Trip Report Part 1-Hills and Castles-Portugal

Day 1

Marathon travel day to Lisbon, 19.5 hours. We chose to fly direct from Calgary to Barcelona via our airline of choice-WestJet. From there we had a 4-hour layover and then caught a flight on EasyJet to Lisbon. This was our first attempt at using a discount airline and we came away impressed. We used EasyJet to Lisbon and then again from Porto to Bordeaux for the next leg of the trip. The initial price was about €25pp, but that more than doubled once I booked seats in advance and then more than doubled again as I paid for checked luggage. I’d read about how strict the discount airlines can be about luggage size and would charge you inflated prices to check it at the airport, so we paid even though based on the info on the website, our luggage would probably fit. Once we got to the airport I tried it in the EasyJet’s baggage tester and it easily fit. I was surprised just how easily which makes me wonder if baggage sizer at the airport is larger than what EasyJet states on its website. I was also surprised by both our flights on EasyJet and a third on Vueling regarding how chaotic the lines for preboarding are. For EasyJet here was one line for priority boarding which if I understand correctly, you need to pay an annual fee for and then only a 2nd line for everybody else. That resulted in people lining up 45 minutes prior to boarding time with long lines snaking down the terminal creating congestion for other passengers. It’s just as well that we checked our bags because even though I had booked us into the 2nd row on the plane, we were in that 2nd boarding line and by the time we got on there was no overhead baggage space left. Other than the long lines during preboarding, it was quick once it began. All of our discount airline flights were from the tarmac where we had to climb stairs into the plane. They loaded the plane from front and rear doors, and it was efficient.

The 1.5-hour flight was fine, but I can’t imagine taking more than a 2.5-hour flight on EasyJet as the seats are small, not well padded, minimal legroom and the don’t recline. Not even water was served unless you paid for it in advance. In fact, we never saw the flight attendants on our flight after seat belts were checked. However, for €117pp, I have no issues with the comfort levels and lack of service. It’s a cattle service and they don’t hide that fact.

Upon landing, the plan was to take Uber or Bolt to our Airbnb but the signage showing us where to go wasn’t obvious. We ended up taking a taxi for €25. It was clear from the start that the driver wasn’t going to turn on his meter, but we were into our 19th hour since we walked out of our door at home and I was OK with it. According to the Lisbon airport website it should have cost €18.

Our home for the next 6 nights was a two-bedroom apartment just 2.5 blocks from Praca do Comerico which is a large square along the waterfront near the arch. https://maps.app.goo.gl/FjeKTnnKmM2G1seJ8. It cost about €416/night, and it was all we expected with a large kitchen, living area, and half bath on the main level and two bedrooms, full bath and rooftop patio with views of the castle on the 2nd level. https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/26443415?source_impression_id=p3_1729195351_P3AdRQRZobYseUCJ The main pedestrian zone is Rua Augusta and it was half a block from the apartment and is loaded with shops and restaurants. However we soon discovered that we had to walk further to get out of the tourist heavy restaurants, all with similar plastic menus written in multiple languages and with photos of the food. The restaurant hosts could be aggressive and would stick menus in your face as we walked by. On the other hand, it was a 10-minute walk to the train station and subway, and sites such as the castle were easily walkable.

Day 2

Lorrie was tracking our steps and today we walked 9.2 miles, most of it uphill.

We booked the free walking tour of Alfama and Mouraria which was one of those that you pay however much you want at the end. At the beginning our guide went through how it worked and suggested €15-20pp. There were about 20 on the tour, which was a manageable number and it was a very good 2.5hr tour. https://www.hilisbonwalkingtours.com/book-now

Alfama and Mouraria are the oldest neighbourhoods in Lisbon with the walls of the castle originating in the 7th century, the area comes with steep hills and stairs, and uneven cobblestones (calcada) that can get slippery when wet-extra treacherous on a steep hill. For us, this neighbourhood was the highlight of Lisbon. The guide went over the history of the area, and also the current situation after I noted “tourists go home” spray painted onto the side of a building. The guide explained that the residents are frustrated with disrespectful tourists, but also the government’s inaction to save the neighbourhood. Apparently 80% of Alfama/Mouraria is now Airbnb and residents are leaving because of prices, and also because local services such as grocers and banks moved out and were replaced with tourist friendly businesses. When I looked around, he was right as for the most part the only businesses left were restaurants and a few souvenir shops.

He also warned us that cash is king in the neighbourhood and sure enough, when Phil and Lorrie insisted, we stop for lunch, it was cash only. I’m bringing up the restaurant now because this is where we clashed on travel styles. They wanted to stop every two hours; we’d get to a site, but before we even started exploring, there had to be a coffee and snack break, and then 2 hours later another hour+ was wasted on a lunch break, then coffee and snack in the afternoon. I rarely eat lunch at home let alone on a trip. It was a frustration I’d have to get used to. A few days later I started leaving them and then come back an hour later. One quirk, and I’m not sure if it’s normal or just this restaurant, Phil asked for salt and pepper and was brought salt and cinnamon.

I’m the type of guy that puts a low priority on food and I’d be perfectly content standing over the sink eating a meal and then get back to whatever I’m doing. As a result, my TR’s focuses very little on food and restaurants unless something is utterly spectacular, or I have a point of interest to make. Generally, we found that tipping was not expected except our restaurant this evening-I can’t recall the name but it was outside of the tourist zone with menus in Portuguese only with no photos. At the end, the debit machine was handed to us with an option to tip. Ironically, our restaurant the previous night was in the tourist zone and there were no expectations. The terminal was pointed at us so we could tap, and that was it. Only this once was a tip for a service suggested the entire trip. Maybe it was the lack of North Americans; in Portugal and in France we encountered a lot of Europeans but very few North Americans. We were more likely to be asked if we were English than American.

We finally got to Jorge’s castle after lunch, but an hour into exploring, a coffee and snack break was required and so I was off on my own for the next half hour. I loved the castle, and the views are spectacular. Everyone else enjoyed it but were content with a short visit and then sitting.

Day 3 Sintra

Walked 8.5 miles today, most of it uphill.

We had some momentary confusion when we went to catch the train. There are two Rossio stations, the Metro do Rossio which is the subway, and Lisboa Rossio which is the actual train. They’re close to each other but different. We couldn’t find an employee to ask and stumbled and fumbled for 5-10 minutes before we figured out that we were in the wrong station.

After a 40-minute ride, you’re in tourism central. TukTuks, cabs, guides all converging to offer you the ‘best price’ to get you wherever you want to go. The TukTuk guy said it was €15pp to Pena Palace which either means he took us for idiot tourists, or the RS guidebook is wrong. I believe it says €5. By now it was 10:00 and as per pattern for this trip we weren’t going anywhere until there was a stop for coffee and snacks as I paced, waiting to get the day started.

We decided on the National Palace in Sintra first. It was surprisingly interesting and worth the €13 ticket for the 1.5 hours we spent there. We bought our tickets at the Tourist Info office across the street thinking we’d save ourselves a slow line at the Palace. As it turns out there was no line and hardly anybody in the palace. I’d started to appreciate the tiled buildings in Lisbon but it’s the blue and white tiles depicting scenery that I first encountered in the Palace that would become my favourite use of the tiles throughout the trip.

Lunch time. 1.5 hours wasted as I was chomping at the bit to get to the Moorish Castle. I was all-in to walk to it but was outvoted so we headed for the bus stop which gets you to the top for about €5, but busses were only every 30 minutes and the lines so long that we would have waited 2-3 buses. We negotiated with a TukTuk driver but he was firm at €15pp. We decided on Uber for a total price of €14 up and then caught another for €9 for the ride down. I’m shocked that more people didn’t consider this because the wait for the bus down was as long as it was for the up portion. To be honest we threw around the idea of Uber from Lisbon, but for some reason we chose the train.

The Moorish Castle https://www.parquesdesintra.pt/en/parks-monuments/the-moorish-castle/ seems to get lukewarm reviews on this Forum and in the guidebook, but it was the highlight. It’s about a 10-minute fairy tale walk from the ticket kiosk through a lushly green forest to the castle and walls that you need to see to appreciate. I would advise a good treaded hiker, a reasonable amount of fitness, and to be aware that the trails and walls could be a challenge for the mobility challenged with a total of 500 steps to get to the top lookout point. There are also no railings on the ramparts, and they are narrow and uneven in spots and Carla chose not to try.

From there we walked uphill for 10 minutes along an uneven dirt trail through the forest to get to the ticket kiosk for Pena Palace. We weren’t interested in the insides of the Palace and just wanted to visit the free terraces outside. Every book warns about the steep climb from the ticket booth to the palace, but I didn’t think it was that bad. It was uphill and took about 7-8 minutes. There is a shuttle bus for €2.85 that you can take up as well. Liked, but didn’t love the palace, and we weren’t impressed with the signage. We saw no signage on how to visit the terraces, but I recalled reading that you entered through the gift shop and went up some stairs and through a cafeteria, which is correct. Even the entry for the interior wasn’t clear, we watched people confused of where to go.

Mobility alert. It had started to rain while we were there and the walk down on wet cobblestones was very slippery in spots. Probably a good reason to take the shuttle down. I’d also think twice about attempt the ramparts at the Moorish Castle if it was wet.

It was a good day and in hindsight we could have used a 2nd day to explore further.

Day 4 Belem

Walked 7.1 flat miles.

For a break from a day without hills we headed to Belem. It was a miserable morning with a misty rain and wind, but also 20C with 96% humidity making it too hot for a rain jacket but too wet not to have one. The humidity was too much for a guy used to a dry mountain/prairie climate. The nice thing about Portugal rain is that it was warm while I’m used to cold rain-even in the summer. Despite the rain, but because of the heat and humidity I was wearing shorts along with my rain jacket. I suspect all of Portugal was welcoming any rain they could get as the previous week we heard that part of the highway between Lisbon and Porto had closed, and also the castle and palace in the hills of Sintra were closed due to fire or threat of fire.

The train takes you within about a 5–10-minute walk to the primary sites. First on our list was going to be the Jeronimos Monastery but as we got close, we saw massive lines-more on that later. We did a quick turn and walked over to the Monument of the Discoveries. Lisbon had never been on my radar until an episode of Amazing Race a few years ago that featured sites such as the monument as well as Jorge’s Castle, while the castle was everything I hoped for, the monument was hard to enjoy because of the rain. I thought the most impressive part was the tiled world map on the ground nearby with illustrations of Portuguese discoveries.

Next stop was the Coach Museum which honestly looked better on the website and descriptions than it was. I’m glad we went, but after a few coaches they all started to look the same. The highlight was actually an art exhibition on the 2nd floor by Norberto Nunes. The best way to describe it is Picasso-like painting that look like the kings in a deck of cards. There is a portrait for every King and queen in the history of Portugal. My favourite was of Sancho I, who sired 19 kids and was forever given the nickname Sancho the Populator. https://live2makan.com/2024/04/15/national-coach-museum-nunes-portuguese-monarchs/

The surprise and highlight of the day was the Earthquake Museum https://lisbonquake.com/en-GB. At first, we all thought it would be gimmicky as it’s advertised as an immersive experience of the earthquake that hit in 1755. It was really good, and while there is a Disney type segment as you sit in vibrating seats as the earthquake hits, it’s the history of that day and what came out of the disaster that was memorable. Apparently, Lisbon is the birthplace of statistics and data, disaster planning, and urban architecture. After the disaster, first-of-its-kind studies and surveys were done to find out what happened, why it happened and how to prevent such a horrible disaster. Intensive data was collected from interviews with survivors which gives an incredibly detailed account of what happened and at what times that day. Lisbon was also rebuilt with ‘modern urban planning’ and ‘modern construction” to try and earthquake proof buildings and minimize Tsunami damage. It ended up being an informative museum with a quality history lesson.

The final stop of the day was the monastery. When we arrived in Belem at about 10:00 a sign said the waiting line was 2 hours long and we counted 28 tour buses in the parking lot. We made the executive decision to wait until late in the day. We came back about 4:00 and walked right up to the ticket office and went straight to a line that took about 15 minutes to get in. There was no signage and so we had no idea we were in the line for entry into the free cathedral. We didn’t realize there was a 2nd entry further down for the monastery. For that we walked right in. We had so many people tell us the monastery was a must-see, but I thought it was underwhelming and a disappointment. The cloisters were beautiful, but nothing earth shattering that we haven’t seen before. For us, it would have been a waste of time if we had stood in line for 2 hours.

Day 5

Walked 7.5 miles.

Started the day at the National Tile Museum, or Museu Nacional do Azulejo http://www.museudoazulejo.pt/. It’s not really a convenient location to get to; it was going to take 15 minutes by bus or by car, so we used Uber for €12 that dropped us off on the doorstep. It was about 10:30 and we drove by the cruise ship terminal and saw 2 ships in town, and it appears they all showed up at the museum before us. We had tried to book tickets online the night before, but the website said all online tickets were sold out, but you could still buy in person, and so we stood in line for about half an hour. We kept trying to book tickets while online as did many others and every once in awhile, we noticed someone having success, but not us.

The museum follows the history of tile in Lisbon from the 15th century until current. It’s housed in a former convent which adds to the beauty of the museum as some of the tile is what would have been seen while it was still a convent. Most of the signage is in Portuguese while the occasional area has English. There is a free audio guide to download via QR code, but there is no Wi-Fi and so you’ll need data service. We started using the guide but found it troublesome and gave up. Just a tip, the church within the convent with some spectacular tilework is closed from 1-3 so go there first. You may also miss some of the crowds which head straight to the more museum type of displays-which are also worthwhile.

This is the first trip out of country that we’ve used data and not relied on Wi-Fi. On arrival to Lisbon, we went to the Vodaphone store to get Esims for our phones. I’m glad we went to the store and didn’t try to download ourselves as I found the process cumbersome and confusing. Many of you have done it yourselves, so maybe it’s just me. We’re finding that having data is becoming necessary now and worth the cost. International Roaming on my plan is $16/day/pp while Vodaphone was €30pp for a month with 10gb of data which was more than enough. But even with the Esim, there were still challenges by not having my own phone number as I was often blocked by my bank when trying to purchase tickets online. My bank was requiring two-step authorization which would send a text to my regular phone number. It was a few days later while I was going through my bank’s app that I figured out how to turn the two-step authorization off temporarily to buy the tickets.

The only other thing we did today of any significance was to head back to our area of Lisbon and visited the Carmo Convent. This is the ruins of a church from the 13th century. In the 1755 earthquake the roof fell in on the congregation. The walls and the arches survived but the church was never rebuilt. It was worth the €5 and the hour and a half that we spent there.

Day 6 Cascais

Walked 11.2 miles.

One of the things that helps us plan sites or even whole trips are fictional references to locations- Salisbury Cathedral is an example as it was the point of reference for the book Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. A random fact we’d learned at some point was that Casino Estoril and Palacio Estoril Hotel were hangouts for Ian Fleming and friends during WW2 when Fleming was a spy for England. The hotel was featured prominently in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and Casino Estoril was one of the inspirations for the first James Bond book, Casino Royale. We were on our way to Cascais via train this morning and I thought a short pilgrimage was necessary, so we got off one station before Cascais in Estoril and walked up to the hotel and casino for a quick look to pay respects to the 007 legend. One of those stops that was significant to me, but few others, including the other 3 in our group.

From there it was about a 2.5km walk along a Promenade on the waterfront into Cascais. There are some small but pretty beaches along the route but nothing that I would describe as postcard worthy- (in honor of my age I choose to write “postcard” worthy instead of “Instagram” worthy…). I was more impressed by some of the homes and hotels that we walked by. Cascais has been a resort for Portuguese, Spanish and British Royals beginning in the late 1800’s. Soccer royalty is apparently also nearby as Ronaldo has/is building a house in the area. I don’t think we ventured far enough outside of the tourist area though to see the truly wealthy.

A small area of the town is heavily touristed with adequate-at-best restaurants and souvenir stores. But if you manage to walk about 5 minutes further you can come across some very nice neighbourhood homes and a very nice park. Nothing spectacular, but a nice break from the tourists. The walls of an old stone fort from the late 1400’s is also in town. The interior now has a hotel and some art shops and studios. Unlike the castle in Lisbon and another we’re going to see the next day; this one didn’t appear to have any significant historical stories to tell.

Against the protests of Carla of another hill, I convinced everyone on our last night in Lisbon to climb the hills of Alfama back toward Jorge’s Castle. It was simply a good evening of wandering aimlessly through old streets and then we stumbled across a small neighbourhood that still had its local charm and local restaurants. We sat down at one with an old painted sign called Empanadas Union. It is a small hole in the wall with about 3 tables inside and 3 outside. The street outside is so narrow that while we were sitting, we could almost feel the mirrors of cars driving by brushing at our backs. The menu is small, just empanadas and alcohol. Once we ordered the owner would make the dough from the empanadas by scratch. It was a very lively neighbourhood and evening with the locals and a few tourists like us hanging out. It made the hill climb worth it.

Day 7

Walked 6 miles

The initial plan was to take the train to Porto this morning, but we decided we’d rather rent a car and make some stops. Good Choice. Obidos was awesome. It’s a walled town with the ruins of a castle dating back to the 700’s and then the walls were redesigned and fortified in the 14th century. Before getting there, I knew there were some old walls, but I didn’t realize the extent. The walls are walkable and still surround the town. There’s not much signage to indicate you can walk them and I just happened to stumble across a staircase up that definitely wouldn’t meet North American safety standards. You can interpret that as the walls may not be for the faint of heart. Like in Sintra, the walkway can be uneven, narrow and no railings, and practically empty of people. Only occasionally did I have to pass someone and usually I had to do it carefully due to the narrowness of the walkway. There were some areas where homes and yards were built into the wall. At one point, I looked down and saw a guy roasting a whole pig on a spit over charcoal in his backyard. BBQing Obidos style.

Most reviews I’ve read of Obidos say it’s too touristy. I can confidently say that yes, the main street is full of tourist type shops, but if you walk 1 block off the main road in any direction, you may be the only person in sight. The homes there are a whitewash like you’d see in Greece, and with the same colourful blue trim. Two thumbs up to the start of the day.

Next stop was Fatima. It has worldwide fame due to a miracle during WW1 that still draws millions of people annually. Call me a non-religious cynic, but all I saw was a money-making bonanza such as a shop on site selling beeswax body parts; a sleeping baby costs €4 or you could go all-out and buy a pregnant woman’s torso for €8. You’d buy these objects and then immediately go over to this large firepit and drop it in as a thanks for a small miracle that you’ve had in your life. While I’m cynical with all spirituality, I couldn’t help but be fascinated by the intense faith of people that were here. The church area is massive to hold the annual crowds that come in May to celebrate the miracle. Even on this late September day there were thousands of people walking toward the square with the giant fire. I’d read that several tons of wax is burned every month. And it’s not just the wax, I saw one woman carrying a 12’ wooden cross from the parking lot to the fire pit.

Next stop was Porto where we found an underground parking lot under a park for €50/night. Phil wanted to hold on to the car as their flight home was out of Lisbon in 3 days and the parking was cheaper than the drop-off fees and a train back.

Day 8

Walked 8.1 miles

Since we had good success with the free walking tour in Lisbon, we decided to try again with a free tour using Hi Porto. It got off to a bit of a slow start as every walking tour in the city seemed to start at the same location. People were running from guide to guide holding an umbrella looking for their tour. Our guy finally arrived with about a minute to spare and so all the lost souls that hadn’t found their guide yet converged on him. Unlike the guide in Lisbon, he didn’t make any suggestions regarding what an appropriate tip was at the end of the tour so we stuck with what we learned previously and gave him €20/pp. He must be doing alright because during the tour he said he began the gig about 6 months ago and he and his wife were finally making enough money that they could afford a house. The group was large with 32 people, and so I estimated that if everyone gave €20, that worked out to €640, less the €150 he said he owed the tour company, so that’s €490 for 2.5 hours work. He says he would do two tours that day. Assuming it was a similar sized group that comes to close to €1000, and this is off season. Despite the large group it wasn’t too cumbersome, and we managed to hear everything he said, and nobody got lost.

The tour started with several references to Harry Potter and JK Rowling that was of no interest to me except for the Livrario Lello Bookstore which has been rumored as an inspiration for part of Hogwarts in the HP books. Apparently JK Rowling said it wasn't true, but only after she sued the bookstore after they refused to give her 10% of the store’s profits because she said they were using her name in their marketing. She lost because it couldn’t be proven that they ever used hers or the Potter name. I searched online for facts to back up this story and couldn’t find anything in the 20 seconds I searched so I have no idea if it’s true or not. Whatever the case, we didn’t go in or even try to come back. When we got there at 10am on a Sunday morning there were hundreds of people in line already with timed tickets. Apparently, the store makes more money on entry tickets than it does selling books.

If you go to Porto, be prepared for hills. Lisbon is amateur hour in comparison. But it was unanimous that all four of us enjoyed Porto more than Lisbon. We enjoyed where we stayed at Oca Ribeira apartments hotel https://www.ocahotels.com/hoteles/oca-ribeira-porto-apartamentos which offers studio suites about a block from the river. We enjoyed the hotel and the location, but it meant a daily climb up steep hills to get to most sites.

While the area by the river is heavily touristed, we didn’t venture far in the evenings to eat and we came across a tradition going on for generations. At first we just thought it was crazy kids out to make a buck as they ran through a few of the nearby bars and restaurants asking for money to jump off the lower level of the 144 year old Luis Bridge. I don’t know how many coins they collected but there were four of them that would make a bit of money and then run to the bridge and jump the 20 metres into the river. I learned later that this has been going on for at least 3 generations of teenagers.

Day 9

Walked 9.6 miles

Our favourite day in Porto was technically not in Porto but across the river in Gaia where the Port is shipped from the Douro Valley and then sent around the world. The Luis Bridge has two levels, and most people walk across the upper level for the views, but it’s a bit of a hike uphill to get to it so we settled on the lower level to get across and then hiked up the hill to get to the former monastery. I’m told that the monastery area and the park is a popular area to watch the sunset from, but we never made it back in the evening to check it out. Daytimes views are spectacular as well though.

We had nothing booked and nothing planned for this day and wandered through the old streets in the morning taking it all in. Since we’re taking a river cruise starting in Amsterdam next Spring the 6 river boats tied up on this side of the river caught our interest and we wandered down hoping to take a peek from shore to see what they’re like. An important note to any of you planning a river cruise. Unlike an ocean ship, these ships are small and easy to look into from the shore. We caught sight of a 70+ aged woman fully naked getting changed in her room. Note to self, close my blinds, nobody needs/wants to see me that way next Spring. The areas around the ships are roped off so it’s not like we had our noses pressed against the glass; we were maybe 20’ away when we saw the show.

While we had nothing booked, a Port tasting was in the plans, and we chose the Calem Caves (cave translates to basement in English). For €25 we got a 45-minute tour to learn about port and see the barrels stacked up in the cave. Barrels are used for about 150 years before their sold off to whisky distillers. After the tour we went into the tasting room and were given 3 glasses. I’m not much of a wine/port drinker and so I’d take a small sip of each and pass them to Carla. Little did I know that Lorrie gave two of hers to Carla who happily had 8-2-ounce glasses of port in about 45 minutes. Let’s just say she left happy and giggly. We were taught how to swirl your glass and take a sniff to appreciate the aromas of what you’re drinking. I’m not sure how that helps. The first two I tried, I really liked the smell, but the taste was awful. The 3rd was the only one I liked but it smelled horrible, and I almost gave it away without trying.

There is a modern building behind all of the warehouses in Gaia called The World of Wine. It’s a mall type of building full of art shops and a few museums. There is an excellent photo exhibition along the walls with 100+ year old photos of what the area used to look like, including the caves and the boats bringing the port from the valley. It was worth the 15 minutes it took to study all of the photos. From there and to finish off the day we went to the Cork Museum within the building. I had forgotten that Portugal was known for its cork tree growing and production. It was quite interesting.

Day 10

Phil and Lorrie had to leave us this morning and drive back to Lisbon to catch a flight the next day. We were catching a flight from Bordeaux early the next morning and spent the day wandering Porto. We visited the cathedral which looked like most cathedrals, and I can’t describe anything unique about it. The Bishop’s Palace next door was interesting and included in the ticket we bought and had a spectacular ceiling in the foyer painting in pastel yellows and blues and was worth the small price of admission.
Our flight the next morning was at 6:30 so we found a small, cheap hotel within walking distance of the airport. The original plan was to take the subway to the airport, but as mentioned, the hills here are steep and we’d be doing a lot of climbing with our luggage to get to the subway station. Instead, we chose Uber for €14. When I’m describing Porto to friends, I tell them to be prepared to be going uphill both ways. During our walking tour a couple of days before we started near the bookstore and ended at the cathedral and I swear it was uphill. Then yesterday we were at the cathedral and walked toward the bookstore and it was still uphill.

All in all, we ‘liked’ Portugal, but didn’t ‘love’ it. No regrets, we knew we were going someday, and we got a unique chance to see it with very close friends. A few months ago, I started a post regarding my upcoming retirement, and I asked if it might be a good idea to prioritize some locations based on age and ability. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/prioritizing-destinations-based-on-age I would count Lisbon (and Sintra), and Porto as one of those that you may want to do sooner rather than later. The many hills can be steep, the cobblestones on the sidewalks can be slippery when wet, especially in the hilly areas. Places like the Moorish castle in Sintra and the walls in Obidos require some climbing, have uneven steps and no safety railings. I’d also recommend getting some hills into your walking regimen and stretch those calves. But now we’re off to Bordeaux and the Dordogne Valley on part 2 of this trip which will be on another Report. We were glad to be getting away from the hills, or so we thought…..

Part 2-Dordogne. When I complete the Trip Report I'll post it separately.

Thanks for sharing. We just got back from Portugal. Totally agree on the hills but we thought Lisbon was worse than Porto!

Allan, I agree with you on many of points you made except we liked Lisbon more than Porto. And yes, Portugal was nice but not a country we feel the need to visit again.
Happy your first retirement trip went well.

Thanks so much for this lovely trip report. As you mention at the end, Portugal has moved up my list of destinations due to the videos/research I've done about Lisbon and Porto's hills. Also, your Lisbon apartment is one I had bookmarked! How was it noise-wise? It's pretty high up so figuring it wouldn't be too bad, as I've heard some areas can be in Lisbon. Thanks!

Great report, Allan, so much personality! This:

skipping daytime meals and bathroom breaks because we can do those things at home,

made me laugh. Some friends here have suggested we travel together, but I am avoiding it, fearing they're the "let's stop and have another drink before we actually see anything" kind. I do enjoy the odd break here and there, though.

Portugal surprised us. We were prepared to like it; we were amazed to find we loved it. Obidos and Porto were our favorites, although you visited a few places we didn't.

I can't wait to see what you have to say about France!

Good job.