November 13th travel , 14th getting acquainted with Lisbon
Long travel day but we finally end up in Lisbon around 6 pm despite events that have happened in Paris. We meet up with Dave and Liz and head out on the town for supper. I had Portuguese mussels…… aka as clams. Sorry inside joke. Ahh.. Lisbon. What can I say? Cobble stone, ceramic tiles, beautiful architecture, food, wine…… We love this city. We are staying at The Beautique Hotel which is in a great location, right where it is all happening. After supper we end up in Barrio Alto area (aka bar area) and we wander and people watch and sample
November 15th more of Lisbon
We started the day wandering looking for breakfast down Rua Augusta. We are noticing a lot of street people and peddlars. Also, notice that the restaurants in the tourist area all have laminated menus. It really takes away from the ambiance of the restaurant.
We continue down Rua Augusta to Praca Do Comercio which is a beautiful square. Guess what we see?? See the sign in the distance?
It is a beautiful day so we grab a table along the square and continue on our tasting of vinho verde and we have to try more olives and more bread and sardines. 
Then we meet Sergio who takes us on a city tour in a Tuk Tuk. Lisbon is a city of 7 hills. We see cathedrals, mausoleum and several lookout points with fantastic views of the city. Then it is out to Belem along the Tagus river. It was an excellent 3 hours and a good way to get a feel for the city.
Once back from the tour, we head away from the hotel to the north for a new area for supper. Seafood stew was a hit. Another place for port and more custards from the famous Belem castle. We did a tasting of ginjinha liquor. Yummy. Then it is more wandering around town and end up close to the river again at the pink street (aka red light district) This time it is for beer – Sangras and Radler limon. Since we have visited many washrooms, I have to say that for being such an old city the restaurant and bars have washrooms that are modern and clean. This is unlike our trip to New Orleans a year ago. Another comment about restaurants – as you walk down the street a hustler will entice you to his restaurant. Meals are very reasonable and service is good up until it is time you want the bill. Then they ignore you. Weird. You would think they would want to turn over the table with new clients.
November 16 shopping and walking
Neil and I start the day by walking up to the Castelo S. Jorge and then back to the hotel. Then we meet up with Dave and Liz and grab an espresso and grilled ham and cheese. Not expensive. This city is shoe and boot heaven!!!! Made in Portugal and very reasonable price. I may have bought a few pairs. Drop the shopping off at the hotel and then it is back up to the castle eith Dave and Liz. More fantastic views of the city from the parapets.
We grab lunch at a sidewalk cafe on the way back down. More wine of course. For dessert we stop a little farther down at a little place for port.
By the time we are back at the hotel, my Fitbit says 24000 steps.
Tonight we stay in the hotel restaurant for supper. We were glad to have cloth napkins and no laminated menus.
November 17 off to Porto
We take the fast train to Porto. We had paid for first class tickets but we have no idea where the first class car is so we get on the train and park ourselves. When the ticket agent comes along, he tells us we are in the last car of 2nd class and the exact opposite end of the train is first class. So since we paid for first class we haul our bags and the very very heavy suitcases all the way through six cars. We got many looks……. stupid tourists……. We finally make it to first class and it really looks no different. Damn. There was bar service though so I guess it was worth it. This was a fast speed train and at times we were travelling at 225 km/hour. A great way to travel. Just before Porto we see the coast with sand dunes and surfing waves. We make it to Porto and get to the VRBO. The VRBO is in the oldest part of downtown. Narrow streets and alleys and a ton of stairs. The VRBO is not quite what we expected and lacking on amenities. Will do tripadvisor review on the place and also give them feedback. It will be fine as we are close to everything and got shops with pastries and wine and port across the street.
We go out in search of supper and end up down by the water at Praca Ribeira. We have a great supper and then decide to take a narrow alley that has stairs that go up and up and up and up. Finally we end up at the castle Estacco de Sao Bento and Se Catedral (not a spelling error) . We start down through winding narrow alleys and when we come out to a street we are right across from our apartment.
November 18 Port houses
Slow start to the day. Maybe find Fado tonight????
Well we walked down the street and paid to go on the hop on, hop off bus. We got across the river and hopped off at the first stop and we never hopped back on! We were too busy eating and tasting port ( we got to Ferreira which is where Scott’s case of 1995 port is from) and playing some stupid nose game…..and by the time we were ready to return to the other side of the river, the bus wasn’t running any more. Crap that was an expensive bus ride! We still have 24 hours left on the ticket so we will be doing lots of bus riding tomorrow. It only took us 10 minutes to walk home and then we decide to eat in tonight so we stop by the butcher, a wine store and the grocery store. 4 pork chops cost us 1.67 euros which is equivalent to $2.40. It was another fun day.
roasted chestnuts
Hey, Joan Ennis this is upscale Spam
November 19th the bus ride
Since we didn’t do much bus riding yesterday, we made sure we got out the door a little earlier today and got on the bus. We did the whole route and only got off the bus twice. We got our monies worth unlike yesterday. We are staying right by the medieval area of Porto so on the bus we got to see the slightly newer area of downtown where the market and shopping is and then all the way out to the coast. Along the way there were some very nice homes, parks and monuments. At the coast, it had a resort feel. The waves were huge and there were a lot of surfers catching the waves. We got off to enjoy lunch and had a fabulous appetizer of octupus in olive oil, peppers, and tomatoes with a Churchills Rose prior to our main course. Got back on the bus that took us over to the south side of the river (where we were yesterday). Got off to enjoy port and sangria and then caught the bus again that took us up the hill above the port houses and eventually back to north side of river where the VRBO is.
We went across the street for supper at Cantinho do Avillez. The chef has Michelin star restaurants although this restaurant is not. It is very casual but does have cloth napkins which is only the 3rd time on this trip that we have had cloth napkins. All the food was fabulous. Chicken liver starter awesome. My roasted octopus was excellent. Tender and rich.
November 20th Duoro valley
We are up early and out the door to meet Jorge and head out of town to tour the Duoro valley. Beautiful valley and small od vilages. First stop Amarante. Picturesque! Euculyptus, maple and oak trees. An old monestry that is now a hotel and restaurant (michelin star). We tour the church and then continue down the valley. We are climbing higher up the mountains and catch a spectacular view of the valley filled with fog and only the mountains peeking out. Unfortuantely the road is too narrow to stop and take pictures. The vineyard terraces are an Unesco site because the orginal terraces were built by the Romans. We have a short stop at Regua which the government area of the Duoro valley and where all boat tours end. We continue on to another small village of Pinhao for lunch. Family style plates of veal, octopus and chicken and flowing wine. Fabulous. Then it is off to the Symington family estate. They own Graham”s, Dow’s, Cockburn’s and Warre’s to name a few port houses. We get a tour of the Quinta (farm) with the vats and the barrels. We end with a port tasting. And then it was the long ride home 140 km, some of it on narrow curvey roads with drivers who do not respect the center line and the fact that you can’t see around the bend and then on the major motorway with a ton of traffic tailgating. Good thing most of us slept.
November 21 more shopping and poking around
Today, was a day to poke around the shopping area. Up to this point we have only wandered in a portion of this area at night or been on the bus. We head for the market and Rua de Santa Catarina. Shops are open daily 9 am to 10 pm. and even on Sundays. A few of the small shops close between 1 and 3 pm. The market is incredible with displays of vegetables and meat. There is a mix of upscale and economical shops. Lots of shoe stores. We stop at a sidewalk cafe for lunch with a glass of vino verde. Love European culture. The weather is a bit cooler. 12 degrees but it feels cller because of the humidity. Locals are dressed in winter coats. We are dressed in layers. Neil has been doing very good at ordering wine and food in broken portugeuse but the rest of us are lucky if we say “thankyou” which is “obrigada” or ” obrigado” depending on if you are male or female. The portuguese people are very friendly and in the tourist area they speak very good English. Shop workers are very accomodating and there is no “hard” selling.
The downtown Porto area is going through a major transition. There are lots of buildings that are derelict but you can see there is a major push to refurbish. Cranes and construction workers everywhere. Slowly they are renovating these medieval buildings with all the modern conveniences. There is money to be made here but unfortunately we would need to be on location to do a project like this. Hmmmm ………. a move to Portugal?
It is Saturday night and we do not have a reservation for dinner so we need to go early (6:30 pm) to eat with the tourists. Like other european cities locals eat super late. We eat at Cantina on Rua des Flores which is directly behind our VRBO. Their last seating is at 10 pm. We get in at 6:30 and are told to be done by 10 pm. We think that shouldn’t be a problem but after lots of sharing plates and lots of bottles of wine, we finish at 9:40 pm. The duck liver pate was awesome.
After supper we wander down to the waters edge and stop for a drink. Dave and Liz hear some British people complain about the cold so they invite them to join us for a drink. Rodney and Phillipa (a father and daughter) are lovely people and we have a great visit. Then it is over to Casa Porto for another drink and we discovr that they are promoting interior designers and renovating of the building. we get to tour the various floors. Very cool.
November 22nd a lazy day
We had a lazy day today to recuperate from the excessiveness. It is raining today so great day to sleep in. We split up for the afternoon and poke around again. Neil and I walk over the bridge Pont Luis III which is close to the VRBO to get a different view. Also, see the Funicular. Dave and Liz take the funicular up the hill. Both of us spend the rest of the afternoon poking around shops and cafes. We meet back at VRBO to make plans for supper. We also need to pack up tonight because we have early morning. We are heading down the coast tomorrow with destination of Nazare.
funicular
Out for supper at the resaturant that is directly behind our VRBO and yet it is on the next street and you would never know it.
How is it that a city that has medieval structure has recycle bins and garbage collection built into the sidewalk that you drop your stuff into. It is like a mail box and drops below for collection. Not sure but maybe built into the metro system? Also, there is free wifi everywhere and you are freely allowed to join their networks.
November 23rd down the coast to Nazare
We rent a BMW station wagon and all of our luggage barely fits. Deja vous , hey Shelley? We stop in the Aviero and Vagos area to check out the beach. Then we stop for lunch. We pick out a fish for the 4 of us to share and the chef cooks it up. Yum! Something of interest that we saw while driving through a forested area was tappings nad pails hanging off of the pine trees. Apparently, it is to collect pine resin to make turpentine.
taking funicular up
Supper is again with cloth napkins but a laminated menu. 😦 We ate right at the hotel. It was good but I think we are needing a break from eating out.
November 24th Sintra and back to Lisbon
Continued south to Sintra. Beautiful country side. From the highway you can see castle with village inside the wall called Obidos. Also see old windmills and new wind turbines. On the way up to the castle we are behind a bus and it is so narrow. At one point, the bus has an issue with a BMW with his wheels turned out and the bus driver can’t get by. Dave goes up to help the bus driver but the bus driver will not trust Dave’s guidance to guide him past the BMW. Finally the owner of the BMW comes along. Meanwhile the traffic is backed up. Anyway, we finally get up to the castle bases and then we climb up to go in. Wow! ……. the palace of Pena.
We are staying close to the airport tonight and just eat in the hotel. Can’t do anymore seafood or fish. We decide to have burgers (they come as doubles!) and we do have a fabulous tinto vino with the burgers. Tomorrow Dave and Liz are off to Amsterdam and Neil and I are off to England to visit our friends at Henley upon Thames.
November 25th England
Flying into Heathrow is like returning home a bit. We miss living here and everything is so familar. Just going to the grocery store, Waitrose with fabulous looking food and wine. is exciting. I checked to see if I could get season 6 of Downton Abbey since it is not available in Canada until January and Yep! found it so Viv orders it on Amazon and it will arrive tomorrow. We enjoy a relaxing afternoon drinking wine and visiting. In the evening we go to the Crooked Billet at Brakspear for a awesome dinner. Neil had venison and I had partridge.
November 26th
Start the day with a workout in our friends gym and then a walk in the woods. After lunch we take Monty, the truffle hunting dog, out in the woods to hunt for truffles. We were unsuccessful but it was still fun. Later we go into Henley to have a few pints in the Queen Victoria pub and to pick up fixings for dinner. We weren’t interested in doing touristy things but were very excited to be able to go the the food stores. The butcher store was interesting with its chain curtain to enter. Then we went to Waitrose. Waitrose is our favourite gorcery store in England where we used to shop there when we lived here. I wanted to take pictures but didn’t want the locals staring. It is a foodies paradise compared to what we have to shop in at home. The produce is so fresh looking. There are several varieties of butter, yogurt, all ethnic foods, and tons of ingredients that are just available in Regina. Fabulous looking Christmas puddings and cakes.
We spend the evening preparing and drinking wines. Fun times. End the night with cognacs, whiskey and scotch tasting.
November 27th
Fly home today. That was the plan anyway. Missed connection in Toronto due to screwed up connection process and clearing customs. Glad we have Maple leaf lounge access since now we have 5 hours to hang out before we catch a 10:30 pm flight. Won’t get home until 1 am
Wine and Cheezies Travels 