My Love Don't Cost A Thing

For spring break, Jared and I masterfully crafted our schedules so that we could spend a whopping 17 days together - yeah, we're bomb. Our original plan included about seven different cities over the course of two weeks and we decided that we would be so tired from all that traveling that spring break wouldn't be as relaxing as we wanted (not to mention that plan was crazy expensive). Our new plan included Porto, Lisbon and Lagos, Portugal and then eight days in Rome, Italy. So here we go...

Friday, April 15th

I didn't sleep the night before which is pretty normal before I leave for a trip with Jared. I just get so excited and the butterflies start going that I can't really calm them down enough to get to sleep. So after showering and getting dressed, I left my apartment around 6:30am heading for the metro. The plan was to take the metro to the train station, the train to Porto (about 3 hours), then a cab to the hotel where I would meet Jared. Seeing as I had to take a cab I knew I would need some cash. So I left my place a little early to stop by an ATM to get cash. The previous night at the movies I had attempted to use my ATM card but the machine was seemingly broken - little did I know, it was my card. So after several failed attempts at receiving cash I did what any 21-year old girl in a foreign country with no cash would do - I called my mommy. 

While my parents and BofA duked it out, I got on the metro and the train and made it to Porto safe and sound. Now comes the time when I actually needed cash and couldn't get any. Fortunately for me, my white knight was there to save me again. Jared had made his was to the train station to meet me so he paid for the cab and got us to the hotel (thank you honey). 

After some stressful and heated conversations with way too many people at BofA, we realized that my ATM card had been demagnetized earlier on Thursday when I last used it for lunch at the Hard Rock (so worth it). So BofA was actually really good about shipping me an emergency card which would arrive in Lisbon on Monday but until then, I was stuck on the cash thing. Luckily for me my dad is a smarty pants and my boyfriend also banks at BofA. So with my dad's brilliance, my parents would transfer money to Jared's account when we got back to Lisbon and I would have some cash in my little fingers by Saturday night - success!

Following that drama, Jared and I went out to explore the city. I had no idea what Porto had to offer but the front desk gave us a map and we decided to make our way to the river. Along the way we walked along a pretty busy street filled with shops and a ton of people. We came across a restaurant named Majestic which looked very cool and stopped to have lunch. We had burgers which were tasty and inexpensive and it was a quick stop.

Continuing on our journey we passed a lot of pretty views and random streets and managed to get ourselves a little lost. However, Jared somehow led me down this crazy steep street and a monstrous set of stairs. If you've been reading my other posts you know that after Paris I was so done with stairs but we took a risk and it actually worked out very well. [Side Note: Those are the greatest stairs on the face of the Earth.] The bottom of the stairs actually led right to the river - surprise! Nice work, baby. We sat by the river for a short while and just soaked up the sun. 

Once back in the room, we planned on relaxing for a little while before going out for dinner but the last thing I remember is sitting in bed and turning on the TV to discover an episode of Family Guy. The next thing I know it's 11am. Sweet & sour chicken! How did we sleep that long? Good grief.

Saturday, April 16th

When we woke up on Saturday, we attempted to get ready pretty quickly so we could enjoy the day before our train left around 5pm. Unfortunately, when I got to the bathroom, the room started spinning and I thought my legs were going to give out under me. [Side Note: Sometimes when I wake up in the morning I am incredibly dizzy and weak and feel like I could pass out any second. This is something I never looked to understand. I just accepted it as an issue I deal with. I know it's not serious but when it happens, it sucks.] After laying on the bathroom floor to regain some strength, I got up and told Jared I needed to eat something because I felt terrible. Jared is aware of my weirdness so he was very helpful in finding me something. We packed up our things to check out and then hurried to a nearby cafe to grab an orange soda which helped a lot. Then we walked around the corner to a restaurant and ordered the chicken and rice - mistake. The chicken was not cooked completely nor was it good so I just ate the rice and drank my soda and I felt a lot better.

After semi-eating we took the metro to another part of the city without any real plan as to where we were going or what were trying to see. When we got off of the metro, there was a large church near the stop and Jared wanted to check it out. That decision was actually the best thing that we could have done because it led us to the "Magic Train." As lame as it sounds it was this tour-esque ride around the city which included a stop at the Royal Oporto Wine Company. It was a great deal and we got to see a lot of the city. The wine company was an interesting learning experience but the more wine I taste, the more I hate it. We tried both a white wine and a red wine and they were both horrible. I can't imagine that people actually sit around drinking this stuff and enjoying it. It's just foul, but to each his own. 

The train dropped us off at the church where we began and Jared and I made our way back to the hotel. We wanted to stop for lunch at a place suggested by our hotel but it was closed - go figure. We only had about and hour until we needed to be at the train station so we went back to Majestic and I'm so glad we did. When we walked in and sat down, I immediately noticed a camera in the corner and I picked up that it was randomly recording people. Though it was odd to me, I didn't think much more about it. Then in the middle of eating our respective club sandwiches, the piano starts playing and one of the waitresses starts singing an operatic song in French! We were being attacked by a flash mob! Jared didn't understand the concept so I had to explain it to him. [Side Note: It is my life's dream to be part of a flash mob. Every year from now until I die, that is what I want for my birthday and Christmas. Someone please find me a flash mob to be a part of. Thanks.] After she finished, a man started singing; and another waitress after him. In the end they all sang together and then a man who was probably explaining the whole thing got up and spoke in Portuguese. The whole thing was just really really cool to see.

At this point the restaurant is packed with people and cameras and it's a mad house in there. We probably only have about 30 minutes to get back to our hotel (a solid 20 minute walk), grab our stuff, and get a cab to the train station. We seriously hauled butt up that hill back to the hotel and Jared ran inside to grab our stuff while I tried to hail a cab. After a couple unsuccessful ventures, a man pointed out to me where the cab stop was. Of course we run up to the line of cabs and attempt to communicate to the driver that we have 10 minutes to be at the train station. He must have understood because we got us there lickety-split and in time to catch the train. From there it was a smooth 3-hour ride into Lisbon. 

And that was only day two! 15 more to go...

"All that matters is that you treat me right

Give me all the things I need that money cant buy...
Even if you were broke my love don't cost a thing." -Jennifer Lopez