Now “that” was a long day

 For the last two trips I have been writing “notes” as I go along during the day and then at night I copy/paste and work from there. Today I was unable to do that as if we weren’t visiting a place (and we visited many) then we were bouncing around in a 10 seater van.

We met Eduardo at 7:15 AM and with a family of four from Brazil/USA and a young couple from London,Ontario (IIRC) we were soon on our way to Sintra.

Eduardo was really good (and got a nice tip at the end of the11 hour day). Many of the photos in today’s post are taken by him as it seemed that every place we stopped he knew of a good photo location and he took many photos of all of us and then posted all of them on WhatsApp. I can’t remember a time when there was so many photos taken of the two of us.

Our first location was in the town/city of Sintra, a “must see” stop while in Lisbon. It is CRAZY to try and do this place on your own with timed entry into the main palace and NUMEROUS tiny, twisty roads to many of the stops.

Our first stop (and the reason we left Lisbon before normal wake up) was because we HAD to be Peña Palace well before the opening at 0900. This place is like Banff with hundreds and hundreds of people of people all over the place

                                                  

The photo above is the Moorish castle in the distance (we didn’t go there).

Peña Palace was wonderful but to see the place you had to follow a specific path through the place and of course deal with everybody else also doing the same route.

Quinta da Regaleira is another of the numerous palaces in the area. At this place Eduardo had to let us out of the van with specific instructions on what to see. He was unable to park nearby so the eight of us met at a specific time and contacted him through WhatsApp for our pick up. This place wasn’t so nice as we hard time trying to figure out the maze of paths and interesting thing to see. The highlife was definitely walking down a circular staircase. The photo op at the bottom was pretty cool.

First photo looking down and the second looking up

From there it was lunch time at Colares and while the rest of our group had a big meal Caro and I opted for yummy fish soup and then left everyone so we could walk on the beach and see a bit of the town.The large meal for everyone was a waste of time IMHO

We went a few miles up the coast and had another photo op.

Then we went to the farthest western point in continental Europe called Cabo Da Roca (and again another great photo opportunity)

Here is a screen shot from google maps showing where we are for these photos. The suitcase shows where we are staying. The purple castle show Peña (and other palaces) in Sintra and the blue dot is the Cabo Da Roca.

Our final main stop was the very fashionable city of Cascais.  While SIntra was a place where all the Royals used to build their castles and enjoy the cooler summer climates Cascais became a popular beach vacation spot (and is still a very popular place). The photos below show the high rocks and pounding waves of the area just north of the beaches (which looked very nice as we drove by them).

Back in town by 6:30 we walked a short distance to “our “area and sat down for supper. Car ordered a fried fish supper and I blew it again by ordering pasta. They just CAN’T do pasta the way I like it.

Monday in Lisbon

 Today we walked down to the ocean through the centre of the old city. About  a 15 minute walk. 

The street up to our place.

The street is not wet. All the sidewalks are shiny like that. They are made of small pieces of polished limestone.

At 10:45 we went on the walking tour. The guide was great and took us all through the really neat parts of the old town and had great stories as we climbed up and walked down the steep hillsides. He showed us many different types of areas including where all the kids go to buy very cheap liquor (bars), the history of many of the famous landmarks, why the buildings are made the way they are, etc. 

A funicular tram presently not in service while the authorities check them over.

After the three hour tour was over we found a nice sub place and shared a bite to eat. On the way back to our place we stopped at a fairly decent supermarket and picked up eggs, bread and yogurt for our very early tour tomorrow.

The tracks of the funicular that crashed killing 16 unfortunates. The hill is REALLY steep.

Back at the apartment we spent a couple of hours sleeping/relaxing before heading out again; this time walking on a nearby street that has all the high end stores on it. Funnily enough both Caro and I thought the same thing-this street is just like Reforma in Mexico City.

After a quick visit to a church that had been closed when we went by it on our tour we carried on into the narrow streets where many restaurants were located. 

We picked one and sat down for seafood rice and fish. Yummy yummy!

Walking home (not raining).

A FaceTime with Pat confirmed that while Dad is slowly getting better (although nothing is assured) so with that knowledge we have decided to carry on as per schedule, to Seville Spain on Saturday.

Onward to Lisbon

Dad’s health status was slightly better than the previous day so as we went to bed last night so we decided to continue going to Lisbon as per plan. 

Last night sleeping for Caro was horrible. She inherited from me what was my slight cough and magnified it to the point where she coughing a lot. Unfortunately we could not find an open drugstore before getting on the train so no cough medicine!

Bolt is so easy and only a couple of bucks more than the metro so we used the service going to the train station. 

We were on our way at 10:50. Our 2nd class tickets cost us only €14 each! I am pretty sure that is a half cost for seniors price. 

The seats are about the same as an airplane with more legroom. 

Our trip was roughly three hours, rolling through the interior of the country, with changing scenery and more sunshine as we made our way south. 

Upon exiting the train. WOW-Lisbon is hot!

I tried Bolt to get a ride but the railway station is just beside the cruise port and I tried to order a ride and I tried , and I tried but everything was busy. Then my credit card wasn’t being accepted.  I hadn’t realized that every time I tried for a ride my card was getting a “pending” charge ( totalling €150ish!!!!).Freak out time!!

Caro had the uber app on her phone and we were able to use it to order the ride (and cheaper than Bolt which is not normal for here)

Our host met us at the door of his rental. Great guy with plenty of info ( and this rental is his only one).  

We went out to find a pharmacy for Caro’s cough medicine followed by a meal at one of the numerous street restaurants. Caro had a fish dish and I decided to try a Portuguese pizza and I would love to say it was fantastic (but I would be lying).

I was very relieved when my credit card worked although I couldn’t use”tap” for the three transaction. Will be monitoring card to see if/when those pending charges disappear. 

As we headed our way back up the hill to home we stopped at a tiny food store and picked up some supplies to keep us going. Ex. bottle of white wine $4. Coke Zero: who cares! I need my Coke Zero!

We relaxed in the room for the evening

Saturday in Porto

 Our final day in Porto

Another crappy night of sleep for both of us.   Disheartening!

Today we walked and walked. We started by going to a church and a municipal building with a great story ( as related by our guide a few days ago).  A powerful municipal man (back in the day) wanted a specific church ( with a great view of the river valley) to be demolished in order to make a grand building for the city. The local church bishop said “Nao!” (No!).

In retaliation the powerful man built a huge beautiful building in front of the church thus blocking its’ view. 

The first photo is the church and the second photo is the very impressive municipal building. 

We carried on walking and revisited Palacio de Cristal to walk more of the gardens, followed by a leisurely walk towards the city centre. 

We stopped at a sidewalk bar for a Portuguese beer and croquets. Yummy!

We walked all the way to the main bridge, then over into the city of Guia (south side of river)

The reason to go there is all the restaurants, bars, and wine cellars along the river bank where you can get many wine samples to taste from the wineries that run the specific place you stopped in at. 

We chose Ramos Pinto (founded in 1880). We chose a tray with five types of wine for beginners and  five types of wine  for intermediate connoisseurs!

We had a great conversation with a couple from Wisconsin while enjoying our wine samples. They were really into curling. 

We were getting tired at this point (about 3 PM) so we started back “home” but first we climbed UP the river bank streets and crossed on top of the bridge. What fantastic views!

Back at home we had great naps and afterwards we went walking on the next street over from here which has a lot of cafe’s, shops etc and while there we picked up some Portuguese style subs and brought back here for our supper. 

We really enjoyed the day ( and it was the second in a row with lots of sunshine!)

Friday September 12th

We both had a terrible night again (especially Caro)

Today we were woken up by our alarm (7AM) as we had an early morning train to catch to Braga (scheduled for 8:50 AM ).

Sunshine today-Yes!

The metro was busy however we got to Sao Bento train station quickly. 

This time we went to the ticket office and paid for our tickets directly rather than using the machine. Only 7.20 Euros for the two of us ( return tickets). We get half price tickets here because we are over 65.

Arriving 2 hours later in Braga (repairs on the rail line added 45 minutes to the journey) we immediately walked to the centre of the historical town. And again, a fantastic place to explore like yesterday. This city is much bigger and a lot more touristy. There are tour groups all over. 

Gate to the old town

Our first stop was the cathedral. Started in 1089, it was smallish compared to many others however its’ pipe-organ was fantastic. The building is considered a national monument. 

After a pitstop for tea/ cappuccino and traditional tarts we carried on. 

After walking the streets of the old city ( and a visit to a palace) we used the Bolt app ( a first for me to use an Uber type service) where we were quickly picked up and taken to our destination of Bom Jesus do Monte which is a beautiful church and gardens located on the top of a high hill overlooking the city. A wonderful scenic location. Caro got to see a bride as a wedding was performed while we were there. 

This photo above is not a painting at the alter but instead is made up of something like mannequins on a sculptured base. Really well done.

Part of the 577 steps down to the valley (which we walked!)

We walked down the mountain and then ordered another Bolt ride which took us directly to the train station in time for the 3:35 service back to Porto. 

Upon returning to Porto we purchased our train tickets to Lisbon on Sunday and then walked to the cathedral overlooking the Duaro river valley where we took some nice photos from the bell tower. 

After an another great supper we walked home (about 15 minutes) and are spending the remainder of our day enjoying a sunset ( and Caro is doing a load of laundry).

A sunset from our balcony

16500 steps today.

As I was about to post this blog I got a FaceTime from Pat saying Dad is not doing well. 

We are standing by in order to make a decision whether to return or not