TravelStream™ news feed for member shb103 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/shb103 en-us Copyright ©2010 TravelPod.com Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:47:41 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shb103/2/1226979600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shb103/2/1226979600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/shb103/2/1226979600/tpod.html Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:47:41 -0500 Quickie na Europa (& Arredores)/Quickie in Europe (& Surroundings)

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Lisbon, Estremadura, Portugal

Arrived in Lisbon late and just went out for a quick bite at a bakery aptly named Casa Brasileira. Love the old town feel of the city. Love it even more that everyone speaks Portuguese with - duh! - a Portuguese accent. It almost feels like they are pretending and putting up an accent to fool us all. :-)

Will post more about the capital of the former maritime empire that once dominated the planet's seas soon.

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Cheguei em Lisboa tarde e saí bem rapidinho só para comer alguma coisa. Acabei parando numa padaria chamada Casa Brasileira!. Por enquanto estou adorando o estilo da cidade, que no Brasil chamaríamos de colonial, mas que aqui em grande parte é chamado Manuelino. O pouco que vi me lembrou um misto de Rio com Salvador.

O que eu realmente mais gostei foi ouvir todo mundo falando com aquele sotaque português chiado e cantado, "c'm letrx comidx e muitx soinx de "x"". Até parece que eles estão fingindo que realmente falam daquele jeito só pra te enganar. rsrsrs.

Vou postar mais sobre Lisboa em breve.

Até lá!
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Salamanca, Castile-León, Spain and Canary Islands

Salamanca is a beautiful town with a quaint medieval old quarter, where the University, the old and new cathedrals, as well as the Plaza Mayor are located.

The buildings in the old town area centered around Calle Rua Mayor are extremely impressive and visible from many points in the city.

St. Stephen's Convent (Convento de Sán Esteván) has a magnificent Gothic archway entrance that can mesmerize by its sheer size and beauty. I especially liked the adjoining cloister house with the 3 bells lined up on top.

On the way to Calle San Pablo the Keymaster Tower is a masterpiece of medieval architectures.

The old cathedral right next to the Faculty of Translation is impressive and gigantic. It has hundreds of notched figures on the façade that are exquisite in its design. If you look attentively you may find an astronaut (!). Seriously made me wonder if this was (1) a more recent addition, (2) someone from the future who paid a visit to the town when they were builiding the church, or (3) an alien, after all the astronaut's face does look VERY strange. If anyone knows the answer to this, PLEASE comment.

Following Calle Rua Mayor we arrive both at PUC with its beautiful tall and small circular towers. Here, by the entrance to the University is where you can find the famous Salamancan symbol of a cranium with a frog on its fore. According to my friend, the frog symbolizes the feminine and luxury, and its placement atop a cranium seating on a book at the entrance to the University is a medieval reminder to the mostly male student populace of then to concentrate on studying and not on more mundane pleasures. Salamanca was after all training ground for royal cortisans who came here for a practice spell as prostitutes to practice their "skills" with hormone-raging students before returning to the court better suited to "entertain" the royals and nobility.

A stone throw's away from PUC church is the Casa de Las Conchas (House of Shells). A beautiful building decorated with hundres of stone shells on the façade.

Finally, at the end of calle Rua lies the Plaza Mayor. A beautiful grand squrae with over 270 balcony windows that function as the prefecture, student housing, and restaurants.

Salamanca has many, many other beautiful sights and attractions. It is a joy to simply meander through the narrow streets in the downtown area and stumble upon evocative and charming constructions mostly dating back to the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance.

I was meant to stay here for only 3-4 days, but seeing as I was having such a great time with my friend and thoroughly enjoying this beautiful town I ended up extending my stay to about 10 days, which were really worth it

Thanks, Ana, for being a wonderful hostess!
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Santander, Spain, Spain and Canary Islands

I arrived in Santander, Spain late in the evening on 11/3 and only really got to the Hospedaje by about 9pm.

The place was basic, but clean, comfortable and with a TV. I only had a quick glimpse of downtown when I arrived. It reminded me of a cross between an older and much more compact version (not to mention colder) of the downtown area of Rio or Santos in Brazil.

I left my things at the Inn and went out to find food. The only thing moderately priced thing I found that appetized me was an Indian kebab place. I know it. In retrospect nobody should ever eat in an Indian kebab place in Spain, I admit. The result was a night awake with stomach cramps.

I spent the next day sleeping and watching newscasts on the Presidential election in the US.

I finally went out to explore the town on 11/5. There isn't much to see as far as tourist attractions go in Sanatander. The town is pretty with a 40's old charm flare to it. The bay is also picturesque and the beach seems nice. People really rave about the sunny days and lively cafés spent lazily around Sardinero beach. Unfortunately, by late Fall there is not much going around the town.

The church, the pavillion, and the old bank of Santander are still reason enough to stop by for a visit.

Later on today I'll be catching the bus bound for Salamanca, where I am meeting a very good friend from Brazil for a few days.
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London, England, United Kingdom

So, here I am. 1:43am, Monday. I should be in bed by now. I should also have all my bags ready for tomorrow by now. I am waking up at 9am and my flight to Spain is at 3pm. I SHOULD BE ASLEEP!

As usual, I am up late, not in bed, doing stuff that is neither urgent nor, frankly, that important, and, of course, haven't touched my bags yet. Whoa! I guess tomorrow is going to be one of those crazy days again. Shoot!

Anyway - to keep you posted - flight is tomorrow at 3pm from London STN to Santander. Touch down is at 1800 hours (that's 6pm for the army-illiterate). See you there. Logging off.
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Aqui estou. 1:43 da manhã. Eu já devia estar na cama. Já devia estar com as malas prontas. Vou acordar às 9 da manhã e meu vôo para a Espanha é às 15h. Eu já devia ESTAR DORMINDO!

Como de costume, estou acordado até tarde, não estou na cama, e estou fazendo coisas que não são nem um pouco importantes - e, obviamente, nem encostei nas minhas malas ainda... Êba! Acho que amanhã vai ser um daqueles dias! Saco!

Enfim, só pra deixar registrado - o vôo sai amanhã às 15h de Londres (STN) para Santander. Chegada prevista para às 18h. Vejo vcs lá. Câmbio, desligo.
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