31 Oct 2015

PORTUGAL | LISBOA

This is the beginning of a continuous trip of three countries (Portugal, Spain, and Morocco). During our time in Lisbon I also went on an excursion to explore Sintra which I will do a separate post about. When we arrived at the airport we purchased our Lisboa Card from a desk there and took advantage of our free transport by catching the metro to our accommodation. 

WHERE TO STAY



For this trip we booked our accommodation via AirBnb, and stayed in an apartment in Rua Do Crucifixo near the The Alfama which is Lisbon's oldest quarter. Spread over the southeastern slope of the hill crowned by Castelo De São Jorge which we had full view of from our window and rooftop. 




The picturesque neighbourhood is composed of a maze of narrow streets, winding alleyways, and steep flights of steps. Its kasbah-like layout is deliberate - this is the city's ancient Arab district, and although there are no Moorish houses still standing, the tightly-packed lanes, small archways, and cobbled terraces are full of atmosphere and great fun to explore.


Every morning before breakfast we would venture out for a stroll on the roofs surrounding us. We would see the city in a different light every morning and used this time as an opportunity to relax, catch up on messages, work and news whilst the high maintenance one of the group took her sweet time getting ready. This time is wasn't me...Haha. 


WHAT TO SEE

  • YELLOW TRAMSThe Yellow trams are a different experience altogether with the crazy street intersections and the frequent switch between uphill and downhill. If you really want to try an authentic crazy experience I would thoroughly recommend taking the bus up to Castello Soa Jorge - we were in fits of laughter holding on for our dear lives during the bumpy uphill ride... this isn't any kind of bumpy though, you just have to do it. Its one of those once in a lifetime experiences - and free with our Lisboa Card.


  • ELEVATOR DA GLORIA - So this is the hill pictured bellow. The elevator travels up and down a steep hill in the city. The whole journey is 265 meters long, connecting the Restauradores Square in the downtown area with the Sao Pedro de Alcantarabelvedere. Yes there are only two stops, one at the bottom and the other at the top of the hill!

  • BAIRRO ALTO - I did read about this but we stumbled across this quite by accident since the tourist info centre is stated right by this. Bairro Alto translated literally means 'Upper District'. It is a central district of the city of Lisbon, the Portuguese capital. You can Either take the tram up or you can walk up the incline to see the stunning views of the city. This is a very 'cool' young bohemian part of town.
THE SÃO PEDRO DE ALCANTARA - this is a gorgeous garden sitting at the top of Barrio Alto boosting stunning scenery as photographed bellow. From this viewpoint, the Graca Hills and its myriad of religious and commercial landmarks can also be seen. 



OUTFIT 
HIGH WAISTED JEANS | H&M
SANDALS (SOLD OUT) | Topshop 
BACKPACK | Primark
SHIRT | H&M
SCUBA PEPLUM (SOLD OUT) | H&M


  • CHIADO The Oxford street of Lisbon. This is where you will find a five story H&M and play neighbours to the various world renowned designer boutiques such as Hermes (I squealed when I saw the boutique 5 minutes from out apartment). As soon as you Step out of the Baixa-Chiado metro station you are greeted by the row of antique shop fronts, ranging from the designer boutiques to the famous cafes and bookshops.
  • PRAÇA DO COMÉRCIO - is a picturesque waterside public plaza with a notable arch and statue, lined with outdoor cafes and shopping venues. This is the spot at the end of the H&M and Beckham collaboration. This is the most beautiful place to come close to sunset. I will always have wonderful memories of this place, simply stunning views.



OUTFIT
ETHNIC JACKETH&M
JEANS | Dorothy Perkins
MULTI STRAP POINTED FLATS | Zara
BACKPACKPrimark
SILK SHIRT | H&M






  • ROSSIO SQUARE - this is the main square where the main train station is located so its good to know your brings to and from here. Rossio Square sits at the heart of Lisbon and has been a popular meeting spot since the Middle Ages. Cobblestone walkways are arranged in wave patterns, a style that has since spread throughout Portugal and parts of Brazil. It has two identical Baroque fountains, with a column monument of Pedro IV, king of Portugal and the first emperor of Brazil, standing tall in the centre  We ate around this square almost every evening we were here, the atmosphere is perfect.
  • PADRÃO DOS DESCOBRIMENTOSThe Age of Discovery - this was actually one of my favourite monuments of Lisbon, we reached in perfect timing - minutes before sunset and the place was completely deserted. The discovery monument is an imposing and iconic monument located on the windy banks of the River Tagus.

The structure is dedicated to the adventurers and explores who helped establish Portugal in the 14th century. The carved figures along the western side show the explores and adventures of the 14th century golden era while to the eastern side the supports and financiers of the expeditions are captured in stone.



The beautiful harbour on the way to the monument, the walk is truly beautiful especially at sunset.


  • SANTA JUSTA ELEVATOR -this extraordinary structure was built at the turn of the century by the Portugal-born French architect Raoul de Mesnier du Poniard - an apprentice of Gustave Eiffel, explaining the structure's similarities to Paris' Eiffel Tower. It was built  to connect downtown to Bairro Alto, the lowest and highest points of the city. Although just a two minute walk from our apartment, we decided against going up in it since we shared a similar view from the rooftop of our apartment. It seems like a great thing to explore in the evenings though.
  • RUA AUGUSTA ARCH - A beautiful stone triumphal arch-like, historical building on Commerce Square. It was built to commemorate the city's reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake. It has six columns and is adorned with statues of various historical figures and bears the coat of arms of Portugal. The allegorical group at the top was made by French sculptor Célestin Anatole Calmels, represents Glory rewarding Valor and Genius.

  • TORRE DE BELÉMBelém Tower was built in 1515 as a fortress to guard the entrance to Lisbon's harbor, the Belem Tower was the starting point for many of the voyages of discovery, and for the sailors it was the last sight of their homeland. It is another monument to Portugal's Age of Discovery, often serving as a symbol of the country, also serving my love for UNESCO listed World Heritage monuments. I would recommend visiting this one in daylight and when the weather isn't windy, it was so difficult trying not to get blown over.

  • SÃN JORGE CASTLE The Castelo de São Jorge is one of Lisbon’s most distinctive monuments, being situated on the city’s highest hill. The oldest known fortification at this spot dates from the 2nd century BC, although some of the remains found here astonishingly date from as far back as the 6th century BC. Archaeological evidence has also discovered traces of the presence of Phoenicians, Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans and Muslims. 



In 1147, the first king of Portugal, Dom Afonso Henriques, captured both the castle and the city from the Moors. I love visiting places with Muslim and Moorish history... I always wonder, would the attack and conquest have been called terrorism?


The view from the beautiful castle grounds. Our apartment is just by the tree branches on the right hand side. You can also see the 25 De Abril bridge from here - It the bridge in the ocean which totally looks like the sister of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Fransisco.
  • 25 DE ABRIL BRIDGE - Completed in 1966 and originally named after dictator Salazar, this suspension bridge across the Tagus River changed its name after the revolution of April 25, 1974. It is a spectacular sight from any direction and visible from most areas in Lisbon. With an overall length of 1.5 miles, and the longest central span in Europe, it is actually longer than San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. Its foundations also hold the world record by going 80 below the riverbed and stands on basalt rock.

The views were stunning, again we went at the perfect time - sunset. This is becoming a habit of mine. 




 The moon.


So this concludes my must see spots in Lisbon. After this trip it's safe to say that Lisbon so far is one of my favourite destinations (after Italy) and a place I would actually consider living. If you've recently seen the new H&M campaign featuring Becks you will also be pleased to know that it was filmed in a few of the locations listed above, so walk in the steps of Becks and explore Lisboa.


Tips
  • Invest in a Lisboa Card, its great to use for all of your transport and also to discount a lot of tourist attractions.
  • Use public transport as much as possible in Lisbon, its very efficient and very frequent.
  • Wear flat shoes, Lisbon streets are almost all cobbled.
  • Take a jumper out in the evenings, it can get a little windy being very close to the river and coastline.

15 Oct 2015

ITALY | TIVOLI - HADRIANS VILLA / VILLA ADRIANA


Fingers crossed you would have already seen my first excursion post for Tivoli (Villa D'este), if not then please do take a look so that this post can make a little more sense to you. 

After completing our tour at Villa D'Este at around 4pm we hurried  and bought an autos biglietto (aka bus Ticket) from a small tobacco store opposite Villa D'Este (for around €2) to Hadrian's Villa or Villa Adriana as the Italian refer to it. The bus arrives at the stop roughly every 30 minutes and is blue and white coloured, unfortunately I can't remember the number However the journey was only 30 minutes, so in total around 1hr 30 away from Roma.


Although we arrived just minutes before the ticket office closing time we managed to purchase our tickets for entry which were around €4 with a student card. Once we walked through the gates we just knew we arrived at the perfect time - sunset. Everything looked  and felt magical as you'll see from the Photos.


Bellow you can see My father and Issra strolling through the grounds. Everything is groomed to perfection here and the beauty of the place is phenomenal. If you have been to Rome and were amazed by the Roman Forum then this place is for you.



As soon as I saw photos online I fell in love and I knew it was just something we had to witness for ourselves. Villa Adriana is an exceptional complex of classical buildings created in the 2nd century A.D. by the Roman emperor Hadrian. It combines the best elements of the architectural heritage of Egypt, Greece and Rome in the form of an 'ideal city'.


The sheer scale is beyond phenomenal.



My full outfit details are on my previous Tivoli post.



These two cheeky monkeys, My dad and sister Issra, these two were great company. My dad because he's a carpenter so he full appreciates the builds and structures of the Villa and my sister because of her banter... and her lacking photography skills that we had so much fun laughing at. Overtime she so much as breathed heavily I would huff and tut her just for the laughs. Issra was also the food smuggler, thats why her back pack was so huge, because it was filled with snacks for the day... Haha.



Bellow is the last area we visited of Villa Adriana before we heard an Italian woman shouting her head off. As we got down and were walking across towards the exit we realised she was shouting at us to leave and she was furious. Haha it was hilarious because she didn't speak a word of English.



Then there is the Canopus, a long water basin embellished with columns and statues that culminate in a temple topped by an umbrella dome - we climbed up to this to take this photograph.


Inside the Villa complex, you can see the Poecile, a huge garden surrounded by an arcade with a swimming pool. This area was built so that one could take walks whether it was winter or summer. 


The photo above was photographed inside the 'Building with fishpond'. The mountains surrounding Villa Adriana really put into perspective why Emperor Hadrian decided to reside here. Simply magnificent.


This is the Building with three exedras built by the Emperor Hadrian, starting from 117 A.D.. Villa Adriana is the most extensive ancient roman villa, covering an area of at least 80 hectares, more or less the size of Pompeii - massive.


Tips: 

  • Wear comfortable shoes, you will be walking for at the very least two hours to cover the bare minimum of the villa, it is huge.
  • As always with Europe I recommend taking water with you, especially here in Villa Adriana, its a bit more rural than any other attraction we have been to and there aren't fountains around.
  • Check the bus times to Tivoli on arrival to Villa Adriana, they are few and far between and the last thing you want to do is miss the bus.

14 Oct 2015

ITALY | TIVOLI - VILLA D'ESTE


You'll notice a pattern in my travels - whenever I visit a city I have to do an excursion to another less explored phenomenon. As ironic as it is, I really dislike being surrounded by tourists, I much prefer being amongst locals, it gives me a chance to practice my foreign languages - Especially my Italiano since both my granddads were fluent & my dad understands and speaks a little.


So for this excursion I decided to visit the small town of Tivoli to see Villa D'Este. I planned our root the night before this trip (as per usual). We caught the train from the main station in Roma (Tiburtino) directly to Tivoli and then ventured through the village (following mostly road signs) towards Villa D'Este.




Just below the structure above there is a huge, huge drop with waterfalls gushing through the buildings - something you just have to see for yourself.




Bellow is the entrance or arrival to Villa Deste, after asking for directions to the villa from locals (in italian since its less touristic) we eventually found our way...





 ... And took photos in the cute courtyard during our arrival lavatory break... This is where I was teaching my younger sister how to take photos... I was mostly the photographer on this trip believe it or not... but she got a few decent ones thankfully...



For this trip I opted for practicality (under my fathers strict orders) It's still around 23 degrees however being in the mountains meant it could get slightly windy which is why I layered the Knit vest. A few items from this outfit are ancient- aka my 8 year old sandals which have just started to reappear on the runway so I've added links to similar items a little further down.







The Villa itself was stunning, there are so many floors and beautiful details such as this ceiling. Pretty much everything references to biblical and mythical beings, there are even a few chapels in the residence. In one of the rooms you can see the original medieval flooring through glass which once made up the foundations of the Villa- pretty amazing.




The grounds are beautiful in Villa D'este. Unfortunately when we went there had just been the summer drought so the fountains weren't working. They're beautiful because Roman techniques of hydraulic engineering were revived to supply the water and create Cardinal d’esters garden, fountains are operated with just gravity and no Pumps. 

Heres one of me sitting on the ledge of The Fontana dell'Ovato ("Oval Fountain") normally water cascades from its egg-shaped basin into the pool behind me set against a rustic nymphaeum.




My father and I annoying each-other to the point of laughter fits in front of the wolf suckling the babies sculpture aka 'The Rometta' or 'Little Rome Fountain' with it's fountain representing the Isola Tiburina and the symbol of the city: the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus.




The Villa d'Este is Listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, it is an exquisite example of Renaissance architecture and the Italian Renaissance garden- if you love the outdoors and have an OCD with symmetry this can be your haven. The Garden was taken by the Italian after the first world war and was reopened to the public in 1920.








Scarf | All of my hijabs are from H&M

White boyfriend Shirt | Mango
Jeans & Khaki Knit Vest | H&M
Tan Backpack | Primark
Gladiator Sandals | Newlook
Khaki Nail Polish | Revlon Spanish Moss


My grandparents were olive tree Farmers (in true italian fashion) in order to make a living and to finance the homes they wanted to build. Every-time we passed an olive tree (which was very frequently in Italy by the way) My dad would have to pick an olive from it and tell us a story about my grandparents. These are the memories I will cherish of them forever.


Taking a small break after spending almost 3 hours walking around the grounds- Yes allow for that long! Luckily there were plenty of drinking fountains around, the sun was shining & the view was a complete treat. I can't even begin to emphasise the beauty that surrounds me.




Just look at that...





Okay, so that brings me close to the very end of my post on Villa D'Este, however I'm not quite done with Tivoli yet, I have just one other destination for you here, which will be up on the blog shortly. For now I will leave you with some tips which I hope you will find useful.





TIPS: 
  • Purchase your biglietto/tickets at local corner shops, this includes train tickets (It's an Italian thing).  
  • If you have a student card ask to use it anywhere and everywhere in Italy. The entrance to Villa D'este was something brilliant around €10 with a student card.
  • Remember to Stamp aka 'Validate' your train/bus tickets or you may be fined €150... unless you have an Arab father in which case don't even worry about it, even if you are fined & threated with carabinieri (the Italian Popo) your father will most likely tell them to "Call the Police... I'm Arab" (Like ours did) to get you out of it.
  • Try to avoid taking cabs in Tivoli, most things are walking distance & you will discover cute little treasures along the way... aka food ... gelato shops. 
  • Souvenirs are much cheaper here than in Rome, so if you have gifts to purchase, Tivoli is your place! 
  • Take bottles of water with you everywhere, in Itlay water is more expensive than any other refreshment... its cheaper to get three coffee's than it is to buy  one bottle of water. There are public fountains which are great to fill up your bottles with - Look out for 'Drinking Water' signs. 
  • Lastly, learn the language, at the very least learn the basics, you'll need it. Tivoli is less touristic so you may have trouble communicating, plus its only polite to make the effort.