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Trip Report - Portugal September/October 2024

Short rant before the actual report: I downloaded an Orange esim before leaving, and all seemed okay, but when I turned it on at the Lisbon airport there were bars but it said 'No service.' What the what? Since I did not want to hassle with trying to get it working, I wrote the $20 off and stood in line to get a Vodafone esim which worked perfectly from the get-go.

Okay, real trip begins:
Lisbon (5 nights) Once we had online connection at the airport, I ordered a Bolt, but where were we to pick up? After fumbling and following signs, we finally ended up with a crowd of people just outside the parking garage. It seemed that once your driver arrived, he parked in one of the nearby spaces, sent you a message, and you tried to find the car. Since you do have a description, it wasn't impossible, but unnerving when you're jetlagged and in a strange city. But we found him, and were soon on our way into Lisbon.

Accomodation
1-bedroom apartment in the Alfama. Arturo, the host, was great; met us (since only residential cars could enter the area) and walked us into the apartment. It was compact, but very comfortable and nicely decorated. The Alfama has lots of stairs and alleyways. Google Maps(my husband's) was better about showing shortcuts than Apple Maps (mine)
Favorite Things We Did:
Food Tour - Culinary Backstreets looked the most interesting to us. We did 'Post-Colonial Feast,' and Ines, our guide took us to several different neighborhoods, trying Brazilian, Cape Verdean, Goan (East Indian). Almost more interesting than the food was our guide, who was proudly Portuguese, yet upfront about its colonial past and present. Go hungry because it is a LOT of food.
Lisboa em Fado - We don't go to concerts often, so though we wanted to try fado, we didn't want to be stuck for two hours if the music wasn't to our taste. This show was perfect; just under an hour long, with a couple of different styles of music, two performers, and two guitarist (one classical, one Portuguese). The performance space was small (I think there were less than 50 chairs), the acoustics were good, and no amplification needed. There are short video segments that explain the history. If you are a fado purist, it is not for you, but if you just want to see if fado is to your taste, this is a great introduction. You also get a glass of port. Buy tickets online, they are not available at the door.
Fado Museum - Ironically, though I just said I'm not into music, I enjoyed the museum (I am a big fan of good museums). I thought the exhibits were imaginative, and appreciated the English translations. I really enjoyed the comfy chairs where you could put on headphones and listen to different artists I even bought a CD of Ann Moura, one of the contemporary stars (love her poppy "Dia de Folga")
Carmo Archeological Museum -This is the remains of the church that partially survived the 1755 earthquake. It is like an piece of art itself, with the gray arches against the blue sky, the pillars holding up nothing, and pieces of other buildings put on pedestals in the space. Quite stunning. The museum is in the back, and a nice size, informative, but not overwhelming. Do visit the little museum store; which has a nice selection of books and I stocked up on merch featuring the museum cat, Carlota.
Igreja da Graca Viewpoint - The banner promised the best view in Lisbon for 5 euros. I don't know if it was the best, but it was a fabulous view and certainly a lot less crowded than the miradouro. You also got a free drink with your ticket (orange juice, soda, or wine). Did not view the church, but other from other pictures, it looks quite lovely and is not as popular as other churches.

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Good Eats: Our host recommended several eating places. The ones we tried were winners.
Pateos 13 - A seasonal restaurant because all seating is outdoors, in a tiny little plaza among all the Alfama alleys. Everything is grilled; mostly fish, but they also had chorizo. My husband had sardines, and I had golden bream. This was my first encounter with the whole grilled fish phenomenon (the whole fish didn't bother us; both our dads caught fish) or we would have split the entree. It was delicious; the grillmasters knew their work.
Augusto Lisboa - We went for brunch and it looked like a hipster hangout: airy, couches, big tropical leaves. Menu was even more hipster: detox drinks, lattes, and even avocado toast. It was expertly executed hipster: The drinks were excellent, the food well prepared and creative and fresh. I had a charcuterie board with different cheeses, jams, olives and bread. A beautiful fruit bowl.
Alfama Doce - A marvelous bakery in a miniscule space. There is a small eating area off to one side. Excellent pastel de nata and other goodies.
Ginjinha - I did not go to the famous Ginjinha Sem Rival nor A Ginjinha. I found that on weekdays, if you wander around the Alfama, you are likely to come across at least one woman selling ginjinha from her doorstep. It's served in a chocolate cup, so no mess. One sets up regularly on Rua dos Remedios with a sign saying "Grandmother's Homemade Ginjinha" Is it really homemade? Who cares? It's delicious. I'm all for helping a vovo (grandma) earn some extra euros. :-D

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Sintra (2 nights)
I was a little worried about being crowded out of the train, but we got on the 10 a.m. with no problems.

Accomodation

Our hotel, Chalet Saudade was around the corner from the station. We were too early to check in, but we were able to leave our suitcases. When we checked in later that day, we found our room very spacious, with a huge bed and a generous bathroom. It overlooked the garden, and was very quiet at night. The hotel is a gorgeous renovated house, with a lovely front room and salon. All the staff were very gregarious and helpful.

Favorite Places:
National Palace - Not nearly as crowded as some of the other sites, so you had time to linger in the rooms.
Initiation Well - When we got to Quinta da Regalaria, the drizzle turned into a real rain, and we hadn't brought our raincoats. Since it would get us out of the rain, we went down the Initiation Well. Definitely a good photo op, and the line moved along with encouragement from Quinta staff, who shouted, "Keep moving!" At the bottom were several tunnels that led to other wells, and an opening behind a waterfall. Fun stuff. I hadn't known about the tunnels.
Monserrate Palace -RS doesn't mention this place at all, but I loved it. I call this style 'Arabian Baroque,' and that kind of ornate carving and decoration makes me happy.
Good Eats
Cajó. We stumbled across this restaurant close to the guesthouse, and it was delicious, and we came back the next night. Some traditional portuguese food, but also some innovation. If pavlova is on the menu, order it.
Cafe Saudade - This was the sister cafe of the guesthouse; located one street over, and guests got a generous breakfast plate of cold cuts, cheese, hardboiled egg, fruit cup, pastel de nata, croissant, and a basket of breads. Everything was delicious.

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Porto (5 nights) We took the train from Sintra to Porto (well, Sintra to Lisbon to Porto). We went second class, and though it wasn't terrible, I highly recommend upgrading to first.
Accomodation
Our third-floor apartment was just off the Praca da Ribeiria, with a wee balcony with a view of the Douro and the nightlife. It was a great apartment, but definitely noisy. I loved it, my husband not so much.
Favorite Places or Events:
My husband caught a cold on the way to Porto, and gave it to me a few days later. So we were out of commission for about half of Porto. We had to cancel a walking tour of the murals and street art, which made me a little sad.
Stock Exchange - If you like ornate, this is a fun tour. We bought tickets the day of, around 10 a.m. Maybe about 17-20 people, so quite a few, but not so many you can't hear the guide. She was entertaining, very animated and irreverent (maybe the same one as BethFL?) The big murals of heroic figures reminded me of N.C. Wyeth's romantic illustrations.

Bolhao Market - I love a good market, and Bolhao was one of those. Prices seemed a tad high, but all the products were top-notch. We got some snacks for the upcoming road trip: nuts (hazelnuts and mixed; I thought almonds would be more prevalent, but not really); cured meats; dried fruit.
Tile Painting Workshop - Run by Gazeta Azueljos, a non-profit that works to catalog Porto's tile designs, this 2-hour workshop lets you choose from a large portfolio of stencils and will help you if you want to make your own design. You paint 2 tiles, and they are ready for pick up the next day.
Good Eats
Muro do Bacalhau - We did an early evening stroll along the Duoro, and on the way back decided to see if we could find a place for dinner. Since the weather was nice, we were hoping for one of the riverside tables, but everyone else thought so as well. Things were not looking hopeful when we saw a table being vacated at Muro. We asked a server if we could take it, and he asked sternly, "Dinner, not just drinks?" When we assured him we wanted food, we were seated at a narrow table with a great view. My husband had the acorda - bread soup with shrimp, which far outshone my roasted eggplant.
Padaria Ribeiro - We intended to do the RS walks, but the only one we managed was in Porto. When we got to the little park of Guilherme Gomes Fernandes, and Rick recommended the padaria. We had lunch there, which was fine, but we were very impressed with the pastries and bread. My husband was particularly taken with the maracuja tarts, passion fruit tarts with a graham cracker crust. I returned a day later to pick up more of them, a bag of cookies and several rolls. I was also very tempted by a steamed pudding in a bowl, but I resisted, mostly because I couldn't figure out how to fit it in my suitcase.

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Peneda-Geres National Park (2 nights). I was very curious about the park, and my husband was intrigued by the thermal spa in the village of Geres. We rented a car at the Porto airport and drove not quite two hours to the park.
Accomodation

Aguas do Geres Hotel. An older hotel, but modern rooms with high ceilings. Our room faced the street, but was very quiet at night. But not many outlets! I had to unplug a lamp to be able to charge our devices.
Favorite Places

The fall weather caught up with us and it rained the entire time. So we were unable to do any of the hiking trails I had researched except the Geira Romana (more about this a little later).

Museu da Geira- which showcases the Roman road, explaining how it was built, how it was used. It is a small museum, but well laid out and interesting. Next door is the Vilarinho das Furnas museum, which features the village that was flooded when a dam was built.
We had some trouble finding an entrance to the Geira Romana. Not a lot of the directions were in English, and putting them into Apple Translate (my husband was having trouble with Google) resulted in opaque directions that didn't look trustworthy. We finally did find what seemed to be a trail entrance (there was a steel silhouette of a Roman soldier by the road). The first 100 yards or so was the recreation of the wide, cobblestoned road (you could comfortably drive an ox-cart down), then morphed into a hard-packed trail. That was where we turned around, since I was pretty much soaked (my Lands End raincoat was not up to the rain). But the views that we could see through the rain and clouds showed a great walk when the weather was nice.
Favorite Eats
I've forgotten the name of this little cafe somewhere around Campo de Geres. We came upon it close to 3:00 p.m. and were really hungry, so the chicken and potatoes tasted great. My husband's favorite place because our meal (including wine) was 20 euros!
Although interesting, I think I would have liked the park much more in better weather, where we could have taken some of the hikes.

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The Algarve (Fuseta 5 nights)
We dropped off the rental at the Porto airport, and got mentally prepped for our RyanAir flight. We got there early, so were able to find a seat outside the boarding area. The flight was delayed about 40 minutes, but RyanAir kept showing the original boarding time, even when it had passed. Eventually, we were let in the boarding area, then kept waiting for about 20 minutes before allowed to go onto the tarmac to board. Otherwise, uneventful flight. We landed in Faro and picked up our rental from MasterKings. The office was just a kiosk in the parking lot, but the employees were efficient and easy-going. We got a Peugeot, which my husband admired for the looks, but after driving for 30 minutes, disliked for slow acceleration.
Accomodations
Mohinos del Mare. We were undecided where to in the Algarve. The decision was made when I ran across a small guesthouse that was a renovated tidal mill. It looked onto the lagoons and ponds of the Ria Formosa, and though I thought I wanted to be right by the beach, the mill looked so cool our minds were made up. It turned out to be a good choice. The room was decent-sized, with tile floors, windows to offer views out to the lagoons (which turned into mud flats during low tide, but luckily didn't smell). Right outside the door was a staircase to a roof terrace above. And flamingos! You shouldn't get closer than 100 yards, and you really can't, because they are shy and move away. But pretty amazing to watch.
Fuseta (aka Fuzeta) is a small fishing town that is pivoting towards tourism. We were on the older end of town; towards the beach, there were several newer apartment or condo complexes. It has a nice little town center, with pretty cobblestone mosaics of tuna fishing. A daily weekday market with a couple of produce vendors and some very fresh fish markets (no kitchen,so we couldn't take advantage of the latter). A really nice cafe (Cafe TrinidadeTwo train stations, one at either end of town. Lots of ex-pats.
Good Eats
Escandinavia Green Spirit - I was surprised to read about a vegetarian restaurant in such a small town, and even more surprised that it had great reviews. We went in without a reservation, but luckily able to get a table. With only one server and a small but full house, the service was understandably slow. I had a lovely basil mocktail, and my husband had a beer. We had a spinach curry and a pizza with tomatoes, pine nuts, walnuts and chevre. Both were excellent, and it was nice to have vegetables.
Casa Corvo - great place for fish. Husband had octopus, I had prawns.
Pastelaria Trindade - This cafe is where locals and tourists, tattooed young hipsters and town matrons come for good coffee and pastries. The owner is a former Canadian, is a connector, in the Malcolm Gladwell sense; bringing people together. She introduced us to another American who came to Fuseta about 3 years ago.
Favorite Places and Events
The colds we caught in Porto still left me a little tired, and I wouldn't have minded just hanging out in Fuseta, but my husband wanted to see what we could. We did spend a day at the lagoon beach, near where an old lifeguard station makes for great photographs But my memory blurs on the details of the towns we visited. We went to Tavira, with its handsome parks and found the New York Times, which is hard to do even in the U.S. I could see why a lot of expats want to settle there. In Silves, my favorite were the storks, which had nests everywhere, and perched on light poles. We did a piece of the Seven Hanging Valleys trail, which offered view after gorgeous view.

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Lisbon Airport (1 night)
Drove back to the airport. Quick drive but not that scenic. MasterKing drop off was offsite, return was easy, and they shuttled us to our hotel.
Accomodation -
Melia Lisboa Aeroporto. Comfortable hotel for the night. Hearty breakfast buffet. We were going to take the shuttle, but it got caught in traffic, so we opted to walk, in the rain, to the airport. It was about 10 minutes away, but we didn't get too wet.

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From our hotel window looking onto Praca de Ribeiro I could see apartments with balconies across the street. Now I wonder if one of them was yours. We tried sleeping with the window open one night but it was too loud.

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Hi Allan, The apartment building was at the rear of the Praça, a four story gray building that features a dry fountain and a niche with a statue that looks like a shaggy hermit. You can see it in most postcards of the Douro waterfront. And it was noisy, even with the modern French doors and the wooden shutters closed.

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Ulagirl,

I don't recall the statue looking like a shaggy hermit. There was the dry fountain and a statue of a cube. Here's a photo from the doors of our hotel. 2 buildings across from ours had balconies.

https://imgur.com/a/otJTaZH

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Ualagirl, thank you for this great report! I love the formatting.

We took the Rick Steves Portugal tour last year, and loved it. We spent several days in Porto after the tour, and were very glad we did. What a great country, and Porto is on our "must return" list. Although, you saw a few things in Lisbon that we missed, so perhaps we need another visit there, as well.

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Allan, that's our building! The third floor (second floor in European terms) with the balconies is our apartment (there is one unit per floor). Did your hotel have blue azulejos on the outside? I have some pictures of it from the balcony)
The statue in the niche is right above the dry fountain. You can see his silhouette in your picture. I always wondered about the cube; what relevance it had to the plaza.

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Thanks, Jane, for your kind words. We really enjoyed Portugal, and there were several more areas I would like to explore. I feel we just brushed the tops of Lisbon and Porto.