All posts for the month January, 2020

Five Reasons to Boycott Valentine’s Day

Ciao Readers! Today’s re-blog post is dedicated to my friend who has almost made me rethink my stance on V-Day. She enjoys it so much and is so kind that I was inspired to make her a V-day present with my own two hands. But lest you think I have succumbed to big Hallmark, at this time I still stand by this – my most “liked” post of all time. The real test will be if you see it re-posted again here next year or not…..

New Mexico to Italy

Ciao Readers!  Happy belated New Year to you and Birthday to me!

So, I think I am making reposting this – my most “liked” post ever – a yearly tradition. Enjoy!

Originally posted in February of 2016:

So, today I go off on a tangent (i.e. mini-rant); one of my only posts not about travel or food. I figure, I have this grand public forum, why not totally abuse it?  If you don’t know this about me, I HATE (yes H-A-T-E) Valentine’s Day and have since I was a teenager.  I honestly think it is the worst, most sadistic/masochistic, commercialised abomination ever.  I hope you’ll agree and join my 3-decades long boycott.  Here’s why…. (in no specific order and somewhat redundant)….

  1. No one ends up satisfied.  Seriously, how many people are out there right now building up their expectations for Valentine’s Day and how many people are fretting about…

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by Newmexicotoitaly on January 25, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Musings
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 25, 2020

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2020/01/25/five-reasons-to-boycott-valentines-day-4/

Picturesque Pena Palace, Portugal

Ciao Readers!

So, if you’re anything like me, you get back from a nice vacation with the “real world” already knocking on your door – whether in the form of a nasty cold, tons of voicemails, or a new home repair task…..

Before I totally lose the magic that was Portugal, I wanted to share some photos of a super quirky, beautiful, eclectic site – Pena Palace in Sintra (about a 45 minute train ride from Lisbon). I think this website describes it aptly: “The palace is a hedonistic mix of vividly painted terraces, decorative battlements and mythological statues, all of which stand at stark contrast to the lush greens of the Parque de Pena forest.”  The palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and its existence goes back to the Middle Ages. I will spare you the entire history here – but what started off as a chapel, turned into a monastery – which was then battered by all sorts of things, including lightening and the great quake of 1755 (which destroyed much of Lisbon) –  and was eventually acquired and greatly added to by King Ferdinand in the mid 1800’s. It was commissioned to be a summer palace for the Royal family and was modeled, in part, on castles likely seen in Germany. Just to be quirky they decided to add some Medieval, Islamic, and other decorative elements to the palace (notice the Moorish tiles, the minaret-ish tower, the Triton gateway…..). We had read that the outside was much more the draw than the inside, so we bought tickets to the surrounding park (which also lets you access the scary-thin terraces surrounding the palace) and wandered around marveling…..returning down the very steep hill by tuk tuk (with a driver that knew where we live – Albuquerque  – through Breaking Bad – “Ah, Sim, Pollos Hermanos!!!”), for just a few euros more than the packed city buses.  All in all, a lovely last full day in Portugal:

 

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by Newmexicotoitaly on January 15, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Art, Diversions to Other Places, Portugal
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 15, 2020

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2020/01/15/picturesque-pena-palace-portugal/

Museu da Marioneta (the Puppet Museum in Lisbon)

Ciao Readers!

We are back state-side and slowly adjusting to the 7 hour time difference after a 24-hour commute home (I love travel… traveling, not so much). I hope your new year has started off well.

Having recently shared my life-long affection for puppets (see my Muppet post), it will be no surprise that when I stumbled upon the fact that Lisbon has a puppet museum, I knew we had to go! (In contrast, feel free to skip their largest art Museum, the Gulbenkian – if you’ve been to any other large/famous museum you’ve seen better.) The puppet museum is funky and dark (even their tickets, below, are cool and weird). There are puppets from throughout the ages – from early Thai shadow puppets, Vietnamese water puppets, lots of old European and traditional Portuguese puppets, and on through modern day stop-action animation figures (complete with mini props!). It seems that puppets were often used as an entertaining way to make subversive cultural or political statements, including during the latest fascist regime in Portugal (did you know they had a dictator until 1974?!). It was kinda surreal and creepy in there, but supercool (they even have a place you can put on your own puppet show). I felt in-the-know finding this off-the-grid site, seeing how it’s not even in travel guru Rick Steves’ Lisbon book.  Take a look…..

Next time we travel to the nearby town of Sintra to see its very eclectic Pena Palace….

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by Newmexicotoitaly on January 9, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Art, Diversions to Other Places, Portugal, The Puppetinos, Travel Tips
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 9, 2020

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2020/01/09/museu-da-marioneta-the-puppet-museum-in-lisbon/

Feliz 2020 from Lisbon, Portugal

Olá Readers! Happy 2020!

So far it’s been an interesting start to the new year here in Lisbon – last night we partook in what has to be the most mellow midnight celebration ever – just about 200+ folks, including lots of kids, hanging out by the Belém Tower (pictured below) watching fireworks go off in other parts of the city. There wasn’t even a real countdown, so maybe it’s still 2019…….? Then today we had a leisurely and delicious Indian food lunch out in the sun – never expected to eat Indian food here, but we kept walking by this place and it smelled so good, and it was! (And, unlike in every other place we’ve been to in Europe – especially Italy – it is okay to get your leftovers to go). If I have one major observation so far, it’s that Portugal is super chillax about most things compared to other EU countries – people seem mellower, not so fashion conscious, and fairly open and friendly. There don’t seem to be as many rules (i.e. obstacles) like you run into in Italy – for one small example, only post offices and tobacco stores in Italy sell stamps – the other day I bought some here at the gift store where I bought postcards – so simple, but who woulda thunk!?!

In any case, I thought I’d take this lazy day to post some of the photos I’ve been saving up – from our food tour, food and sights around town, and some more tiles and mosaics. Wishing you, dear Readers, peace and joy in the new year!

From our Taste of Lisboa  food tour, which was super fun and educational (and shared with tourists from Sweden, Wales, Luxembourg, and even Portugal!):

From our visit to the most famous pastry shop in Portugal, Pastéis de Belém, and our fancy New Year’s Eve day lunch:

From our walks around town and the tower on New Year’s Eve:

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by Newmexicotoitaly on January 1, 2020  •  Permalink
Posted in Art, Diversions to Other Places, Food, Portugal
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Posted by Newmexicotoitaly on January 1, 2020

https://newmexicotoitaly.com/2020/01/01/feliz-2020-from-lisbon-portugal/

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