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Trip Report - July in Portugal

I have read so many TRs over the past few years, but this is the first one I am attempting myself. I hope to finish it!

Trip Background/Planning:
My family of 3 lives in Maryland between DC and Baltimore. My husband's family is all in the UK as he came over for work in '03 and has stayed. Our kiddo is 13. For the first time, we decided to go on a family holiday with my newly-widowed MIL and my SIL and nephew. [My brother in law died of brain cancer 9 years ago:(] The cousins are only 9 months apart but due to UK vs US summer break timings, finances, and Covid, we haven't seen them that much and never outside of the UK.

As the single parent, my SIL suggested Portugal was in their budget and had a direct flight to Faro from their town. Once we booked a resort for the week we planned to be together and got my MIL on a flight from London, I worked on our logistics of getting there and what we would do before and after the beach holiday.

Flight to Lisbon:
Thanks to points and a previous trip's Air Canada credit, we found flights for no additional cost from EWR on 24 July. Both the husband and I worked a part day and then drove up to EWR. I had used SpotHero to find a very good parking rate at Victoria Parking--I'd use them again.

Upon check in, the AC rep said our Zone 4 boarding wouldn't be good enough for our carry on bags (I almost always enforce this on European trips in summer), so he offered to check them to Lisbon for free. As we had everything important in our backpacks, we went for it. AC's bag tracking kept me updated that the bags made the flights, so I did not worry too much. Newark is much nicer than it was when I lived in NYC in the early 00s, but the recent stories about ATC had made me nervous. Luckily, we had good weather and our flight to Toronto left a bit early. Based on when we boarded, we could have easily carried on the bags. Oh well.

Toronto was fine--the international terminal felt full, and the thunderstorms that swept in just after our landing did not help that feeling. However, our delay was very small--20 minutes--and mostly just required a gate change due to crowding. The flight over was fine. We declined dinner as takeoff was after 11pm and we wanted to try and nap at least.

ARRIVAL - 25 July
Lisbon Airport. I'd read the warnings but missed the news of the strikes. We were parked well away from the airport and then waited another 45 mins on the plane/stairs as we were in the second round of buses and the strike included a slow down of the passenger buses to/from the terminal.

Passport control was as chaotic as promised because we had an under 18. Her age prevented us from using the e-Gates, and the family queue was approximately another hour of waiting. Husband was feeling ill from poor sleep and the waiting, so I sent him through the adults only line. He was through in minutes and able to secure our bags which had already been moved off the carousel.

Luckily, the time in line gave me a chance to turn on the Airalo eSim (had never used before and worked well overall) and correspond with our host in Alfama. She gave good advice about using Uber/Bolt vs the metro for this initial trip into the city. Eventually, we were in the car headed to the flat. As we drove through the sun-drenched streets, I noticed my daughter really flagging in the backseat in a way that didn't seem just tiredness.

In the next installment, learn all about a great walk-in Urgent Care clinic in Lisbon.

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25 July - Lisbon Day 1, continued

After checking into our small but lovely flat in Alfama (I was torn but had some hotel issues suitable for our budget and family configuration), navigating the steep hill and stairs (carry ons only was a winner here), we found a late lunch at a local coffee place, Copenhagen Coffee Lab. I think we visited at least once on all 3 days.

While there, I cross checked reviews for an English speaking clinic that would be open for what I was pretty sure was an ear infection in my daughter. Google reviews was very helpful with determining likely wait times and costs. In the end, we walked down to get on the metro at Santa Apolonia, bought one zapping card, and headed up to Avenida. My husband and I both just tapped our credit cards with no international fees. The metro was easy and clean.

Walking the Avenida Da Liberdade was lovely--lots of vendors, shade, and the stunning tilework everywhere. However, we had a mission, and the mission was the Alegria Medical Centre. We had a wonderful and fast experience for 80 Euros. Yes, we have insurance and can file when we get home for reimbursement, but this was a very easy way to handle our daughter's pain. The doctor sent us to get ear drops at a local pharmacy. When I asked how long we might wait to get the prescription, she laughed at me and said, "right then." Not something I'm used to in the USA! :)

We walked down towards Rossio and the pharmacy, collected our 7 Euro drops, bought some European sunscreen, and then did some window shopping. My husband loves sardines and was taken with some of the shops and displays in the area. We also bought our inaugural European cokes of the trip.

We took our first bus from Praca da Figueira towards Castelo (with many small children in matching vests and hats--clearly a camp or school group!) and walked home to start the meds and have a break before the evening. Our walk did take us past the famous viewpoints in Alfama, and as they were not busy at the time, we stopped for a few pictures.

About 6pm, we headed to the Castle for our pre-purchased ticket visit. The line was not bad, so waiting wouldn't have been an issue, but it was nice to just scan in and go. Very few people in the castle grounds this evening, so we wandered all around, dipped into the small museums, saw the peacocks, and spent lots of time exploring the ramparts/walls. We wandered an increasingly empty upper Alfama until we ran into Frei Papinhas, a restaurant mentioned in the guidebook. It was a solid first night meal, but the cod dish was the standout as was the house vinho verde. We congratulated ourselves on making it to later than 8pm and went back to the flat to crash. The drops plus advil seemed to be already helping the ear infection turn the corner.

Posted by
5373 posts

It’s never fun to be sick and especially not when traveling.

It’s good to hear your daughter received good medical care at the Alegria Medical Centre.

My daughter and I became ill with GI issues during our trip in Portugal but fortunately we didn’t need to seek medical care.

Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip!

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6811 posts

We loved our trip to Portugal a couple of years ago, so I am enjoying your report, and looking forward to more.

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19 posts

@Priscilla Thank you! I know GI issues are never fun.

@Jane Thanks! I'm trying to do cover a few days today, but work keeps interfering :)

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26 July - Day 2, Lisbon

We had breakfast at the Copenhagen Coffee Cafe and then hopped a crowded #28 trolley that went right by our cross-street. I enjoyed the ride despite being very aware of potential pickpockets. The worst part was the tuk tuk traffic on curves near the Alfama viewpoints/overlooks. It took close to 10 minutes to clear this one sticking point, and the result was I never wanted to take a tuk tuk in Lisbon.

We got off just after the stop for the Praca do Comercio and walked the square. We then meandered down the shoreline sidewalk and gave in to the teenage desire for "the most amazing pina colada in the universe" as we had been seeing the kiosk/carts everywhere. It was...fine. At least the pineapple it was served in was nice to eat. From there, we walked to the TimeOut Market, and though it was peak lunch time, we were able to do a lap and get 3 seats together without much trouble. Between the cheap small beer, croquettes, and sushi, we had a lovely lunch and soaked up the ambiance. I tried my first Pastel de nata while the others sampled gelato. I thought I won the dessert round.

After lunch, we hopped in a Bolt to Belem and were dropped near the museum where I had booked 2pm tickets-- QUAKE Lisboa. After checking in the required 15 minutes early, we got our wristbands and hung out in the AC until it was time. Our 13 year old really enjoyed this 1hr 30 experience in an interactive museum. My husband and I enjoyed it, but I confess to picking it knowing she'd get a chance to experience history while also being more engaged than she might be at her age at a traditional museum. She has been to more traditional museums (we live near DC after all), but I just thought it would suit her better. We also both love roller coasters and enjoyed the shaking part of experiencing the 1755 quake.

From the museum, we walked to Pasteis de Belem, where I enjoyed my second pastel de nata of the day. I liked this one slightly better, but for me it was a difference in crust. Crowds were not bad, but we did do counter service so we could go sit in the park. We saw the monastery and the monument to the discoveries, but we did not experience either. I would go back to Belem on a future trip and do more for sure.

We took the bus back to Lisbon and all of us did some shopping--sardines for my husband and clothes for the teenager. We headed back to the apartment to change as I had booked our 17th anniversary dinner that night at Baixamar. We had a lovely meal with mussels, fish, oysters, lovely vegetables, and a good wine. We felt the service was good and did not feel price gouged despite the proximity to the arch. Again, crowds still felt low for what I had been warned to expect.

On the way home, we stumbled on the Elevador Da Se and that allowed us to have the energy to stop for sunset pictures at Miradouro de Santa Luzia. It was more crowded than it had been the day before, but again, we still had room to move around and not feel like we had to rush to get out and have breathing room. Back at the flat, I used the washer and pegged the laundry out to dry overnight--this felt like a luxury as I didn't realize it came with the apartment!

The next day was our last day in Lisbon, and we already had realized we hoped to come back!

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27 July - Day 3 Lisbon then transfer to Evora

This morning we tried the restaurant around the corner for breakfast after to go coffees from the coffee lab :) It also featured being photographed by someone walking our street in the morning while I was switching the laundry on the line. If they thought they were getting a real Portuguese mom doing laundry, they did not!

Checked out by 11 and used a Bolt to go over to Rossio and drop bags at a baggage hold store for the day. We walked around the square a bit and then made our way to the Santa Justa Elevator. The line was short, so we hopped on. We enjoyed the views from the top (almost empty) and eventually decided to walk down the other side to find some lunch. Our ticket would have been good to ride down. We loved the views of the Carmo Convent as we had been "inside of it" at the QUAKE museum.

Lunch was at an English style pub, The George, in honor of the Euro final that night. The food and service were fine but nothing to go out of your way for. We hit a few shops/the mall in that area to enjoy some AC and to satisfy the teenager. Around 2, we collected out bags and hopped the metro at Rossio to go to the airport to collect our rental car.

Once back at the airport, we followed the signs to car rental and picked up our Ford Puma from Guerin/Enterprise. With none of the vendors particularly well rated, we went with a good price and then made sure to have good insurance. This worked well for us as thanks to a pre-arrival check in email and then just confirming details at a kiosk, an employee met us and directed us to the key pickup. Within 30 minutes, we had done our inspection of the car (with videos!) and were headed off to Evora. The deep lines at the other counters made me think we got lucky with our timing.

We found the drive (and all driving in Portugal, really) to be easy. Getting to the Holiday Inn Express Evora did involve re-doing a roundabout due to no parking in front of reception, but once we checked and parked the car in the garage, we were free to enjoy the hotel. It is very new, and the adjacent pool/restaurant is not owned by the hotel. While breakfast is free, the pool charges a fee per room to use it each day. As it was 100F when we arrived, we paid the 20 euros and went to have our welcome drinks. The kiddo got in the shallow end of the pool to cool off but avoid aggravating her ear. Pool towels were provided.

The Euro final kicked off around this time, and after watching some, I walked into town via the gate across the street and had a seemingly empty city to myself. If you just want to wander, I highly recommend Evora on a late Sunday afternoon! After soaking up my fill of the sights, especially the Roman Temple, and having a cheeky solo gelato, I started investigating dinner and eventually chose an Italian place in the southern part of town. Ristorante Pizzeria L'Italiano was really enjoyable--good pizza, and my husband particularly enjoyed some sort of seafood medley on his. He also enjoyed the England women's Euro win!! We walked back through town in the approaching sunset hour, and we got some great photos of us at and around the Roman Temple. Again, we saw less than 20 people just out and about though I had seen more on one of the main streets lined with restaurants. We finished up the walk back to the HIE and enjoyed sleeping in the AC after a few nights of just having high-powered fans.