Portugal
We traveled to Portugal from September 25 to October 18, 2018!
It was a great trip! I've divided the photos according to where they were taken. Click on the city or town name and you'll be taken to the page with those photos. These links appear at the top and bottom of each of the Portugal trip pages and are in the order in which we visited them. You can click on them or the "Previous" or "Next" buttons to go back and forth between pages.
Thanks for visiting! If you have any problems, questions, or comments, please email here.
----- Lisbon -----
Well, what other way to start a long journey than by imbibing some liquid encouragement! Bon Voyage!
As we left San Diego, we rose above the thick marine layer which had crept all the way to the foothills east of the city.
And we're on our way!
We had a five-hour layover in Philadelphia. In the old days (before all the security stuff) we would have had time to stash our bags and take a cab into town for a cheesesteak and a Yuengling. We resisted the urge to get one at Geno's at the airport.
A few hours later we arrived in Lisbon and one of the first things we see is a Starbucks! Welcome to Portugal!
The taxi drivers were on strike so we took the Metro, the subway, from the airport into the city.
We had to drag our bags about a half-mile to our VRBO apartment, kind of a pain, but the scenery made up for it.
We checked in and took this photo looking down our street, Rua da Madalena, from our little balcony.
One sees a lot of blue tiles, azulejos, in Portugal
We took a stroll through the Alfama district, the ancient center of town.
These planters hanging from the balconies caught our eye. What better use for your worn-out jeans? Well, I guess you could rip some holes in them a sell them to a youngster, but...
Lorri brought along her San Diego Padres visor
We saw a lot of tiny cobblestone streets like this one and also a lot of multi-colored plastic garlands like these
We learned quickly that walking around Lisbon is good exercise - lots of ups and downs. We learned that going up is harder than coming down.
Overlooking Alfama rooftops, you can see the river which sports quite a bit of cruise ship traffic.
Exploring the little streets...
...made us hungry
Codfish fried cakes and padron peppers
and some dry white wine hit the spot!
Mushroom stuffed with smoked ham and quail eggs for dessert!
We had our lunch sitting at a table by the window
Praça da Figueira, where were stumbled upon the monthly farmers market which takes place only on the last week of the month.
Here I am with a horse on my head.
The market was full of fresh food, cheeses, meats, dead pigs
like this one, which made a really delicious pork pocket sandwich (I forget the Portuguese name for it)
A little sangria perhaps to wash it all down?
Praça Dom Pedro IV. Dom Pedro IV was a pretty popular figure there in Portugal.
Igreja de São Domingos
Igreja de São Domingos, mostly rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake (like a lot of other buildings in Lisbon) was once a center of the Inquisition in the 1600's, according to Rick Steves.
Elevador de Santa Justa, more on this later
Time for lunch?
The Elevador was designed by a student of the Eiffel Tower guy, Gustave, and was built in 1902.
Looking down Rua Augusta toward the Arch
Lots of designs in paving stones throughout Portugal, or at least the cities and towns we visited.
Here Lorri is carrying on a lively conversation with two new friends.
We went up in that arch at the end o Rua Augusta and these photos were taken from it. This is part of the Praça do Comércio.
Looking back up Rua Augusta you can see the top of the Elevador a little to the right center of the photo.
Looking toward the Castelo de São Jorge at the top of the hill on the left, Alfama on the right.
Looking toward the Alfama District and a couple cruise ships.
Time for break after all that sight-seeing. They know how to make gin and tonics here.
We found a great little Italian place in the Alfama for lunch.
We split a pizza and a bottle of wine
and had sautéed mushrooms and some crusty bread for dessert!
This is where the Italian restaurant is.
We decided Thursday afternoon would be a good time to go see the Castelo
So we trekked up the hill
and found the entry and ticket office
It was worth the hike and the price for the views alone
That is a river out there, the Rio Tagus
Castle explorers
Looking down on the River and Alfama District
Somehow those cannons don't look very threatening
A tree grows, or maybe grew.
We've reached he heights. Open your eyes!
Hard to figure out how this castle may have functioned. It's Moorish and Medieval!
Where did the blue, red and yellow come from? Were they approved by the architectural committee?
Tile work pops up everywhere
I just liked the warm color
Kitchen of our VRBO
Our bedroom
Our living room
Deb and Mike's room
Deb and Mike got in Friday morning, the 28th.
We went to the aforementioned farmers market for lunch
It was hard to decide what to get to eat and drink there.
We were hungry and everything looked and smelled so good!
Smell that!
Here is some of what we bought.
Watch out for the trolleys!
We went on a foodie/wino tour Friday evening. Ready for some tasting?
Bottle No. 1
Our guide showed us how to bypass the lines to get to the top of the Elevador
We did not go up there that night but Lorri and I did when we returned three weeks later.
Exploring the Chiado District
Our tour group
moving right along to our next stop
OK< that sounds good!
More wine!
More food!
More fun!
Grapes and Bites! Just because it's in English doesn't mean it's not Portuguese.
We keep going downhill...
Debbie and her new friend stop for a rest and photo
Lots of bougainvillea and graffiti in Lisbon
Good folk art
Bring more wine, please!
and more ham, more cheese, more sausage, etc!
Lorri checking out the goods.
Salt cod. Looks a little pricey for dried out, salt infused, old fish.
Good group!
Ginga for dessert!
Deb and Mike held up well for their first day!
Saturday, Belém
We decided to explore the Belém District "a stately pincushion of important sights from Portugal's Golden Age" according to Rick Steves.
We bargained for a tuk-tuk ride to cover the 4 or 5 mile trip. It was another beautiful day!
The Monastery of Jerónimos
This place survived the great 1755 earthquake.
We didn't pay to wait in line to see the Cloisters but we went in the church, which was free and unlined. This is the tomb of Luís Vaz de Camões. See below.
Quite a guy
The complex was built by King Manuel in the 1500's and hence the style of architecture is "Manueline"!
Impressive and sort of organic-looking to me with the rounded interlocking arches.
Lorri, Debbie and Mike thought so too!
The main alter
OK, time to eat
and drink
a quick beer stop.
Saúde!
This woman tried to teach me how to say "Saúde". I'm not a very good student.
Another view of the church and monastery
Monument to the Discoveries, featuring Prince Henry the Navigator at the helm with Vasco da Gama and Magellan not far behind.
A fine example of Portuguese paving stones in a design reminiscent of sea waves, So much so that Lorri gets slightly seasick walking on it.
The other side
We had lunch at a restaurant on a terrace overlooking the water. The service was a little slow and we were a little hangry.
It was worth the wait, though, the lunch was great!
Salmon
Sea bass. And so on.
We walked part way back, then caught a taxi which dropped us off at the Fado Museum.
From there we walked up into the Alfama for much-needed refreshments
October babies.
Typical Portuguese menu.
Both these places offer "Fado" music, the Portuguese folksy, bluesy, whiney style, which we heard a lot of, but never spent time inside an actual Fado venue.
Must be laundry day.
Check out the three old ladies at the foot of the alcove.
We ended up walking back to the apartment by circling around behind the Castelo and heading down, down, down.
and down.
After regrouping we headed back out and found this place.
There was a character out front stoking and cooking stuff on a charcoal grill, so we thought it would be a good bet.
That's him
The did have good G&T!
Dinner. I wish I had a photo of our server woman, or better yet, a video.
Here's some translations. I particularly like "Snails and Big Snails"! Do people order those?
This was our bill. A little low-tech and not sure what it all meant, but the price was right!
Mike went in to try to barter for a tee shirt.
Deb and Lorri in a "porta de Alfama"
As we were walking back to our apartment, fireworks erupted down toward the river. Click here to see a video!
This was Saturday night. The next morning we were off on a day tour to see Sintra and its castles and Cascais and its beaches! Click "Sintra Daytrip" or "Next" to go to that page.
