May 2014 and May 2017

We love the trans-Atlantic cruises, and we’ve done more than a few. Almost all of them stop in Lisbon. On the second or the third time we were in Lisbon, we decided to go to Sintra. From the cruise terminal, we took the local train/metro to Rossio Station & then got on the train to Sintra. 40 minutes(4.50 Euros R/T) later, we arrived at Sintra Station from where we got on the 434-tourist bus that makes a one-directional loop from the train station and to the historic center and then into the hills for €6.90.

We got out of the Sintra station main gate and turned right and found the bus stop. We first got off at the Moorish Castle stop and looked around the area. Rather than waiting for the next bus, we walked up a bit to the Pena Palace, the main attraction in town.

A storybook castle! There are other “storybook” castles around the world, but this one was one of the more impressive ones. I especially liked the fact that it was a manageable size. When we first went there in May of 2014, there was no line at the ticket window. Three years later, the line was very very long. We sent our friends in and waited outside because we did not think we’d enjoy being in that kind of crowd.

From there, we hopped back on 434 bus and got off in Sintra Village. This is where we found lots of shops, restaurants, and cafes. We visited Sintra National Palace, a 1,000-year-old place that had the Moorish beginning and then transformed into a more Portuguese style complex later on. Below is the picture of the kitchen in this Palace.

Again, Sintra Village was almost empty in 2014 but fully packed 3 years later. We enjoyed a leisurely lunch in 2014 in town, but we did not feel like staying there long. We ended up eating at a Chinese restaurant right across from the train station, and the food was surprisingly good! With lots of Chiese tourists visiting the area, there had to be a decent Chinese restaurant or two, we guessed.

If we had more time, we could have visited other palaces and parks on the hills, but a cruise stop is always just one day. Then, again, the charming town that we were eager to come back to back in 2014 is not there any longer. Maybe Sintra has gotten just too popular for its own good.

For more castles and palaces in Sintra area: click

May 2014

Le Havre is a popular stop on a trans-Atlantic cruise, and we’ve been there a few times for that reason. Almost completely destroyed during & rebuilt after the WWII, the city center is pleasant enough to walk around. Le Havre port is touted as the launching pad for a visit to Paris, but it is good two hours(216km/134 mi) away from Paris. We once rented a car and drove 85km(53 miles) west to Rouen, then visited Honfleur(across a bridge just south of Le Havre), and that was a nice day trip. We actually wanted to go to Mont Saint Michel, which would have been a 2.5 -hour drive southwest, but the church was closed that day, thus, we changed the direction.

We usually ended up in Le Havre in May, and there were blooming gardens all around the city. One time we happened to arrive on the first Saturday in May, and there was a big flea market going on in the city center.

The most impressive thing in town, to us, was St. Joseph’s church, which was built after WWII(1951-58) as a memorial to the 5,000 civilians from the city who died during the war.

More information: click

March 2014

Growing up in Korea, I had visited Busan(population: 3.5 million) numerous times. It was usually a trip involving the beach at Haewoondae during summer or the hot springs at Dongnae other times of the year. It was mostly a 6+ hour railway trip till they built the Freeway #1, and, then, it was a 4+ hour car trip.

Our latest trip to the #2 city in Korea was on the bullet train(KTX), and it took barely 2.5 hours. A friend who had temporarily moved there for her job invited and showed us around.  This version of Busan was just so interesting and intriguing.

We first were driven to the hillside area called Gamcheon-dong where old shacks and ugly brick houses had been turned into a colorful mosaic of updated houses with inviting cafes and little stores sprinkled in here and there. The old eyesores now look like the colorful town of Guanajuato in central Mexico! The refugees from the Korean War occupied this hillside after the war, and it stayed as a lower income area until quite recently. Some local artists and art students got involved in the revitalization movement in the area in 2000’s, and now it is one of the most interesting areas to visit in Korea attracting over 2 million visitors each year.

Next, we went to an area with old bookstores called Bosoo-dong where alleys were filled with used books spilling out of the little stores that had been there since the 1950’s.

Bosoo-dong is close to the main market in Busan, Gukje-Sijang(a literal translation: International Market). I can never pass food stalls at outdoor markets without trying something, and we sat down at plastic stools in the area pictured above to try several different things.

We walked over to the market specializing in seafood, Jagalchi Sijang, after our lunch in Gukje Market area. The site of extra fresh seafood and the smell of fish did make me think I should try something there, but I just could not eat anymore.

We drove over to Haewoondae Beach area and went to a hot springs spa that had windows out to the sea. All the aches and stiffness melted away from our bodies like magic after soaking in the hot mineral water.

This area(Dalmaji-Gil) just northwest of the beach on top of the hill had some fancy restaurants. We had something very un-Korean for dinner: pasta and Italian wine.

I recommend using cabs to get around if you have one day in the city. It will not cost more than $10 for each ride.

more info: click for the official site,  click here for a private opinion