Out of China

And the day we had to leave China arrived… But the good news is that there was still more China to visit, out of China though. Hong Kong, that was under the British regime for more than 100 years, is now part of the country and Macau, which was under the Portuguese regime from the mid-16th century until late 1999, as well! And there was exactly where we spent our last days before heading back home. Discovering a third (and forth, and fifth) side of China. 

The fact that these two territories were under someone else’s regime, someone that came from other corner of the world, really shaped these two countries and gave a different flavor to the people and places. Here you have some pictures that illustrate exactly that diversity. From the traditional Giant Buddha of Leshan and the nearby fishing town of Tai O to the modern buildings and skyline, Hong Kong as a lot to offer. And so does Macau. They even have Pastéis de Belém in there! And, although, Chinese people are known by their falsification qualities, those pastries were very good at their own way. Or did they taste better just because we were so pleasantly surprised and happy to have those "bites" from home miles away from Portugal?!

Another "yummy" experience were the Dim Sums we had in Tim Ho Wan (Shop 12A, Podium Level 1, IFC Mall), one of the best restaurants from the spécialité in town. But the award for the “best moment in Hong Kong” goes to the night we went to the Ozone, the highest bar in the world, that you can (hardly) find on the 118th floor of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. I say “hardly” because it took us a long time trying to find it (to save you from the same odyssey I send you the link to their official webpage),but despite the time we lost trying to reach and to get in the Ritz-Carlton, what made us arrive quite close from the closure moment, and despite our looks (by then we were bag packing around Japan and China for 3 weeks) the staff from the hotel and from the bar was super nice. And I mean suuuuuuuuper nice, the nicest I’ve seen someone being in a hotel of the Ritz-Carlton category. That, together with the breath taking view over the lightened city, contributed to make our time there even more special and was the perfect end to our Asian trip.

And also to see more pictures (taken from me, but without the LOMO fish eye), please check here. 

Gone with the wind

The week before A Coruña I was in Zaragoza, another Spanish city, known by how fast the wind blows. And how cold it is regardless the time of the year. Apparently this is because the city is in a valley and before arriving there the wind comes from the mountains, bringing the cold breeze. At least that’s what my taxi driver told me when I got in his cap, mad about the weather and about the fact the wind almost blown me way, back to Madrid. 

This was my 3^rd time in Zaragoza (the first was years ago, at the end of the road trip I did with some friends to the Basque country, and the second in 2008 during the Expo) and that piece of information the taxi driver gave me is pretty much all I know officially about the city. But this is what I know unofficially:

Zaragoza has a beautiful cathedral, called La Pilarica, that always reminds me of the cathedral from Vienna because of its colorful rooftop made from green, yellow, blue and white tiles. 

The square where the cathedral is is beautiful and sunny but probably the windiest spot in the entire city because it is wide open. 

(This statue looked so beautiful. But my personal Guinness Record of the city with the most beautiful and interesting statues per m² goes to Oviedo, where I was the week before I went to Zaragoza and about which I’ll tell you more in the next post. Stay tuned because it is really worth it!) 

This time around I noticed the Zaragoza’s authorities set up this wall almost in front of the cathedral, for all the citizens that wanted to participate and to contribute with their little grain of creativity to join forces and create something great, such as this graffiti that says: “Porque sueño, no estoy loco” (Because I’m able to dream, I know that I’m not crazy). Is a beautiful message and an iniciative to applaude. When people join forces does the result always look this great… or is just something that only I feel ?!

(Do you see that guy there, at the distance, painted in the wall?! That’s Goya, probably the greatest Spanish painter of all times, and this “title” is actually something important, because over the centuries in Spain there were many great painters, such as Velázquez, El Greco, Zurbarán, Dali, Picasso, Miró and many other… but Goya was the greatest and the city of Zaragoza was paying him a tribute with an exhibition on the MICAZ. The entrance is always for free but this exhibition is already over, nevertheless, next time any of you go to Zaragoza you may consider to pay them a visit because apparently they own several “Goyas”, in an effort to show to the world the importance the city had in the artist life and art). 

(This building remind me a bit of the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milán or the Galeries Royales Saint-Hubert in Brussels… Yes, yes, I know, with less glamour and sun light, but with a touch!)

In Zaragoza is one of my favorite “pinxos” restaurant in Spain (let me do a parenthesis in here: what the entire world call “tapa” is actually a “pinxo”, something on a piece of bread; a “tapa” isn’t a porcion neither, that is a “ración” which in Spanish means exactly “a porcion”; a “tapa” is a little bit of something on a little plate which in the past was put over the glass to avoid the flyes from landing inside the beer or the wine). So, as I was saying… In Zaragoza is one of my favorite “pinxos” restaurant. It is called El Cierzo (the name of the already mentioned cold wind that always blows in Zaragoza) and it is great. As I said this was my 3^rd time in town and it was also my 3^rd time in this restaurant that never never never disappoints me. What’s also great, but unheard of until now (despite the fact it is more than one hundred-years-old), is a little pasteries’ shop called Flor de Almibar. It is in the same street from El Cierzo and as you can see by the following pictures everything looks great. 

(Those little marzipan fruits captivate me, since in Portugal we have very similar little cakes… So I decided to go in and buy only two, just to try them…) 

(They were tasteful but not better than the Portuguese marzipan fruits and three times their price. Bottom line, a beautiful shop to see and to take pictures – there were some Japanese tourists doing the same, and I don’t mean trying the pastries, I mean taking pictures – but consider going somewhere else to have your dessert).

(I left the morning after to Barcelona and had a blast in the train taking pictures from the beautiful landscape around Zaragoza, full of windmills – of course -, and with the dawn “painting” everything with orange... although the pictures with my beloved LOMO fish eye lens don’t make justice to the magic of the moment – sniff!!!)

And now, I kindly ask my friend Eva (the same from this weekend in here) to shed some light on this post and add more information about the city of Zaragoza, her city, by using the comments box bellow. 

And now... a taste of Portugal!

Just one hour drive away from Lisbon, your find these rocks. They’re called “Boca do Inferno” because on the days the Atlantic is “angry” the sound of the sea heating the rocks is so laud and frightening that people associate it with the way they imagine the entrance of hell might look and sound like. The day this picture was taken it couldn’t be calmer!

A bit more north is Cabo da Roca, the most occidental cape of Europe. 

Sintra is, perhaps, the most charming village in the whole country. No wonder kings and queens, painters and writers choose to live here. 

Sintra is also known for it’s micro-weather, but this time around we were super lucky and it was sunny and flowery. 

The village centre palace… amazing with it’s chimneys. 

The surfers in Praia Grande.

And the skimboarders…

This is a sport that I will surely learn next time I will be in Portugal for an OK amount of time. Love it! Looks easy, fun and wet (I love to be in the water, when I was little I used to spend so much time in the water that after a while my fingertips became wrinkled)... 

Getting ready for the best sunset of Summer. Great company, music, drinks and that sun going down that I will never forget, no matter how many years I spend abroad, no matter how many sunsets I will see: in London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, New York… even in Ibiza. Nothing is compared to that. The sunset that marked every end of summer day since my childhood. (When I was little, from the balcony of my father parent’s house you could see these same sunsets, every afternoon. While the sun was going down my mum used to call me and send me to shower and for me not to take a lot showering she used to say “let’s see who showers first, you or the sun!” Because of this, since my childhood, every time the sun sets in the sea I think “now it will shower!”)

Didn’t I say so?! Better, much much better than Ibiza!

"Um Lugar Encantado" (An Enchanted Place)

All my life I have spend Summer in the same place. Not all the Summer, but every Summer. At least for some days. There were years when I barely put my feet there (like last year!), but this year I’ve been there for almost the entire month of August. It was the longest I spent there since I moved abroad. But it was absolutely necessary. I missed my childhood beach, my friends, those party nights with caipirinhas that cost only 3 €… And most of all, I missed doing nothing. Just laying there and feel the water drops dry out alone. This feeling, of your body slowly getting dry and warm, is for me one of the best feelings in the entire world. And, despite the fact you can get it in any beach of the world, believe me when I say that in “my beach” it feels different. The Atlantic see is so cold that this feeling of slowly getting warmer is highly appreciated. Also it is so salty that, when you completely dry out, you have this round spots left by the salty sea drops. I love it! And truly miss it all year long! Next Summer I guess I won’t spend a lot of time in Portugal (I’m planning a big trip to China, so… no time for “Portugaling”) but, meanwhile, I can always remember my Summer’12 in Santa Cruz. 

This time, no more words are necessary. Love can't be described! It was a perfect Summer. Thanks to everyone featured in the pictures and see you soon... in Santa Cruz!