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

Another great day in Portugal

After another very disjointed night ( sleep wise) we woke up at 9 AM and slowly got ready for our day. 

We took the metro to the train station (Sao Bento) and bought two return tickets ( or so we thought) at the ticket machine to the city of Guimaraes. 

The train was a commuter train stopping every kilometre or so (our trip is only 31 km long).  Anyway the train conductor came along and we found out we had made a mistake and bought only One return ticket. Oops. Lots of people ( tourists) making mistakes as the conductor was very busy. As it turns out he sold me my return ticket which I didn’t realize until upon returning we went to the station ticket booth and found out that is what had happened. 

We walked to the UNESCO city Center which is VERY medieval. STUNNINGLY beautiful. We toured a rebuilt palace and a castle. This city is over 1000 years old and is not touristy compared to other places in Portugal. 

It was quite a misty day however at one point while walking a medieval street with the visible misty drops falling, the Sun came out, backlighting the mist. OMG a magical moment. 

After walking around the streets we had a small meal (with local wine of course) in the town Center before heading back up the hill to the train station to catch our 3:53 train back to Sao Bento station in Porto.

We went to the cathedral ( near the train station) to climb the towers but decided to hold off as to tomorrow looks like there might be a break in the overcast misty weather we are having. 

I had to call “our” apartment guy for internet help but we eventually got it working. Happy days again. 

Supper was at a restaurant across the street for another traditional meal ( including sardines). Had a wonderful FaceTime with Nora and Vanessa while at the restaurant outside. ( love good wi-fi!). This was followed by a FaceTime with Lisa

A quick walk around the block and back home to catch up on internet stuff. 

Another great day!

Wednesday in Porto

We were asleep before 8 PM and woke up feeling really good at 11:30 PM!!!Oops, not great for changing our body clock over!!…so we each either listened to podcasts or read for a few hours and eventually got more shut eye, getting up about 7:30. 

Our internet is screwed up and the apartment rep tried to fix it but no go. A tech is coming out tomorrow. 

We walked to the Center of town and got a walking tour at 1030. Super interesting! It is a rainy, misty day and while there was supposed to be 30 of us there are only ten. The tour guide has given us some really good ideas for things to see,do,and eat. A great tour and we tipped well. 

The train station entry room. A must see! Hard to tell in this photo though but it is spectacular.

One stop we made was at a McDonalds; voted the most beautiful in the world. It is in an old historical building and cannot be changed. The only McDonalds with chandeliers!

After our tour we went to a very traditional Portuguese restaurant recommended by our tour guide

We ordered octopus (Caro) and cod in tomato and onion sauce for me. Of course we had to have Portuguese wine as well.  A FABULOUS meal!!!

We had 3 PM entry tickets to the Lell book store. This was made famous in the Harry Potter movies. It cost 10 euro each and is a timed entry. Hundreds of  people go into this store everyday with entry tickets organized for every 15 minutes. 

We snapped some photos etc. It really is a beautiful store but FULL and after we fought the crowds we were back out the door in ten minutes. 

Another of our things to do was the gardens at the Cristal Palace. They were OK I guess but we didn’t stay long as we were still recovering from jet lag and wanted to get back home. 

Another longish walk and we caught the metro back to our area ( super easy). 

Upon our return home we took off our shoes, relaxed a bit and then had strong naps for an hour. 

For the evening we walked around this vibrant area enjoying the buildings and purchasing items to snack on. In fact we had tasty local pastries ( a “must” do in Portugal).

Over 20,000 steps today!

The flight and arrival at Porto

Our plane tonight was an Arbus A330-300.

So lots of carry-on baggage room!

We had interior seats but at least we had the aisle to get in and out easy

The couple to our left had a very young squawking baby and before we left the attendant moved us up one row to give the young family more room and as luck would have it we got an extra seat in the row of four to put some of our “stuff”

The flight was smooth and we  landed at 0845 local time (0145 at home) but couldn’t get off the plane for about 15 minutes as our gate wasn’t available 

Entry into the Eurozone was easy and shortly afterward we were on the metro to the old part of town where our Airbnb is. 

The area near our place is wonderful but as I write this I really just want to get into our place. We are anxiously waiting for our host to call us (Normal check in time is 3 PM and right now it is 12:30 and our host will let us in as soon as the place has been cleaned). Update.We were in by about 1 PM

When we got off the metro at “our” station earlier this is the first thing we saw.  Oh boy, this is a nice area.

On our way to Portugal

Vanessa took us to the airport at 0900. 

It took 30 minutes to get our boarding passes and through security. This time it was Caro’s turn to have her baggage checked. 

The fight was good. Montreal airport is nuts this evening. Initially we couldn’t find a lounge to use our lounge passes at but eventually we got to the Aspire lounge where you order things from a QR code. We had lots of trouble getting connected however the people here helped us. In the future we will stick to buffet style lounges. This lounge doesn’t serve hard liquor, however it has wine and beer and very tasty mocktails. Not worth the $60 each walk access IMHO

They only allow you into the lounge with three hours until your flight departs which means you can only stay about 2 hours and 15 minutes