Blogs from Portugal, Europe

Dear All Yay! After four days of travelling through Portugal, I had arrived in its capital city - Lisbon! I always find it interesting to travel in a country first before getting to know its major city. I've actually done this on my four most recent trips: South Africa, Croatia, Albania, and now Portugal. It's as if the whole trip is building up to this crescendo. While I did like Lisbon, I actually preferred the rest of the country. Porto, Coimbra and Fátima were all quintessentially Portuguese, while Lisbon seemed more international and cosmopolitan. Don't get me wrong, I also like international and cosmopolitan, but the main reason I visit a country is to find out about the country itself. I think this was done best for me in the non-capital areas of Portugal. Still, my ... read more

Dear All I had a lovely day of explorations today, and feel so happy to be on the road again. In the morning, I bade farewell to my comfortable lodging in Póvoa de Varzim, realising what a great find it was. While Porto was busy and quite touristy, this place to the north of the city was Portuguese and authentic. I could really practise my Portuguese there, which I'd been learning for a few months already before my visit. Being a Spanish speaker, Portuguese is really quite easy to read. It is speaking and listening to it which isn't easy, they speak so fast and really "eat their words", as they say in Spanish, so it's difficult to catch what's being said. I'm enjoying the challenge though! I took the Porto Metro for the last time ... read more

Random pictures that may have been missed before. Au revoir to Albufeira, meaning I hope I return some day. And away we go again! Back to Faro airport to fly back to Lisbon. There’s a 5 hour wait before we board & leave for Toronto. By paying a little extra we have premium lounge privileges-free food and bar drinks . So I can charge my iPad and phone so it will last on the flight home. It’s busy in the lounge and it takes a while before we can get a more comfortable seat with a charging station. This is a whole new experience for me to go to a premium lounge and get food and drinks. Charging stations are in great demand so you have to watch diligently for someone to move and quickly take ... read more

In other news…the first picture I took early this morning while having coffee on the balcony is the sky over the ocean just down the way from our house. Isn’t it beautiful? And there’s a picture of Suki. She’s the cutest little thing, very smart and appropriately pampered. She’s a little Papillion, 12 years old and walks everywhere we do. She never gets tired and keeps looking back to see if we’re coming. She doesn’t need a leash, just stays close and listens very well. We are taking a break from driving today and exploring the Old Town of Albufeira which is only minutes away from our house. It’s typical of all European towns with the medieval centre of the business area full of very narrow streets and small shops with apartments on the upper floors. ... read more

Our excursion today is to Tavira which is east of Faro and on the south coast of Portugal. It is an ancient town founded in 1,000 BC. The old town is typical of most European cities and towns - very narrow cobblestoned streets lined with ornate buildings complete with fancy iron balconies. The sidewalks are all uneven cobblestones making it a challenge to walk straight. I wonder if they did that so you couldn’t tell who had too much to drink and who was sober. These towns are immaculately clean, no garbage anywhere. We saw a lady out with a mop swabbing down the front of her very well maintained house. Many of the buildings have glazed ceramic tiles known as azulajo either as a decoration or as a whole front coverage. Uniquely coloured and decorated ... read more