It’s been a while, but I wanted to let you know to get ready for a plethora of posts as we leave for Europe a week from today. I know—we are going to Europe again. In our defense, when we were there in June, we were just up north in Scotland, England and Norway. This time, we will be heading south to Spain and Portugal.
Last October, we sailed on Oceania’s Vista from Montreal to Miami. On that trip, we were joined by our good friends Mike and Cathy from Wellington, Florida, my brother Steve and his wonderful bride Jamie from San Juan Capistrano, California and our good buddy Jocelyn Hartwell from Chelan, Washington. Sadly, Jocelyn won’t be joining us for this adventure, but the six of us (Mike, Cathy, Steve, Jamie, Kathleen and I) will all be back together. (Just an aside, Mike and I were talking about three months ago that we should always vacation together in October, so next year, we are cruising the Columbia River, and in October 2026, we will cruise the Great Lakes.)
As I mentioned, a week from tonight, we will board British Airways flight 48 from here in Seattle, non-stop to London Heathrow, where we will have about three and a half hours to either rush or relax (depending on how late our flight from Seattle is) before we head south to Madrid, Spain. Although we have been to Spain before, all our visits have been on the Mediterranean coast, where we have visited Tarragona, Barcelona, Málaga and Valencia. But this will be our first time in Spain’s capital.
We are in Madrid from October 11 until the 16th. During our stay, besides seeing Madrid, we will go on day trips to Segovia and Toledo. Since we are traveling with the king of shore excursions and tours, Mike Preisman, we will be on some of the best tours in all of the Iberian peninsula.
After five full days in Madrid, we will catch a plane to hop over the mountains to Lisbon, Portugal. From the time we land there and for the next ten days, we will fully enter the world of Viking River Cruises. We will spend two nights in Lisbon and then board a “luxury motor coach” for a ride north to Portugal’s second city, Porto, where we will board the Viking Torgil for a six-night cruise up and then back down the Douro River. From the riverboat, we will do excursions to Salamanca, Spain, as well as Regua, Barca d’Alva, Pinhão and Lamego, Portugal. (See the map above–you can click on it to enlarge it) We are sure to have fun, food and a great time!
After we are off the cruise in Porto, we are taking a private airporter-type coach south and back to Lisbon, where we will spend another four days at one of our favorite hotels—Hotel Portugal (really original name ?). On the 29th, we will board a flight back up to London Heathrow, where we will spend the night at an airport hotel before flying home the next day. So this means we are gone from the 10th to the 30th! It will not be quite as long as last June, but it will still be long enough for us to have a great time.
This post tells you only a bit because I plan to blog as often as possible. So get ready for another bunch of posts with photos. Of course, as always, my posts will be totally dependent on Wi-Fi. That means good coverage when we are in hotels and, who knows, what we will get on the boat.
In Spain, the dead are more alive than the dead of any other country in the world. —Federico Garcia Lorca
You really should include a visit to El Escorial, outside Madrid. Google it to see how important it is to Spain and its history…. And to see who is buried there!!! And tell Mike hello from his KY friends, Paul and Nancy. We are off next week on the Viking Polaris, Toronto to Ft. Lauderdale!
I agree with that outing, it was amazing!
Hi Nancy,
What do you think a visit to El Escorial would take, time-wise? We are really booked up right now between stuff I found and stuff Mike found.
!Looking forward to your travels
Will miss you!
Like we’ve been missing you…?
El Escorial is a good day trip from Madrid. There is so much to see and it is such a fabulous trip. I would really consider it…. Look at/
Wikipedia for more info…. Plenty of tour companies would offer a trip from Madrid.
We will have to hit it on our next trip. This one is booked solid. Not a single minute after the first day that is unscheduled. That’s what you get when you travel with Mike and I. ?
Nancy, leave it to Mike. He already has us going to El Escorial on our tour day to Segovia.
See, good job, Mike!…. Will you also see Valle de los Caídos, usually done with an Escorial tour…?
Regardless you will have a wonderful trip… wish I were going with you guys…
Looking forward to blog postings and Mike’s follow-up vacation review.
Sounds too busy to be a holiday. But of course that’s not why you go.. Travel safe. We will be on a holiday aboard the Koningsdam . YVR HI YVR another relaxing no flying cruise.
Looking forward to your daily blog.
You will miss the Rotting Room!!!
Looking forward to “traveling with you” once again. Stay safe and enjoy …
Looking forward to your daily report and photos. My wife and I are scheduled for a trip to Lisbon and Andalusia next April. Jim
Looking forward to the narrative and photos, from what I have read about Douro River cruises is there is plenty of LMC action so I hope you are up for it. ?