by Jim Bellomo | Dec 7, 2023 | Photography
Goodbye Lisboa, Hello Prague
When I last wrote any real content, we were still in Portugal. As I mentioned briefly yesterday, the day of our flight from Lisbon to Prague was pretty uneventful. We had breakfast at the hotel, hung out in our room until 10:45, got picked up by our driver from Welcome Pickups right on time at 11:00, and we were off to the airport. Other than a long line at security, everything went pretty smoothly.
Three hours later, we arrived in Prague. It was there that we were meeting my brother Steve and my sister-in-law Jamie, who we would travel with for the rest of the trip. They were supposed to have gotten in much earlier than us, as they were coming from LAX on KLM. Originally, they were scheduled for about a two-hour layover in Amsterdam before flying on to Prague, but the day before they were to leave, they received a note from KLM that their Prague flight had been canceled. YIKES!
But everything worked out in the end. KLM was able to get them on another flight, but with a layover of more than five hours in Amsterdam. In what might have been fate, we got off our plane in Prague, walked up two gates to the restrooms, and when I came out, they were standing there. Their flight had arrived two gates down from ours…in an airport with four terminals, each with more than 25 gates. You have to admit, that’s pretty amazing.
We were met by a rep from Viking Cruises because this is where our pre-cruise extension started. So now we (and all our travels) were their problem ?.
As we drove into the city, we noted that not only was it cold, but there was snow and ice everywhere. This would play a big part in the next day’s plans.
When we got to the hotel (Viking uses a number of them in Prague—we were at the Prague Marriott), Steve and Jamie, who had been up since the day before at home (about 30 hours), were off to bed. Kathleen and I went into the hotel restaurant and split a sandwich before we did the same.
Ice and Snow
The next morning, I had truly hoped to do my customary pre-dawn photo walk, but when I got up and saw that it was well below freezing and that the snow and ice were VERY slippery, I stayed in and wrote Tuesday’s post about our trip to Sintra.
The hotel provided a huge buffet breakfast that was part of our Viking extension, and we truly enjoyed it. My brother Steve said it passed the “Steve Test (he would eat there if it were a restaurant near his home). After breakfast, we were supposed to do a “Panoramic Tour of Prague” with Viking as part of our cruise. The tour was labeled as “challenging” in their description, but we were still going to try and give it a go with the idea that if it became too much for Kathleen’s knees, hip or back, we would bail and go back to the hotel. But now there was the problem of the ice.
I decided to put on my boots and go out to walk around and see how slippery the sidewalks were. What I found was not good. I walked from one end of the block the hotel was on to the other. Along the way, I almost fell three times, and I saw at least four other people slip and wind up flat on their butts. On some of our most recent trips, going out for a walk has not been real fun for us. A few years back, Jamie slipped and fell while visiting us and broke her kneecaps. In May of 2021, Kathleen tripped while we were doing a shore excursion in San Francisco (on dry pavement) and broke her elbow, which meant a six-hour trip to the ER and surgery a few weeks later. I had fallen two years ago on ice a block from our old condo and really hurt my back. So only Steve seemed immune.
Kathleen, Jamie and I elected to skip the morning tour and see if the sidewalks got any better as the day went on. Steve decided to brave it and headed out on the tour. At about 10:00 am, I decided to go and test again, and I walked for about 15 minutes and wound up in the central square of Prague, where their largest Christmas Market was going. This allowed me to get some photos (you can see them below) and to tell Kathleen and Jamie we could do our afternoon tour—a visit to Lobkowicz Palace.
Visiting a Palace
Our morning tour (that three of us skipped) was one of Viking’s included tours. When you do their pre or post-excursion, you get a free tour every day, so skipping it was no big deal, but the Lobkowicz Palace was a tour we paid for and included lunch, a concert and a private tour of the palace. We really wanted to go. So at 11:30, Viking transported the three of us to meet Steve and the rest of the tour he had gone on that morning at the castle, where we would do some touring around before getting to the Palace.
When it came time for the morning tour to end, it turned out that only the four of us would be going on to the palace. The rest who were finishing up the morning tour would return to the hotel. At this point, Kathleen’s knees (which she had really strained on the TukTuk ride in Lisboa) told her not to walk any further, and she headed back to the hotel with the morning tour bunch.
Jamie, Steve and I went on and did the Palace. When we got there, after only walking about five minutes, I truly wished Kathleen had come with us. We were ushered into a beautiful room and fed a delicious lunch. Then, we were escorted to another room where a classical trio (one violinist, one cellist and one pianist) played a selection of classical pieces for us. They were very good.
After the concert, our guide led us to a private balcony at the back of the palace where we could see incredible views of all of Prague. Of course, I took a ton of photos. The city looked like a Christmas dream, all draped in snow.
After the balcony viewing, we were off to see the collection of art housed in the Palace. This kind of thing usually does nothing for me, but I have to say this was one of the best audio tours of a gallery I have ever heard, and I got a lot out of it. It was thoroughly enjoyable. The entire time, I kept thinking, “I wish Kathleen had stayed.”
But then it was time to board the bus back, and we were led down what must have been a 300-yard, fairly steep ramp covered in ice and snow. It was at that exact moment that I was thankful she had gone back to the hotel. Even with a rail to hang on to, that ramp was a bit scary. And then, when we got to the bottom, we had to walk about another 150 yards to get to the bus through ice and slush.
All this would have been a real problem for her, and I was so glad she had headed back earlier when the bus had left from where we had originally arrived—a very flat walk to get to.
To top it off, on the bus trip back, there were two sets of Viking cruisers. Some of the people on the bus were just finishing their cruise. They were doing their post-cruise extension in Prague (we are going in the opposite direction and doing Budapest at the end), and because of that, they were staying at a different hotel—a huge Hilton about 20 minutes from our hotel. Because it was closer to the Palace, we went to the Hilton first, where all but the three of us got off. The only problem we had then was that the bus driver had taken his usual route through a parking lot, and someone had parked their car illegally, and he could not move the bus until that car was moved. We sat on the bus while the hotel management tried to find out who owned the car before we gave up. We went into the Hilton and got a cab back to the Marriott. It was not the bus driver’s fault, but Viking should have done a better job of taking care of us. They said that they could get us a cab, but when we got to their tour desk, they said they would need to get the expenditure (around $8 US) approved and that might take a while. At this point, it was almost 5:00 pm, and we had 6:00 dinner reservations, so we decided to pay for our own taxi and got back to our hotel in less than 10 minutes.
An amazing dining experience
Speaking of dinner reservations, a good friend we know from our Trilogy Travel Club back home had lived in Europe for a few years and either lived in Prague or visited often (I am old, I don’t remember which) had told me about a small, out-of-the-way steak place. Now, I am not really into steak, but I know my brother is, so I said great and made reservations. WOW! I am certainly glad I did. It was one of those dining experiences you only get once or twice on a trip. The place was a tiny, almost below-ground-level restaurant that had so much charm it spilled out the front door. It reminded me of a party mix…it was packed full of Czechs ? (I owe my granddaughter $1 for that one). We were the only non-natives in the place, and it was PACKED!
We opened our menus and saw a wonderful option just perfect for the four of us. It was a steak platter featuring five different cuts of steak, with three sauces and four side dishes for less than $100 USD. Add that to the two excellent bottles of a good red wine we drank, and we had quite the meal. This restaurant not only passed the Steve Test for me, but if it was near our house, I might go there every couple of weeks. The food and service were top-notch, and the prices were a great value. Especially when the servers only expect a 10% tip. We had a wonderful time. If you are ever in Prague, make it a point to eat at Bila Krava (which I am pretty sure means White Cow). You will not be sorry. BTW: That platter with the sauces and sides was plenty for us. And it was totally delicious.
Of course, after that, it was an $8 Uber back to the hotel and bed. We had a big day coming up on Thursday.
At this point, let me show you the photos I got yesterday around Prague and at the Palace. Hope you enjoy them. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
On my ice-testing walk. This is the view from in front of our hotel.
An old theater that is still in use.
The gate that leads to the Central Square.
Wish we had toured in this “luxury motor coach”.
I can see the main square ahead of me.
One of the tallest buildings in the old town.
A church on the square.
The Christmas Market.
Lots of celebrating.
One last church shot in the square.
Later that day we are now at the Castle. This is the cathedral.
Guarded by this ceremonial guard.
With a real policeman in between them.
Our happy group.
Our guide thinks I am taking a photo of her.
The changing of the guard. They were totally enthusiastic.
Inside the castle gates.
Which were very pretty.
More of the same
Some close-ups of the tops of the walls
The Czech flag, flying proudly.
A look back to the inside courtyard and beyond it the cathedral.
The front of the cathedral. Sadly, there was no time to go inside but I had already seen Mike’s pics.
The front door of the cathedral.
A band started playing on a balcony above the square.
Hey cell phone cameras…see if you can get this shot ?
The newer part of the cathedral, the dark part on the right is older.
Arches on the outside of the cathedral.
On the front were pagan (astrological) statues. Quite intricate.
More windows and arches from the outside.
Protected by the gargoyles who are also the gutter system for the cathedral.
On to the Palace. This is looking out the window of the room we would be having lunch in.
The menu.
The ceiling of that room.
A room in the Palace on the way to the concert.
The musical conservatory of the Palace.
Our three musicians–violinist…
Cellist…
Pianist…
She always had the most interesting looks on her face. I took about 20 photos of her animation as she played.
Now out to the private Palace balcony…
Where we were presented with this view…
Of the entire city.
It was magnificent…
Bathed in snowy white.
Best place to take pictures all day.
Then the tour of the Palace which included this bird room.
This bird is created with a watercolor underneath but you are seeing is bird feathers.
A private chapel for the residents of the Palace.
The ceiling inside said chapel.
Our Jewish Quarter Tour, then on to Nuremberg.
In the morning, after a repeat of Wednesday’s superb buffet breakfast, we were off on a tour that featured much less walking than the one Steve had taken the day before and a lot more chances to sit down during talks that Kathleen could take advantage of. Plus, we would be in and out of buildings all morning so that we would stay much warmer.
Our tour was of the old Jewish Quarter in Prague. We got to visit five separate synagogues and hear about all the horrible things that had been done to the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia for centuries.
But we also saw some true beauty in these incredible places of worship as well as some horrible sadness in the synagogue that is covered with the thousands of names of Czech Jews killed by Hitler and the Nazis.
The tour took most of the morning, and our tour guide, Eva, was EXCELLENT. In fact, all our guides here in Prague have been excellent. Steve truly liked the very nice lady who did the morning tour, and we joined him for the end of that tour. He thought she did great as well.
The Jewish Quarter tour lasted until noon when we returned to the hotel, got some lunch, walked out to find a piece of local artwork (those of you who have been in our home know where that’s going), and then we boarded a “luxury motor coach” to Nuremberg, Germany where we will spend tonight. As I am typing this, I am truly sitting in that luxury motor coach (no sarcasm intended here—it is a really, really nice bus. If it only had WiFi, it would be perfect) headed to Nuremberg. It’s 3:39 in the afternoon here, and we won’t be at our Nuremberg hotel for another three hours, so I thought I would do a little writing on the way. Next up for you are my photos from our Jewish Quarter tour. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Our first sight in the Jewish Quarter
Decoration below windows told you…
this was a Jewish household.
The New, Old Synagogue
A Hebrew clock. They run backwards. Who knew?
Both regular and Hebrew clocks.
Inside the Maisel Synagogue
Our guide Eva. She was EXCELLENT!
This saddens me greatly..
These are the names, towns and dates of birth and death…
Of the Czech Jews killed by the Nazis.
There are rooms and rooms in this Synagogue filled with these names. The horror that has been inflicted on the Jewish people should never be forgotten.
This is an arched window. A thing of beauty next to the horror of the Holocaust.
Outside in the Jewish cemetery.
This cemetery is not from WWII.
It is a much older cemetery with more than 100,000 buried here.
Inside the next Synagogue we visited.
Beautiful and sacred.
A statue of Franz Kafka I found interesting.
Inside the Spanish Synagogue.
Looking up at the dome.
And on our way to the bus, saw these guys.
As I write this, it is Thursday morning…you are still enjoying Wednesday evening…and I am up posting this at 4:45 am. We are staying at the Grand Meridian Hotel in Nuremberg. It (like our Prague hotel) is a Marriott, but a much older and historical one that they purchased. Older and historical means…strange and weird to me. The rooms are tiny, the doors open out into the corridors/hallways, the bathrooms are minuscule with tubs with high sides, and the WiFi is slow. They are passing the hotel off as a “historic, boutique hotel.” I myself like boutique hotels. The Hotel Portugal we stayed in in Lisboa was a “boutique hotel.” This one is just depressing to me, with long dark corridors and a single (JUST ONE) elevator to cover a hotel with a capacity of more than 80 guests per floor on six floors. Coming in and out with luggage can be a long wait. And that elevator holds about five people max. Needless to say, Viking picked this hotel, not me.
We had a quick dinner (if you can call it that) in the hotel bar before retiring to our cells ? for a good night’s sleep (the beds aren’t bad). The place just seems like an expensive jail or maybe an abbey or a convent (to me). We are here for two nights before we depart for Regensburg, where we. board our longboat for our first-ever river cruise. More about our Nuremberg adventures coming up soon. (Editor’s note: the quote below is my reaction to the names in the Jewish Synagogue in Prague. Sorry if I offend anyone.)
A thousand years will pass, and the guilt of Germany will not be erased. —Hans Frank
by Jim Bellomo | Dec 6, 2023 | Food Experiences, Photography
As the headline says, we are in Prague. There is snow and ice everywhere, but we still had a great day yesterday. Well, half a great day. I really want to tell you about it, but we were out late with my brother Steve and sister-in-law Jamie at dinner until late in the evening, and that meant I had to process photos this morning, so I am not writing until right now. We have to meet them for breakfast in about 45 minutes, so I need to change and shower.
But I didn’t want you to think I had deserted you. I will have more about Prague tomorrow as well as the trip we are taking this afternoon as we spend three hours getting to Nuremberg, Germany, by “luxury motor coach.”
In the meantime, here’s our group eating dinner last night at an amazing restaurant that a friend from our Trilogy Travel Club recommended to us. It was a great meal and a great experience. See you tomorrow.
by Jim Bellomo | Dec 5, 2023 | Photography
Monday was our last full day in Portugal. I am writing this at 4:08 am on Wednesday, December 6 while sitting in the conference center of the Marriott Hotel in Prague. Yesterday was fly day (we flew TAPAir from Lisboa to Prague) and we are now in the snowy north. This means no report for yesterday unless you want to know about a fairly boring three hour flight.
I regret this is the only picture I took of Miguel. He is an outstanding guide and we highly recommend him.
But back to Monday when we got up early (we were meeting our guide for the day at 8:30 so no pre-dawn walk for me) had our breakfast and were driving away (another Miguel) by 8:20. We had found Miguel through what is becoming our go-to source for tour guides—Tours by Locals. He was wonderful. We jumped in his spacious Ford, and we headed for Sintra, the summer home of Portugal’s kings and queens. Sintra is located just north of Lisboa, about 40 minutes by car, in what passes for mountains in Portugal. But it was here that the kings built their summer palaces and that we would tour that day.
The drive out is a great time for us to get to know Miguel and for him to tell us about himself and Portuguese life in general. We love hearing about what is going on in a country now, as well as picking up the historical highlights. Unlike many of our previous guides in other countries, our Portuguese guides have been very open to discussing their political systems, their current problems with their government and many other topics that most guides won’t touch. We found it very open and refreshing.
Since it was rush hour in Lisboa, Miguel had all kinds of back roads he used to get us to Sintra. He is a Sintra native and has lived there all his life, so he knows all the shortcuts. He had us there and parked in no time. Once there, we got out and walked up a short hill, and he took us to a street that looked to be something only mountain goats would climb. Kathleen looked at it like Mt. Everest, but he said, “No, I just want to take you to the first shop up the hill for a little surprise.” Sure enough, we walked into a bakery that has been open under the same familial ownership since 1862. WHOA! That bakery opened in the middle of our civil war! Amazing. He insisted we try the specialty of the house—”the pillow.” So we couldn’t disappoint him (even though we had just had breakfast about two hours before) and he got us one each with a cappuccino. He described the “pillow” as a sweet roll full of the same egg cream filling as the Pastéis de Belém we had the day before but in the same form as a maple bar back home. And of course, covered in sugar. They were delicious but I could feel my teeth decaying as I took each bite.
After our brief stop at the bakery, we were off to walk around the village of Sintra and then tour the oldest palace in Portugal. This is true because the summer palaces had not been destroyed in the great earthquake/fire/tsunami of 1755. That had destroyed the palaces in Lisboa, and the royalty moved to their summer palaces in Sintra while things were being rebuilt in the city.
I have a lot of photos from this entire day, so I am going to break them up. This first group is from the village of Sintra and the palace itself. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
When we first got out of the car, we were parked next to this Moorish fountain that still works more than 300 years later.
The inlaid tiles are beautiful. Had to do a close up.
The magical village of Sintra.
Off in the distance, their city hall…
…that looks like a fairy tale castle.
The hill on the way to the bakery (which is actually the first shop on the left).
Inside a bakery opened in 1862!!!
The village center in Sintra.
The oldest palace in Portugal.
From the steps of the palace you could see this Moorish castle above.
Inside the castle we found it incredibly well preserved and restored.
This is a close up of the ceiling in the previous photo.
I loved this door.
A Moorish decoration above a door.
The two spires are chimneys for the palace kitchen.
I shot some shots as we walked through to give you a since of the palace.
There was an entire ceiling of magpies in one room.
This incredible bed in another.
And tile everywhere. Truly Portugal is a country of amazing tile work..
I just liked these two. Kind of a surf and turf.
One ceiling was all mermaids.
But most rooms had at least half a wall of tile.
This fountain outside in a garden area still works.
Just like we do at home, they had a collection of plates. Ours are more colorful ?.
The doorways were decorated like this throughout the palace.
We finally enter what was the throne room and there are literally floor to ceiling tile works.
The ceiling as magnificent.
Miguel explained that the top of the dome represented the king. He was surrounded by his children.
A close up of one of the kids.
Below them were the coat of arms of the different cities in Portugal.
Below that were the different noble families of Portugal.
In a bedroom was this end post on a bed frame. The wood is not painted but is a black wood from Africa. The Portuguese were explorers and traders who found treasures from around the world.
They also did not destroy their past. This Christian crucifix was installed over a Muslim/Moorish scene from years earlier.
The tile patterns were truly unique. This is Escher years before Escher.
In the kitchen, this is the inside of the two spired chimneys.
A smoker
The stoves
More stoves and an oven. All wood burning and the smoke from the fires just went up the funnel spires.
Another elaborate doorway.
Not sure what this sculpture was about.
This was an outdoor shower in the garden. On hot days you could walk into it.
Then water would spray out of the walls…
…through the tiny holes you can see if you look close.
Another view of city hall from the palace.
Of course the palace has its own Christmas Market.
What you see that is blue here is all tile.
I need to mention here that my amazing bride climbed so many stairs to get through that palace. It seemed like they never ended, and like steps built more than 200 years ago, they were all of differing heights and widths. She did it all. I tell you this because when we were through touring this palace, our choice was to go to another palace (The Pena Palace) where there would be even more walking and climbing or heading back to Lisboa via the coast. Miguel did promise me a chance to take photos of the Pena Palace (which he assured me was much more impressive outside than inside) before we headed out of Sintra. For the sake of Kathleen’s knees (that she strained two days before getting into and out of the TukTuk), we chose the coast. But here’s the Pena Palace from the outside. Pretty impressive.
On to Cascais
After seeing the outside of Pena Palace, we headed on some beautiful backroads (where we were pretty much the only car going in any direction) to the coast. As soon as we arrived, we were blown away by the ocean. Yes, I have seen an ocean before, but where the Atlantic meets the European continent with amazing green water waves coming to the shore in one successive wave after another was somehow just mesmerizing. Check out my photos. And do yourself a favor; see them as big as you can. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Amazing wave sets, coming one after the other.
I have to admit I took more than 100 shots of these waves.
The water was so beautiful.
The ruins of an old fort on the shore only made it more photogenic.
This point in the distance is the furthest western point in continental Europe.
So much beautiful greenish blue water.
Rocks below created…
…an amazing natural water show.
No surfers today.
About an. hour north is Nazare. More about that in the text.
Beautiful beaches.
But empty on a Monday.
We stopped at Boca do Inferno
The mouth of hell—a waterspout where I took about 300 photos waiting for just the right wave.
I knew going in that Portugal had some beautiful coastline but I had no idea it would be this amazing. A little further north is the city of Nazare, where the monster waves (they say they are the largest in the world) are. Check out this video to see what I mean. It is truly both scary and amazing.
After I had worn out my camera battery and filled my camera’s memory card, we hopped back into the car to head for the city of Cascais, which we thought looked a lot like the city of La Jolla in Southern California, just more charming. Here are the shots I took there.
The harbor of Cascais. I love colorful boats.
And colorful flowers. They go all out with the poinsettias for Christmas.
Miguel pointed out the beautiful tile on the city hall but it was mostly covered with Christmas decorations.
But the pavement in the square was a tile pattern made to look like waves.
Which floated right up to this civic building.
Back to Belem
After we had lunch and walked around in Cascais, it was time to head back to Lisboa and our hotel. Our tour had taken most of the day, and we were ready to take a nap. But I still had one set of photos I wanted to take. Granted, it was not the time of day I preferred to take them, but I wanted to try it. And those were in Belem, where we had gone the day before on the HoHo bus. But it was so cold and the sky so flat when we were there I didn’t have the motivation to walk to get the shots. Today, though, was beautiful, so my plan was to get Kathleen back to the hotel to take a nap and then for me to get on the HoHo bus (our passes were still good) and go all the way back to Belem. This would have taken me more than an hour to get out there from the hotel. When I was telling Miguel what I had planned, he said he could easily drop me in Belem, and then I could take the shots I wanted and take the bus back to the city center. This was a marvelous solution, and he was so great to make the offer.
So he dropped me in Belem and took Kathleen back to the hotel so I could shoot photos of two of Lisboa’s most iconic monuments—Padrão dos Descobrimentos and the Belem Tower. The first of these is a monument and tribute to Portuguese explorers over the years. There are a lot of them, and they truly opened up the world. The monument is amazing. It stands almost at the mouth of the Tagus River, where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. You will have to see the photos. I did close-ups and overviews. It is a joy to shoot. Then, I moved on to Belem Tower, a monument to Portuguese culture that sits on the river even closer to the Atlantic. Again, you will have to see the photo (that’s all it takes is one) to appreciate why I wanted to go back and shoot it in good weather. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Padrão dos Descobrimentos
With people for scale.
And now a few closeups from both sides (which are different).
This sculpture is amazing.
And finally, the Belem Tower. Just beautiful and worth the trip.
That about does if for Lisboa and Portugal. We had a really incredible visit and can’t wait to go back…in October. This is definitely one of my favorite cities we have been to. Every part of this stop on our journey worked great. The hotel was wonderful, the people we met were awesome, food was delicious—as always, we ate too much of it. If you get the chance—visit this place. You won’t be sorry.
I like to dream about Portugal, and it’s less easy when you are there. —Maria de Medeiros
by Jim Bellomo | Dec 4, 2023 | Food Experiences, Photography
You might notice there are four Hos up in the headline. That’s because today was all about the HoHo (HopOn, HopOff) bus. And there is a lesson to be learned…but we will get to that. Come on along as I tell the story and give you some visual fun as well.
Hop-on, Hop Off
Originally, we had been scheduled to do our food tour on the second day of our trip, but the company called and asked us if we could swap from Sunday to Saturday. We were OK with that, but I think in the end, it wound up costing us some money. Don’t get me wrong, I think it was the right thing to do, but this is where the lesson comes in.
Our original plan on our first full day was to take the HoHo bus around the city. This is something we like to do because it provides an overview of the area, and we learn where we might want to go back and see later. Usually, in cities the size of Lisboa, there are at least two, if not three, routes, and they include some additional stuff with your ticket (discount admission at museums, boat rides, etc.), and in this case, that was true as well. We never had time to use any of that “extra stuff” and we only ended up using the bus for three rides.
I had pre-purchased a 72-hour pass about six months ago based on recommendations from people I trusted. The plan was to use it daily to get around the city. Since we didn’t start using it until the second day, we really lost a day right off the bat. Then, on top of that, we ran into what I am now calling the “running race jinx.” You may recall that when we were in Québec City last October, our day was shaken up by the Québec Marathon being run throughout the city on the only day we were there. We have run into the same thing in at least four other cities, and it happened again. Sunday was the Lisboa Marathon. And even though I considered skipping the touring and doing the race myself ?, it meant that the HoHo bus could not do one of their two biggest routes…the one we wanted to take first. The one that would take us to the area known as Belem.
Not only that, but the bus company neglected to post a sign at their base/first stop (a block from our hotel) that told us that the stop would not be used until after 1:00 pm. So we stood around waiting for a bus until one of their workers came by and told us to walk to the next stop up a hill.
I have to take part of the blame for not realizing the stop was closed. There was a small sign taped to the bus waiting area that said, “Stop will be closed on 3/12/2023 due to the Lisboa Marathon.” And being a typical American (shame on me), I thought it was an old sign saying the stop had been closed on March 12. But in Europe (and most of the rest of the world), they list the day first when writing a date; the sign actually said it would be closed on the third of December. It dawned on me right about when the worker showed up to tell us to walk to the next stop.
I should also mention that the weather had turned bad for us. Some rain, but it turned a lot colder. So that meant that I felt like I was freezing for most of the day. We hadn’t broken out the heavy sweaters and coats we are saving for Prague and beyond because we thought it would be much more temperate in Lisboa. (Apparently, it is because we found the hotel has no heating system for their rooms. To get heat, you just shut off the air conditioner. The buildings are well-insulated, and they don’t have enough cold days to warrant having heaters.)
When we finally hiked to the other stop, we were informed that the Belem route would not be available until 1:30 pm, so we did what they call the “Modern Lisboa” route. It was very nice, and we learned a lot, but for me there were not a lot of photo opportunities. And because it was so cold, we didn’t go up to the open-air top to sit on the wet seats that had been out in the rain. So, no photos except through windows. I don’t suppose Kathleen was as disappointed as I was, but we both would have liked a warmer bus (on the bottom deck) and a softer seat. Old butts don’t do well with rock-hard seats. That route took almost two hours, so after we got back to the first stop, we walked around the Christmas Markets and we just enjoyed each other’s company. We also stopped back at the hotel because we had been told the stop near the hotel would reopen in the afternoon.
We set out again at 1:30, and sure enough, the stop a block from the hotel was open, and so was the Belem route. We jumped on that bus and did a tour that was more interesting but still not as pretty as the city had been the day before because of the blanket of clouds it was shrouded in. Let me drop in some photos here so you can get an idea of what I am talking about. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
This was the first photo I took from the bus. It is looking down the city to the Taurus River. Flat and boring.
In Belem you find the beautiful monastery of St. Jerome.
Please note how the building looks under cloudy skies.
The façade is amazing.
Very intricate.
Thought I would give you some closeups.
The place to buy the ultimate in Portuguese Custard Tarts.
Heading back to the HoHo stop I had to take a couple more.
Like this one from the other end of the monastery.
But then the sun came out.
And made the MOST amazing difference in the photos.
Back on the HoHo I took these from the upper deck as we drove by.
The same with this one. I will tell you more about this in my next post.
Me being artsy with some black and white.
Pastéis de Belém
Before we go any further, I have to tell you about the BIGGEST reason we came to Belem—Pastéis de Belém. I am pretty sure I mentioned in writing about the food tour that the tiny custard tarts we had eaten to end the tour were from what Fred had told us was “the second best place in Portugal to get them.” Well, Belem is where you find the best. How do I know? A whole lot of people have told me, and the fact that the Pastéis de Belém has been baking them since 1837 in the same exact place.
We had been warned there would be a line for their takeaway window, but if we went to the other side of the building to the sit-down cafe, we could get right in. Even Rick Steves has this in his books. Well, so many people have read his books and seen his videos that now you can get them as takeaways in about 1 minute, but the line for the sit-down cafe was at least a half-hour long. Being late in the day and totally worn out, we decided to skip the sit-down and get them takeaway. As you can see from Kathleen’s photo, we got them, but we had a REALLY long day getting them. I also might add that we bought two of them. One each. They were truly delicious and were absolutely better than any of the other eight or so we had eaten before this…but be warned. They are 10 euros each for about three bites. Worth it? Not really, except to say that you have eaten a Pastéis de Belém.
After our Pastéis de Belém we were back to the bus stop for a very long wait (it was so long that we considered doing an Uber back to the hotel) the bus showed up, and we headed back. One of the things we didn’t like about the tour to Belem is that you go back on the same route you went out on—nothing new to see here.
So, what’s the moral of the HoHo bus story? Don’t pre-buy 72 hours of touring. You never know what you will have time for. We could have saved some money and lessened our expectations if we had only purchased one day. And there was no discount for purchasing them early, just a warning that you might have to stand in line and wait to buy them. Nothing could have been further from the truth because we were able to get on and off with no line at every stop. It would have taken us about two minutes to buy our passes from the bus driver or one of the workers at the stops. Warning: This may not be true in the high season (March to October) when the crowds are heavier.
Fado Dinner
On the evening of our second full day, we booked a Fado dinner. Fado is the national music of Portugal. It is a sad, mournful music. We had heard so much about it that we decided to make reservations to see the show while we had dinner. The restaurant opened at 7:30, and of course, we were first in line. We were seated immediately and they brought bread, took our orders for soup, dinner and wine.
I need to note here (and Paul and Gail our British friends are laughing right now) that we are typical Americans and usually eat dinner at 5:30. So waiting to eat until 7:30 is really different for us. And it got worse. The wine, bread and soup showed up by 8:00, but then the Fado show started. Other Fado shows we had seen on YouTube had shown the servers continuing to bring food while the singing was going on but this Fado place (Club de Fado) did not allow that. They wanted total silence during the performance (and to be honest, that really made it better), but that also meant we didn’t see our entrées until sometime after 9:00.
To make matters worse, we saw others that had ordered after us served way before we had ours. In fact, the only way we finally got ours was by telling our waiter to go ahead and tally a bill with just the wine, soup, and bread, and we would be leaving. Guess how fast the entrées showed up? Almost instantly. We ate them and then headed back to the hotel before the second half of the show. By the time we were done eating, it was after 10:00, and we had to be up at 6:00 am for our tour of Sintra.
To top it off, the food just wasn’t that great. I guess when you are there for the show, the food doesn’t have to be that good. I took a few photos with my iPhone (I didn’t want to carry the big Nikon to dinner), and you can see them below. Since I took them with a phone, feel free to look a them on your phone.
The entrance to the restaurant.
Corn soup with kale and sausage.
The highlight of the meal, the cheese they served with the bread. We will be getting more of this.
The show. Make sure to go to their website to hear what Fado sounds like.
My octopus. The worst of my four feedings on this trip.
Kathleen’s lamb. Nothing special.
Pre-dawn Photo Walk
Editor’s note: When I went to grab the photos from the bus ride, I discovered I had not shown you the results of my pre-dawn photo walk on Day 2, so please see below for those. They are much better than what I took during the day because it wasn’t really raining, and I could walk further because we weren’t getting on the HoHo bus until 9:30. Again, don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Of course I have another photo of the Santa Justa elevator. It’s so photogenic.Especially in the dark with no people around.
This building was all wrapped up in lights. Pretty much all the other Christmas lights had been turned off.
The palace I took with the lights on the night before looked very different without them.
Thought I would have another go at Trolley 28. This is the street she comes up.
After a long wait, there she is.
And of course another one comes from the other direction at the same time.
So I get them coming and going.
And I go by a beautiful church.
On my way up the hill to the tight turn.
Found some viewpoints over the waterfront.
And this man who was taking time-lapse photos of himself with a camera on an out-of-this-photo tripod.
The fog rolled in over the river.
So the photos have an early morning hazy look.
But I did see this guy out for his morning walk. Have to get in at least one dog pic per trip.
The views were still beautiful
Around the city there are small squares like this that are centers of the local community.
This is what is known as the “tight turn” where the #28 has to get around a very tight space. I wasn’t that impressed.
Heading back down I saw some interesting streets.
And buildings.
Like the back of this church that I took while Siri tried to get me lost.
And the sun was finally rising.
This is said to be the oldest tree in Lisboa.
These are the roots. It is from South America.
And of course, one last trolley photo.
That was our complete second day in incredible Lisboa. Even with the clouds, rain and the late dinner, we had a great day. I think if we do it again, we would find a different Fado show. Off to bed late because tomorrow is our tour of the amazing Sintra. Come back for that.
Frankly, I’d rather go by bus. —Prince Charles
by Jim Bellomo | Dec 3, 2023 | Food Experiences, Photography
Yesterday, I got you through to a great breakfast at the beautiful Hotel Portugal. Our day only got better food-wise as we had planned a food tour with Eating Europe. We had previously done a food tour with them in Amsterdam a few years ago (they have tours in many European cities), and it was wonderful, so we thought we would try them again because the one in Amsterdam was so great. And this one was, as well.
We met our guide, Fred (his actual name is Frederico, but he says Fred is easier) at 10:00 am, and we’re off on a four-hour tour. Three hours were superb food samples around the city with Fred, and one hour was a Tuk-Tuk tour with Miguel (who really loves speed) as well. Tell me the truth. Does Fred not look like Linn-Manuel Miranda? And he has a lot of mannerisms that kept me thinking we were on our tour with Hamilton himself—one of the funniest and most fun guides we have had in all our time touring. We hope to see him again when we return to Lisbon next fall.
Our tour consisted of four stops for food and a one-hour Tuk-Tuk ride. We first stopped for an amazing pork sandwich with a glass of the local white wine, Vino Verde. Both were delicious. As we walked from there to where we would meet Miguel, Fred told us a lot about the history of Lisboa as well as the traditions about food. He was a totally knowledgeable guide who was also a great entertainer and as you will see in my photos, really up for anything.
Once we reached the plaza where the Tuk-Tuks were, we met Miguel, jumped (more like crawled) into his Tuk-Tuk, and off we went for a very crazy and bumpy ride up into the city’s hills. We stopped at a Roman ruin, an amazing overlook of the entire city and found that Miguel was almost as good a guide as Fred—just not as funny.
Our Tuk-Tuk ride took around an hour, and we finished at a restaurant that was high on one of those hills. This was one of the reasons we had decided on this particular tour. The other tours they offered didn’t have the Tuk-Tuk ride and warned of a lot of walking uphill and downhill. With Miguel and his Tuk-Tuk, we only had the downhill. Our second food stop featured two other Portuguese specialties. One was a coated and fried ball with tomato and basil filling; one was veal. Both were delicious and came with a special may0-mustard sauce. We also tried green beans with a tempura-style coating and we learned that the Portuguese had not only invented this type of coating but taken it to the Orient in the 1500s. Who knew?
After this lovely tidbit (nice word, unh?) served with sparkling wine, we started our trek downhill to our next restaurant, which was owned by a former Michelin-starred chef. There, we tried an octopus salad (even better than the one I had the night before) and a codfish dish. Codfish is a staple in Portuguese cuisine. Fred told us that Portuguese chefs brag that there are 365 different codfish recipes that they can make, so you never have to have the same one twice in one year. Kathleen had skipped the octopus so the chef roasted her some veggies and they too were outstanding. She wasn’t really thrilled with the codfish dish (it wasn’t my favorite either) but by then we were getting full so it didn’t really matter.
While at this very cool restaurant, we saw a hilarious collection of art that is very famous in Portugal. It seems that more than a hundred years ago, after Portugal threw out Spanish rule, the king of Portugal sent a gift to the king of Spain. Of course, once you see the gift, you understand its significance. The king of Spain sent him back an even bigger one, and they continued for some time. Fred was happy to show us these “gifts,” and I have other photos showing the other sizes in my gallery below. The “gifts” are hollow and full of the “best wine of that country.” Often, they had a spigot (as this one does) to dispense the wine. This one that Fred is holding is the largest in the collection. And they had a special surprise on the bottom to make everyone happy. You will have to look at the other pics to find out what it was. And by the way, did I mention that Fred was a total ham?
After our entrée and art show, we were off to dessert back in the old city at the bottom of the hill. It was the Portuguese egg tart known as a pastéis. These tarts are everywhere in Lisboa. By the time we got to this one, we had consumed at least six of them in the hotel at breakfast. On our Sunday tour, we would travel all the way to the suburb of Belem to get one of the originals (and yes, it is worth the trip, and the one you get there IS better than any other). Fred told us the place he took us had the “second-best pastéis in Lisboa, and we agree.
Here are the rest of the photos from the food tour with captions to explain their significance. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Our tour begins. It was just us and this nice couple from New Mexico.
Our first stop was the largest cathedral in Lisboa.
During the earthquake that shaped the city, the roof had fallen in.
The restoration job was amazing.
Miguel took us on a tour of the…
…ruins of a Roman theater.
The excavation work is ongoing.
A large mural of the Romans above the theater.
As we were driving I saw this statue and just liked the way it looked against the blue sky.
Miguel took us to “the best view in Lisboa.”
We think he was right.
The city was gorgeous…
the weather was perfect…
as you can see.
A landscape photographer’s dream.
Our second restaurant…
And a close up of the door.
A mural above a booth inside.
My octopus salad—delicious.
Everywhere we have eaten in Lisboa has featured some of the best bread I have ever had.
I stole some of Kathleen’s wonderful roasted veggies to go along with my salad.
The codfish dish that was not my favorite and Kathleen found “fishy.”
The collection.
And keeps grabbing larger examples.
Until he gets the biggest of all.
This is what is on the bottom. Something for the gentlemen.
Everywhere you go in Lisboa there is tile.
Incredibly beautiful and ornate tiles.
You can see where they perfectly replaced broken ones with new. The older ones are more than a hundred years old.
Artwork and graffiti are fairly prevalent.
But there is still squalor.
Fred showed up this building which if fixed…
could house five families but because of bureaucracy, nothing gets fixed.
But it gave Fred someplace to climb.
There are tavernas like this all over the city.
The palace above the square nearest our hotel.
The Santa Justa Elevator.
After the tour (and still suffering from jet lag), we went back to the hotel for a short nap. Kathleen extended her nap into the evening and stayed in to surf the web and keep track of what was happening in the world. I, on the other hand, went out to take photos of the amazing Christmas decorations all over the city. I took a ton of photos, so I will let Lisboa speak for itself. I will just say that this city LOVES Christmas, and when they decorate, they DECORATE! And we didn’t think we would see Christmas Markets until we got to Prague. Were we ever wrong? Here, there seems to be one in every square, and there are big squares everywhere. Here are my photos with very few captions because they’re just the WOW decorations. Don’t forget; if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
Most these photos were taken within 10 blocks of our hotel.
Some streets were empty and others packed.
More lights.
Their trees were very cool.
Interesting crowds
Street peddlers.
More lights.
And peace on the next street over.
More lights.
You can never take too many trolley photos.
More lights.
And just one high above a square…
That looked like this…
Totally lit up.
And across from this corridor…
Was Lisboa’s largest square. The one that faces the river.
All lit up at night.
With restaurants on the sides.
And angels on the street behind it.
Another shot of the Santa Justa elevator, this time at night.
More lights.
Lights of a different kind.
More lights.
More lights.
And of course, Santa.
Who was more about the adults than the kids.
That about does it for Day 1. As you can tell, we were BUSY! Back with Day 2 soon.
Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling. —Edna Ferber
