Blogs from Northern, Portugal, Europe - page 12

It was a 3 ½ hour drive from Lisbon up the A1and as we came off it near Porto there were toll booths. Arrival at Vila Nova da Gaia was down a steep winding road following a Viking bus after the driver came across it at a roundabout. It was his first time on this transfer and his sat Nav did not seem very helpful. We drove along the quay and pulled in next to the boat. We were boarded 3 at a time up the gangway for safety reasons, I guess it was quite a steep slope and know that gangways collapse as it happened on a Med cruise that we took. Clearly we were early and just a small group in for lunch. It was a simple green salad, chicken, steak or salmon with ... read more

Thursday, Day 3: The plan today was to go for a final Porto explore then check out of the hotel at noon. We were scheduled to be at the winery at 3:30p to start our newest adventure and did not want to be late. Glen and Karen left early. Marji and Gary, Mike and I started together but quickly decided split up and wander independently. Our first stop was the Bolhão Market. We made a point of going there early because the market was closed yesterday, Freedom Day, and seemed to be a great treasure hunting opportunity. The Bolhão is a large, open air market that sells anything from fresh fish to veggies to wine to Portuguese knick-knacks to whatever. A little something for everyone. I came across an older lady that had chickens, bunnies, and ... read more

Porto. Wow! What to say? Porto, or is it Oporto? Well it would appear that the latter pronunciation is both English and Spanish, but the former is Portuguese. The success of the local football team, FC Porto, has led to much greater usage of the shorter name, so that's what we will use! This was such a cool city that we actually abandoned the plans to visit another friend on this trip and extended our stay for an extra day. The bus down from Viseu was plain sailing and it wasn't too bad a walk from the bus station to our hotel. Our initial thoughts on the Vera Cruz Hotel were very positive. So much so in fact that we thought immediately about staying an extra night. We asked at reception and were given a pretty ... read more

Thursday, November 16, 2017, to Vila Praia de Ancora, Pousada Farol do Portinho, 18 kms. We again placed our faith in the GPS trace and this time were not disappointed. Most of our way today was on the coast or near the coast except for a jaunt over to the N-13 highway for something to eat. After walking out of Viana do Castelo, past the shipyards and castle for which it’s named, we came across our 1stboardwalk of the day. Each municipality along the coast has a sign showing the parts of the boardwalk project completed and the parts under construction. Sometimes they’re up to date; sometimes not. “Under construction” we found could mean a couple of things – already complete and open or working on it. We saw them working on a section – it ... read more

November 9, Porto, Portugal Today was our long drive day. Barry and I look a taxi to the Hertz rental location, and drove back to pick up the girls and say goodbye to our wonderful host, Jose. Lucky for us it was a city holiday in Madrid and traffic was minimal unlike the hustle and bustle that it usually is. We left the city about 9:30 and were immediately impressed by Portugal's...like Spain's....fantastic highway system, mostly toll roads. At 120km/hr, it doesn't take too long. I set the cruise for 130 but still got passed a lot....by Mercedes, BMWs and the like. We stopped for coffee and pastry...a recurring theme...in the quaint walled town of Ciudad Rodrigo, near the Portugal border then it was off on the last stretch, to our accommodation called Belomonte Guesthouse, right ... read more