We always try to leave as much flexibility in our travel plans as possible, just in case places are different once seen "in person"...and on this trip, we're glad we did! We made a change in Lisboa already, turning Evora into a day trip rather than an overnight.. We then decided on our last night in Lisboa to scratch the side trip to Salamanca, Spain. It was just too much travel time and was too expensive for a short trip. We also hadn't found a place to stay that we liked in Coimbra, so decided to make that city a day trip from Porto later in the month. Once we made those decisions, it was easy to have the rest of trip fall into place!. We decide to stay longer in the south and then go ... read more

"Sintra is a resort town in the foothills of Portugal’s Sintra Mountains, near the capital, Lisbon. A longtime royal sanctuary, its forested terrain is studded with pastel-colored villas and palaces. The Moorish- and Manueline-style Sintra National Palace is distinguished by dramatic twin chimneys and elaborate tilework. The hilltop 19th-century Pena National Palace is known for a whimsical design and sweeping views." We headed out early today (for us...9:00 am!) to Sintra, a 40 minute train ride away, and a UNESCO Heritage Site. The train was crowded, but we were early enough to get seats. The trip is not very interesting: just one giant blob of high rise apartment buildings after another with little green space. A bit of interesting history for all you Norwegians reading this: Sintra was under Islamic rule until July 1109 when url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry, ... read more

With the heat, crowds, and lingering jet lag, we have been occasionally wondering why we left our comfortable life to journey here...and we got answers yesterday! We visited the giant Saturday flea market to begin our day, which included walking (always up and down hills in Lisboa!), a subway trip, and more walking...for some unknown reason the subway stop nearest us was closed, so we walked to the next one, got off near the water (and a cruise ship dock), and went up hill to the market. Flea markets are my favorite stop for souvenirs! We got a gift for our grandson (who requested rocks or fossils), a new tiny animal for our collection, and some beautiful handmade holders for children's napkins (they would carry them to school) for a Euro ($1.20) each!...It was so much ... read more

As it was to be very warm again today we decided to go to Cascais, a town about 20 miles from Lisboa, and 40 minute scenic train ride away. We had thought we would avoid the crowds since it was Thursday, but after seeing so many families heading to the beach, we realized that it must be a holiday, and it was! We walked about 15 minutes from our apartment to the Gloria Elevator, which carries people up and down a very steep hill. Since the fare was about $4.00/each, we decided to walk down; a good decision! We then went to the subway, where we bought cards that can have money added to them (it's called "zapping" here) that give you a lower fare on public transportation. We successfully took the correct subways to the ... read more

We arrived in Lisboa this afternoon, after a long, 24 hour voyage that started at 7:00 am Monday morning (and we had not slept well, having heard of the Las Vegas shootings just before we went to sleep...) It began with a drive to Kirkland (complete with a blocking accident on I-5), to leave our car with with my son. He drove us to the airport after we dropped my daughter-in-law off at work in Seattle. At 1:45 Seattle time, we took a crowded Norwegian Air flight to London (Gatwick). There were at least 3 screaming toddlers on the flight and they screamed intermittently all night... Everything was a la carte on the flight and we had to request water! It was about 11:00 pm our time once we cleared immigration and began our 3 hour ... read more