off.

A few weeks ago, we got a letter from the IRS saying we owe a TON of money. I freaked out at first and thought it must surely be a mistake. But no, after digging around some big, we realized that our tax preparer made some grave mistakes from our 2007 take return and that indeed the IRS was correct. Much to our chagrin, our tax preparer was SUPER LAME and never returned any phone calls or emails about this mistake. At the very least, we just wanted some acknowledgement, an apology and an offer to make an amended tax return to the IRS--this was really reasonable and something almost every tax preparer does. But no, she just completely ignored us---how unprofessional. (her name's Denise Earl of Mobile Taxes---all you Seattlelites, stay away from her!!!) Fortunately, a coworker's mother is an accountant and she most pleasantly offered to help AND without being asked of her, she created the amended tax return we needed. Rock on.

Moral of this story is we ended up having to write a big check, and this was the one time we needed one of those credit card checks so that our bank account wouldn't freak out. The IRS installment plan is lame with huge fees and interest rates, and the opportunity to pay via credit card incurs some sort of 2.49% charge due to a legal ruling that the IRS can't pay for the credit card company charge (although I hear this may've changed this year and that you can deduct the cost of this in your return...note to self for years to come). Anyhow, couldn't find one of those checks and ended up just biting the bullet and writing a check direct from the bank. We dropped the check off Saturday morning....that afternoon, the mail came along with a "special offer from Chase". Ha. What karma.

random updates

A bit late reading this, but guess what is the First Family's favorite sweet treat?  Seattle's own Fran's Chocolates Smoked Sea Salt Caramels in Chocolate!  And yes--these were the same yummy treats we included in our wedding favors.  Neato.  Apparently Obama prefers milk chocolate while Michelle likes the dark.  I love these and could overindulge in them easily.

Today, we went to the symphony to watch Joshua Bell perform who was as amazing as I expected.  Some of you may remember him as the virtuoso behind all the incredible music in the movie The Red Violin.  He was also the subject behind an interesting social experiment hosted by the Washington Post last year, placing Bell in the middle of a D.C. subway during rush hour, playing violin just like every other street musician.  He played Lalo's Symphonie Espagnole today with such fervor and passion...it was an honor to see him.

A few days ago, I totally swiped the side of my car due to the dumbest accident.  I was leaving work and reverse turned out of my parking spot, neglecting to see the huge concrete beam situated on the left side of my car, at the rear.  As a result, with me reverse turning the car, I smashed my side mirror and also swiped the door.  Grrr.  I can live with this for the time being, but will need to take the time to get a few quotes from some auto body shops to get it fixed.

Last week, Microsoft unveiled this new area called "the Commons" which is located in a new section of land which has been under construction for, oh, at least a year.  The Commons is meant to be similar to a college campus commons area...and man, it really is.  I was surprised to see tons of food options, including Caffe Vita, Pike Place Market Deli, Steamers, Mayuri, Spitfire Grill, a noodle bowl, Asian grill, a soup and salad station and tons more.  On top of that, there are lots of retails spaces, including a Ski+Bike shop, Watson Kennedy art gallery, a credit union, a post office, mobile operators (such as T-Mobile, Verizon, etc.) and even a Mode Salon + Spa!  Plus, have I mentioned this new area is right next to my building?  I can walk over in less than 5 minutes.  Woo hoo.

I got my hair colored today--I haven't been happy with the brown color I got in December (too light for my taste) and wanted to go darker again.  I love the color I have now, which is like a soft black with a tinge of red.

I can't believe spring is almost here.  I'm so eager for the summer to be here---for now, I'm heads down at work, cranking out specs.  Busy busy time.

cold then hot then cold

God, the weather in Seattle is so wacky this time of year.  April is really so unpredictable.  One week ago, Monday, it was so cold that it was *snowing* in Seattle (and again, it rarely snows within Seattle city limits, much less in April).  Fast forward to yesterday and today, when it was sunny and in the lower 70's.  Man, the weather was so great and so liberating.  I LOVE Seattle when the weather is great.  I decided to take advantage of it by going on a bike ride, my first ride of 2009.  It was a great ride as I went from Capitol Hill up to Greenlake and back, stopping to take photos, enjoy watching people, wander through a Sunday market, etc...  Here is the route I took, all in all probably around 14 miles roundtrip.

I took some photos along the way just to document what a great day it was.  Check them out here!  But alas, the fun will only last so long---by Wed or Thurs, it's supposed to be back in the lower 50's and raining.  Boo hoo.

reality show rant

If you know me, you know one of my guilty pleasures is a reality tv show. It's been awhile since I've put my two-cents in, so here goes:

American Idol
It's about time Megan left--I don't know how she lasted for so long. I do think she has an interesting voice but she just always chose the wrong song. If she sang "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse last week, she probably would've lasted another week. My predictions for the next 3 to get voted off, in no particular order: Scott, Anoop and Matt. Final 3 will be:
Allison - amazing voice, always delivers
Danny - he's been a fan favorite but I feel like his performances are starting to sound the same
Adam - he's grown on me as he has amazing vocal talent, the question is if the AI audience will appreciate his style. I know that many ppl thought he bastardized "Ring of Fire" but I personally thought it was brilliant.

Amazing Race
I'm happy there aren't any really annoying bickering couples (compared to previous seasons). Sad to see Mike and Mel get eliminated as they were such a cute father-son team. I do find it interesting that, with the exception of the NFL cheerleaders, the remaining teams are all familial---brother/sister, brother/brother, sister/sister and mother/son. I guess if there was one team for me to root for, the Asian part of me roots for Tammy and Victor.

Dancing with the Stars
I haven't been watching this regularly, but my guess is that Shawn Johnson will win. Melissa Rycrosft looks great but is it fair that she has a significant dance backgroudn (Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader) and isn't really a celebrity? I'm shocked that Steve Wozniak lasted as long as he did.

America's Next Top Model
ah, the drama...I skip through so much of this show just to get to the photographs which I always find fascinating. I think it'll come down between Aminat and Celia personally. Celia's surprised me as when I first saw her, I didn't think much, but she's got a great walk and has taken pretty great photos so far. I also really like Fo and love her look, but she looks short. Allison's cute and I love her eyes but agree that she needs to give a face other than the deer-in-headlights look. Natalie is gorgeous and I can see her in Victoria's Secret--put her there to get a few years in before going more couture. Teyona, Thalia and London are boring me...

Celebrity Apprentice
I don't watch this show at all anymore, but I happened to catch one episode this week while at home--the episode where teams managed a hotel for 24 hours. I guess my only commentary was that it was funny-then-depressing to see Dennis Rodman slowly spiraling down the more and more he would drink. To see his team members comment on his drinking problem and then for him to defend himself by talking about his basketball career was really sad.

Hmm, I guess that's it because I don't watch Survivor, Bachelor or anything else anymore.

Chinese Herb Powder drink

This is what I'm now drinking 3x a day...yum...er...

it's been a long while

I'm still here and it's just been a very long 3+ months since I last blogged...probably one of the longest dry spells I've ever had. A combination of Twitter, Facebook, work and being busy overall has kept me away....but no more. I'm vowing to return to my blogging and get back to regular updates. With that out of the way, here's my life since my last post:

First off, it makes me sad seeing the very first picture shown at the top of my last post because it's this great photo of me, my mom and my poh poh (maternal grandmother) in L.A. to attend my gung gung's (maternal grandfather) funeral after he battled cancer for many years.  Well, I'm writing right now from the comfort of my parent's home in Las Vegas after another short weekend trip to L.A.....and this time it was for my Poh Poh's funeral.  Her death was much more sudden and unexpected, but you know what they say about when a spouse goes, it's oftentimes that the other spouse follows soon after.  In a way, I'm happy for her because she's now reunited with my grandfather and she was terribly depressed after his funeral.  Still, to lose 2 grandparents within 3 months is really tough.  My grandmother's death was even tougher to deal with...perhaps because I was able to have more conversations with her...perhaps it's because it's that female bonding thing.  I again gave a speech and over this past week, we've had to sort through her stuff.  One memorable moment was going through the things in her kitchen and finding this really old cheesy ceramic cat that I gave her when I was really young.  I knew she'd always kept it but seeing it just drove it home even more that she's no longer here.  These two deaths in recent months have made me more introspective and thinking about what I want to get out of life. (perhaps that's another reason for my blogging absence)  Never an easy thing...that said, I've really enjoyed how it has brought family together and allowed me more time to see my cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, etc...I really appreciate all that time.

Hong Kong over the holidays was a blast and typical of most trips: lots of food, eating, shopping and seeing relatives.  This was Matt's second time visiting and it was like he'd visited many times before, even brave enough to go to a food stand by himself to order his favorite cheong fun or char siu bao.  Here are pictures I took of the trip as well as a set that's focused on all the food we ate (which always makes me salivate when I view this album!).

In other news...

• Two very close friends of mine are preggers!  Jigna is due in May and Phoebe is due in July.  It's interesting knowing that as we get invitations to fewer weddings, I'm going to start seeing a lot more close friends with kids.  A few of us co-hosted a baby shower for Jigna a couple weeks ago and it was a blast.
• Work has been insane---I did escape the major layoffs at Microsoft; and, in fact, I got a promotion and there's a lot more investment being put in my functional area now!  This area went from about 1.5 program managers in December to 7 plus a lead now!  It's a really exciting time in my area and it's really invigorated how I feel towards my job.  There's a lot of work and I expect some serious hours (especially over these next 2 months), but I'm so looking forward to it.
• In snow sports, I've actually had a chance to head up to the mountain 3 times this season: twice to go snowboarding and once to go snowshoeing.....all to Snoqualmie.  It cracks me up knowing that 5+ years ago, I shuddered at the idea of going to Snoqualmie and wanted to be "more hardcore" and heads out to Stevens or Crystal.  Now, I'm just happy going for the day and being able to be at home by 5pm.  Is that a sign of me being in my 30's?
• Matt turned 39 this year and we celebrated with a delicious "Truffle Feast" themed dinner at the Herbfarm---check out pictures of all the great food we had.
• Last year, I had won an auction to get private yoga lessons for me and 5 friends...so I finally redeemed it and converted the living room into a yoga studio for 3 Sundays in a row.  It was such an awesome experience and so great to experience with good friends.  We're looking at seeing if we can continue this experience and open it up to more friends in a larger venue.

Anyway, as mentioned, I'm in Vegas now with my parents, and Matt's parents just arrived last night...so we are all hanging out together for the first time since our wedding which is great.  We've got a full weekend, with our parents checking out Neil Sedaka at the Orleans Hotel tonight...and then tomorrow, walking tour of the strip and then Penn & Teller.  My mom and I just visited a Chinese herbalist as I think my hormones are all whacked and I want to get centered and balanced again, so I'm willing to try anything.  He gave me 2 big packets of mixed powder to take 3x a day with a crazy strict diet.  I can't have any of the following during this treatment:

• Coffee, tea, milk
• Oranges, orange juice, any fruit juice
• Soda, cold drinks, iced drinks---only room temp drinks allowed
• Nuts, Mangos
• Anything salty, sweet, spicy, fried or BBQ'd

Seeing that I'm in Vegas now, I'm going to start this when we return to Seattle on Sunday...should be interesting to see how it works!