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Portugal Travel Blogs

Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil as a colony. A 1910 revolution deposed the monarchy; for most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms. The following year, Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies. Portugal is a founding member of NATO and entered the EC (now the EU) in 1986. To be updated

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By comeniusgroup
March 28th 2008

Leaving for Portugal

Europe » Portugal » Algarve » Faro

Meeting at 11, in Zuffo area, all happy to say good-bye to parents from the coach window... At last we started for this adventure, far away from Italy for 13 days!!! On the road for Milan-Malpensa, we laughed and joked, we listened to music and we had fun. When we arrived at the airport, for someone the anxiety started to grow; we waited still a bit of time before doing the check-in and later walked in the airport-shopping centre or to see the airstrip. Finally we got aboard the plane and in the take-off, someone held the arm of the fellow [View Full Entry]

By SlimBlue
March 25th 2008

A day trip to Sintra

Europe » Portugal » Lisbon & Tagus Valley » Sintra

In Sintra

Hi Friends and Family, We were going on a day trip to Sintra. Sintra is the former summer residence of Portuguese royalty and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1995. It boasts two extraordinary palaces, a semi-tropical garden and a Moorish castle with views over Lisbon! We took a train from the Rossio station in Lisbon and 45 minutes later, we were in Sintra. Apparantly, its a common commuter route as trains leave every 15-20 minutes! We bought a Day Rover ticket for €9 as we wanted to go to a few places including the famous Caba da Roca. We waited [View Full Entry]

By SlimBlue
March 24th 2008

Finding our way around Lisbon

Europe » Portugal » Lisbon & Tagus Valley » Lisbon

Outside my window

Hi Friends and Family, Our breakfast this morning was scrambled eggs and 2 slices of toast served by the hostel staff and help-yourself tea, coffee, cocoa and juice. We were still hungry so we asked for another batch and the ladies were happy to oblige us. The plan today was to go to the "Bairro Alto", the "Baixa / Chiado" and the "Al Fama" areas. The "Baixa" is the 18th Century part of the lower town which is surrounded by hills and a network of cobbled streets. "Chiado" is Lisbon's most elegant shopping area and the "Alfama" is the oldest and [View Full Entry]

By SlimBlue
March 23rd 2008

Welcome to Lisbon

Europe » Portugal » Lisbon & Tagus Valley » Lisbon

Get ready for Portugal!

Hi Friends and Family, As promised, I said that I would be travelling to Portugal and indeed, here I am! Yesterday was Easter Saturday and also the birthday of "The Small Young Gentleman". He had had his birthday party on Good Friday and Saturday was thus spent relaxing and doing something with my hair! By 7. p.m. I hadn't started packing not to talk of finishing it! By 10 p.m. I was done with everything including no longer wanting to go out for a few Easter drinks with my friends... I set my mobile to 4.a.m and woke up with a [View Full Entry]

By Bapu
March 22nd 2008

Porto

Europe » Portugal » Northern » Porto

Approaching Riberia
This was our first glimpse of the colorful riverside.

Our 11-week trip is ending in Porto, a very different city than we´ve visited before. It is huge: 1.2 million in the Greater Porto area. It is built on loads of small (unless you´re trying to walk up them) hills so that getting geographically oriented is tough. We were warned not to attempt driving in the city, so we left our rental car at the airport and took a taxi in. Our first day we bought a 10 euro ticket on the city tour bus. It was a great investment. They have three different routes and you can get off and [View Full Entry]

By JayCee
March 20th 2008

Tomar - city with a history and lots more

Europe » Portugal » Lisbon & Tagus Valley

Tomar Castle/Convent of Christ
This is where the Knight Templars took mass on horseback before going off to the holy wars.

TOMAR, Central Portugal - where the headquarters of the Knight Templars stands overlooking the historic city, cobblestone streets, old worlde shops, tranquility and sunshine. After visiting the Algarve, this has to be experienced as the real Portugal and the Market on Friday is fantastic fun- there was even a man on a bike sharpening knives using pedal power and a grindstone! Just like when I was a kid we had a ride on the little train. This place is like going back in time. [View Full Entry]

By le sandwich jambon beurre
March 19th 2008

Portugal

Europe » Portugal » Algarve » Lagos

breakfast time in loule portugal

Last Thursday my friends Jess and Alex and I hopped on a train to Sevilla and then took a bus to Loule Portugal. We spent the night there and hopped on another bus to Lagos and spent a few days there, then headed back to Spain where we spent a day and a half in Sevilla and saw our first glimpse of the Semana Santa (holy week) festivities. Portugal is beautiful, especially if you escape the sprawling, beachy highrises of coastal towns. One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting to know my two friends a little bit better. [View Full Entry]

By Bapu
March 18th 2008

Traveling North

Europe » Portugal » Central

Countryside

Our trip north over the last several days has seen the topography change, populations grown denser, the weather colder, and the coffee stronger. Portuguese histroy seems to be older as you go north, as well. We thought we had a nodding acquaintence with it´s history in all the time we´ve spent in the south, but we didn´t. Our fist stop was at the walled town of Obidos. The wall is intact, the houses are all painted white, and there are wonderful little shops scattered along the narrow streets. The town was traditionally given by Poruguese kings to their wives! At the [View Full Entry]

By Bapu
March 14th 2008

Estoril Coast

Europe » Portugal » Lisbon & Tagus Valley » Cascais

Palmelo Castelo
Part of the castle walls still standing.

Picking up a car at the aiport in Lisbon, we drove west along what is known as the Estoril Coast. Development along the coast started the same way it did in the Algarve: tiny fishing villages around coves where fishing boats could safely be anchored. Those fishing villages along the Estoril Coast have by now grown to the point that it is just one long town! The neat thing about it is that trains run every fifteen minutes in and out of Lisbon, stopping at every town along the way. The first three nights of our stay in the area was [View Full Entry]

By Hanser on Tour
March 13th 2008

Vasco de Gama's Backyard

Europe » Portugal » Lisbon & Tagus Valley

Rossio Square

During our spanish adventure we decided to go over to Portugal to explore Lisbon and the surrounding areas. On the 31st of January we took an overnight train to Lisbon and arrived the morning of the 1st of February in Lisbon. After getting settled, we explored Rossio Square where the Teatro Nacional is. Next, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the Oceanaria de Lisboa, or the Lisbon Aquarium. The aquarium has a huge tank (the size of four football fields) where the animals of the world's oceans can interact just like they do in the wild. Otters as you [View Full Entry]

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Travel Blog » Europe » Portugal