Blogs from Portugal, Europe - page 157

At first, Lisbon just seemed like another European city, albeit one with an incredibly long bridge across the Tagus River that seemed to disappear into the horizon. However, I discovered that this is a unique city and I thoroughly enjoyed exploring it and some of the nearby towns. My favourite area of Lisbon is undoubtedly the old Arabic quarter, known as the Alfama. It is typified by streets only narrow enough to squeeze your shoulders through, winding their way up and down the hill between the port and the Castelo de São Jorge (St George's Castle). From above, this part of Lisbon looks like the houses and churches are built atop of one another in a pattern too complex for Google Maps to discern. Giving someone directions for a café in this part of Lisbon would ... read more

Op oudejaarsdag was de stad overvol, wel erg gezellig overal. Op de pier was een folkloristische dansgroep, bezig met groot enthousiasme wat lokale deuntjes en dansjes op te voeren. Allemaal van die echte inboorlingen, een soort Madeirense hillbillies. Daarbij werden toeristen uitgenodigd mee te doen. Niet met het zingen, wel met het dansen. Paul ook, en daarna ik. Best grappig. Ik hou wel van dansen, al ben ik meer van de disco, maar dit was leuk omdat iedereen er zo vrolijk mee bezig was. Op de pier was ook een ploeg van het lokale TV-nieuws aan het filmen, en wij zeiden gekscherend tegen elkaar dat wij de volgende dag op het nieuws zouden zijn. En verdomd, dat was nog waar ook. Wij hebben het zelf niet gezien, maar maandag waren we in de sportzaal en daar ... read more

Force 8 Well here we are enjoying our first full day at sea. I would have taken a nice picture from the deck but at the moment no-one is allowed out there! Captain has just announced that we are in force 8 and should expect a few more hours of “interesting” weather. He assured us that all the creaking was normal and not to worry about all the loud crashing sounds as they just sound louder at night that they really are! That's reassuring then eh? It's at times like this that our choice of a cabin midship and about halfway down has proven to be a wise choice. We met up with Debbie, the wedding planner today and sorted out a few more details. She is very excited as it seems we are the only ... read more

An internet connection in Burgau was non-existent and even back in Spain now we're having a hard time keeping one going long enough to post anything of significant length...so there is a little catching up to do... Our arrival in Burgau, Portugal came after a long day that started with having to sort out a credit card that our credit card company had lovingly put a hold on, concerned as they were that charges were suddenly appearing from the wrong side of the world. The two calls that I had made to them prior to our departure apparently wasn’t enough reassurance. Todd managed this portion of the day as I was a complete vegetable following a night of less than 3 hrs of sleep. We managed with the help of the GPS to somehow escape the ... read more

Off early towards Lagos. Booked into campsite just north of Luz and just west of Lagos. Rather run down and a bit muddy after all the rain they’ve had. Moved pitch once because of the noisy youngsters next door and managed to get stuck in the mud! Had to be pulled free by a tractor! Still it’ll do for a couple of nights and will let us get a chance to go into Lagos by bus tomorrow. Sun 2nd Jan Early bus into Lagos for a look around. Nice marina/port area but being a holiday 7 a Sunday most of the shops were closed. So we took the bus back and went down to the beach at Luz. Spectacular coastline, busy beach area with quite a few surfers. Note much surf but they were making the ... read more