Blogs from Portugal, Europe

Woolly says – I think I’m going to have to put my paw down with a firm tusk! 6am!!! Why do we have to wake up so early? We hadn’t meant to be up at this time but as the sun was rising and the warmth was taking over the tent we bundled a grumpy Mammoth into Oliver and headed off. Woolly says – I didn’t know where we were going to and all Ian and Jo would tell me was that I would enjoy it, I would have enjoyed more sleep! As we flashed by fields and lakes we continued to oh and ah over the beautiful scenery. Portugal is such a pretty place. It didn’t seem to take long before we were following a bumpy track and I say the sign – Badoca Safari ... read more

We woke early, really really early ….. Woolly says – dawn was breaking more like, Ian told us it was half seven so with the kettle boiling we all went about our morning wake up rituals, checking Jo’s phone I found that it was actually 6.30am!!!! What a time to wake me up!! For some reason Ian’s roaming time was still on Spanish time but in our cross over into Portugal we had gained an hour and were now on BST again. Not to be downhearted, it was a lovely morning and the sun was coming up along with the temperature, 15 degrees by the time we were packed and ready to go. Woolly says – I was down hearted! But putting my grumps away I sat eagerly looking around me as we headed down the ... read more

Ola Lisbon! Lisbon is a small city of some 500,000 people. It is easy to get around with a variety of forms of transport. I love the old rattling trams which wind their way up and over the surrounding seven hills. The streets are cobbled, often steep and narrow. It is easy to get lost in the maze. Yesterday, we did a 4 hour walking tour and learnt a lot more about the history and districts. It seems inexpensive to us. (Not surprising as there is about 17% unemployment.) Last night a simple dinner, fish and rice, with wine was about $30. A 10 course degustation menu at a 1 star Michelin restaurant is 45 Euro, about $60. The buildings are in many colours and different states if repair. This all adds to the charm. In ... read more

We flew to Lisbon from Dublin on the 23rd April. Arriving we caught the metro into the town centre and walked 100 metres to our hotel. We were staying right in the heart of Lisbon. First impressions were great, it was sunny, warm, bustling with people and street performers. Lisbon is a hilly city similar to San Fran in the US. It is so similar it modeled the Great Golden Gate San Fran bridge and build the same one in the heart of the city. It has beautiful buildings that were situated on the hills, houses all nestled into one another all had terricoter roof and painted white....for a city once voted one of the top desitinations in the world to visit it was certainly living up to expectations. That night we meet up with freinds ... read more