Day 131 – 141: London Calling

Day 131 – 141: London Calling

We have been in London (well just outside near Hampton Court) for 10 days now and cant believe that the time has flown by so rapidly. Days have run into each other and we have enjoyed every minute of the rest and opportunity to catch up with friends again.

Sunday  12^th August

From the minute we landed at Heathrow, we have been completely blown away by the generosity of our hosts and wonderful friends, Andrew (Pommy) and his gorgeous fiancé Sarah. Craig was so exited to see his old friend that he jump on the trolley and with a huge force he pushed himself forward shouting ‘POMMY’.

They met with a great embrace and filled the air with excitement for the days ahead.

We had to celebrate, and so decided to go to their local pub where we could enjoy the beautiful summers day with a few drinks, good food and a great catch up.

As we arrived at the pub, it was filled with locals taking in as much of the sunshine and atmosphere as they could. The pub was decorated with British flags for the Olympics and added to the festivities.

Monday, 13h August

Due to the change of our itinerary and our early entrance into the UK, we were able to see a good friend of mine from Korea. Chloe is a vivacious and wonderful friend who taught with me in Korea. She is now on route to teach in Italy for who knows how long and it just so happened that we could meet for an awesome visit before she heads out again.

Tuesday, 14^th August

Washing day – I love these days when I can simply throw all our filthy clothes in a drum, put the powder and softener in and sip on a yummy tea while the clothes swirl around and come out smelling fresh and beautiful.

Wednesday, 15^th August

Groceries and haircut day – Pommy drove us to a nearby village where Craig could have himself nicely groomed and I could roam up and down the aisles with Pommy getting all the great deals on groceries for the next couple of days.

Thursday, 16^th August

Today was a dream come true, today was the day that we would go to Lord’s Cricket Ground to see the Protea’s take on the English in a test which would decipher who was the #1 Cricket Test Side in the world.

We were a little worried about the typical British weather when we woke up to grey skies with glimpses of blue, but remained positive and determined that we would get a full day of cricket ‘under the belt’.

Maybe a little too positive on my behalf as shorts were probably not the best idea, but lucky for Craigs jersey which served as a great blanket.

We bought the cheapest tickets (restrictive view tickets) as the difference between the next best ticket was £50 – ridiculous.

We were a little apprehensive about where we would sit and what we would see, but as we got to our seats, we were overjoyed by the amazing position.

We were slightly covered and completely protected on the one side, protecting us from the slight drizzle from time to time.

It was spectacular and we had such a wonderful time watching not only the cricket, but also the old men all dressed up in their suits and hats with their pre-packed lunches and flasks of coffee (or who knows what inside).

Friday, 17^th August – Saturday, 18^th August

YAY, its Friday and I don’t think that there was anyone more happy than Andrew and Sarah as there were awesome festivities scheduled for the weekend.

Sarah was going with friends from work, to the V-Festival where she would spend the day in the hot sun, listening to her favorite bands and having a jol with friends.

While Andrew on the other hand was taking us to ‘The Slug’. This is a well-known bar; which always shows all South African sports games and would be the perfect setting for us to watch the Springboks take on the Argentinians.

I think that this is the first time that Craig never watch a second of the rugby as he was chatting away with long last friends who he hasn’t seen in ages.

The night got messy very quickly and without going into too much detail I will just mention that there were ‘John Deers’ involved, making looking after these old friends quite challenging.

But we got home safe and sound and lived to tell the tale.

Sunday, 19^th August

Craig and I were so spoiled by Kate Hodsdon who came to pick us up for church at 10am. We were so exited as we have heard so much about Kinsgate and couldn’t wait to worship and spend time with God.

It was amazing, as we worshipped and then heard from Titch Smith.  He spoke about the difference between ‘Success and Significance’. His word was inspirational and we held on to every word. After the service we had coffees and biscuits while meeting other friends and just loving life.

Monday, 20^th August- Wednesday, 22^nd August

These days have been spent doing a few things around the house, watching movies, going for jogs and relaxing.

We visited with Carl’s homegroup on Tuesday where we were blown away by the generosity of new friends and shared a profound time with God.

These people are amazing and have been such a vital part of our time here in London.

We are headed to Cheltenam tomorrow to visit with my family for a few days before making our way to Wales and Scotland, but will make sure that we visit this wonderful homegroup when we get back.

Day 123 – 131: EaZee PeaZee PortugueZee

Day 123 – 131:  EaZee PeaZee PortugueZee

Place: TRYP Hotel Oriente, Lisbon in Portugal

Flip, I love this Country!!!

Portuguese, awesome trains, yummy coffee, lekker pastries, custard tarts, out-of-this world seafood, beaches, aquariums, boardwalks, trees, efficiency and the best sangria EVER.

Heading to Lisbon straight from Barcelona, was never the original plan. Craig and I had a list of things, which we would do over the next month before heading to Morocco, including the Riba de Sella (famous canoe race in Northern Spain) and the La Tomatina  (world renown tomato festival in Spain). Unfortunately, travelling on the ‘Green Mamba’ (South African Passport) has made this very difficult and an impossibility for this trip.

Craig and I therefore decided that with 12 days remaining on our Schengen visa, we would embrace every minute and use this time to relax, reflect and rejuvenate…. and where better than the amazing and underrated Portugal.

We arrived to our awesome 4* hotel which Craig got for a hot deal to check in early after our ridiculously long overnight train journey.

A wall of window separates us from the outside and provides us with an epic view of the city below.

We spent the first few days with no itinerary or obligation at all, and instead opted for movies in bed, long strolls along the river promenade, salads, Portuguese pasties and lots of delicious coffee.

This is exactly ‘what the doctor ordered’ as we took complete advantage of every minute of rest and enjoyment as we could.

This also gave us the opportunity to experience the unbelievable generosity and warmth of the Portuguese people.

Saturday, 4^th August

A day that we have been waiting and praying for over the last few months had arrived. Today was the day that Kate Roberts would yet again realize her lifelong dream and participate in the Olympic games.

I could not sleep the night before and woke up with the sunrise in pure excitement and joy for my darling cousin.

We had no live footage from the race, but had a back up plan…we would skype my dear mom and sister (who surprised my mom with a visit) and watch the event together. Hearts racing, unable to sit down and the excitement brewing, we enjoyed sharing the amazing experience and witnessed Kate finish in an impressive 21^st position and I couldn’t wait to brag and boast about her achievement.

All this hard work, meant that the rest of the day would be as uneventful and effortless as possible, resulting in movies, food and sleep….the best Olympic event if you ask Craig or I (and we are pros at this too).

Sunday, 5^th August.

Craig had done some research and found out that there was a Baptist church in the nearby area; which has an English service each Sunday at 11:30am. We both agreed that we were super keen to suss out the scene and find a place to worship.

Ands that’s exactly what we did…map in hand, metro tickets bought and we were on our way…and on a mission I might add.

We took left, right, up and down directions and once again heard the sounds of people in worship. We followed the ‘out of tune’ but enticing sounds and found a group of young, old, Indian, African, Asian and odd sods in a small room on the fist floor of a decaying building singing and worshiping in absolute splendor.

We were handed a hymn book and bible and joined in on the fun…loving the atmosphere and blessing of this place.

It was such bliss to start the morning with God (and in our language) that we headed back home to celebrate with a hearty lunch and the possibility of a Sunday nap was imminent.

Monday, 6^th August

Today is the day that Craig has been waiting for, talking about and planning for, since we arrived in Portugal…. Today we were going to the world famous AQUARIUM.

From the minute we entered the doors, we were impressed.

90kg turtles, fun loving otters, odd looking sunfish, scary sharks, octopus and jellyfish all greeted us as we walked around and oddly enough encouraged our appetites for sea crawling, fin bobbing delights. We walked along the promenade pricing the various restaurants and sat ourselves down at a slow but busy little spot where we tucked into some prawns, clams and salad before heading to the little Irish pub next door for a dessert of Guinness for him and an Irish coffee for ‘her’.

Tuesday, 7^th August

During our time in Lisbon, Craig found this wonderful little bakery next door to our hotel, which we have frequented at least 2 times a day. Two coffees and a pastry every morning, on occasion a scoop of caramel and a scoop of white chocolate ice-cream (the best I have ever tasted I might add) and a well priced soup and coffee for dinner. We now walk in and are greeted as friends; they know our process if ordering and we will continue to visit them because of it.

So after our coffee and pastry for breakfast, we decided to head to Lisbon central for some touristy sightseeing and the chance to take hundreds of pictures to add to our awesome albums.

Cobblestoned streets, massive arches connecting buildings, beautiful antiques tiles on walls and crazy trams zooming the narrow streets. These are all the wonderful elements that will remind me of why I absolutely LOVE this country.

Old, modern, antiques, vibrant, dynamic, captivating and addictive, all describe this picture perfect place and leave you ‘wanting more’.

After a busy morning of gallivanting, Craig and I took the advice from a couple of friends (Rachel and Christian who we met in Belgium) and feasted on a yummy lunch of prawns, chicken and sangria at the highly recommended ‘Cassa de India’.

This is a local and typical Portuguese joint.

Slanted eyes, uncontrollable giggling and crab walking later, were good indications that it was time to leave. We (by that I mean I) stumbled onto the tram where we race up and DOWNNNNNNN the streets of Lisbon without knocking over any innocent bystanders thank goodness and experienced the ride of a lifetime.

PHEW…exhausted, it was time to retreat to our hotel and get rest before our big day ahead.

Wednesday, 8^th August

Belem was the chosen destination for the day.

Nick and Dags (friends from Prague) had recently visited Lisbon and suggested that we visit this little city.

Not knowing what to expect, but ready to see what awaited us, we climbed onto the train on route to Belem.

Little did we know at the time, but this precious city would creep deep into our hearts as we walked through the gardens and took pictures of the old and historic buildings and monuments.

Belem is also well known for its ‘Pastel de Nata’ and it is evident by the LONG queue outside of the ‘Pasteis de Belem’ to prove it. These are delish little custard pastries, which taste very similar to milk tarts and are served with cinnamon and sugar too. We decided to skip the queue and ducked into a Portuguese Restaurant next door for a well-deserved seafood lunch.

Café Jeronimo turned out to be one of the best decisions we have made this entire trip. We were seated at the bar where the waiter (Carlos) assured us that we had the best seats in the house and gave us a couple of recommendations including a mixture of pork, sausage, beef and various things I couldn’t decipher.

We ordered the Sangria, prawns and clams again and yet again, we were not disappointed.  Juicy, succulent, addictive…and that’s not just the Sangria I am talking about…we loved it all.

Tipsy, full and having a ball, we decided that we would come back and visit our new friends and taste the sardines that Carlos kept on going on about.

So we ambled back to the train station making a pit stop at ‘ You and Moo’, an ice-cream store and scoffed a cookies and pistachio cone quickly. Gotta love the tipsy munchies J

Thursday, 9^th August

In an attempt to avoid the dreaded hot sun, Craig and I decided to slowly make our way to Sintra for the afternoon.

This is such a beautiful and ‘eccentric’ little place. Castles of many colors popping through the trees and winding roads to the top of the mountains where it is ‘topped off’ with a beautiful and ‘fairytale like’ looking palace.

The palace was colorful, androgynous, and storybook like. We felt as if we were stepping out the pages of a children’s’ coloring-in book – it was spectacular.

The views were remarkable and the camera was working ‘overtime’ between Craig and I trying to capture every angle of the place.

The evening was approaching and so was the mens Olympic track finals, so we decided to head home after our wonderful afternoon in Sintra.

Friday, 10^th August

Beach and BELEM again was the plan for today. So we set our alarm the night before in order to get the first (and not so harsh) sun before sampling the potent and delicious sangria from Café Jeronimos.

The alarm went off, and just as quickly as it sounded, it was turned off and back to bed we went. The skies were cloudy and we were afraid that our ‘beach day’ would not materlialise. However after a long brekkie, the sun came back and we quickly packed our bags and made our way to Cascais, which is a beach town just passed Belem.

We arrived to a small town with numerous coves where you can pick your spot and soak up the sun with a view of little boats ahead. It was very cute and the perfect way to spend our last ‘touristy’ day in the sun before heading to the UK.

The wind picked up, and so did we. We picked up our goods and made our way back to Carlos at Café Jeronimo’s for lunch.

WHAT A SPOIL!!!

Carlos recognized us from the minute he laid eyes on our beaming smiles. He showed great interest in what we had ordered. Very disappointed to hear that we had settled for Salmon and Bream (as the Sardines were finished), Carlos shook his head and made his way to the grill where he popped on 2 sardines for us (free of charge).  That was the beginning of our glorious feast ahead. As each dish came, Craig and I lapped it all up and both agreed that this was the best meal that we have had on the entire trip so far.

The hours were passing by so quickly, as we ate, drank and talked with Carlos. Turns out that he is the owner of the restaurant and he still waits on tables (which we think is so admirable), he works long hours but yet is so jovial and full of life.

Intrigued as to why the restaurant next door had such a long queue, we asked Carlos what was so special about ‘Pasteis de Belem’ and he told us that they are world renowned for their custard tarts…without a minute to spare Carlos disappeared and returned with 2 of these little delights (again free of charge and more importantly no 1hour queue to stand in).

I must admit, it was beautiful. I have always loved milk tarts and these are pretty similar…but SO MUCH BETTER! We can’t wait to come home and attempt to make these for friends and family…and us of course.

After hours of laughing, talking and listening to Carlos, it was unfortunately time to head home.

We said our goodbyes and exchanged emails and will be sure to visit this wonderful place and our new home again soon.

Saturday, 11^th August

It’s the last day of our European adventure, and the air is gloomy. Not depressing and unhappy, its just clear that Craig and I are saddened by the end this wonderful and amazing place.

Lisbon has been an absolute Godsend and we have had a crazy and fantastic time relaxing, splurging and loving life in Portugal.

I can say without a doubt, that I WILL come back to Portugal. I have fallen in love with the people, the places and of course…the food.

So next stop London, England where we begin the next phase of the journey and get to share it with so many friends and family that are already there.

BarrrTHelona!!

After a 9hr journey from Marseille, we eventually arrived at our hotel in Barcelona. We checked in, showered, changed and headed into town to try and catch the Sharks beat the Stormers at an Irish pub just off the famous La Rambla.

We jumped on the metro, off at Drassenes stop, a 5 min walk and we arrived at Flaherty's. We got very excited as we saw the blackboard outside advertising the semi final. This was going to be a jol.

As we entered the pub, we were greeted by a nice irish lass who promptly guided us to the back room where we found a HUGE tv and a whole bunch of saffas watching the teams run onto the field. Not wasting any time, an order was placed: Guiness for me, a glass of red for Donna and a plate of chilli nachos to start.

Well we all know the result of the game. It was a beautiful introduction to Barcelona. The Stormers supporters were dead quiet by half time and they stayed that way until closer to the end. Full time whistle and they walked out with tails between their legs. What an unbelievable afternoon. We met the other sharks supporters and found out that they know friends of ours – the Murie family and they also had been invited to Craig’s wedding in October. Such a small world!

We eventually left there after 9pm and headed back to our hotel. Not really a hotel though – it is a varsity rez that is rented out when the students are on holiday. Similar to the one we stayed in in San Sebastian – but FAR better organized. For 51 euros a night per room including a buffet breakfast – a very good deal.

The next day Donna and I were fortunate enough to go to church. We had decided to spend some time doing our own thing and as Donna walked outside she heard worship from a nearby tent where a church was being held. She called me quickly and we had an awesome time just praising God and fellowshipping with people. It was something we had desperately been missing on our trip and was amazed at how God refreshed us and met our needs so quickly even though the entire service was in Spanish.

After church and a great catch up with my folks on skype, we headed our separate ways to enjoy a day of alone time only to meet back at the pub at 7pm for a date. Guiness, wine and guiness pie…mmmm so good!

Monday morning we decided to go to the Moroccan embassy to try and apply for our visa. But due to Ramadaan they were closed. So we went to see the famous cathedral called Sagrida Familia – an ENORMOUS church with interesting architecture. A hefty price to go inside so we laughed it off and sat in the park. Due to the hectic heat we were both exhausted and headed home for some R&R.

As the sun went down we showered and headed out to Catalunya. A brilliant square with fountains and thousands of pigeons, surrounded by statues and restaurants. We took some great pics as the light was perfect – you didn’t need to be a pro to capture great photos when the setting was that superb.

 We strolled down La Rambla, which is the main road in central Barcelona packed with restaurants and stalls. We decided to go to our local as it had a great vibe, good prices and friendly people – Flaherty’s Irish pub.

Tuesday morning we went to the Moroccan embassy only to be told to come back at 1pm. We came back at 1pm and spoke to the consulate general and he said that we couldn’t apply for a visa as we were not living in Barcelona. We would have to go to Madrid. This was now becoming a hack and with only 2 weeks left in the Schengen area, we were not about to spend it doing admin. So we booked tickets to Lisbon where we would spend 10 relaxing days eating fresh fish and prawns, piri piri chicken and drinking Sangria… a great way to end off our European stint. Going to be amazing!

Wednesday morning started off with a jog and breakfast. Then packing the bags and checking out at 12pm. We went to the irish pub on the way to the train station and watched the Olympics on TV and had lunch. Our train to Madrid was at 6pm and would get there in 3 hrs. We would catch a regional train to the next station where we would take the overnight train to Lisbon – 9hrs. Not our favourite as you can’t really sleep and we always arrive exhausted but we have 10 days to recover and chill until our next move to London.

The train from Barcelona to Madrid - the best train we have been on by far! It was also the fastest too - reaching 302km/h.