Lisboa to Ponta de Sagres 5/8 Today was a long drive from Lisboa to Ponta de Sagres and after several hours on the highway, we made the mistake of taking the scenic route. The road followed along farmlands but eventually turned into a goat path. By American standards this RV is small, however, by European standards it is quite large. We finally made our way to Sagres; please note its location on the map, we are about as far southwest in Portugal as one can go... before falling into the Atlantic. Well after a light meal we set out walking [View Full Entry]

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A walking tour was our first adventure this morning, www.lisbonwalker.com No need to book, just turn up at the meeting point. What a great way to get familiar with a new city. Jose was our guide and he gave us an in-depth view of--- the old Roman and Arabic city of Alfama . Alfama area was the site of a messy history with the Visigoths, the Romans, the Moors, the Jews, the Christians, the Portuguese Royalty, and of course the slaves. The persecution of the Jewish in this community was a terrible atrocity. Alfama was a fishing town and it [View Full Entry]

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Cascais to Lisbon Lisboa Camping Parc Monsanto Lisboa, the capital of Portugal, is a rare combination of history and bittersweet memories, and occupies a hilly site on the estuary of the Tagus. The Lisboa Camping located in the Parc Monsanto, is close to public transportation and has many facilities. After settling the Bothan here, we headed by foot, for the public transportation, a bus into Belem, a section of Lisbon. Belem, an area of Lisbon, was the port that famous navigators and explorers headed out from on uncharted waters to find new lands. Often the last night before the voyage, explorers [View Full Entry]

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Nazare to Alcobaca to Cascais World Heritage Site and a Seaside town in Portugal We visited Alcobaca after we left Nazare. The Monastery of Alcobaca is an impressive monument classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1989. Its construction started in 1153 and was home of the Cistercian monks. This 220 meter long monument is Portugal's largest church. Among those buried here are the tragic lovers King Pedro and his murdered mistress Ines de Castro, whose tombs face each other across the transept of the abbey church. Ines' death was ordered by Pedro's father. Touring the monastery was quite [View Full Entry]

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Nazare, Portugal Castelo de Vide to Nazare--- Portugal Campismo Paradiso May 3 Nazare is a coastal town just north of Lisbon (Lisboa). During the second half of the 17th Century, the sea level fell... uncovering an extensive area of sand where today stands the centre of the town. Until then the population lived in the highlands, up on the cliffs. This campground has Wifi, so Bob is happy. The gal tells me Nazare Beach is about two kilometers away. So I start off on my walk. Believe me it is not two kilometers, (maybe 2 kilometers to the start of Nazare) [View Full Entry]

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Espana to Portugal Toledo to Castelo de Vide It was a long drive, 300 kilometers or so, not all on highways, some farm roads and ancient narrow cobblestone streets. Castelo de Vide is in the middle of...... nowhere. This is our first town in Portugal. The town was conquered from the Moors in 1138. The Portuguese language is a source of pride, but extremely difficult to grab hold of. Something like: "Oh bree gah dah" meaning "thank you" can be very useful. So when all else fails say "Oh bree gah dah" ...and people smile. They know you are trying... even [View Full Entry]

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Location: Toledo, Spain Toledo picturesquely sited on a hill above the River Tagus is the historic center of Toledo. Behind the old walls lies evidence of the city's rich history. Toledo was a melting pot of Christians, Muslins, and Jewish cultures, and during this period the most outstanding monument - its cathedral - was built. This is one big cathedral!! In the 16th century the painter, El Greco came to live in Toledo, and today the cathedral is home of many of his paintings. We decided to walk from the campground to the downtown center, about 3 kilometer, up and down [View Full Entry]

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Madrid, Espana We managed to get back to downtown Madrid and used the computer internet store. Then we headed for the train station to get tickets to Toledo, however, our ticket number was 385 and the number called was 157, it was going to be a wait. So I took off to get tickets for Museo del Prado while Bob waited. When I returned, 40 minutes later, he had only moved up the line 20 to so numbers, well we have other options, so we decided to drive to Toledo, tomorrow. The walk along the Paseo del Prado is a [View Full Entry]

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Present Location Sevilla Spain Back to Madrid, we are now experts on the Metro and know how to switch train lines and find different locations! Madrid, Spain's capital city, is situated close to the geographic center of the country. Today is another walking day. First down the Calle Mayor to the Plaza Mayor and some many grand shops along the way. We visited a leather-good store and made some purchases, fine quality. On to the Palacio Real, the home of the president and the church of Nuestra Senora de la Almuneda. We finally stopped for lunch at an outdoor patio. Again [View Full Entry]

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Location: We had quite a rain storm last night and it cooled thing off quite a bit, this AM it was about 49 F. Our trip from Segovia to Madrid was To be honest, each day is a bit of a challenge, new roads, new campgrounds, new stores, new town/city, and often ....a new language---my brain is on overdrive! After settling into "Camping Osuna" in Madrid, we began a walk of about one kilometer, to the metro, we figured out the system and were soon on our way to Madrid! Learning to deal with the metro is a wonderful way to [View Full Entry]

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