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May 8-19 Portugal Tour - Get Acquainted

Posted by (Petaluma, CA) on

Bon dia!

I would enjoy "meeting" others who are on this tour. The R.S. Tour department suggested starting a thread here. (A month before our tour, they will mail us a list of the other participants so we can at least learn all the names.)

My late husband and I did a lot of travel, using R.S. guide books to travel independently. However, except for Barcelona, we never got around to Spain/Portugal. Last year, I got round trip tickets to/from Madrid for this coming May, without having any specific itinerary. (I know it would make more sense to begin in one country and finish in the other, but I found such a good deal on roundtrip Madrid that I had to take it. Also, flight schedules out of Lisbon to the west coast were not very good.)

After studying both the Spain and Portugal tour books, I realized that getting around in Portugal is a little more challenging than in Spain. Then some good friends told me they have recently taken several R.S. tours and loved them all. So that sold me on taking my first R.S. tour.

I love train travel and hoped to take the overnight Lusitania from Madrid to Lisbon. But that meant taking a one-way flight OPO to GRX, which was over $600. Strangely, a multi-city air ticket MAD-LIS-OPO-GRX was only $134, so I gave up the train journey. On May 7th I'm flying from Madrid to Lisbon and taking the metro/train out to Sintra for overnight, then coming back to Lisbon the next day to join this tour. At the end of our tour, I'm flying back to Spain where a friend will join me till the end of May.

I signed up to do the roommate sharing. Any other single females on this tour?

Please check in and introduce yourself!

Linda
Petaluma, CA

Posted by
2456 posts

Hi Linda up north, I will be taking the RS Portugal Tour beginning May 15, so I can benefit from any tips you have along the way, especially for "free time" sites, meals, views and experiences. This will be my 8th RS Tour, so you can tell I think they are excellent! I will be arriving in Portugal on May 10, then spending 2 nights in Sintra and 3 in Lisboa before the tour, and 4 additional nights in Porto at the end. Sounds like you have a great trip planned yourself, so,enjoy it all! Best wishes, Larry down south (a ways)

Posted by
4 posts

Hi Larry down south,

You have a great itinerary--plenty of time to adjust to the time change before the tour, and plenty of time to do some in-depth on Lisbon & Porto. You itinerary must be borne of experience!

I will surely try to post the tips you requested as we go, as best as one can do with only a smartphone. I am hoping dictation will work well so I can elaborate!

Where are you staying in Sintra? I decided on Casa Saudade. It's not one of Rick's suggestions, so we'll see. So far, the proprietors have been very friendly and quick to respond to questions.

Have a great trip!
Linda

Posted by
4 posts

Hi again Larry,
I see the Festival de Sintra is May 12-13. (Maybe you even planned your stay around this event.) Sounds like a great time to be there.
Linda

Posted by
2456 posts

Hi Linda, our trips to Portugal are fast approaching, no? For some reason, I just now noticed your last posts from March. I can add: (1) by coincidence, I will be spending my 2 nights in Sintra at the Chalet Saudade, which I figure you must have been referring to as "Casa Saudade". Seems lovely, and we must have similar tastes or priorities from reading reviews; (2) I did not know about the "Festival de Sintra" until you mentioned it here; I looked it up, and it actually appears to be scheduled from May 5 through 26, but from what I can see all the classical music concerts are on the weekends, Friday evenings through Sundays. I will be moving from Sintra to Lisbon mid-day on Friday, May 12, so it appears I will miss the festival, but will make up for it with fado in Lisbon. (3) I will be up in the SF area in late April, and just today was making plans with a friend to make the Petaluma-Point Reyes-Muir Woods circuit. Nice restaurants in Petaluma, I especially enjoy Cucina Paradiso. That "back road" from Petaluma to Point Reyes is so diverse and just gorgeous! Travel well, Linda!

Posted by
4 posts

Hi Larry,
Right you are, it's Chalet not Casa. Not the first time I did that! Thanks for the info on the festival, which is being held on the dates you mentioned. There's a piano performance on the day I arrive, only 10 euros. I might make it. As for dining in Petaluma, Cucina Paradiso is never a disappointment, and it's one of the few good restaurants open for lunch on the weekend. Other great ones are Le Bistro and Caffè Giostra, but unfortunately not open for lunch on weekends. A new promising place is 256 on Petaluma Blvd...high hopes due to owner with good reputation. Hope you have a good experience wherever you go.
I set up a blog to see if that works for a travel journal.
Well, I leave on May 1st so I'd better get back to getting the house ready for the house/cat sitter and everything else that goes along with being away for a month!

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