http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Europe , Portugal en-us Fri, 24 May 2013 02:07:27 +0000 Fri, 24 May 2013 02:07:27 +0000 Vakantie huis huren. U zoekt een mooi vakantie huis in Portugal te huren Quinta dos Bruzios rechtstreeks van de eigenaar kan u bij ons een mooi vakantie huis huren met 95m oppervlakte een groot zout water zwembad en een overdekt priv terras. Slaapgelegenheid tot 6 personen met alle comfort midden in de natuur op een domein van 83.000m dat ter uwe beschikking staat. Als u van rust h http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Guarda/Seia/blog-787283.html Vakantiewoning te huur met zwembad in Portugal tot 6 personen.Om uw perfecte vakantiewoning te huren hoeft u niet verder te zoeken. Wij verhuren op weekbasis onze luxe vakantiewoning met zwembad in het centrum van Portugal. De woning 95m heeft alle voorzieningen om u een aangename en rustgevende vakantie te bezorgen. De ruime slaapkamers hebben elk hun eigen badkamer de woonkamer is ruim en d http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Central/Serra-da-Estrela/blog-787282.html Woolly says I think Im going to have to put my paw down with a firm tusk 6am Why do we have to wake up so early We hadnt 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 didnt know where we were going to and all Ian and Jo would tell me was that I would enjoy it http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Algarve/Vila-Real-de-Santo-Antonio/blog-787222.html 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 Jos phone I found that it was actually 6.30am What a time to wake me up For some reason Ians roaming time was still on Spanish time but in our cross over into Portugal we had gained an hour http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Cascais/blog-787099.html Like horses out of the starting gate we were up packed and launching Oliver onto the road to get the earliest start we could. Woolly says I hadnt even opened my eyes and we were on the move no breakfast no nothing. With a promise of breakfast on route Woolly stared dolefully at the grey clouds as we sped along the N1. With a starting temperature of 3 degrees we needed to get closer to th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Central/Castelo-Branco/blog-787086.html We are staying in a town which is about 40 minutes out of Lisbon. The town was a retreat for Portuguese Royals and the wealthy. This is an area of World Heritage sites. There are 4 Palaces and one extraordinary garden.We visited the Quinta da Regaleira which was great fun The garden had tunnels which ended at the base of a well. Felt like a kid again After following the tunnels past the back of http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Sintra/blog-786836.html We39ve been in Portugal for a little over a week now. It39s a country with a plethora of castles and palaces clearly a people who had learned to pile rocks on top of rocks with ornate rock entries and adornments aplenty. Must have kept the stone cutters employed for decades. The topography is very similar to northern California lots of oaks rolling hills vineyards even a ton of eucalyp http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/blog-786812.html Ola LisbonLisbon is a small city of some 500000 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisboa/blog-786321.html We would like to introduce to you Madeira.Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies just under 400 kilometres 250 mi north of Tenerife Canary Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union.Today it is a popular yearround resort being visited every year by about one million tourists noted for its Madeira wine flowers landscapes and embroidery artisan http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Madeira/Funchal/blog-785887.html It is always hard to get the blog updated with what we have done just before leaving a port. As a result will go back in time to just before we left Lagos to fill in the gap. Lagos had a Festival of Discovery that was held between April 26th and May 5th. This is to mark the period during the 16th century when the royalty entered and elevated Lagos to a city as well as the departure of the Navy and http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Algarve/Lagos/blog-785408.html We spent a fantastic few days on the coast of Portugal just outside of Lisbon for the first May Bank holiday for the year. After a celebrity spot at Heathrow Richard Quest from CNN Quest Means Business we were on our way to Lisbon. It took an extraodinary amount of time to get our hire car just the pace of the place. It only took around 90mins for us to hit the coast line just north west of Li http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisboa/Silveira/blog-784605.html I set the alarm for 7am but of course Ken is up at 530 waking me up asking me 39what time is it39. Oh my gosh if it was time to get up the alarm would go off. He later explains that he heard a helicopter thus we must be close to land. Our arrival was supposed to be 8am so he was worried we overslept. He tosses and turns for the next hour and a half stealing a good sleep. He is like a kid http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Azores/S-o-Miguel/Ponta-Delgada/blog-784244.html Well as one of the cruisers on our dock so aptly put it it is now time to cut the Velcro around the waterline on Tsamaya and head north to explore new places Lagos has been known as the Velcro marina we understand why it has that reputation. We have thoroughly enjoyed our stay here taking advantage of the many benefits of the area. The marina has been a great place to meet cruisers from all ove http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Algarve/Lagos/blog-784007.html 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 b http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Lisbon-and-Tagus-Valley/Lisbon/blog-784005.html Just realized after posting our last blog that it is not good to write captions after midnight as the brain is not fully in gear. The 6539 Oyster sailboat is a full 25 feet not 15 feet longer than our 4039 Caliber. One other positive of a 4039 boat was clearly pointed out by our friend Dave we definitely are happy that we do not have 25 more feet of bottom to sand or paint It was http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Algarve/Lagos/blog-783309.html The last blog showed a few of the activities we did for enjoyment during the last 2 weeks of March since returning from the US. We filled the rest of the time with book exchanges computer group get togethers where we shared ideas caught up with friends Sandra and John as well as numerous cruising friends and treating ourselves to eating out a few times at local restaurants. Between rainstorms http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Algarve/Lagos/blog-780710.html Had soup in macdonalds http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Algarve/Sagres/blog-780562.html Tired http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Algarve/Praia-da-Luz/blog-780307.html Today 1st stop supermarket crab seafood sangria beer crisps etc.Then spent day at Praia d alvor i personally spent hours arranging shells.Bought some cheap wine 1.49 and cuddled cliff Richard.Had Portuguese steak for tea and Shaun had steak on a hot stone. http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Algarve/Quarteira/blog-779992.html Today we went to Praia de rocha beach voted 3rd best beach in world on tripadvisor i think 5 min drive. very sunny not a cloud in the sky. Epic fail as forgot to take bottle opener to beach for beer. had corner of the beach to ourselves until a homeless Jesus lookalike turned up for a bath and to wash his clothes. Leo opted for a swim in the very cold hotel pool. Out for tea in weatherspoons http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Portugal/Algarve/Praia-da-Rocha/blog-779881.html