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Portugal...

Posted: May 1, 2008 Thu 01:11 pm Views: 226 Interacts: 0

When Isabelle mentioned that she had volunteered 6 months in India back in 2006, inevitably I brought up the "G" word. She first avoided the question, a bit hesitant to even discuss it. But I knew all too well how to get a traumatized victim talking. And then she finally relented - yes, she DID get groped, often, throughout her stay in India.

With that out of the way, all of us put our focus on speeding down a highway in Portugal that would take us to the historic resort town of Sintra. And then I saw this amazing sight - in the middle of the flat town rose a green hill. And on top of the hill stood the fort that muslims had built when they settled this town (Takbeer!)

Lisbon itself is not that interesting a city. Take out the museums and the night life, there is really just the historic muslim quarter of Alfama and the downtown area that is of interest. The real charm of Portugal is out in small towns dotted across the Atlantic coast. And I was lucky to be there when the entire towns were awash with celebrations and dances and traditional festivals to mark the end of dictatorship on April 25th 1974.

One thing that I had looked forward to in Lisbon was its much touted confectionary. I saw this beautifully made shiny piece of sweet and bit into it. It turned out to be nothing more than raw-ish egg yolk coated with sugary syrup. And I silently puked.