Portugal- 4 months later....

I am forcing myself to finish this Europe trip recap given how embarrassing it is that I am slacking on just TWO last posta. Even if nobody reads this, I need to prove it to myself that I'm not actually this lazy. Plus, the rest of this trip was just too great to be left out!  It consisted of two parts: Lagos and Lisbon.

The beaches of Lagos were insanely gorgeous....I mean seriously:

We did our very own walking tour through Meia Praia, Praia do Camilo, Praia Dona Ana.  All just incredible beaches with clear and bright blue water, white sand and colorful shells! Simply breathtaking.  This was all one big hike from our beautiful abode in Luz, which made it even more perfect of a trip. This was an absolute top highlight of our trip, because the scenery alone was just so spectacular.

I loved seeing the cat guarding an area that has a dog leash sign

We could have stayed on the coast of Portugal FOREVER. I dream of it daily......it was hard to believe that our trip was coming to an end.  Our final stop was in Lisbon, a fun city mixed with old and new, good food and lots of random guys on the street offering you hard core drugs like it ain't no thang. Haha!

Hmmm the biggest downside to being such a huge slacker on blogging is that it will take me another week to recall everything we did in Lisbon. To be continued....

Portugal!! Part 1: Luz

There WAS more to our trip, but I am the worst blogger in the world.  And of all places to not blog about- the beautiful, wonderful...Portugal.  We are SO happy we decided to add this onto our trip.  Even though it was February, the weather was great- we even got tanned!  The food was great, the scenery was outstanding....I've added it to the list of "can't miss" in Western Europe!!

From Sevilla, Spain, we took a bus to Lagos, Portugal.  We actually stayed in Luz, a fantastic little town near Lagos. I cant' explain enough how much we loved our little "farm stay".  Check it out here:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/118144

For the animal lovers in us, having horses and dogs on the property was just too sweet.  But to be out in nature like that.....in such a beautiful home.....WOW.  We were so motivated to go for runs every day that we were here because the scenery was so incredible!  15 minutes to Praia Luz, a lovely little beach town.  We got groceries at the local market and made almost all of our meals, because sitting outside in the sun and soaking it all in, with nothing but peace and quiet, was too good to pass up.

Leading up to our place

Our lovely abode

Our view and one of the 3 horses who live on the property

Our porch

We hiked around Luz a lot, going towards Salema. There was beautiful coastline and it was just so quiet, relaxing.....perfect.

Just on our way into town!

Luz

Our hike back from the market! 

If you want to relax and just soak in some peace and quiet, all in one of the most beautiful places ever....go here :)

GRANADA, Seville and Cordoba

Oh, how I loved Granada.  It was just so. incredibly. beautiful.  La Alhambra!!! I now understand what all the fuss is about!! The white buildings and the hills, views of the Sierra Nevadas....the Albayzin (old town)....just so romantic.  Unlike any place I've ever seen before.   To me, it's a place you can't miss if you are traveling to Spain.  I want to go back, and see the rest of these lovely "white hill towns".  We had a blast watching the Superbowl at midnight in a little Irish pub filled with every American in the city....but we had one too many beers each, which made for a less than pleasant trip to Seville the next day....haha! Lesson learned.  Luckily, I am completely OFF of my beer kick still as I write this more than a week later.  Every street we turned down was magical (make sure to walk Carrera del Darro).  Touches of the Middle-East make it so exotic, and the mixture of architecture takes your breath away!  One of the most memorable parts of our stay here was venturing to the Albayzin and the endless stairs that you can see from practically every view of the city, which lead up a hill and to a very old church.  At first I thought it was abandoned, but I'm pretty sure it's still in use by the poorer families who live in badass caves all along the cave.  Seriously, this place was magical!  We decided to go for it and hike up the zillion stairs, and we were greatly rewarded by not just the view, but the music that came from a group of locals who perched on the cliffside with their drums and beautiful chants which sounded African. Love.

Along the stairs we braved 

Views of the Sierra Nevadas

Generalife at La Alhambra

Do you see the TINY PUPPY??? You better believe I squeezed him!

View from Mirador de San Nicolas- a must see!

at La Alhambra

La Alhambra 

Our hike

The cliffside music :)

Narrow white streets!

Unfortunately we went to Seville at the wrong time.  What do I mean? Garbage collector strike. Which means....stinky piles of trash EVERYWHERE. You cannot escape the smell. Well you can, which is why went to Cordoba.  And in the center of the Parque de Maria Luisa, you feel like you can take a deep breath....but for us, unfortunately, Seville was a lot of time spent cooped up in our little apartment, planning the rest of our trip. We did find a tasty restaurant which was ridiculously cheap (Taberna Colonia), with lots of fresh and tasty vegetarian options. Lots of meat options also, FYI :)

Cordoba is another beautiful little town with lots of Middle-Eastern influence. We enjoyed our time here, but I personally liked Toledo better.  If you do decide to go though, you won't regret it! And you can find some tasty food (and a dessert I just could NOT pass up, with no regrets afterwards, homemade fig cheesecake) at La Boca.

Crazy wood and granite structure in Seville

Plaza Espana 

Beautiful details

Side trips: Montserrat and Toledo

There are so many great places to see in Spain, I know we will be back here to see more. We were able to squeeze some side trips, starting with Montserrat near Barcelona. I highly recommend this trip to hiking enthusiasts, or just anyone who loves nature.  These bizarre mountains are a really important religious site in Catalonia and a monk retreat full of history.

I completely recommend that if you go, you pack yourself a good lunch, as the food there is terrible and expensive! Plus, the incredible views would allow for a wonderful picnic site!

And then there is Toledo, which we visited from Madrid.  You know the saying, "Holy Toledo!"? Well that's because of the religious significance of this place, as it represents a place of coexistence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish culture! The architecture is breathtaking.  Here you'll find your classic narrow streets, cobblestone streets.....we found a place overlooking the river and canyon and actually took a nap in the sunshine. It was a priceless moment!