Back to Lisbon

After our adventure in the Alentejo Sebi and I were taken back Lisbon to continue seemlessly on to our next great activity. We went back to lisbon with sebi´s whole family packed into their small suv. Like I said ealier it was a short drive, atleast on west coast united states scale, and we all enjoyed ourselves. We entered lisbon on the east side passing across one of the longest bridges in europe. The bridge put us right in the neighborhood where we wanted to be. At a stop light sebi and I hopped out of the packed car and were off. Our plan was this: Head to the world famous Lisbon Oceanario (big aquarium full of animals from the oceans of the world), lunch, explore, then, last but not least, the main attraction of the whole weekend, the OASIS Concert!!!
We passed through a big fancy mall on our way to the oceanario and, popping out on the other side, found ourselves in the heart of the modern district of lisbon. This area is one of my favorites in lisbon, it is just chock full of modern art, fountains, architecture and it´s situated right on the banks of the Tejo river. This area has a history too, it was once the sketchy part of lisbon, crime ridden, dirty and generally a dump. It was a big plot of land right on the river characterized by old rundown factories, loading/unloading docks, oil refineries and the such. As the industrial sector of lisbon expaned north, this area was left as waste and soon became a scene much like the book I read last year in english, Cannery Row. Well, in 1998 Portugal hosted the Fair of Nations called, EXPO ´98, the portuguese government at the time bought this sorry plot of land and resolved to spice it up. They poured a ton of money in to making the place a cultural center full of modern art and architecture, of course other nations that were to have `booths´ at the expo, like the united states, wanted to help and make the place a success so they too dumped a bunch of money into the area´s restoration. Well, the result was more than a success and it is now dubed one of the best places in Lisbon to visit, hang out, tour etc.
Sebi and I headed past the Pavilhão Atlantico through the Park of Nations under the cable cars to the Oceanario, we entered and took a blitz tour running around like crazed kindergartners. We saw everything from penguins to tropical fish, to some giant deep sea monsters and the most fragile looking dragon fish. It was all really cool but by the end we were both really hungry. We passed through some more cool areas and parks on our way back to the mall to get a bite to eat. There was this one park with tons of exhibits that had to do with water, a big artificial waterfall and a japanese sort of bamboo water garden. Another park was characterized by the ground, all covered in grass, shaped into big un-moving waves. You could run up and down the backs of this waves, about my waist hight 1m or so, and jump and slide down them. It was really fun running, sliding on the grass, and jumping off the waves of grass. It was a trip. In the mall we made a quick stop at a burger king where I got a delicous triple whopper. We decided we should go eat our meal as we waited in line to get in to the concert so we took it to go and hurried over to the Pavilhão where the concert was to be held. Well, we got to the main entrance only to find the place completely deserted except for a couple policemen. We got right up to the gates and were stopped by the cops to do a routine check. I started to eat my burger before we left the mall so I was about 3/4´s done with my beast of a sandwich when we got to the checkpoint. Sebi went through one side of the gate as I went through the other. My cop didn´t do much checking on me, he said, hey, where are your drugs, I said I already took them and that it was too late, he laughed and let me pass. Sebi´s cop was a little more thurough in his task and while sebi was being checked the guard who checked me started up some small talk. He said my burger looked good and I said it was, and that my secret was that the burger was my drug, we laughed and I continued devouring my beefy delight, dripping all kinds of ketchup and meat sauce. It was quite comical really, finally sebi passed and when I started talking with sebi the cop realized that we werent portuguese and asked me where I was from, I said the states and we started talking about that, I told him all about how me and sebi were exchange students and that sebi was from argentina and he seemed pretty interested. So the good vibe was set for the concert.
We got in to find the colossal pavilhão almost empty except for a mas of tightly packed people close to the stage. I went to the bathroom as Sebi went to buy a t-shirt and c.d. promotion combo. When we were both set we went to conquer some spots. We were still a little early and as we waited the main floor slowly filled up behind us. Soon the lights went out and the opening band came up on stage. They rocked for a little while but where really nothing memorable. Free peace they were called. As they left the crowd gave a big surge and sebi and I took our chance to get a little closer. Our move paid off and we found ourselves about 20 or some odd feet away from the stage. The curtain started to rise and everyone settled down, big screens lit up and the concert was on. The rest is history. We saw everything you would expect at a concert of this size, fights, beer, etc. About 30,000+ people in total. Oasis rocked out and put on a memorable performance, of course Wonderwall and all the old hits were the highlights and as the lights came on everyone was left with a sort of dazed look as is all too common after big shows. We joined in the shuffle to exit the building and as chance would have it, shuffled into one of our AFS volunteers who had been at the show aswell. We chated about everything as we shuffled to the exit, eventually parting ways for good. Feeling another shot of hunger, sebi and I made our way back to the mall, this time to mcdonalds where we met another crew of people we knew. We all ate and conversed about the spectacle we had all just seen and then headed as a group down towards the metro. We road the metro together aswell, saying goodbye to one or two of our groups members at each stop. Sebi and I were going the farthest and eventually found ourselves alone and tired ready to go to sleep. Another train ride and a little bit of walking and our wish was granted.
After a couple way to short hours of sleep I was awaken by my alarm clock. It was time to say goodbye to Lisbon. Sebi woke up with my and insisted on accompanying me to the bus station. We met a taxi close to sebi´s house and set off to the station. We made it in perfect timing and I got on my bus, said a deep farewell to sebi and was off. I slept a little on the bus ride home, but no matter how hard I tried, rest didn´t come easily. I got off the bus in Viseu and headed home for a quick shower and then straight to class, afterall it was monday and due to the AFS code had to make it to the majority of my classes that day. It would have been unexceptably rude to have fallen asleep in any of my classes but I think the teachers would have understood, so I didn´t do much and felt an odd sensation as an end to my fantastic weekend.

lisbon school visit

A while ago I went on a school trip to lisbon as part of a research deal for a book we are reading called OS MAIAS. OS MAIAS is a very famous portuguese romance written in the 19th century by EÇA DE QUEIROS.

I got up really early, got ready and headed to the school. I met up with a freind of mine on the way and we made it to the school to catch the bus and meet up with our class before 8. We waited a little while as about half of the 11th graders from our school boarded the busses. We left and I sat next to my friend Miguel. The bus ride was long, about 4 hours, and we took one 20 min. break. The portuguese teens are a rowdy bunch, the bus ride consisted of photos, making signs for truckers and everyone getting annoyed and fighting in the aisle. We got to lisbon later in the afternoon and went to go eat lunch in that nice new district where the concert was. We ate lunch in the mall and walked a little bit afterwards. Then we got back in the bus and headed towards downtown lisbon. We all got off the bus in the middle of the old district to start our walking tour. The tour was about two hours and we saw the outsides of a lot of buildings. That was it. At the end of the tour we got a little free time to enjoy the new downtown of lisbon and then get back on the bus for four more hours. That wasn´t that fun. The kids didn´t really calm down at all so no one really got any rest. We got home at about ten and I walked home with some friends. I went to bed right afterwards.

Alentajano style.

After watching our fair share of rugby we felt it was time to do some physical activities of our own. Me, sebi, and some of sebi´s relatives went out to take a tour of the farm. We started out on a quad, piled high with us five, to go chase some pigs. We entered into the large pig area and were confronted by a group of some of the biggest pigs I have ever seen. Some of us jumped of the quad to start hearding the pigs while the others drove the quad around the other side honking the horn to give the pigs a scare. After a good bit of fun we went to look at the other parts of the farm, we saw the barns, the dog kennel (which was home to about 7 dogs all bread for hunting), the giant house, the chapel, the peacocks and other birds, the chickens, the sheep, the vineyards, and the pool. The pool was located in the middle of everything cast under the shadow of a giant water tower. It was nice and sunny but no one wanted to swim with me. We ate a little snack of cake and sweets and then headed out to play soccer. We played all afternoon until no one could take it anymore, luckily before I reached the point of collapsing the dinner bell rang and we all went to take another lap at the monumental soup bowl. After dinner came desert and lounging. We set up our beds soon after and went to hit the hay. The next morning we were up early to pack and get things ready to head out. We went downstairs and met sebis mom, dad, brothers and sister to go to a nearby village for breakfast. The drive out there was lovely, we passed more farms and, before I realized, entered the town. We went straight to the city center where we stopped at a small café to eat some traditional Alentejano pastries. After the meal we went up to the highest point around for miles to where an ancient castle was perched. This castle didn´t have any sort of people running it, we simply drove our car under the old, majestic, crumbling gate and parked next to the main tower within the castle walls. We walked around a little bit taking many pictures. After gazing out on the rolling hills for quite some time we headed back into the city center to see the downtown area. Sebi and I walked around the main square for a little while and met back up with sebi´s dad to go see some very traditional Alentejano rug shops. The rugs they make here are very well known in portugal and are very beautiful.
On the way back to the farm we took a little detour to see more of the vineyards and sorrounding area, we even stopped at an old abandoned school and church that was used when the migrant workers would harvest the crops back in the olden days. When we got back to the farm we packed the car and since we had a little time on our hands we asked sebi´s grandfather to give us a tour of the wine making buildings. We entered into the distillery witch was full of big tanks to distill the wine, they were´nt making any wine at the time but it was still really cool to see. We got the full tour from sebi´s grandpa, it seems that he knows everything there is to know about wine making, temperatures, humidity of the buildings, etc. etc. etc. We saw all the bottling machines, the big barrels to finish the wine (made of the finest imported french wood), all the giant racks of full wine bottles waiting to be sold that reached the ceiling and filed the warehouse. It was a really cool thing, seeing, smelling and tasting all that wine and the process it went through, from grape to bottle. After we saw the farm at the shop that was part wine making museum, part shop and part tourist attraction. We were even given free polos with the farm logo embroidered on them! After the tour we went to have some lunch. We gave our third and final dive into the giant soup bowl before playing another quick game of soccer and saying good bye to everyone and setting off from the farm once more, now our destination, LISBON!

On to the Alentejo!

Sebi and I awoke to a knock on the door from Sebi´s host father. We opened our eyes and grogily looked at the time. WOW we slept in! We said. We dressed and made our way downstairs. I still hadn´t seen any of Sebi´s family since I had arrived and greeted my hosts enthusiastically. I really like Sebi´s family a lot. We were instructed to head over to a nearby café to eat breakfast and wait for our ride to the Alentejo. This cafe by the way is one of the most well known and delicous in Lisbon. We passed through the courtyard outside the cafe dodging tables and people who were enjoying their breakfasts at their own paces, some quite lesiurly and others quite hurried. When we entered the cafe we were greeted with quite a line and ended up waiting a little longer than planned. This however gave us enough time to decide what we wanted from all the scrumptious pastries staring up at us through their glass shelves. When it was our turn we ordered quickly and were once again put up to wait. We both ordered tosted croisants with ham and cheese. These croisants are maybe a little different than you imagined. They are small and dense and covered in sugar. They are cut in have, slapped with ham and cheese and thrown into a toaster press. They come out hot and goey and when you eat them all the ingredients just come together and melt in your mouth. It is truly something divinve. We also drank some fresh squeezed orange juice and just as we were finishing our ride came. The man who was in charge of delivering us to our destination in the Alentejo was Sebastians host uncle. We entered the cafe greeting everyone as he made his way over to us. We started talking about soccer right off the bat. Sebi and his host family are supporters of the team Benfica, and me and Sebi´s uncle support Sporting. These two teams are bitter rivals and we always get into these little bouts of friendly teasing. Well, some other people in the cafe, including some people tending the counter, heard our discussion and joined in. We talked for a little while more and when we realized we had kept Sebi´s aunt and niece waiting in the car, hurridly finished up our gloating and left. We piled into the car exchanging greetings and made our way through Lisbon passing over the big red bridge that reminds me so much of the Golden Gate.
The drive wasn´t at all long, and the scenery turned very pleasant as we parted from the city. The alentejo is a region in portugal where a lot of farming is done. It is caracterized by rolling hills, cork tree groves, and ancient stone walls weaving their way about flocks of sheep and herds of cattle.
When the main highway finally turned into a dirt road I knew we were close to our destination. We made our way ever further into the expansive pastures turning on to ever smaller and smaller dirt roads until I thought we´d hit the point where the light blue, cloud speckled sky met the green of the earth. Our last turn under a big gate set us onto a road lined with tall trees, at the end of the way I could see a group of buildings. When we arrived at the end we parked and all got out. We were not met by anyone as all that inhabited the farm had gone to mass at the tiny chapel. We walked over and saw all the people packed into this tiny chapel. There was no room for us to enter so Sebi and I watched from outside a little bit and then decided to explore. The white buildings were set around a main courtyard that opened up onto the expansiveness of the pastures. It felt as if our little cluster of buildings was a life raft sent into an undulating green ocean. We went to play ping-pong in one of the old farm buildings converted into a play room. After a little while mass was over and me and Sebi were called to greet everybody. We exchanged the customary kisses on the cheeks with all the women and strong, firm handshakes with all the men. When everyone had been introduced we headed for lunch. We entered straight into great dining hall through two big old doors that opened onto long tables and an enormous fireplace in the corner. At the end of the hall sat a steaming pot big enough to cook a human child in. Everyone grabbed a bowl and formed a line behind the pot. As I got closer and closer in line to the pot the aroma started tickling my nostrils. It was a traditional Alentejano soup with chicken, rice, vegetables and other delicous things. We sat and ate and laughed until we couldn´t take any more. After all our bowls were empty and our tummies full, we retired to one of the comfy living rooms to watch some rugby and relax.
Time to go now, but tons more to come.