Italy - Arriving and from Pisa to Hotel Monteconero

I had a terribly early flight to Pisa. I’m not a fan of flying at dawn, because I’m not a morning person. If I get up before 6am, I always feel strange all day. An interesting fact, my cousin has a chemical imbalance. She can’t wake up very early, because she can have seizure like symptoms due to a chemical imbalance in her brain while sleeping. I just feel like I’m half sleeping. I also wasn’t happy about the early flight because I had a little cold. For some reason, I keep getting sick just before I go to Italy. I’ve been ill the previous two times as well, but the minute my feet hit Italian soil, I’m cured. Hoped for that this time around as well.

So, I got my customary Costa coffee after checking in. During the security check, they did some chemical swipe on and in my bag. They’ve never done that before, but it all cleared.

To get onto the plane, we had to go outside to this container thing. It’s a real drag with budget flights, because they make you go there for boarding, and then you may have to wait for up to an hour in a container that has no toilets, not enough seating, no heating, no cooling. Then you have to walk to the plane. Then there are also those people who don’t pay attention to the directions as to which door they need to take. They get on at the front, and then push their way through all the way to the back. Got a window seat at least. Can’t stand sitting in the middle. Believe me, after all that, even a Ryanair seat feels like heaven, when actually, it’s the lowest end of budget flying.

The flight was uneventful. The weather was quite clear, and I enjoyed taking lots of pictures and videos. However, at one point there was an interesting reflection on the clouds. I think it came from the plane. It was as if the reflection of the plane was surrounded by a rainbow. I tried to capture it, and I hope I succeeded. 

After landing we got the car. We had to take a small bus to the pick-up site, but luckily it arrived quickly. The sun was shining quite warmly, and I took the opportunity to catch some sun.

Once we had the little Fiat, we were on our way. We had to cross through the whole peninsula, so even though we had an early flight, it was quite late by the time we got to the hotel. The journey there was fun though. It’s been a while since I’ve actually used one of those car maps to navigate,

but if I managed to do it at 8, I can sure do it at 35. We stopped a few times on the way. Once for coffee, and also picked up a few food items. Food is so much more expensive here! We also stopped at a small supermarket, and they had the loveliest grapes.

The hotel check-in went uneventful. I made a video of the hotel. I quite liked the room. It had a fridge, which is not as widespread as you’d hope. However, the real bonus feature of the room was the view. The hotel itself is on top of a hill. Pretty much middle of nowhere. However, when you step out to the balcony, Italian countryside at your feet.

As the sun was setting, it was getting colder in the room. There was some extra blanket, but I was still getting cold, which really didn’t do much for me already having a cold. So I decided to be the troublesome guest, and go down to ask for a heater. There was a radiator in the room, but of course at the end of September they didn’t switch it on centrally. Sadly, they said that they didn’t have one. I asked them politely, that it would be so nice if they could get me one, because I was afraid that my cold would get worse. Since there was no electric kettle in the room, I couldn’t even make myself a hot tea. In the end, they did get a small heater from somewhere, and I was ever so grateful. I made good use of it right away.

Review:

Lovely hotel, though some things could be sorted

This is a lovely hotel high up on a hill. The views are incredible of the sea and the valley below. However, because of this, in bad weather it can be hard to get to.

The rooms are a bit Spartan. The TV is pretty small, and the channels are in Italian. It's a common problem in Italy. The bed is comfortable. The double bed was two singles pushed together and not locked. I know this can bother some people. There is no tea service, and this is also common in Italy. The bathroom had a shower, and also a bidet. However, airing it out was solved by the window not closing properly, which in the cold could be a problem. Toiletries were bars of soap, shampoo and a cap.

Breakfast wasn't very big, and they weren't always on top of refill. The view from the breakfast room is beautiful though.

The receptionists were very helpful, though their English a bit spotty. I had a problem with the temperature being unusually low for September, and also suffering from a cold. They got me a space heater, which helped a lot. I also kept the bathroom door closed. Housekeeping was good, the only thing I would say to the hotel is to do what most hotels do, and only change the towels if they are left on the floor. More economic that way. Also, I kept hanging my towel next to the shower, and they kept putting them back under the sink. I so knew I would forget to hang it before I got in the shower.

The surrounding area is great for small hikes, but the terrain can be difficult, so best bring proper footwear. Getting a parking spot late in the evening can be difficult, and best done with a smaller car. Not to far by car there is an are with shops for food and the like.

Overall, nice hotel if you like to be in the middle of nowhere. I don’t know if they close for winter, but possible, since the steep hill must be hard for a lot of cars in the snow. I did enjoy my stay, and would return. Must be great for weddings as well.

Portugal - Lisbon

The last morning in Lisbon was a bit hard, as I stayed up watching TV quite late. The plane would leave very late in the evening, so not long before noon we visited the nearby Lisbon Oceanarium.

I loved it! There's a central big aquarium, where you can see rays and sharks among other fish. The other animals and plants are on different levels above around the main central aquarium. There was a big room for penguins and some other birds. It was very nice, and there was even ice around. Next door were a couple of sea otters. I fell in love! They were so cute, I could have watched them all day. I did take some nice video of them. They're so bendy.

There were many smaller and bigger displays. I really enjoyed looking at jellyfish, as they are very beautiful. My favourites were the White-spotted jellyfish. I saw two bump into each other, and they sprang apart like bumper cars. There were also some amphibians, though they were hard to take pictures of, because they were often hiding or the lighting wasn't sufficient enough.

We had lunch at the cafeteria. They have a pretty good one, with set prices. It was quite busy with many families eating there.

I also liked that in the main area they had sculptures out of plastic bottles. I'm very much into recycling, and I wish that everyone, everywhere did it. Also, as they said in Captain Planet: "Remember the three Rs. Reduce Reuse Recycle!"

There was also a very nice temporary exhibit, which at first I wasn't sure if I wanted to check out, but I'm so glad I did. “Forests Underwater by Takashi Amano” is a great display of Japanese aquarium design. You can see some of it in the second half of my video. It's so beautiful and relaxing, I felt like I was being hugged. I've heard not long before that empty spaces are important in Japanese designs, and this showed that so well. I just wish there weren't kids running about so much, because the atmosphere really wasn't for screaming kids.

Afterwards, we went with the areal lifts to the other end of the harbour. It was quite fun, in spite of me being afraid of heights. 

We slowly went back to the hotel to get the car. From there, we went on to the airport, and did all the usual things. The waiting room for Wizzair is awful. Overcrowded, still a bit under construction, few toilets. It took some time to find a chair. Of course, the plane was also late. The plane that was going to take us to Hungary arrived around the time when it was supposed to take off. The representatives didn't even tell anyone what was going on. People stood in line for hours to check in, when the plane wasn't even there. Then once it was there, they opened the gates, and everyone went outside, where a storm was brewing. Cold winds blew, sporadic rain. We just stood outside, while people were still getting off. It felt like forever. We were so happy when we could finally sit down, almost at the time when the plane was supposed to arrive to Budapest.

What they should have done was once they knew the plane was so late, they made an announcement, and had everyone sit down to wait. Then when people could actually walk up the plane, then open the gates.

To make matters worse, it was pouring in Budapest. Since we had to walk outside from the plane to the terminal, everyone was soaked.

Overall, I liked Portugal. Nice place, good food. The weather was terrible, and it was July. The week before and after? Summer heat. Next time when I travel anywhere in the summer, I'm taking winter clothes.

Portugal - Pena Park and Cabo da Roca

We started off to Sintra later than I would have liked, as it was quite a way from Lisbon. We passed through the city itself first, which I wished we had more time for as it looked very nice. We saw a very cute tiny car on the roads. It was something you could rent. It has four wheels, and could seat two people one behind the other.

When we got to the actual park, there were a lot of parking spaces, but as the weather was nice and it was a weekend in July, a lot of people trying to find a space. It took us almost an hour to actually put the car down finally. 

There was a long line at the ticket office as well, but meanwhile I got a map and plotted out the route we should take. Once inside, we were hungry, and had a sandwich at the buffet. That's when we began the long trek to the Chalet. It's a nice route. Took us through the Valley of Lakes, a part with horses, and some nice streams.

We finally reached the Chalet, but needed to pay extra to get in. It was interesting to read about the history of the building downstairs. It almost completely burned down, but thanks to donations, it was being built back up. There were some rooms still being done, but it was beautiful. I really loved the ceilings and walls with the wooden inlays.

Then came the long climb back up to the castle. However, it was worth the climb, as I really loved it. The colours are great, and some of the wall is covered by tiles. We went up to the buffet for a bite. It was very dirty up there, with a lot of trash. However, the view was lovely, so if it was cleaned up better, it would be a lovely place to sit.

Then we went around, exploring the castle. Going through the inside was slow going, as there was an Asian group that we couldn't avoid. I generally really dislike groups, as they always manage to stand just in front of things that I want to take a picture of, or hold me up, or something like that. This was sort of okay, I guess. Outside, the weather was getting worse. The wind was picking up, and there were dark clouds coming.

We left the park, and got back into the car, off to Cabo da Roca. That is the Westernmost point of Portugal. The weather was getting worse, and I wished I had brought longer trousers. By the time we got the point, it was really bad. The wind was blowing, and the sand was going everywhere. It was in my eyes, my mouth, my nose. Little rocks pelted my exposed legs to the point that it actually hurt. I only wanted to take a few pictures and then be on my way. Of course, that wasn't the case. However, I did end up discovering that if you went into a little restaurant in the resting area, by the souvenir shop, then that was protected from the weather, and had nice views. 

Soon after we finally went back to the hotel. I was exhausted and not really in the mood for dinner.

Portugal - Peniche and Lisbon

I woke up in Braga, and I had to admit that I would miss the bathtub and the view. Especially the view from the tub. If I could have had at least the bathtub shipped home, I would have.

It being a Saturday, there was no work, so we headed back to Lisbon. On the way, we stopped in Peniche, or rather, the beach at Peniche. The weather was okay, though the wind a bit chilly. My knees started to hurt, and I was sure that the temperature would drop come evening. The first beach location was Papôa, which is a kind of tiny peninsula. Under the rocks there was a very interesting part, but all a bit slippery, and I had to pay very close attention to where I was stepping. I kind of wished I had my rock climbing shoes. There was a guy fishing at the very tip of the rocks, but I found this almost flat rock where I got a bit of sun. I almost fell asleep to the sound of the waves.

After that I was getting tired and ready to go to Lisbon, but we ended up going to another point, the Lighthouse of Cabo Carvoeiro. The lighthouse itself was fine, but the surroundings! Lots of cats, and I saw a cat lady feeding them, There was also trash everywhere. And birds. It also smelled. It was all kind of disgusting. I also had to climb down a really steep set of rocks, and my bad knees were getting worse. By the end I was really in pain. Not my favourite part of Portugal, and definitely needs some cleaning up!

In the evening we finally arrived to the hotel, Ibis Lisboa Parque das Nacoes. A budget affair, but in a good location.

Review:

Functional

This is a budget hotel, and there's no escaping that. However, the location is good, so if you're not bothered much by how fancy the hotel is, this is the place for you.

Let's start with the room. It's really quite small. The bed took up most of the room, and the rest of the floor was taken up by my suitcase. It had a desk and a place to sit, though my window looked over a wall. The TV was small, but there was a good selection of channels, and some in English as well. 

The bathroom was not as small as it could have been. It had a shower, which was a comfortable size. There was some soap that I could use in the shower, and towels. A hairdryer too.

Breakfast was nice. Not a massive selection, but a good one. A problem spot was the single orange juicer, which even broke down one morning. It needs to be automatic, or there need to be more of them, because that was the bottle-neck in the flow of breakfast.

Overall, a comfortable, functional hotel in a central location.

After checking in, we went to have dinner. I really wasn't much in the mood, as I had a killer headache, and the weather was turning cold and bad again. However, on the way back from the nearby mall where they had a Vitaminas, there was a surprise. They were holding some sort of a celebration of the local samba schools, and there were dancers and music around. I stayed, and shot a really long video. I was in a much better mood when I got back to my room. Thanks to the painkiller I took, my headache felt better too.

Portugal - Guimarães

The morning was spent with work, but lunch was fun again. I had lunch at a really great restaurant, Restaurant Pevidem Grelhados. It's not in Braga, but S. Jorge de Selho. Strangely enough, the place doesn't have a website, nor a Tripadvisor page, just a Facebook page. The food was very good. There was first a sort of selection of small dishes that everyone could eat from. I especially enjoyed the crab. Getting the meat out of the claws is hard work, but I learned how to rather quickly. Afterwards there was also some meat cooked at the table, but I was so full of crab, I only had very little of that. For dessert, I picked a cream with caramel and whiskey. However, this is where the scare happened. I didn't know, and there was nothing to indicate on the menu, that there were small bits of nuts in the cream. They were so tiny, at first I thought they were caramel. I haven't had any nuts in years, because I'm allergic. Not deadly allergic, luckily, but uncomfortably. Also, since I've not had any nuts for years, I had no idea how my body would react. Did my allergy get worse? Did it disappear? I got the allergy because of an immune disorder I have, so how it progresses, if at all, is anybody's guess. I was quite scared, and for the next half hour I paid extra attention to my body. Luckily, my allergy was the same as when I first noticed it. A few minutes of sore throat. Kind of like if someone pinched your oesophagus, and held it. Still, the restaurant should be careful with these things. That is why I think every restaurant should include allergy information.

Afterwards, we went to Guimarães, specifically the Pousada Mosterio de Guimarães. It's a hotel converted from an old monastery. Very pretty place, high up on the hill. Gorgeous views from it. The weather was very nice, and kind of wished that I could take a dip in the pool. The church was closed, though not unused. They still open it for weddings. A wedding there must be really nice, great place for pictures. Also, tiles on the walls! Love the tiles.

Next, we went to Parque da Penha, in Guimarães. The park is above the Pousada, and it also has a church. It's a very pretty park to check out, with great views of the city below. There are actually several little religious sites to view. That was a bit strange to me, but this is Portugal. I have two videos of the park.

After a quick run-around the park, we went down into the actual historical centre. I fell in love! It's beautiful, medieval, has charm and an air that I've never experienced before. I could seriously spend days just wondering around.