Day 21 Portugal to Home

Just like every trip it’s nice to get home. We even made it back in time to vote and stop at Solomons Pier for a burger and Budweiser. Here’s a summary of our thoughts about Portugal.

We enjoyed the trip, the country and the people. It was a totally different experience from any other European country we had visited. Portugal’s cities are not pretty, they are mostly old, run down, and generally not well maintained. However, they are safe, clean, and comfortable. The countryside is beautiful no matter where you go. What’s unusual to me is that there are no (or very few) villages and towns on the entire west coast of Portugal. I suppose it’s too rugged, but it is spectacular if you can get near it. The Douro valley is one of the prettier places I’ve ever been. The hillsides are full of terraced vineyards that go on endlessly, plus they were created over the centuries by hard manual labor. The south coast of Portugal is pretty in its own right and is a great place to go if you’re a golfer or enjoy resort vacations. If you don’t, then I wouldn’t venture there for more than a few days. The major roads are easy to drive and excellently maintained. The cities and towns have many narrow streets and alleyways but never take you where you want to go. My suggestion would be to drive to the cities and park as soon as you can. Pedestrians have the right of way and will cross the street right in front of you without even looking.

The most pleasant experience was interacting with the people. Nobody, nowhere tries harder to please. They’re outgoing and friendly and really try to make sure you’re happy. They want to talk English and always assume you’re British. They were excited when we said we were from America. They all knew about the upcoming election and wanted Obama to win. They wanted change too. They love Americans.

The dress code in Portugal is very relaxed, and except around office buildings, we hardly ever saw any suits. You can pretty much be comfortable in anything except shorts. There are a lot of English, German, and Dutch tourists (they stick out like sore thumbs) and I’m not sure how well the Portuguese take to them since they’re buying up all the properties. We stuck out like sore thumbs too but I’m not sure why? The Portuguese are not into greetings quite as much as the French and Italians, but a “bon dia” is always a safe bet. “Obrigato (a)” is used constantly.

Portuguese menus are mostly seafood, and nobody cooks fish better than they do. They do serve meats and the pork is especially good but the beef should be avoided. Not that it’s bad, it’s just not what they do, or even want to do. Good lamb and rabbit can be found. Potatoes are everywhere and they assume you’re crazy if you don’t order a salad. Don’t think about eating lunch before one o’clock or dinner before eight. They don’t think about making it before then. The wines are typically lean, but very, very inexpensive and relatively good. The Portuguese do not drink Port wine. That’s for tourists and the English. I was a tourist so I drank it (and loved it). The service is much quicker than that of Italy or France and they aren’t picky about customs. We usually had to pour our own wine. They just opened the bottle, sat it on the table and walked away which was fine with me. Except for the fish the food experience is not nearly as good as Italy or France, but is much better than most other European countries.

Overall Portugal is a great place to visit. It’s inexpensive, the people are wonderful, the countryside is beautiful, and the food and wine excellent. We probably won’t get another opportunity to go back, but I would definitely recommend it to a friend.

Day 20 Lisbon

It’s the last day in Portugal so it’s no holds barred…or something like that. Two weeks ago we were in Belem and it was crowed with tourists so we didn’t get to the famous Casa Pasteis de Belem the birthplace of a delicious custard tart called the pastel de nata. We left early and took a tram over to Belem and since all the museums were closed we had no trouble getting in the Pasteis de Belem…the pastel’s were worth the effort, unbelievably light, crusty, creamy, and wonderful. If you ever get a chance to go, do it. We also revisited the pastry shop that we went to previously and re-tasted a donut that we really liked, and compared to the pastel de nata it was dull. Sufficiently fattened up, we took the tram back to Lisbon and checked out the market. Most of the stalls were closed on Monday so instead we took the ferry over to Cacilhas and spent an hour or so walking the streets. There wasn’t very much going on and unless you want a boat ride I wouldn’t bother. By the time the ferry got us back to Lisbon it was almost lunch time (by now I’m getting tired of eating). We found a nice place for lunch. Sylvia was smart and had a tuna salad. I wasn’t and had cod fish with spinach and mashed sweet potatoes and of course the mandatory bottle of wine…all very good. After walking some ounces off we started back towards the hotel and on the way we decided it wouldn’t be right to have visited Portugal and not have had any Mateus. A wine store solved that problem and we took a bottle back to the hotel. Opening the Mateus brought back some kind of flashback because I immediately had that awful feeling of forty years ago. I think that’s the last Mateus I’ll ever have, it really is bad stuff.

Rather than eating again we took an evening stroll up Av. da Liberdade. It was only eight o’clock so there was a lot of activity as we wandered by all the exclusive shops . We talked for awhile with a crazy bartender at the Hard Rock Cafe. By ten o’clock we had a pork sandwich at an outdoor café, and then finished the evening with a ginjinha. We wanted to leave the hotel by seven the next morning, so we called it an day. The last night in town was relaxing, but it took me three weeks to get to that point. With any luck, tomorrow night we’ll sleep in our own beds.

Day 19 Lisbon

Today was another slow day, so it was fairly late until we got started. We took the bus up to the Oceanarium which is the Portuguese National Aquarium. It’s second only to the Tokyo Aquarium in size and is very well done. It was Sunday and fairly crowded, but they manage the crowd so well that we just seemed to flow through the several levels of displays that surround one massive central tank. It’s well worth doing and takes about an hour, with kids it would probably take two. The Oceanarium is on the site of the 98 World Expo so it’s in a new attractive park-like setting interspersed with modern apartment buildings, arenas, restaurants, and one very large modern looking mall that we decided to checkout . It was probably one of the largest I had ever been in, but what made it great were the stores. They were very upscale and totally different from what we’re used to seeing back home. Of course the food court was definitely worth investigating, which we did. The Metro got us back to our hotel neighborhood much quicker than the bus did, but was not nearly as entertaining. It seemed as though it was not unusual for the passengers and the bus driver to argue. It was amusing.

For dinner we ate at a local tourist restaurant and Sylvia had a shish kabob with several kinds of meat and I had clams and roast pork. Everything was fair but not worth repeating. We ended the evening with an espresso at a Pastelaria (pastry) shop up the street (no pastries though).

Day 18 Palmela to Lisbon (again)

Yes, today we’re back is Lisbon or Lisboa as the Portuguese spell it or Lish-boa as the Portuguese say it. We decided to spend the last three nights here and just enjoy ourselves without trying to see everything. The drive from Palmela to Lisbon only took one hour. We went directly to Hertz and returned the car. We then checked back into the Residencial Florescente. It really wasn’t very difficult driving in Portugal, they have excellent roads. As planned we didn’t do very much the rest of the day, mostly just ambling around town, eating junk food (pastries, chestnuts, etc.), and hanging at an outdoor cafe. Sylvia wasn’t feeling real peppy, so she went back to the room for a rest while I found a spot. For dinner we went to a Tapas place in the Barrios area and had some interesting tapas. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at a little Ginjinha. Ginjinha is a favorite Lisbon drink made from ginja berries and grappa and sold in funky old shops throughout town. One of those was enough to call it a night. The picture on the left is of everybody standing just outside the Ginjinha bar drinking a Ginjinha.

The picture of the day is for those people who say “Don’t worry, all the restaurants have menus written in English.” Here’s an English menu from a nearby restaurant. If you were hungry for meat, what would you order? (If you’re having trouble reading the menu, just click on the picture.)

Day 17 Lagos to Palmela

What a lucky day! We left Lagos this morning intending to drive up the west coast of Portugal and spend the night in the town of Setubal. The drive up was fairly pleasant with one stop in a coastal village. It was a one horse town with a tiny beach, a great view, and little else. For some reason, there are very few towns on the west coast that are on the water. I guess it’s just too rugged. Anyhow, when we arrived in Setubal, Sylvia flat out didn’t like it. Undecided what to do, she saw that there was a Pousada in a little nearby town called Palmela. We managed to get out of Setubal and drove towards Palmela and as we got a little closer we saw this tremendous castle up on top of a mountain…it turned out to be the Pousada. What a find. It was a huge 14th century castle and cathedral that is indescribable. We just had to stay there. They did have a room but we would have to wait a half hour. So, we waited in the bar and talked to the bartender who could have not been friendlier. After an hour, the host came in and said our room was ready but he had to give us a suite at no extra charge. We didn’t see a problem with that, so we took it. The rooms, the views, the whole building were absolutely unbelievable. Our suite was on the corner of the castle with five big windows and two of the windows had facing seat benches with 80 mile views. Lisbon was 50 miles away and you could see the mountains behind it. I’ve never spent a night in anyplace that compares to this place. I always thought of castles as cold damp places…hot here, it was very cozy and comfortable. I took so many pictures that the battery on my camera ran down. The whole castle is a museum with excavations, archeologists, and everything. We hung around until dinner and Sylvia had a dish called Edible Crab which was an appetizer of spiced up chopped crab meat served in a Dungeness crab shell. It was excellent. She also had a pork tenderloin with pureed chestnuts and quince. I had fish soup and some Cod fish poached in olive oil and garlic. We then waddled back to our room in the castle. It makes you wonder “Who were all the people that spent time in this room over the last five hundred years?”

Day 16 Lagos

Today we decided to see the rest of the south coast of Portugal by driving the last few Kilometers to Sagres, the most southwesterly point of continental Europe. It was here that prior to the 14th century people thought the world ended. Stops at Cabo de Sao Vicente and the old Fort at Ponta de Sagres produced some good pictures of the rugged headlands. After walking out to the old fort and getting caught in the rain, it also produced some more “lively discussion” centered on two questions: 1) what kind of idiot would say “Oh we won’t need an umbrella?” and, 2) why did Sylvia get soaked and I only got wet? (The exact same questions came up later in the day as we walked downtown.) The answer to the first question was easy (me), but the second I’m still trying to figure out. After drying out (at least I did), we drove over to Salema, the only true little fishing village we saw on the whole southeri coast. Salema’s a pretty little place on the beach with a few restaurants and two small hotels. It would be a great place to spend a few relaxing days. We decided to have lunch at a little beach restaurant called Café Atlantico. We ordered a Sea Bass big enough for the two of us. It was split in half (head and all) and grilled…excellent. Filled up, we drove back to Lagos and our hotel.

In the evening, we walked the town, and resumed our “lively discussion” after we got caught in the rain again. We had dinner at a rather large restaurant near the hotel called Adega da Mare. It was like a German hofbrau house with seafood (picture of menu). Sylvia had chicken and I had cuttlefish. Not bad and very inexpensive, with a liter of wine twenty two dollars. We ended the night at the hotel chatting with the clerk/bartender. We spent much time talking about the direction the Algarve is going and all the locals are disappearing and being replaced by the English, Dutch, and Germans. She said they’re buying everything up. She didn’t seem too upset with that, but still it’s sad

Day 15 Alportel to Lagos

We left the Pousada in Alportel early this morning so we could see the small seaport towns on our way to Lagos. It was relatively disappointing to see that the coast line littered with condos and touristy restaurants. It was like this all the way from Tavira to Lagos. We stopped a small town inland called Silves that had an 8th century Moorish castle and a 12th century Cathedral. We visited both and enjoyed a brief walk through the steep cobble stoned streets. The castle was worth the stop. After Silves, we continued on to Lagos so that we would get there early enough to find a hotel. We had not had internet access for several days and could not do our due diligence hotel wise. We got lucky and immediately found a Rick Steves recommended hotel called Marina Rio. It’s a modern 36 room hotel across from the marina and a few blocks from the old whitewashed town with a jumble of pedestrian cobblestoned streets and outdoor restaurants. We managed a room with a marina view (picture taken from our room). After unpacking we walked the town and decided to have a “light” lunch of a few sardines and a small pizza (picture). I guessed we wouldn’t have dinner. We then spent some time walking the town and marina area trying to take in as much as we could. We did find a small internet café and checked our email, but didn’t have enough time to update the blog and hoped we could find better internet access tomorrow. At night, as expected, we were not at all hungry enough for a big meal, so we walked the old town looking for anything interesting. We found a wine bar called Nectar Enoteca. It was fairly empty except for its young owner who turned out to be a great host. We spent the evening talking to him (he spoke good English) while trying a host of his Portuguese wines and spirits, all accompanied by bread, cheese, olives, and olive oil. He was very proud of everything he served and deservedly so. It was a fun evening sharing our different life styles, politics, and food with him.

Day 14 Alportel

Today we decided that we should see as much of the Algarve coastline as possible, so we left fairly early and drove west to Armacao de Pera on highway 125, with the intention of driving back east to Faro and staying as close to the water as possible. The roads do not follow as near the water as you would like, but if you drive down little roads there are some beautiful beaches. What we also found out was that this part of the Algarve coast consists mostly of resort towns and golf courses. The resorts seemed to be entirely inhabited by Germans, French, and Brits. Most everything was written in English. We stopped and walked around several of the towns and it was strange not hearing any Portuguese being spoken. Vila Moura in particular was an enormous harbor completely surrounded by condos, shops, and restaurants. We walked the harbor and had lunch at a British pub called O’Neil’s. A pint of Stout with fish and chips just sounded like a good idea. After all, with all the great fish around here, it just had to be good. It was terrible. From Vila Moura we made our way along the coast until we got to the old twelfth century town of Faro. A walk around the old walled city bought us back to what Portugal really is…a charming old world country, with a very real character of its own. After having espresso, a pastry, and chestnuts, we eventually made it back to our hotel to make plans for tomorrow. We think we’re going west along the coast to Lagos and spend two days there and poke around the extreme southwest portion of Portugal.

Day 13 Evora to Alportel

It was a three hour drive from Evora to where we were staying in S. Bras de Alportel. The first two hours through the farms of the Alentejo plains were fine and the last hour over the Serra de Caldelra mountains was tedious. The Pousada we checked into was on a hilltop overlooking the town of Alportel (pictue is a view of town from our room). It was an extremely pleasant hotel with a great view, but it was the first place we stayed outside of a city or town. After unpacking we drove the twenty miles down to the town of Tavira for lunch. It took awhile to find a parking spot and when we did we had a fairly good walk to get to the river front where all the activity occurs. We had Rick Steves’ Portugal guide book and he recommended a little joint on the other side of the river called Restaurante Bica. I had grilled sardines and Sylvia had grilled tuna and both hit the spot. Afterwards we walked around and bought some port, wine, and a can of sardines for the room. I bet you can’t guess who the sardines were for? Since Pousadas are somewhat like a resort, it seemed like a good idea to go back and hang out there for the rest of the day. Booring! Dinner at the hotel consisted of a very good and unusual local stew of octopus, clams, and potatoes for me. Sylvia had a vegetable pasta that she could not have finished if that’s all she ate for a week. The waitress asked “Whatsa’ matta, you no like?” Afterwards we went back to the room. We were the only two people having dinner in the restaurant that night. This place is just full of life.

Day 12 Evora

The day started with bacon and eggs, an unusual breakfast in Europe. It’s a refreshing change after mostly bread, ham, and cheese. Although, most places have served plenty of fruits. The Tourist Information center had a walking audio tour for two Euros which seemed worthwhile. It directed us through the normal array of churches, squares, and Roman ruins. The weirdest though was Church of St. Francis and the Chapel of Bones. To quote Rick Steves, “Inside the macabre chapel, bones line the walls, and 5,000 skulls stare blankly at you from walls and arches”. It was not a very comfortable place to be. The tour however, was interesting. After taking the audio phones back to the tourist office we went to the local pastry shop and had espresso and a few interesting sweets. Since we intended to skip lunch I also had another batch of roasted chestnuts. I’m OD’ing on the damn things. It was an extremely pleasant day so afterwards; we took a walk around the wall and through the gardens (peacocks everywhere) before enjoying a relaxing afternoon at an outdoor café and just people watching. It really is very inexpensive over here; a bottle of wine, a bowl of olives, a hunk of cheese, and a loaf of bread cost nine Euros (12 dollars).

It took awhile, but after another lively discussion we came to tentative agreement on our itinerary for the rest of the trip: two days at Tavira on the south coast, two days at Salema, one day somewhere close to Lisbon, and then return the car and spend the last three days in Lisbon. We then made reservations for the next two days at a Poussda near Tavira. Of course, things will probably change.

We had too much cheese and bread to be very hungry for dinner, instead something lighter in the hotel bar sounded better. Sylvia had a ham and cheese sandwich (sande misto) and I thought I’d try their hamburger; which when served didn’t seem much like a hamburger. It was ground veal, didn’t come with a roll or bread, and had a fried egg on top. It was good though, and it came with French fries. The fries over here are made with real potatoes and are crispier, and tastier than what we get at home. After dinner and after the soccer match on TV we were glad to call it a day. Tomorrow we leave for Tavira and I don’t know when I’ll be able to get back on the internet.

Day 11 Evora

It was time to leave Peso da Regua and drive the three hundred miles south to Evora. Peso da Regua was a pleasant town with enough scenic side trips to be a worthwhile place to visit, but a few days were sufficient. The decision to go to Evora was made after much lively discussion prior to last night’s dinner. I’m sure we’ll enjoy it…I know I’d better. The drive down was an exhilarating one on the Auto Strata (Autobahn) with no speed limit. The major highways are excellent; new, smooth and fun to drive. Evora is an old walled city built in the eleventh century with a population of about 14,000 that still live inside the wall. Our fairly upscale hotel, the M’ar De Ar is just inside the wall and has absolutely no view, but it is a convenient place from which to explore the town. After checking in we wanted to see how big the town was, so we walked across the town to the opposite wall and it took less than thirty minutes. The little town survives on tourism, so I don’t expect much…maybe I’ll be surprised. We had lunch at an outdoor café in the town center. Sylvia had a not very good fried calamari and I had pretty good pork with clams. After wandering the town and getting acquainted with the streets and squares, we went back to the hotel to do nothing for a few hours before dinner. There appeared to be relatively few tourists this time of year, consequently I didn’t think restaurants would be very full. A walk around the town took us past two places that had looked promising earlier in the day; one was looked as though it had been in business for many years, and the other was very modern looking with an interesting looking menu. We opted for the former and walked in about 8:30 and although it was practically empty, were told it was booked up. Disappointed that we had missed an opportunity for a very good meal, we went to the other more modern place called Prova & Sorri. It was rather empty, but at least there was a table available. We ordered a bottle of wine and a regional favorite Arroz de Tamboril, a rice and seafood stew. ..It was absolutely terrific. The seafood was shrimp, clams, and Cod fish and the broth was seasoned with cilantro and coriander. By the time we were served, the place completely filled up with what appeared to be all locals, and when we left at 10 o’clock, there were still families waiting for tables. It was a lucky find again.

Day 10 Peso da Regua

After a great breakfast at the hotel (they even had eggs), we drove up to the village of Mateus about an hour away. I was especially looking forward to it because I was expecting wine, plus the Michelin Guide gave Mateus a three star rating and they only gave three stars to six places in Portugal. Wow, three stars and that junky wine we used to drink in the seventies! Needless to say, it wasn’t what I expected. The three stars were for the Casa de Mateus a rather fascinating house and gardens that was built in the sixteen hundreds. We were the only people that took the English speaking tour through the house and Chapels. The gardens were very beautiful and the house and guide interesting. They did have wine to taste, but alas, none of the Mateus I was hoping for. The drive back to Regua was stunning and we stopped several times for pictures. Since it was still early in the day we skipped lunch and drove over to another river town named Pinhao. A quick walk around town indicated that it was not worth the drive. There really wasn’t anything to see…exactly what the guide books said. Maybe some day I’ll listen. Back in Peso da Regua we went to the local Solar de Vinho and tasted Port wines. We had several and as usual they were all excellent. I guess I’ll never have a bad glass of wine.

A restaurant we noticed earlier that was located at the end of an alley was to be the destination for dinner. The Cachu D’oiro was another good dining experience. Sylvia had lamb chops that were cut very thin and served with French fries and cabbage. I had Black Pork which were also cut thin and blackened with boiled potatoes (smushed) and cabbage. You would think that both the lamb and pork would be tough, but they were very tender and full of flavor. Unlike anything we’ve ever had. We also had the usual accompaniments of ham, bread, three kinds of fried sausages, wine, and a very good ice cream dessert. Getting fatter by the minute, it was time to get back to the hotel because we had a five hour drive to Evora tomorrow.

Day 9 Porto to Peso da Regua

The stay at the Hotel da Bolsa in Porto was a good one. The location was excellent and the staff couldn’t try harder. I think we had the best room in the hotel. The view was as good as any view we experienced in the city and it was very large by European standards. If anyone happens to stay at the Hotel da Bolsa, request room 604.

When asking several people about the drive from Porto to Peso da Regua each one said “the drive up the river was a beautiful ride, but it had many, many twists and turns”. As it was only 85 miles, and after having driven the Amalfi Coast, how hard could it be? Well, it took three and a half hours to drive those 85 miles with only two traffic lights, a couple of stop signs, one quick stop for gas, one little wrong turn, AND you could drive as fast as you wanted. The road goes up mountains, down mountains, around mountains, and never in a straight line… very exhausting and absolutely beautiful. Grapes everywhere and all terraced (picture taken from our room on Regua). They have a saying here that “God created the earth, but man created the Douro Valley” and it makes sense to me. The only way to harvest the grapes is by hand and then they have to carry them down the mountains. These are tough guys. Anyhow, it was one thirty until we checked in the Hotel Regua Douro which is right on the river with a great view. We immediately walked up the road a piece and stopped for lunch at Joao Alges, a little café run by a cute old couple. He seated us and told us what they were serving for lunch—at least I think that’s what he was doing. He said three things and I repeated the last thing he said then he walked away and came back with plate of fish, potatoes, carrots, and two hard boiled eggs. A little later a lettuce, tomato, and onion salad appeared along with some vino tinto. The same thing happened for dessert, this time she stopped by the table, said a few things, I repeated the last and magically a flan with some caramel sauce arrived. Neither they, nor we had any idea what the other was talking about, but we could not have asked for anything better. Why is it that we live right on the Chesapeake Bay and cannot go in any restaurant and get a respectable piece of fish? Here we can’t get any less than great. Oh well, with full bellies, a walk through the whole town only took an hour and then it was time to go back to the hotel and unpack. I think I like this place.

The hotel restaurant was supposed to be one of the two finer dining spots in town. It was the easiest alternative, so that’s what we did. The restaurant was on the top floor of the hotel and it looked rather weird walking in, as it was 8:30 and there was nobody in the entire place except for two waiters. Who cares, we ate there anyway. The menu looked good and they even had an English version. What a bonus, knowing what you’re ordering. I got the roasted rabbit with cornbread and chestnuts and Sylvia had something that looked, but did not taste, like lasagna. The rabbit was very good and the lasagna not so. It was a pleasant meal with a good view and superb service. As we were leaving a little after ten, some other customers were just arriving. Geez, I’ve got to learn to stay up later.

Day 8 Porto

It looked like it the day was off to a bad start. Comcast lost Sylvia’s email address and she can no longer receive any emails. She’s not a happy person! Despite the crisis we pushed off and did a few cultural visitations: The first was the Sao Francisco Church which was ok, the second was the Stock Exchange Palace which was neither a stock exchange nor a palace. It was a building built by the local craftsmen in the nineteenth century just to show off the skills of the working class. It was a worthwhile tour of absolutely skillful workmanship. We then took the funicular (a tram up a steep hill) to the top of town and wandered around in the shopping area before going back down the hill to begin a relentless one and a half hour search for the Solar de Vinho Porto--a wine tasting shop that has all the Port wines under one roof…it was closed. A little frustrated, we walked back down the hill to the Riberia on the river and drank a bottle of wine and split a ham and cheese baguette. It was pretty late, so that was pretty much it for the day. Tomorrow it's off to Peso de Regua on the Douro river. Hopefully it'll go better than today.

Day 7 Porto

We started off the day by first dropping off our laundry in some tiny Laundromat hoping we could retrieve it within a few hours. I wouldn’t have bet on it, but we eventually did get it back and it looked pretty good. Satisfied with the laundry, it was necessary to check out the local market, which was fairly easy since it wasn’t too far from the hotel. It was a pretty good market, but not worth going much out of the way for. On the way to the market we passed the classiest McDonalds we’ve ever seen. It was in an old bank building with wall murals, mirrors, and statues. I did get pictures. From the market, we got lost looking for a tram to take us down to the river; instead we walked down the hill, which is almost as hard a walking up the hill. At the hotel the front desk clerk recommended a restaurant across the river called Bacalhoeira which was the nicest restaurant we’ve seen in Porto. It had started to rain, so even though it was only one o’clock we opted to eat an early lunch. The menu consisted of only thing…Cod (Bacalhau). They served it roasted, fried, broiled, every which way, and even had Cod tongue. We had their specialty, roasted with onions, potatoes, and broccoli. It was a huge piece of fish and the best Cod fish by far that I’ve ever eaten. We sat there for almost two hours finishing lunch and nursing our bottle of wine while waiting for the rain to subside…it didn’t. Since we were in the district where (according to the Portuguese), all the Port wine in the world is produced, we thought it might be wise to get educated in the science of Port production. It was a wet walk, but we first visited Taylors and took a tour (only five people) through their warehouse/production facilities (Lodges). The guide gave an interesting explanation of the process, after which, we had to suffer through a tasting of several of their nasty old Ports. It was so bad that we hung around afterwards and tasted a few more. In order to recover from the pain and suffering from the Taylor’s experience, we thought it best to stop and cleanse our palates by visiting the Kopke tasting room. Kopke’s been producing Port wines since 1638 so they have some thoughts on how to produce a proper Port wine (Taylor’s was better). All the producers have beautiful tasting rooms and it’s something you have to do when visiting Porto. It is a pleasant experience and I guarantee you’ll be a Port aficionado afterwards. It was getting towards evening, so we walked back to the hotel. We decided to skip dinner and instead sit in the hotel bar with the local soccer fans and watch Juventius beat Real Madrid, then off to the room to decide tomorrow’s future.

Day 6 Lisbon to Porto

We left Lisbon this morning with a good impression of the city. We were very pleased with our pick of the Residencia Florescente Hotel. It's an inexpensive hotel that get five stars for location and convenience. The rooms were clean and the staff helpful and friendly. We made reservations to spend our last three nights in Portugal there. The drive to Porto was fairly easy and no one got hurt. We checked into the Hotel de Bolsa at two o'clock and were taken to our room; a corner room with a spectacular view of both the river and the port producers lodges (picture). After unpacking we walked down to the river and were struck with the similarities to Savannah, Baltimore, and other cities with waterfronts developed especially for tourists. I'm sure that will be our last trip down there. From the river we walked up to the city center and wandered around rather aimlessly. Porto is not a beautiful city, it has some great views, but it is not beautiful. There are many large, old, and magnificent buildings that are run down, abandoned and dirty. But there's still something special about them. We sat at a cafe at the Park Liberdade near the train station and watched thousands of people head home after work as the waiter happily gave us some Portugesse lessons. I could have sat there for hours and watched all the activity. A couple of beers would have to suffice and we would go back to the hotel and finish unpacking. We had skipped lunch so at about seven o'clock we started thinking about dinner and went down to the charming little hotel bar and asked the bartender for a dinner recommendation that did not include any restaurant down by the waterfront. He suggested the O Bom Talher, a little family run restaurant down the street and a place that if it were not for his recommendation we would have walked right on by. Sylvia ordered a half order of a delicious roast pork, potatoes, and cabbage that between us we could not have finished if we were starving. I on the other hand, ordered a traditional Porto dish; a stew of beans, several types of sausages, and tripe which is pig intestine. Plus there was some other "stuff" that I was unable to identify. It's definitely not going to be on my list of favorite foods. However, I did manage to get through half of a very large pot of stew with the help of large gulps of a local white wine. It's really a place I'd like to get back to...maybe tomorrow. After dinner we went back to the hotel and called it a night.

Day 5 Lisbon

Horticulturist Day turned out to be a semi-bust. We went up to the Jardin Botanica and it was closed for renovations. It wouldn't have been so bad if it had not been all uphill to get there. Rather disappointed, we walked over to the Estada Fria in the Park Eduardo. The Estada Fria is a a very well conceived and pleasant tropical garden that is mostly indoors. It's a fascinating way to spend an hour. If you're in the area, it's definitely worth a visit, but I would not recommend a special trip unless you're really into the jungle plants. It was not yet noon and we hadn't planned anything beyond what we had already done, I succumbed to Sylvia's desires to go to the Castle De San Jorge. I don't know why I didn't want to go, I guess I thought it was too goofy. It was a hike to get there--again mostly uphill--but it was worth it. The castle was build in the eleventh century and was in it's hayday fron the 14th to 17th centuries. I've been in several castles in Europe, but this was a real working one that was much used over the centuries to defend the city Afterward we had lunch in the outdoor cafe on the castle ramparts (see picture of the king at his castle). We only had wine and cheese, but we spent two hours sitting at at our table taking in the view. I guess I was wrong...again?

Since we were renting a car tomorrow and driving up to Porto we thought a map might come in handy, so after lunch we walked over to the Baixa Chaido district to get a Portugal map and were lucky enough to find an open book store. While we were there we stopped in a church called Basilica of the Martyrs. It was started in 1147, destroyed in the 1755 earthquake, and rebuilt right after that. It's not a large church, but it is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. It is extremely well kept and very comfortable. What a find! After that, it was back to the hotel.

Because we're attempting to leave early tomorrow we swore we were going to have a light, early dinner. We ended up going around the corner to a Rick Steves (PBS travel show) recommended place called Bonjardin. They're apparently renowned for their roast chicken on a spit which we had, and it was very good. After a stroll through the neighborhood (which Rick Steves called the eating street), we were back in the room by 10:30. Tomorrow should be interesting since getting out of this city by car is not an easy task and getting to the Porto hotel is even harder. It might be survival of the fittest between Sylvia and I, and I expect to lose again.

Day 4 Lisbon

"Early to bed, early to rise". We got a pretty good start today and went directly to the Mercado Ribeira (market) which consisted of two old connected 100 x 300 foot food-filled buildings. There were 40 to 50 butcher shops and about the same number of fish mongers and flower stands (the produce stands were uncountable). In addition, there were an abnormal number of egg stands, cheese shops, and bakeries. It sure would be nice if we had something at home one-tenth of that. It's definitely worth seeing. After the market we walked across the street and jumped on an electric train and headed down by the river to the town of Belem where we went to the Ingreja de Santa Maria and Mosteiro dos Jeronimos (chapel and monastery). It's a must see if anyone comes to Lisbon, a definite four star. The best part is that it doesn't take long to get through. Belem is right on the river and has well manicured gardens and parks between the town and the river. The one garden was tropical and had many Florida type plants including large palm trees. It seems strange that Lisbon is on the same latitude as Washington D.C. and can grow tropical plants. The town has several outdoor cafes and we certainly thought we deserved a break. We located a rather rustic (old) on and ordered coffees and one appealing looking pastry that after one bite we had to immediately order another. I don't know what it was and if I did I surely couldn't pronounce or spell it, but it was great. Afterward we grabbed the train back to Lisbon. In Lisbon we switched from the train to a tramway for an easier trip up to the Alfama district. It's the oldest part of Lisbon and is a maze of narrow streets, alleys, steps, and archways. What makes it most interesting is that it's a real neighborhood with laundry hanging out the windows, kids running around, and dogs barking. We didn't do much, just walked and took in the atmosphere. Except, we did do a light lunch at a little alley restaurant called Barracao de Alfama. Grilled sardines for me and grilled salmon for Sylvia. That and some sangria made for a terrific light lunch with a local atmosphere. From there it was a long walk back to the hotel for a regrouping.

Neither of us was hungry so we didn't go out until later and decided to just hang out in the neighborhood. It was interesting in that we stopped for drinks at two restaurant/bars, and at neither one, could anyone speak English. One place didn't even have ice; Sylvia loved her Vodka straight up. At the other place she got it with ice, but they served it with some fruity soda...so much for "everyone speaks English". We did succumb to food though, and we each had a bowl of pureed vegetable soup and we split a plate of Serrano ham. Earlier I had also gotten some roasted chestnuts from a street vendor (the best roasted chestnuts ever). The people over here are so pleasant. They really try to please. We got back to the hotel by midnight. I think I'll declare tomorrow Horticulturist Day and try and talk Sylvia into seeing some of their famous botanical gardens.

Day 3 Lisbon

We got up this morning at our usual times, five for me and seven for Sylvia. It sure didn't take long to adjust. We had the normal breakfast. The coffee is unbelievably strong and to drink it black you have to be a tough guy...I had lots of milk. We managed an early start to continue our sightseeing duties. It was a beautiful day so we walked up through the Park Eduardo VII to the very eclectic Gulbenkian Museum. It was a great way to start the day. It's a large and very nice park, and the museum's interesting and has a little bit of everything. After the museum we walked back to a huge department store called El Conte Ingles. It takes up a whole block and has eight floors of very expensive stuff and due to stuff overload, we didn't spend a lot of time there, just enough to visit every floor. From there on our excursion took a little turn for the worse. In our attempt to find a subway stop, we again got a little turned around and we spent quite a bit of time navigating our way in and out of unparallel streets. It was after two o'clock and we were getting hungry and a little testy. A leisurely lunch with a little wine corrected that. We stopped at a place called Aprilla and had a large grilled whole sea bream (for 2)...perfect. It was definitely one of the better fish we ever ate. After lunch we found the subway and headed back to the hotel to figure out what to do next.

Ok, we figured it out. Seeing as we thought we wouldn't be hungry, we went down to the waterfront, called the Riberia, and looked for something a little different. After a long walk we found an Irish Pub called O'Gilin's that seemed exactly what we needed and in we went. It seemed rather strange though sitting in a Lisbon pub listening to a Blues band, but we enjoyed it. After a few Guiness's we walked back to the neighborhood where our hotel was and sat outside at a little cafe and spent an hour or so watching people before returning to the hotel and crashing. We did have a small pork sandwich though. Tomorrow's another day. Sylvia's pedometer registered 27,451 steps or about 12.1 miles for the day.

Day 2 Lisbon

The day before we only got a few hours sleep on the plane so last night we both slept very well. Neither of us woke up until after eight o'clock, which for us is unheard of. So after a quick European breakfast (bread, cheese, ham, yogurt, and coffee) we headed off to the train station to catch a 40 minute train ride to the town of Sintra to see the Park and Palace of Pena which was the summer home of several Portugal kings and queens from the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. We spent several hours with other sightseers (ugh!) viewing the beautiful park and palace of royalty. One thing for sure, it's great to be king (maybe greater to be queen). If one was to know my understanding of history, then they would see why I thought the coolest thing was the white hydrangea (picture) I saw on the walk up to the Palace--what an idiot I am. After climbing a jillion steps, we took the bus back down to the town of Sintra and had a rather large lunch at the Sintra Central Hotel outdoor cafe. A pitcher of white sangria with apples, limes, oranges, and a cinnamon stick was a real hit with both of us. Sylvia had a veal stew, and I pigged out on the pork liver, country ham, and potato stew. We were both more than satisfied. It was hard to stay awake for the train ride back to Lisbon.

After spending a couple of hours back at the hotel, we headed back up to the Bairro Alto area and within twenty minutes we we lost--and we even had a map. There's no such thing as a straight street, or even a street with the same name for more than a few blocks. We somehow recovered (after some rather lively discussion), and found a tiny charming little cafe for dinner. The place had seven tables and three of them were two-tops. The staff, who did not speak English, were extremely nice. We had an omelet (Sylvia) and roasted cuttlefish (me of course) all complemented with the usual wine, cheese, wine, dessert, wine, and espresso. After dinner we continued our lively discussion as we took the rather lengthy walk back to our hotel. We did agree that Lisbon is a very late night city. The restaurants in the non tourist areas do not even open until eight o'clock and even then, they're empty until nine. Unfortunately late to us is tenish, so we called it a night at elevenish.