Sao Miguel-Lisbon-Obidos

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I was ecstatic that Portugal was the warmest place of all our port stops. Unfortunately our time at these places was brief so the blog is mostly about the pictures and not so much on profound experiences I've had with this country.

Sao Miguel, Azores

The island of Sao Miguel was our first port stop and break from crossing the Atlantic. Ponta Delgada was a cute town with black and white mosaic cobblestone streets. I can understand now where the black and white style of the Serenado Square in Macau came from. It was a quick coach bus tour of the island checking out the Lagoa das Furnas, countryside and the town of Ribeira Grande. I did notice a lot of cows and pastures everywhere. The climate is moderate enough to maintain pastures all year around and dairy production is one of the leading industries in this area.

Lisbon
Sadly most of my wanderings were confined to the extent of the 15E tram line. This included the Baixa shopping quarter, Alfama area & Belem district where Jeronimo’s Monastery and Museum of Modern Art was located.
I did manage to wander past some houses in the Belem district and ceramic tiles were used predominantly on the older houses to decorate the exterior. Unfortunately, many of these houses were in need of restoration but still imparted a sense of grandness I can only imagine.

Obidos
This cute town on the hillside was my favorite part of the Portuguese stop. I suppose it could be likened to a perky & cute high school cheerleader. The walled medieval town complete with castle seemed to rely significantly on tourists and I embraced the whitewashed buildings & tourist shops lining the narrow cobblestoned streets with love.

I quite enjoyed the cherry liquor drink served in a mini chocolate tea cup. Can someone tell me if this is unique to the town or the equivalent of limoncello - a drink many towns seem to claim as their own in Italy?

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