Madrid, Spain: Nightlife

Only went out one night in Madrid but it was a cool experience. So
people at the hostel heard about a carnival that was going on and
bunch of us went together. It was very cool, they had many of the same
games like pop the balloon with a dart and knock over the pyramid of
cans with a ball. They had food stalls but much better food than the
usual carnival fare and they were selling huge and delicious Mojitos
and Caipirinhas. There were 5 designated carnival locations but the
party kind of snaked its way through the city connecting all the
locations and everywhere there was music mostly Spanish pop or dance
type music and people were dancing everywhere. It was really fun!!

Madrid, Spain: The sites

I only had a couple of days in Madrid so I had to try and squeeze as
much in as I could. As soon as I arrived, there was a free walking
tour leaving the hostel so I joined. That helped give me a quick
historical introduction to Madrid and lay of the land which is good
because usually it takes me three times getting lost before I get my
bearings.
Apparently I forgot to take pictures on my phone from this tour but a
short list of things I saw: Puerta del Sol, statue of bear eating
fruit from a tree the official symbol of Madrid, the royal palace, the
cathedral, bullet scars all around the city from the civil war, Plaza
Mayor used to be the centralized place for getting bread, meat and
produce but now is touristy and the most expensive apartments in
Spain. Interesting new years tradition when the clock in Puerta del
Sol strikes midnight you eat a grape for all twelve chimes of the bell
and if you swallowed them all by the time the last chime rings you'll
have a good year.

The next day I started at the Mueso Reina Sofia the modern art museum.
There wasn't any good English guide so many of the collections were
lost on me. Still there were some cool Picasso and Salvador Dali
collections, I liked the Dali collection here more.

Madrid, Spain: Food

> Peppers stuffed with Bacalau, cheese and deep fried

Portugal: Sites

Day 2:

Took the 15 tram to the Belem neighborhood. I meet two Aussie gals a the tram stop from my hostel and we ended up site seeing together.

> Tower of Belem

> Jeronimos Monastery [Not Picture]

> A bridge done by the same architect as golden gate bridge and there is a replica of the Christ the Redeemer from Rio De Janeiro

> My Street

> Regaleira Estate

Caves all over the estate grounds 

> Moors Castle (view from)

Day 5:

Traveled alone to Evora where I met, surprise, an Aussie and a couple Germans.

> Bone Chapel

> Aquaduck [Not Pictured]

> Roman ruins [Not Pictured]

> Various churches [Not Pictured]

I have plenty of pictures on my good camera so at some point I'll be able post more photos.

Portugal: Food

First off, I don't have photos off all my food because of a bad habit of eating my food before remembering to photograph it, I'll try and work on that.

Two nights I ate dinner at the hostel with everyone else. A staff member Isabella cooked the meals, 3 courses and dessert. They were good and I picked up a recipe for Piri Piri Chicken (Portuguese spicy chicken).

Food:
> Sardinhas Assadas - Grilled sardines [Not Pictured]

> Croquettes - not sure of ingredients but they were good [Not Pictured]

> Bacalhau fish cakes - salted and dried cod a traditional ingredient even though they import the cod [Not Pictured]

> Fava beans and Chorizo - really good! [Not Pictured]

> Alentejana - Pork and clams was amazing

> Pastel de Nata - egg tart pastry sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, delicious! Everyday there is a 20-30min line to get these at Pastéis de Belém

> Jamon Serrano, Prosciutto 

> Local cheese

> Grilled Octopus w/garlic, lemon, olive oil, parsley and pepper, really good not rubbery

> Grilled Mushrooms w/same seasoning as octopus

> Snail stew w/ white beans and the broth   is tomato based, it was a little rough pulling the snails out of their shells especially the big ones but the flavor was good

> Portuguese cheese cake, also very good. I think Portugal's sweets maybe under rated [Not Pictured]

Lisbon, Portugal: Day 1

After my 18 hr flight and a small mis-adventure after getting off the
metro, I arrived at my hostel. I'd also like to mention carrying my
pack is a feet of strength. It was about 12pm and even though I was
jet lagged I got out and walked a bit to the Museum of modern design
and Praça do Comércio (a square near my hostel).

Made it!

Garrett Garman