It was mid May when my two sisters and I had the great opportunity to travel to Lisbon for vacations. This was the first time we traveled overseas since we were teenagers, so it was a very special trip for me to enjoy time together, bond and have sister time for he duration of the trip.

We arrived at the airport safely and super excited to explore Lisbon. The adventure started when we planned to meet at the airport upon arrival becase we flew separately. I didn’t realize how busy the Lisbon airport is- super crowded and busy. I decided to stay near the exit and wait for them hoping to catch them after picking up ther lauggage and my plan worked. After about an hour waiting, I saw Mary and Sally and wave at them, they saw me and we hugged and were so happy to see each other.

We went to our hotel HF Fenix Lisbon and in the evening, we treated ourselves to a special dinner to experience the traditional Fado music at the restaurant A Severa in Bairro Alto. This is a highly respected fado house since 1955 and is still run by the family. The original owners, Maria Jose and Julio Barros Evangelista, named their restaurant after Maria Several, a 19th century gypsy singer who was one of the most famous fadistas of her time. A Severa has a rustic and intimate atmosphere; it has a beautiful wall with azulejos pnaels with Lisbon scenes and dark wood furnishings. The menu is a signature of the best of Portuguese cuisine – everything was meticulously prepared and delicious. This was the first time we had experienced Fado tradition, the music is a blend of love, yearning and melancholy. First, we made our selection of food and started enjoying our meal, then the signing is performed with no microphone at intervals under dimmed lighting. When the music starts everyone is quiet to enjoy the singer and the beautiful guitar starts playing. I have never seen this before, and it makes completely sense, this way everyone’s attention is on the music, the singer, and it creates a unique ambience worth every moment. The singer’s voices and body movements are performed with a lot of passion, feelings and intensity. This was truly a wonderful experience. 

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he following day, we drove from Lisbon to Sevilla, Spain on a rental car.  It was a great adventure driving myself for the first time in Portugal and Spain- I felt the responsibility to drive safely with precious cargo onboard- no pressure I told myself!  The entire drive took us a little over five hours with stops to eat and rest. The drive was relatively easy with almost no traffic and very safe. The roads are well maintained and we enjoyed beautiful scenery of endless grasslands, farmlands and passed by some industrial areas and cute little towns.  Endless pastures of cattle grazing like cows, bulls and goats. There are also miles and miles of orange crops and olive trees. We passed a few small towns, but for the most part it was only us on the road.  Two important things happened during the drive that I didn’t expect, first the GPS stopped working once we crossed the border in Spain and we didn’t take the precaution to write down the route so we decided to keep driving and see what happened. Luckily, we got GPS signal again and noticed we were on the correct road. Second, driving the roundabouts was a bit confusing to me – most of the time it wasn’t clear to know where to exit, but my sister helped me navigate. We arrived around dusk to our Airbnb house with no issues and I felt so relieved when I parked the car. 

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The morning affter driving from Lisbon to Seville and settled down. My sisters and I took a sightseeing hop-on hop-off bus at the Paseo de Colon. We saw the artistic, cultural, and financial areas. We saw Islamic monuments, gardens and beautiful panoramic views. We discovered the great history of the Plaza de Espana, Triana, Isla Magica, Plaza del Duque, among other iconic places in Seville.

Top left is the Tower of Gold at the Quidalquivir river. This landmark was a military observation tower in the city. It was built by the Almohads in the 12th century with the purpose to control shipping on the Guadalquivir and to prevent enemy ships from sailing on the river. Bottom left is the Rossio Square is a beautiful baroque fountain on a cobblestone plaza. Next to it is the area of Triana which was the center of the local ceramics industry and now charming houses. To the right is the Isla Magica’s theme part built on an old fort with a lake in the middle.

We had a wonderful experience learning about Seville’s wonderful architecture and culture.  We enjoyed the outdoors life of the local people, cozy café terraces, the superb taste of the coffee, delicious bread and pastries. With regards to the typical cuisine, we tried the Iberian pork, other cuts of pork, potatoes, serrano hams, seafood and different varieties of delicious tapas. As with any other new experience, we enjoyed some meals more than others, but overall, we had fun trying new flavors, textures, spices and of course, the fine red wine- now in my list of favorites.  We also shopped for souvenirs to bring home to remember this special place.

The following day, we visited the Flamenco Dance Museum which was created by the famous dancer Cristina Hoyos. The museum is the only flamenco space declared as a Place of Tourist Interest in Andalusia.  Flamenco dance is a cultural and heritage advantage. The museum exhibits explain the history of the dance, the name and life of famous dancers throughout history and models the different dance styles, their beautiful and artistic clothing. It also has an art gallery with wonderful pieces depicting the beauty of the flamenco dance; paintings, artifacts, trophies, shoes and clothing.

During the evening, we also treated ourselves to a wonderful Flamenco show at the Museum. We were in the front seats which enhanced our experience.  The dancers were excellent and each move was performed with precision, passion, and attitude. Every dancer, women and men, gave their best on stage- they are awesome artists and athletes- it was a dream come true for me!

The next day we visited the famous Catedral de Sevilla a world heritage landmark. The Cathedral has one of the richest artistic treasures preserved in an ecclesiastical setting. The art has scenes from the Gospel, the life of Jesus, Mary and even the mysteries of Faith as a source of inspiration for their works.  I personally was mesmerized by all the wealth and gorgeous architecture, but it also let me with a bit of a sour taste looking at all the opulence of the influence religion had and continuous to have in the population’s beliefs that I don’t particularly appreciate, but I took it as an educational experience and to acknowledge the whole thing. 

The artistic heritage includes extensive paintings from the 15th to the 20th century, sculptures from the gothic, renaissance and baroque periods, decorative arts, goldsmith, glasswork and fabrics. This Cathedral establishes one of the most extensive, homogeneous and best-preserved sets of Spanish cathedrals. My sisters and I were shocked by the extensive collections and riches that the archbishops and the church owns. How can this continue to go on when there is so much poverty in the world? I wondered- this people acquire so much wealth; It left me concerned.

Afterwards, I needed something to “cleanse my palate” and fun so we went on a river boat tour on the Guadalquivir River to do sightseeing while listening the history and art of Sevilla.  The Guadalquivir River is the fifth-longest river in the Iberian Peninsula and the second-longest in Spain. We started at the Torre del Oro, a beautiful tower, and went along the river enjoying beautiful views. We saw the historical center, the 19^th century houses of Triana, the well-preserved bridges of the 1929 Ibero American Exhibition. A couple of the breaches were bult for the Universal Exposition held in Seville in 1992 (Expo’92). The tour explained the timeline, landmarks and buildings along giving us a comprehensive insight of the history, traditions and rich culture of Andalusia.

We finished our trip of Seville after three days of much exploration and amazing experiences. We drove back to Lisbon the following morning to catch our plane home. We said so long to Seville and hope one day we will come back to Spain and continue to enjoy all it has to offer.

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We went hiking to Lithia Park and drove to the top parking lot.  It was a windy and chilly morning outside, but inside the car, I was feeling very comfortable; I had a blanket on my lap and the heater to keep me warm.  I also brought two sweaters, gloves and a hat – I don’t like to be cold.  It was time to get out of the car and start walking to the trail, when I felt the need to stay in the car, my body was refusing to get out in the cold; I didn’t move from my seat for almost five minutes contemplating the situation. Then I saw people walking their dogs, other people walking up the hill, and suddenly, I saw these two guys in running shorts and singlets right next to the car. They were warming up and stretching, they were getting ready to run up the hills. I looked at me, in the car bundle up resisting my way out while these guys are moving like nothing- as if it was a warm summer day!  This is when I realized how weak and complacent I was becoming, then I said “I refuse to be like this,” so I took a deep breath and got out of the car. I was not going to complain about the weather and instead I was going to enjoy it and have fun.

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We visited Weisinger Family winery, this winery produces wine from fruit grown in the Bear Creek Valley around Ashland, Oregon.  The founder is John Weisinger who planted the first wine grapes in Ashland in 1979 and the first commercial wines were produced in 1989. We tasted the Tempranillo, Merlot, and Syrah and they were great wines. We then moved to Belle Fiore Winery. This is a wonderful, charming and elegant winery with large grounds, gardens and outdoor patios. It has a beautiful architecture and Italian style wines.  The landscape and the views from here are stunning and some of my best pictures were taken from the outdoor balcony.  At this time of the year, the trees and foliage show different wonderful colors from green, orange, brown and yellow; here I could appreciate the changing of the seasons and the beauty of it. The sky had a beautiful blue and white fluffy shapes and the sunsets were red, orange with delight of pinks – just magnificent. 

Next day, Mike and I drove to Lithia Park to get a running workout in the middle of the day. The park is gorgeous, it has several entrances to various trails of different distances and difficulty levels.  Mike, being the strong and fit one, wanted to do the hills and me, well still with a recovering (forever) knee injury decided to do flat and mild hills. We started together and then split into different trail paths. I love the vegetation here; large greens, duck ponds, picnic areas and miles of hiking trails. The park was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.  There is a creek that inspired me as I was running along side and hearing the steam of water became such a peaceful and blessed moment every step.  I didn’t know the trail, so when the path ended, I followed the stairs to go up the hill. It was fun and I was enjoying the turns, the hills and most importantly the smell of green crisp air, hearing the birds chirping and seeing the people strolling around. I was so in the moment that when I had to go back to the car I just couldn’t find my way out and after a while everything started to look the same. I followed my watch to get me back and after a long time finally I found the parking lot, went to the car and Mike wasn’t there.  I was surprised because I had been lost for almost 30 minutes.  I stretch and went to the picnic area to wait for him. After a while I started to worry about him, so I decided to trace back my steps and hope to see him.  I was right, he got lost too and when he saw me he waved at me and we both walked back to the car. He was exhausted but relieved, somehow his watched was not giving him the right directions to get back so he was going is circles.  We just laughed and went back home.

This was our last night at Ashland and for dinner we went to downtown. It was very cute and trendy.  A lot of galleries, stores with cute stuff, like all kinds of puzzles, antiques, clothing and cafes, breweries and wine bars. We had dinner at Pie + Vine, an Italian restaurant, afterwards we found a very cool and spooky British pub called The Black Sheep pub on the second floor of a building; spooky because it is near Halloween and they had very cool decorations inside. There was a group having fun on a big wooden table near Frankenstein and Mike and I sat near the window next to the Pentagram Goat and order drinks. We enjoyed the place; the drinks were good and it was pretty much us and another couple after the group left.  Mike and I had a nice conversation about Ashland. The people here are very friendly, courteous, outdoorsy and have a great attitude.

People is what makes this place special and makes you feel warmth – even in winter!

Lara

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We are spending our final days of our trip in Astoria. Today is also my wedding anniversary – a very, very special day!  And it is also Halloween AND a  Full moon- WOW what a wonderful day!!!  First we decided to visit Lewis and Clark National Historical Park which our hiking pals from Portland recommended.  It was magnificent, it was a little cold but by now I’m fine with it. The most spectacular thing in this place is the variety of mushrooms on the ground that exist in this location – I have never ever seen in my life another place like this.

We started the adventure at the Fort Clatsop replica and visitor’s center where we got a sense of what the Corps of Discovery experienced more than 200 years ago. 

It is important to understand the history of this place where Lewis and Clark had an expedition here. William Clark was an American explorer, soldier, and territorial governor.  Along with Meriweather Lewis, Clark led the Corps of Discovery across the Louisiana Purchase and to the Pacific Ocean and back east from 1804 to 1806 during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from France in 1803. In return for fifteen million dollars, which eventually doubled the size of the United States, greatly strengthening the country. The Corps of Discovery was a specially-established unit of the US Army with Lewis as Captain and Clark as Lieutenant commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, the Corps’ objectives were scientific and commercial – to study the area’s plants, animal life, and geography, and to learn how the Louisiana Purchase could be exploited economically.

 This hike was so special and breathtaking.  The number of mushrooms and variety can’t be described. It has a super green, wet, crisp & fresh smell. We hiked 2 hours and did 4+ miles with a 570 ft elevation and 47F.  It was wonderful and one of the most beautiful, well kept and forest looking hikes and it was a relatively easy walk.

  

Fungi

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Visiting downtown Astoria and enjoying the local views.  Astoria is on the Columbia River near the Pacific Ocean.  The Columbia River Maritime Museum displays fishing, shipping and military history in a waterfront building. The population is 10,000 people; it is small and sadly the Corona virus has impacted their economy – restaurants are closing, lots are empty, and people are not shopping as before. In fact the restaurant that we selected for dinner was closing at that moment; the owners were packing and moving out the building even though this location faces the waterfront, the hills and beautiful view.  This place feels like San Francisco, there is a street that has the Victoria houses and hilly streets.  It is a very small town but very picturesque and cute.  We tried the restaurant across the street called Hurricane Ron’s, it was a very small place but we went to check out the menu. It had a bar, a place to eat with four tables. There was one lady doing all the work; attending the bar, taking the orders and watching the store.  And the guy bringing the food was very weird, the whole place was unique and decorated with a surfing vibe mixed with a flare of a ranch and the sea.  It had an aquarium with lobsters behind the food tables and they sold seafood and lots of interesting stuff.  We decided to eat there even though it was not fancy as we had planned for our anniversary day. However, the food looked interesting; we had oysters, mushrooms stuffed with crab and seafood soup.  Everything was delicious and very filling.

You can’t leave this place without having a stroll along the waterfront. Today was specially fun because is Halloween. We saw lots of kids dressed up in customs and going out with their parents with their pumpkin in their hands full of candy.  The downtown had very cute decorations – every lamp post had witches flying.  The local people seem very nice and with a great sense of  community.  We walked along the water and saw the boats, the museum and it was a great long path – it was very peaceful and relaxing to watch the water.

Before saying so long to Astoria, we stopped at the Winekraft Wine bar at Pier 11 Waterfront facing the water. This was a small wine boutique with delicious wines and very comfortable prices with tables in and outside by the water.  It was a great place to have a time to talk, rest, enjoy the wine and the views.  They focus primarily on Pacific Northwest wines and they also have beer and cider for the area.  We had red wine and a cheese/olive oil plate.  I had a nice Tempranillo from Umpqua Valley and one from Columbia Valley.  The people here seem to know each other like a big family and it was very comforting being part of that kind of environment.  We enjoyed our time there.  Then we decided to head back to Portland. We walked to the car and drove for two hours to get home. 

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After visiting Ashland, we headed to Portland in October. Portland is Oregon’s largest city and sits on the Columbia and Willamette rivers. It is known for its parks, bridges and bicycle paths, as well as for its eco-friendliness and its microbreweries and coffeehouses. As of 2019, Portland had an estimated population of 654,741 habitants. In 2018, a national survey ranked Portland as the 10th greenest city in the nation. Its climate is marked by warm, dry summers and cool, rainy winters. This climate is ideal for growing roses, and Portland has been called the “City of Roses” for over a century.

On our way, we encountered  a couple of disaster and anxiety moments. While passing by Medford we realized the devastation that fires have caused to the area. I searched right away about it and found out this particular event is known as the Alameda fire. The fires burned 3,200 acres from Ashland to Medford in September of this year 2020.  There were miles and miles of pure ashes where once buildings stood up.  Houses, businesses, hotels, gas stations, trees, everything near the freeway was gone – just gone! It was sad and unimaginable to think of what people endured during that time, and it had just happened a couple of months ago. This phenomenon puts into perspective that mother nature is wonderful, vast, strong and so powerful that it can also be  unpredictable and destructive. We continue driving in disbelief and in silence. Then our second discovery, we didn’t have enough gas and there were no gas stations nearby. We were climbing hills at this moment, the twisty roads and climbing made me worried and the gas needle kept on going down and down. We were at the point of pure desperation, the next gas station was more than 5 miles away, and there was no traffic to get help if needed. We were crossing our fingers and praying to make it  for just five miles more – then we saw the sign to the gas station and felt a complete relief making it to the gas pump. Mike and I looked at each other and couldn’t tell if we wanted to cry or laugh. We just said “we made it” and “this shouldn’t have happened”. We filled out the tank and kept driving – then, we started laughing like two kids after getting in trouble.

We made a stop to the beautiful Eugene, a city in Oregon. Eugene is known for its vibrant art and counterculture scenes, college town vibe, heavy community involvement in government, natural greatness, and a whole other interesting characteristics.  This is the home of the legendary Steve Prefontaine, a running legend who attended Oregon University and trained in Eugene.  He held seven American Records in various distance events on the track and did workout on these trails. Until now, Eugene remains one of the most popular destinations for top track events and competitions. Mike and I love this town.

We stopped at Hendricks Park to hike and to experience walking the beautiful trails. This park is Eugene’s oldest city park with almost 80 acres of forest, rhododendron garden and a native plant garden. It has several trails and routes for hiking, running, and birding. It was a chilly afternoon at around 53F but it didn’t feel that bad; actually perfect for hiking. We walked for five miles in 1:45 minutes and climbed 757 in elevation.  As it is a common characteristic for Mike and I during our adventurous hikes, we go lost! We were following a trail that was not a trail – it was a ghost path which led us into the forest of doom- spiky bushes, dense growth with branches full of huge thorns. The shrubs had thorns everywhere – I held on to one of the branches while climbing a hill and didn’t notice it had thick thorns – I screamed and saw blood in my knuckles.  All because we wanted to make it a loop – as it is for the most part Mike’s dream. Thus, we ended up walking on the hedges and forest. It was a messy mess to get out of the jungle.  Finally, Mike found the right trail to get us back on track. I must say that when we put ourselves in these situations, I get frustrated at first, but then I enjoy the experience. That is something I love about Mike, of course, among other things is that we explore and by doing so we find the most beautiful places and moments together that otherwise we wouldn’t have- and the most fun is that we laugh afterwards. I tell myself- just chill out and relax- live life!

By the time we finished and got back to the car, we were super hungry and decided to have dinner before continuing with the drive to Portland.  We had a superb dinner at Sushi Pure. This is an intimate sushi and sake bar that prepares classic and modern rolls as well as hot Japanese entrees. We were a little concern because it is a small place serving only indoors and not much of a six foot distance apart from each table – we were nervous no doubt about it.  The selection of the menu was unique, the food was fresh and delicious.  We were breaking our rule of no indoors, but it was so amazing and the food authentic that we took the risk – not much else to say here. In the end, it was one of the best sushi meals I have had in a long time. After that succulent dinner, we walked around downtown to get to know the place. It was lovely to find a running store and I bought a shirt as a memento of the occasion and place. It was time to get on the road again, we had two hours to Portland. 

After more driving we arrived at our next Airbnb house. Our place was located near Mt Tabor Park. We never got to meet our host because of the pandemic, all arrangements were done virtually- what a concept. The studio was smaller than we thought based on the pictures, but still comfortable and spacious for two people; it had a kitchen and that was important for us to cook. We checked out and went straight to rest and sleep.

Today is Wednesday and I have to work, but in the afternoon we decided to go out for a run at Mt Tabor Park from the house. This is a large forested park covering an extinct volcano with tennis courts, a playground and amazing views. It has a dog park, picnic areas and a hundred stairs around the perimeter.  It has nice views but for me running there was a bit tricky because it had steep descends and didn’t feel like messing up with my injured knee, so I was constantly moving around from trail to trail and getting lost at times.  Mike and I decided to run on our own and meet back at home. I ran 4.65 miles in a 1:10 minutes and 667 ft. of elevation. It was 64F and comfortable.

We went to have dinner afterward in downtown Portland for the first time. It was incredible and astonishing to see the graffiti and drawings on the building walls as a result of the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S; a movement to build power to bring justice, healing and freedom to Black people. This is very serious stuff and in a way sad, motivational, thoughtful, I don’t quite know how to describe the sentiment and feelings. For sure, I got emotional and sad to see and understand a bit how difficult this country has been for Black people. All the Injustice there has been taking for centuries, the racism, the lack of opportunities to enable them to succeed in this country and all of the sudden this countrywide movement supporting them it’s incredibly touching.

After this, we walked towards the restaurants and found a place to have dinner; a Vietnamese outdoor restaurant called Luc Lac Vietnamese kitchen. It was very  techy – the first time we had to order using our phones and the scan bar to see their menu and order from their website so there was no human contact with anyone. When the food was ready they buzzed the table and we picked it up from a window.  We ate outside and it was a bit chilly and crisp. The food was okay and afterwards we walked towards the water. We were very close to the Willamette River and it was getting dark; the water looked really peaceful and calming. 

We walked towards the Hawthorne Bridge.  This bridge is amazing; it has a vertical lift, four lanes and was built in 1910.  This bridge is one of Portland’s busiest bridges, safely carrying approximately 30,000 cars and trucks, buses, 8000 bicycles and pedestrians daily across the Willamette River. Vertical clearance for river traffic is lower than the other bridges, requiring as many as 200 openings per month. The main span can be raised 110 feet to allow vessels to pass underneath.  After our walk we drove back home.

Today is Thursday and I have to work again. In the evening we went out to do a walking tour and headed to the Hawthorne/Belmont self guided walking tour. These are two bohemian streets running in parallel, in one of the hippest corners of the city. Belmont is the sleepy little brother – laid back, but growing up. Hawthorne is energetic and filled with shops, pubs, restaurants and one of the city’s most historic theaters. We saw the Bagdad theater where they sold popcorn to go because the theater is closed, it was great.  We planned to go to a nice Italian restaurant for dinner but because we didn’t have reservations, we couldn’t get a table, so we gave up and kept walking and found another place to eat cheap and good food. Afterwards we stopped at a little bar to have a couple of drinks and it was fun to be outdoors in a small table with wine and beer.  After walking more and then went back to the car and home to rest and sleep.

Today is Friday and I have the day off from work to explore Portland. We went hiking to the  Forest Park. Forest Park provides critical refuge for hundreds of native wildlife and plant species and acts as an important air and water filter and it overlooks the Willamette River. It has more than 80 miles of trails, it also provides invaluable access to nature, exercise, and educational opportunities for the region. We headed out to the trails and it was a beautiful forest with super green trees, Douglas fir (type of pine), shrubs and sword ferns. Several interconnecting trails and lanes for hikes.  It was 55F comfortable and I was wearing hiking pants and layers. We did 10 miles of hiking in 3 hours and 1,258 ft of elevation. On the way, we met an older couple who was hiking and were asking us questions about the trails. They lived right there in Portland but I guess never hiked this trail, anyways they were fun. As always, we did have another adventure because we got lost again!  This time was a big deal because we couldn’t find the right trail to get back, in fact, we met the same old couple and we were just laughing. They were on the way back and were surprised to see us again. They were nice and recommended us to visit a place in Astoria.  To my surprise, we were lost and to get back I thought it would take us two – three miles, so I told Mike let’s jog and get over it!.  Wow!! I was thankfully wrong. We were 4.5 miles away and we jogged the whole time jogging in pants uphill, and uncomfortable shoes – I was glad my knee cooperated to run, but very slow and with short strides.  Somehow we made it and were so happy to finish.  This was a challenge and a big adventure!!!!

Tonight is our last night in Portland and Mike cooked pasta and meat today, so we had dinner at home – it was great to taste his food again. Afterwards, we went out for exploration.  We walked and then decided to go for a drink and went to Muse Wine bar.  This was a cute place with a delicious menu and wines from all over Italy, so I was in heaven!  The host was a kind gentleman who was running this business and was knowledgeable about European wines and had an interesting talk with him. It was a great night!

The post Portland first appeared on Full Moon Today.