Portugal Getaway

It had been six months since we left Algiers. If we were living in the US and spent six months in one place, it wouldn’t have fazed us one bit. But living in Algiers without an escape for that length of time was becoming quite painful. We had planned a vacation to London for January this year. That trip was cancelled due to a terrorist attack in Ain Amenas, Algeria. We prayed that nothing would get in the way of our trip to Portugal. 

We departed for Lisbon on April 8^th and arrived shortly before midnight. As the wheels on the plane hit the ground, we sighed with a sense of relief that we actually made it out of Algeria without anything disrupting our trip. Douglas and I would spend the next 10 days in the beautiful country of Portugal. We planned to spend six days in Lisbon and four days in Cascais (pronounced cash kais), a quiet town outside of the city. 

We stayed at the Tiara Park Atlantic Lisboa near the city center. The hotel was very fitting of its five stars. I regret not getting pictures of the main lobby and our hotel room. That is usually the first thing I do. We had arrived so late that night, all I could think to do was get ready for bed. And over the duration of our stay, taking pictures of the room just wasn’t on my mind. We had no complaints about the room or hotel. Everything was perfect! 

       

 

If I had to pick a negative about Tiara Park it would be the midget sized ironing board they supplied us with. We couldn't stop laughing!!!

  

During the majority of our time in Lisbon, the weather was not great. It was misting, drizzling, or pouring rain. It definitely was not good camera weather. I was able to enjoy myself a little more without always stopping to take photos. Everything has it perks!

This vacation was very different than our past trips. We decided to do more everyday activities than tourist activities. Instead of dining at a restaurant for breakfast, we went to the local grocery store called El Corte Ingles and bought a few pastries, a variety pack of Greek yogurt along with fresh berries and grapes and a large bottle of water. We slept in and enjoyed these treats every morning. To many people this is uncommon to do while on vacation, but coming from Algiers this was exactly what we needed to do on our vacation. I remember going to Barcelona and waking up early every morning to maximize our day in the city. Our attitude this time was to maximize quality time and alone time in a comfortable place with each other. And that we did!

The city of Lisbon is very hilly. At times it reminded me of San Francisco. Walking those streets every day sure did give us an excellent workout. It’s a good thing I exercise on the regular. Otherwise my quads would have been screaming! As much as I wanted to wear my cute shoes that I rarely get to model in Algiers, comfort superseded that desire. My motto for clothing and footwear while exploring a new city is cute and comfy. Anything else will make for a very long day and an unhappy woman!

A few people that had recently visited Lisbon suggested we take the Hop On – Hop Off bus to tour the city. The Hop On – Hop Off bus was also recommended to us while visiting Barcelona and when planning our trip to London. But that has never appealed to us for two reasons:  1) the Hop On – Hop Off bus usually costs around $21 per person per day, and 2) this bus almost forces you to squeeze a lot of sightseeing into one day. 

Douglas and I preferred to take the city metro. It is much cheaper, it allows us to get more of the city experience, and we get to so many more places during our stay than we would on the bus. I highly recommend taking the metro, if available, when touring the city. Another pleasant thing about the metros in every city we’ve visited thus far is that they are ultra clean. I say ultra clean because compared to New York City where I grew up, it’s like a palace. From first glance you can tell the underground stations throughout Europe are very well kept.

Lisbon definitely isn’t limited on their choice of malls. There were at least five that we knew about and we went to each one. Douglas and I had no big plans to go shopping, so I’m not sure how we found ourselves at every mall in Lisbon. Probably because they were easily accessible. We figured, why not? We surely didn’t do that much shopping but we were able to find many items that aren’t available in Algiers or are difficult to purchase online. I’m very grateful that my husband is so patient. Most women I know dread going shopping with their husbands. But Douglas is so patient and keeps himself occupied quite well. As long as he has somewhere to sit down, he is good!

Aside from visiting every mall in Lisbon we also dined at quite a few restaurants. We had two favorites. One is called Eataly. This is an Italian restaurant that serves gluten free pasta in addition to their regular pastas. It’s always a treat for me to find restaurants that cater to the gluten free lifestyle. It was not only wonderful to have gluten free options, but the food was super delicious. It was so good we went back the next day for a late lunch.

Hard Rock Cafe in Portugal

Would you believe this is a Starbucks?!?!

Our other favorite is Largo do Carmo. This is a popular Portuguese restaurant in Lisbon. Tapas are a typical Portuguese food. I personally refer to them as small plates of delectable delight. This restaurant was recommended to us by a waitress at Eataly; hence, another reason why we loved Eataly so much. The customer service was outstanding! Largo do Carmo is a small restaurant that has maybe eight to ten tables. Reservations are a must because it gets crowded quickly. Our reservation was for 9:30 pm. Very late for dinner, but ideal since we had a late lunch that day. Europeans tend to dine extremely late. People were coming in to sit down and eat at nearly 11:00 pm. I couldn’t fathom sitting down to a meal that late on the regular. This food was fantastic and well worth the late night eat! We tried several different dishes and then ended our meal with an item to share from the dessert cart. I highly recommend eating at this restaurant if you ever find yourself in Lisbon. 

Street outside Largo do Carmo

We also visited the aquarium. It seems as though we find ourselves at an aquarium in every city we visit. I guess we have a hidden love for sea creatures. This aquarium was large and comparable to most others we have seen. It was raining quite a bit on the day we went so we didn’t get many pictures of the outside. I did manage to get a few of Douglas with his new found friend, Vasco. I’ll spare you, the reader, a look at several of the photos we took inside the aquarium. One picture should suffice. I’m sure you might be thinking, “Once you’ve seen one sea creature, you’ve seen them all!”  

Vasco!!!

"Cool!" A megaphone!

"Nicky, can you hear me?"

"Yes honey, I can hear you! Can we go inside the Aquarium now?"

Lisbon wasn’t the only place we got to visit. We also took the train to the beautiful coastal town of Cascais. We heard so much about this area. It’s about 45 minutes outside of Lisbon. The atmosphere is very tranquil, calm, and uber-relaxing.

Near Cascais is a town called Sintra, which is known for its romantic architecture. Apparently it’s a “must-see.” Unfortunately, we did not get to visit Sintra. Three days after arriving in Portugal we received news that Douglas’ mother was critically ill and we had to go to South Carolina. We immediately began looking for a flights going from Lisbon to Algiers. The earliest we could leave was two days after receiving the news. Instead of staying in the room worrying, we kept ourselves busy by continuing to explore parts of the city that were easily accessible.

Douglas and I do hope to return to Lisbon one day. Thankfully Tiara Park Hotel was very accommodating and did not charge us for the remaining nights that were already booked. We were also scheduled to stay at Penha Longa Golf Resort near Sintra for three nights. That hotel was also very kind not to charge us a fee for cancelling. Both hotels exhibited outstanding customer service during this time. For that reason, we would not hesitate to stay at both locations again when we return to Lisbon.

Pounds vs. Kilos: A Mistake I Will Never Make Again

Last weekend I went to the market to purchase my meat for the month of March. At the end of every month I plan a tentative menu for the following month. This helps a great deal to ensure my husband and I are having a variety of foods and not over indulging in the heartier meals. My grocery list included 6 lbs. of ground turkey. Not bad for the month!

I went to the market that morning with two other ladies who are both pretty fluent French speakers. Everything is served and made in kilos here, not pounds. On my grocery list I wrote 6 lbs / 12 kilos and that is what I told the girls to relay to the butcher. They told him we would pick it up after we came from the other end of the market to buy fruits and vegetables. The butcher looked at us with sort of a weird smile before he took off to the back room. The girls and I must have spent no more than 30 minutes buying our produce. My bag was starting to touch the ground from all those heavy fruits and veggies I packed inside.

We returned to the butcher and he gave me the receipt for everything. It read 6000 dinar. That's approximately $76.  I thought to myself, “That is pretty darn steep for 6 lbs. of ground turkey.” Then the man came from around the corner with two large and extremely heavy bags of meat that he placed into my hands. My mouth dropped! All three of us thought wow, that’s a lot of turkey. While the other girls were getting their orders I stood there for a few minutes thinking something wasn’t right. The girls thought the man must have misunderstood the amount of meat they requested. I looked back at my grocery list and showed the girls the number I wrote on my paper. Well don’t you know this is why I will NEVER be an accountant and quickly changed my college major from business to communication after taking my first Statistics class! 12 kilos does not equate to 6 pounds. 12 kilos converts to 26.5 pounds! What the heck???? I was now carrying damn near 27 pounds of ground turkey in my bag. I couldn’t believe I switched the conversion around like that. 1 kilo equals 2.2 pounds. I was relieved that I actually had enough money available to purchase the meat. Otherwise, we may not have made it out of that underground market safely. They were going to get their money one way or the other. To top it off I also ordered 20 chicken breasts for the month. I purchased more than usual since I was hosting a farewell dinner for one of the Marines the following day. With the weight of all the meat, fruits, and veggies, I could barely carry those bags out of the market. I actually pulled a muscle in my left oblique on the way home. I learned a valuable lesson - I should never be responsible for helping our future children with any type of math problems.

This is what 26 pounds of meat looks like after I individually wrapped each pound. Two pounds were already removed for me to prepare turkey sausage patties. My husband was not upset, but would have been much happier if that were 26 pounds of beef on our kitchen counter opposed to turkey.

February In A Flash

 

As my fellow New Yorkers would say, “It has been a minute since my last blog post!” A little over a month is a while for me. I realize we are already a week into March (better late than never). Although I didn't fit in time for blog writing over the past several weeks, I am proud to say I have been hard at work on my goals. It feels so good to be productive and see results!!! Anyway, back to this post. February flew by. Aside from working hard at my goals, I did keep busy doing a few other things last month.

First there was the Super Bowl. In order to watch it live Douglas and I stayed awake from 12:00 a.m. to about 4:30 a.m. local time. I usually enjoy checking out the new commercials aired during the game. Unfortunately, I would miss out on that since AFN (American Forces Network) only shows their usual wacky commercials. Any service or family member who has ever deployed knows exactly what I’m talking about. I’d like to know who approves these commercials and is there any screen selection done prior to picking the so-called actors. Before I digress further, while Douglas watched the Super Bowl for obvious reasons, I watched it to see the spectacular Beyoncé do her thing in the halftime show, which she did so dang well! Her performance was electrifying. Every time I watch her dance I just want to get up and start moving, although I can hardly shake it, drop it, and pick it back up like she does. My knee brace won’t allow for all that movement…LOL (Yes, I had the nerve to blame it on the knee brace. Don’t judge me!)

On February 8^th my girlfriend brought me with her to the grand opening of a jazz club/restaurant. We got all dolled up, excited for a girls night out. When we arrived to the club it looked sort of like a museum from the outside; it was large with a cobblestone entrance. There were just four or five other vehicles in the parking lot. She said it started at 8 p.m. and it was almost 10 p.m. when we arrived. Our initial assumption was that we were early birds. The name of the place was Club Casif. When we got inside one would have thought we were there with the key to open the doors, being the only guests present! It was just us, the staff, and the band. So we sat down and figured more people would arrive shortly. From the appearance this did not look like your normal jazz club. It looked more like an official “get your dance on” club. The atmosphere presented itself to be enjoyable and spacious enough for a couple hundred people to fit inside. The band members and manager must have felt obligated to entertain their only guest so they sat with us at our table. Then each one of them proceeded to pull a cigarette out of their pockets and light up directly in front of us. We were now surrounded by a circle of smokers. I whispered to my friend, “With every puff we are becoming victims of secondhand smoke.” I absolutely hate the smell of cigarette smoke. After a few minutes, or what felt like hours, the gentlemen said they were going to perform and asked if we would watch. I thought to myself, “Well, obviously we’re going to watch you guys. What else would we sit here and do? Surely not continue to breathe in the aftermath of your deadly habit.” We followed them into the next room, hoping more people would show. Otherwise, this performance would make us feel like a judge on a show such as America's Got Talent determining whether or not these contestants were good enough to make it. The next few minutes would be quite interesting.

The band was pretty good. They played their hearts out. My friend and I were most surprised that the lead singer sang like a true blues artist. Who would have thought that Algerian man had such a strong voice in him? At the end of each song my friend and I smiled and clapped loudly, showing our approval for them to move on to the next round of competition. I knew I would feel like a dang judge. After all, we were their only source of feedback and they looked directly at us after each tune. The thing that really perplexed my friend and I was the three DJs that were set up behind the band. Why do you people have three DJs up in here? First off, the club just isn’t that big to even require two DJs. Second, there are only two guests in here so you other two guys need to come have a seat in this bootleg audience and pretend like you are guests for the remainder of the evening. Third, you all didn’t even practice how this three DJ setup was going to work. They were cutting off songs left and right. And I think one guy was just moving discs around to look busy. I didn’t know what was going on, but I was floored!

Once they played for twenty or thirty minutes it was apparently break time. Again the band members crowded around us with their lit cigarettes. Algerians smoke often and everywhere. It’s no wonder they have tremors during the month of Ramadan. They can’t bear to go five minutes without their cancer sticks. At this point I was done. There was no way I could endure another round of inhaling death with every blow of cigarette smoke from the mouth. We made something up and told them that we needed to go, but reassured them that they were great and would make it on the season premiere! We thought maybe since it was the first night a lot of people had not heard of the place yet. To our surprise one of the staff members told us this was their third week open. Clearly Algerians and Americans have different definitions for “Grand Openings.” This was no grand opening when it has been open for three weeks and clearly we must have different definitions for what we call a restaurant because this place didn’t serve the first piece of food - not even a chip or piece of candy. There was a bar, which doesn’t constitute a restaurant. It was a good thing neither or us went there planning to eat. They need to revamp their advertising and maybe then they will receive some business. As we exited the club I thought to myself, “I could have saved this dress I put on for another occasion.” At least these experiences make for good blog stories. (Always a silver lining...)

Next was Mardi Gras. My girlfriend is a Louisiana southern girl who always starts Mardi Gras off right by throwing down in the kitchen on Fat Tuesday. She decided to have a dinner at her place for ourselves and all the Marines. My job was to make a Sausage Cheese Bread Roll. I’d never eaten this before or heard of it, but I love trying new dishes. I made a gluten-free roll and a regular roll. This country does not carry the main ingredient in this dish, but fortunately I came up with my own recipe to make sausage. It was actually pretty easy and tasted delicious!

 

The following week was Valentine’s Day. Neither Douglas or I wanted to dine at a restaurant this time. We both wanted to stay home and indulge in food items that I prepare once in a blue moon while watching a new movie. We had macaroni and cheese, fried chicken, and oven roasted zucchini, tomatoes, garlic, and onions. And of course for dessert, we enjoyed the white chocolate treats my husband gave me as a surprise. I can only eat such goodness on rare occasions, but white chocolate is my absolute favorite.

Oven roasted zucchini, squash, and tomatoes. It looks so pretty.

Towards the end of the month Douglas and I went out for a date night. We dined at a Turkish restaurant called Le Bosphore. We have been here several times before and always walk away satisfied. One of our favorite things at this restaurant is the cart of appetizers that the waiter brings by your table shortly after arriving. You can choose from an assortment of dishes to go with the basket of large pieces of bread served. The kitchen is similar to that of a Japanese restaurant as it’s placed in the center of the dining room. You can see how everything is prepared. After dinner we stopped at a small gelato store to get a couple scoops of ice cream. The Algerian ice cream here is not good, but this gelato was shipped in from Italy and tasted just like I remembered while visiting Italy. Overall, it was an excellent date night.

Scenery outside restaurant

Front entrance of restaurant

Chef in the kitchen in corner of dining room

Fancy restaurant, crazy straw

And there it is…February in a flash. Now let’s see what March has in store.

The Transformation: Month One

During the month of January, I focused on getting out of bed happy every morning. I have looked forward to the start of every day, even if the day before didn’t go as I would have liked.

Today marks the end of the first month on my transformation journey. I’ve found that the hardest part is fighting temptations of “comfort food.” About four times this month I indulged in treats like pancakes, muffins that taste like cupcakes, and french fries. Usually people say the hardest part is getting started. Others may say the hardest part is being consistent. Both are very valid thoughts. This time I took a different approach getting started. I desired this journey and couldn’t imagine going another day without it. So beginning this process was not difficult at all. And oddly enough, remaining consistent this past month in regards to exercise has been tremendously easy. Though I’ve tried to make changes in my life before, you would not have found me speaking the same way about my efforts back then. My outlook has changed; therefore, my results have changed. Now, if I can just curb my comfort food/sweet tooth…

On January 1^st I did a workout DVD but on January 2^nd I did not exercise. I forget exactly why, but I think I just didn’t feel like doing it that day. I remember trying to make myself feel better by saying, “At least I worked out yesterday.” On January 3^rd I knew I could not let that happen again. So, all this month I have exercised six to seven days a week. I got into such a good groove that certain weeks I forgot to take the seventh day off to rest. I have been doing Jillian Michaels’ DVD, Banish Fat Boost Metabolism, 6 days a week. Towards the end of the month, on top of doing the DVD workout, I began running on the treadmill for 45 to 60 minutes. My body has been feeling quite good. I’m most proud of myself for being consistent and not allowing a bad moment, bad feeling, or negative number to affect my pursuit.

My downfall, though, has been not controlling what I eat. If I were looking to simply maintain my physique then I could say I did excellent this month. But that is not my goal right now; improving my physique and overall health is my goal. So, this month I would give myself a “B-minus.” I made up my mind that I would be disciplined when it came to exercise this month and I was. However, I did not apply that same dedication to altering my eating habits. At least once or twice every week, I caved into eating too much of the “good stuff.” It really is mind over matter. Next month I will focus on eating those comfort foods in moderation. As for this month, I am now 4 pounds lighter.

Without hesitation, I would give myself an “A” for the month regarding my commitment to reading. I told myself I would read one thought-provoking book this month and I read three – The Secret and The Power, both by Rhonda Byrne, and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. I’ve also been reading the Bible every day. I have completed the book of Genesis, am almost done with the book of Matthew and am making my way through Psalms and the book of Proverbs. In addition to those books, I am reading I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb. That is my leisure novel. It’s 897 pages long, so it may be another month before I’m through with that one. I’m extremely proud of myself for not only reading more than one book this month but for not stopping a book before it was finished. For me, the act of following through is 100% success.

I posted entries on my blog for the books by Rhonda Byrne, but did not do so for The Alchemist. Let me say that this book was so great I finished it in just a few hours. This story of a boy named Santiago calls for you to examine every aspect of your life. Absolutely anything we desire can be ours despite any obstacles, past or present. Just because we may have had a rough upbringing in poverty, abuse, or neglect, does not mean that has to be our story. Just because our parents may not have graduated from high school or college doesn’t mean we can’t either. Just because we grew up eating unhealthy and never exercising doesn’t mean that is how we have to continue our life. Just because no one around us has ever lived outside the state they grew up in doesn’t mean we can’t live wherever we choose. Just because you have settled in a career that allows you to live a comfortable lifestyle doesn’t mean you have to let go of your dream to be something else. Just because your family, friends, or even parents think your visions are foolish doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish them. Just because something seems unrealistic doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Just because you have psyched yourself out with negativity doesn’t mean you can’t psyche yourself up with positivity. This is just a taste of what this story conveys. If you have even a tiny desire to seek true happiness and fulfillment in your life, to step out on faith for something you have wanted so long, or to open your eyes to see the how life is providing open doors for you every day, then read this book. You will not be disappointed!

I am grateful for where I am today and where I am headed. It feels good to be a work in progress while actually doing work.