Two days in Lisbon

by | Oct 28, 2024 | Uncategorized

After the cruise (besides the day it took to drive down), we planned to spend three extra days in Lisbon. Each day had one major planned event or tour, and the rest of the day was spent either seeing sights or nursing a cold. I have decided that since we were in Lisbon before (if you missed it, just search Lisbon) last December, I didn’t need to take as many photos. With daylight savings time here in Portugal still in effect until Sunday morning, taking an “early morning, pre-dawn photo walk meant missing breakfast and being late for a tour.

Before I get into what we did, I want to say a couple of things about the hotel we are staying in: the Hotel Portugal. We stayed here last December and really loved it. I can honestly say that after four nights here this time, I don’t think I would come back. The first time we were here, we had their basic room, and it was on the first floor (the lobby is on floor zero, as in most European countries). This time, we are on the third floor but at the very end of the hotel. This is an upgraded room. A little bigger and nicer. The only problem is that this hotel sits on top of the subway. So, about every 15 minutes, a train runs under it. In the first-floor room, we were in the center of the hotel, and we barely felt the train. In this room, at the end of the hotel, even in a third-floor room, we are truly feeling it. You would think a 737 was taking off next door every time a subway train runs by. They have also changed their superb (and included) breakfast from a table service to a buffet. I liked the old way better. I can still recommend this hotel, but they should have a warning on the rooms at the end that the noise would be much louder. By the third night, we had gotten used to it, but it was still a pain. Right now (I am writing this at 5:00 a.m.) no cars. They don’t start until around 6:00.

Day one—Lunch at TimeOut Market and a Fado Show

Our only plans for our first full day in Lisbon were to have a late lunch at the TimeOut Market and to attend a Fado show that night. In case you weren’t around for our first Lisbon trip, Fado is the national music of Portugal. Think of it as historical blues performed by two guitars and a singer. When we were here in December, we did a show that did not turn out well because of circumstances we weren’t prepared for. This time, we thought if everyone else wanted to try a show, we knew how to work it this time.

First, you have a big and late lunch. Because a Fado show is a dinner show, you will not even get in until 8:00 p.m., and by the time they take your order, get you wine and bring the appetizers, it will be close to 9:00. In December, we had done lunch at noon, and by the time the food came we were starving. Also, we didn’t plan well on our previous trip because we had done it our last night in Lisbon when we were flying out early the next morning, so we spent the entire show looking at our watches and finally cut out early as we had to be up to go to the airport a few hours later. This time, we went on a night when we didn’t have anything to do the next morning until our food tour at 11:00 a.m. (more about that later) so we could sleep in. We tried a different Fado Show at a place called A Severa. It was better than the other place but not by much. The service was better, but you are really paying for the show (which is free, but you must buy at least $45 of food and drink per person). The performances were good. You got your appetizers; they sang four songs. You got your entrées, they sang four songs. You got your dessert, and they sang four more. We made it through the entrée group before we had to bail because two of our party had those nasty colds and needed rest and to stop coughing. But it was just fine. It’s the kind of thing you need to experience once when you are here. So if you come, I can recommend this place.

But I forgot to tell you about lunch. We decided to go for a 2:00 p.m. lunch at the TimeOut Market. Think of this market as a HUGE mall food court. Restaurant booths with all kinds of food are all around a gigantic room with tables in the middle. Sounds great, right? Well, not so much at 2:00 p.m. on a Saturday afternoon. After Ubering over in two cars, we walked all the way around the perimeter of the room and found not a single place to sit for anyone, let alone six people together. The entire place was packed. You could barely move. We bailed. Crowds are no longer our thing. No food was worth fighting that. But the lunch gods were with us. I looked on Google Maps for a restaurant nearby, and it showed me a Lebanese restaurant called Mankooche. We all love Lebanese food, so I said I would go and scout it out while the others waited.

The only problem was I couldn’t find the restaurant. I walked back and forth on the street where it should have been, and Google Maps kept telling me, “You have arrived,” but I hadn’t. I could not find it. Finally, I walked a whole block past where Google Maps said it was, and when I returned to meet up with the group, I saw a small signboard with an arrow that said, “Secret Lebanese restaurant through this door.” Really. So we went in, and the food, service and ambiance were perfect. Just incredible. One of our best lunches of the trip. So, if you come to Lisbon and get knocked out of the TimeOut Market due to the crowds, this is the place you want. Hard to find but amazing. Here are some pics I took during that day. Captions will explain. No phones, please.

Day 2—A food tour with Fred

The one thing we couldn’t wait to do when we came back to Lisbon was to do another food tour with Fred from Eating Europe. We had done a different tour with Fred last December (he is a little scruffier now), and we had LOVED IT! So, we wanted to take the rest of our group on a tour to have a chance to experience Fred. His real name is Frederico, and by day, he is a humble food tour guide who has a vast knowledge of Lisbon and true culinary expertise. However, his real secret is that at night, he works as a stand-up comic. This means that besides great food and great info, you get hilarious laughs. I could tell you a lot more, but why bother? This is a MUST-DO if you come to Lisbon. Contact Eating Europe, choose any of their tours and specify that you HAVE TO TOUR WITH FRED! You will not regret it. That’s all I need to say. The food was great and included five stops for some of the best food we have had on the trip. Most voted at the end for the grilled chorizo at the first place we visited as their favorite food, not counting the pastries we had as dessert to finish the tour. But forget the food—this tour is about the amazing Fred, who loves food and his city.

That covers our first and second days in Lisbon (except I forgot to mention that Kathleen missed Fred because her cold was so bad ?). Our third and last day will be in the next post because we visited the amazing Pena Palace in Sintra, and I have a BUNCH of photos. Stay tuned. We are off to London for the first leg of our trip home and I will probably get that one done tonight.

Comedy has to be based on truth. You take the truth and you put a little curlicue at the end.   —Sid Caesar

Heading South to Lisbon

by | Oct 27, 2024 | Uncategorized

You know, after we were here last December, I tried to never type Lisbon again and go with the local Portuguese version, Lisboa. But since the s makes a sh sound in Portuguese, and Fatima (the worst guide in history) kept saying it again and again…so often that I can still hear her in my head…we are back to using Lisbon.

But that said, our last day on the Viking Torgil came all too quickly, and we wished her amazing crew goodbye and headed south to Lisbon. Mike has arranged a driver and guide who would take us south and give us a tour, all at the same time, which we thought was an awesome idea. The only problem was that the guide Mike arranged it with got diverticulitis and wound up in the hospital two days before they were supposed to pick us up. But the guide let Mike know that the driver would pick us up and take us to the two places we had planned on going to and get us to our hotel in Lisbon.

Our driver, Samir, met us at EXACTLY 8:30 a.m. just outside the ship, and we loaded up our bags and headed out to Batalha, the site of a massive battle in 1385 that was a major force in Portuguese independence. So after the war, in a tiny little village next to the battlefield, they built a vast cathedral. It’s really a big one. Since Mike had never met a cathedral he didn’t love, we had to see it. I have to say that I was genuinely impressed. Especially considering the size of the town it is in. And it is very well preserved. Here are the pics to prove it. Oh, one more thing. There was a group of kids (probably 8-10 years old) waiting for a tour at the front door of the cathedral. My first thought was, “How boring is that going to be for a kid that age.” Then, out stepped a docent/actor in medieval dress who started the tour. Once inside, it was picked up by another actor wearing a costume from the 1700s. Both of them kept those kids enthralled. Their faces were so wonderful that I had to keep shooting them, so I apologize in advance for so many photos of them. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

After we visited Batalha, we returned to the van and headed to Nazaré. This charming little beach town is the site of those monster waves you may have seen in YouTube videos. Click the link to see a 100-foot wave recorded there a few years ago. It is truly amazing. You can search for others. Just know they are huge. But don’t get the impression that we saw one of those. They are only around in storm season (later in the year) and we were there on a beautiful, sunny day. But we did get to stop in the original village and then headed down to the seaside resort for a delicious lunch. Here are photos I took while in both places. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping.

After our lunch in Nazaré, it only took Samir about two hours to have us just outside our hotel (Hotel Portugal) in downtown Lisbon. We stayed there last December and have fond memories. Great breakfasts, comfortable rooms, etc. More about the changes at the hotel will be discussed in tomorrow’s post. In the meantime, after we grabbed something in the bar to snack on, Kathleen (whose cold was getting worse) went up to bed, and I went off to take sunset photos. Here are a few of the best I took. Enjoy…

That pretty much covers our day, which started in Porto and ended in Lisbon. It was a great but very long day of travel for us older folks. I hope you enjoyed it. I’ll be back tomorrow with more from Lisbon.

I like to dream about Portugal, and it’s less easy when you are there.  —Maria de Medeiros

A Little More of Porto to Ponder

by | Oct 26, 2024 | Uncategorized

The following day, we were up and ready to tour Porto. When we first arrived (six days ago), there was no time to tour the city. It was pretty much getting on the boat, having dinner, going to bed after a long day of touring to get to the boat. So today was our day to tour Porto.

We had a choice of two tours. One was a walking tour of Porto (which we skipped to make Kathleen’s knee happy) and an overview tour on the “luxury motor coach.” We opted for that one. It included more geography but fewer stops and time on the ground. Which for us worked well. Our two scheduled stops were at the Cathedral of Porto (what else?) and at the spot where the Douro River meets the Atlantic Ocean. Both were very scenic. And, of course, I got a lot of photos. It wasn’t a long tour, about three hours total, but we felt we got what we paid for (it was included ?). Here are the photos I took while out and about on the tour. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

After our tour, we returned to the Torgil, where we had a very delicious last lunch. I realize I have not had much to say about the food, the crew, or the boat, but I will get to it in my summary, which I will try to write on our flight or after we get home. So, if that is what you are waiting for, you must hold on a little longer.

After lunch, Kathleen started packing as we would be getting off the boat early the following day. I decided to walk back across the river (on a bridge—I haven’t mastered the whole walking on water thing ?) and hike around Porto before it started raining. This is where I was totally disappointed by both Google Maps and Apple Maps. For me to walk across the river on a bridge, both of them had me crossing from one side to the other on the small foot ferry. I didn’t want to cross the Douro on a boat. I had already been up and down the river so many times on a boat I wanted to walk and get the view from a bridge. But they would NOT give me directions to Porto (while walking) to cross on a bridge. I tried putting in driving, but there are so many one-way streets that it would have taken me an hour to get to the bridge. So I went down to reception on the boat and asked Marianna (our guide for the entire week) if she knew the easiest way to get to the bridge so I could walk across. She has lived in Porto for years and said, “Of course. Just get off the boat, turn left, walk straight down the wharf to the bridge and cross it. OMG, Apple and Google—you couldn’t figure that out???

I had no problems once I got across the bridge and walked up to the top of the stairs leading into the city. I took a bunch of photos, and here they are.  (HEY! I saw you looking at those on your phone—cut that out! ?)

That about covered our day. I went back on board the boat and packed up everything I could. Then, it was time for the goodbye from the crew cocktail party and our last dinner on board. After that, it was bedtime with an early wake-up as we had to get off the ship to meet our driver/guide, who would take us to Lisbon by 8:30 am the next day.

PS: Sorry for two posts today. Chalk it up to over-tourism. We are in Lisbon today, and I went out to take a walk and scout for things to do. The city is packed like the cans of sardines that Portugal is famous for. I walked up to get a shot of views from the castle, and there was a one-hour and forty-five-minute wait to get tickets—so many people. When I walked down to another viewpoint I had shot from in December, I found hundreds of people and the reason why the place was so crowded. Out in the harbor are two huge cruise ships, each with 4,000+ passengers.  More about that in a couple of days. And yes, I realize I am a kind of a hypocrite for complaining about tourism when I am a tourist  ??.

Touring is hard on the body.  —Eminem

Last Days on the Douro

by | Oct 25, 2024 | Uncategorized

After visiting Favios for bread and muscatel, we decided that was it for us with excursions. The only one left before our return to Porto was to see another church with a long bus ride involved, so we decided to relax with a day on the river when I could work on photos. Instead of a sea day, call it a river day.

As a side note about river days, Kathleen and I have decided that this river cruise is one we could do again (with the same ship, stateroom, and crew). But the next time, we would just sail up and down the river—no excursions. There is so much to see from the deck of the ship. It would be seven glorious days of rest.

Our day on the river would give me lots of chances for more photography of houses,  abandoned villas, other boats passing by, churches and castles at the top of hills and the amazing locks. See what I mean by perusing these photos from that day. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

The following two hours or so would be spent sailing up and down on the Douro between Porto and Gaia, where we dock. The problem was that there were five other boats tied up at the wharf, but they needed to be in the right order. For us to be able to raft with them (tie up and have to walk through them to get on and off the ship), every boat needed to be in order, with the boat leaving first on the outside and then each one inside of it leaving later than the one moored to the dock. Since our boat would be there for two nights, we needed to be up against the pier with two boats rafted out from us, one leaving the following day. One would be leaving the morning after, while Torgil (our boat) would not sail again until we were off, and another group of passengers was on board and ready to sail in three days. It’s very complicated. But it meant we had to kill time waiting for the other two boats to get ready to move. In the meantime, we sailed almost out to the Atlantic Ocean and back again. This meant I could get a ton of photos of both cities in a really great light that I could share with you. And here they are…you know the rules.

That was it for our river day. We finally got docked, did cocktail hour, listened to the port talk for the next day and had dinner. I will be back tomorrow with our final day in Porto…or maybe this afternoon. We are back in Lisbon today and don’t have much planned until tonight.

You can’t be unhappy in the middle of a big, beautiful river.   —Jim Harrison

Heading Back Down the Douro

by | Oct 23, 2024 | Uncategorized

When I finished telling you about our visit to Salamanca, I forgot to mention that when we returned to the boat that evening, it had made the turnaround, and we were now heading west again and retracing our steps back to Porto. As I write this to tell you about our day in Favios (pronounced fa v? OOSH), we are already back in Porto and have spent a full day on the river getting here. More about that tomorrow.

Our day after Salamanca was all about stopping in Favios for two things: bread and Muscatel wine. Now I love bread. Always have. But I am not a big fan of Muscatel wine. It’s way too sweet for my tastes. Port is right on the border of sweetness for me. Muscatel goes over the edge. But off we went to try it all out. After a 75-minute ride on our “luxury motor coach,” we found ourselves in the village of Favios. We were met by a very nice young man named Mohammed, who took us to what is best described as a bread demonstration center. There, an older Portuguese woman showed us how she makes bread. It’s not really the making but the dividing it into pieces and then putting it in the oven. We also got to taste the bread (which was nowhere near as good as the bread we have been getting on the ship) and ask questions. There weren’t a lot of questions, so we moved on.

After our bread demo, we headed to the Favios Museum of Bread and Muscatel. Seriously, they have a very well-conceived, four-room museum that is beautifully graphically designed for their village’s two main products. A young lady named Vanessa gave us the tour, and then we were back on the bus to visit a Muscatel winery about three miles away.

To be honest, I am about wineryed out by this point. And since I have no interest in Muscatel tasting, this was kind of a flat stop for me. But others seemed to enjoy it, so no complaints on my part. Besides, it was a quick (less than 30 minutes) stop, and then we were off to lunch at a local winery. Lunch was OK (nothing like we would have had on the ship—but more traditional?), and in a little more than an hour, we were on our way back to the boat. Here are the pictures I took in Favios. If you like bread or wine, these might interest you. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping. And PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…

After we were back on board, the boat headed down the river through one of the locks the boat had gone through on the way up the river, but most of us had missed it when we were visiting Castela Rodrigo a few days before. That’s one of the best parts of this cruise. If you miss something on the river, they ensure you sail through that part on the way back while you are onboard so you can see it. Took a bunch of photos on that part of the trip as well. You know the drill.

That about covers our day in Favios. For a glimpse of what is yet to come, tomorrow is all about being on the river because we skipped the excursion (it was more monasteries and cathedrals) and had a glorious sunny day sailing west on the Douro into Porto. See you then.

Wine hath drowned more men than the sea.   —Thomas Fuller