FARO AND BACK TO LISBON

---

We are back on the train to Lisbon. This train is a bit more crowded than the train down yesterday, plus there is the added bonus of the screaming toddler across the aisle from us. The woman across from Jerry is very pleasant not, taking up the entire other side, because obviously she is Portuguese royalty, oh that’s right I don’t think they have a royal family here. Maybe she forgot.

We had a good night sleep in the very comfortable king size bed. We had the luxury of sleeping in today because not too much was on the agenda. When we went to breakfast I was expecting pretty much what we have been having, meats, cheeses and bread. Instead it was a huge spread of everything, including the meats and cheeses and really good meats at that. There was fresh fruit, good yogurt, all types of pastries and breads, scrambled eggs, etc. There was also an array of fishes, which I did not have the nerve to partake.

After breakfast, we checked out and went to check out the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic. As we drove to the parking he notices several horses with bridles on standing in the fields, we decided they belonged to gypsies. We came to this conclusion because yesterday we saw several gypsy families riding in horse and buggies on long the road. The weather was a bit gray and it threatened to rain, it didn’t but it wanted to. We walked to the edge of the cliffs to check out the view and get some pictures of the other side of the pond. We also saw several houses we could easily retire in, but pretty sure they are outside of our price range.

Lagos, is a very nice little town, yes in July and August I can tell it will be swarming with tourists, especially young party types. If we retired there, we would of course leave during those months. The rest of the year I think it is a pretty quiet town. Our visit to Lagos over we headed back to Faro to return the car and spend a bit of time walking around the old city. We took the A-22 which is the toll road and the faster route than the N-125 we took to get to Lagos. We had an ezpass so did not have to worry about the tolls. You can drive 120km an hour, don’t ask me how fast that is in mph. The scenery was nice for being on the major highway and we found our way to the airport very easily and the gas station was conveniently located. It only took 5 minutes to drop off the car, as opposed to the 45 minutes to pick it up.

The Faro airport is really busy for a reginal airport, there are flights coming in about every 30 minutes. I can see why they are expanding their runway. Quick aside: Again we are in alleged first class, yes first class seating but not first class service, barely got a full glass of water. The point of this aside is not only is the service not that great, but they talk so quietly that you can hear them anyway. It’s hard to tell them what you want, when they don’t ask you in a loud enough voice to know they are even talking to you. Further, not sure why they bother offering Wi-Fi, it is easier slow or not available most of the time.

Faro

The city of Faro, is the largest city in the Algarve, I think. From the airport to the train station, it appears very modern, but just a short walk from the train station, you come across the old section of the city, including the original walled portion. This is all along the river and large marina. If we would have had time, we could have taken a tourist train around the city and a river cruise, but we basically had 90 minutes to explore so we just walked around the inside of the old city walls.

On top of the gate to the walled portion were several of the large bird nests we had seen driving to Lagos yesterday, we now believe them to be pelican nests. The city was very quiet and not overly full of tourists. If we had not had such a big breakfast, there was a nice little restaurant inside the walls that we probably would have had lunch at.

That’s about all there is to say about Faro. We strolled back to the train station. We could have missed the train entirely because there was no screen that tells you what track, and I just happened to think to ask one of the station personnel which track our train would be living from, it left 10 minutes later. We could have been in Faro a bit longer.

So, now we are on the trip and Jerry is busy making some changes to our itinerary. We are now in full vacation mode and pretty relaxed. It was a good change of pace to get out of a big city for a bit of a break. Monday, before we head to Paris, we have decided to take another day trip out to Sintra. It is supposed to be very beautiful. We have also made some other changes, and made a reservation for another of the 10 oldest restaurants in the world. We hope to get one more squeezed in in Paris.

To avoid further dinner headaches, we have pretty much picked all of the places we will be eating in Lisbon for the rest of the trip, including the Fado club and some lunches. So I believe that the stress portion may well be over. The weather is also taking a turn for the better and the sun may be out for the duration.

Back in Lisbon

We are now back in our hotel in Lisbon, we had Pedro make a reservation for dinner for us, we have picked out our Fado show place for Sunday and the Sun is shining. We have three jam packed days ahead of us, tomorrow I am really looking for as it is cooking class time. The 36-hour side trip was a great break and the Lagos area is certainly in the running for retirement, but there is also a place in Panama we need to check out. My dream is of course Provence, but we won’t have that kind of retirement money.

Time for a bit of wine-thirty and getting ready for dinner.

Fidalgo

Just back from dinner and it was the best meal of the trip. Not only that, full vacation mode has kicked in. Maybe it was the trip to Lagos, the improved weather, or it just took a bit longer than normal to let life go and enjoy not having to actually do anything if you don’t want too. In any event the return to Lisbon has been wonderful and the weather is cooperating, I believe there is no more rain the rest of our time here.

We had dinner ad Fidalgo in the Bairro Alto, one of the seven hills of Lisbon. This is party central and the gay area as well. The restaurant was unassuming and brightly lit, but once you walk in you are transformed. It serves amazing traditional Portuguese dishes, finally. From start to finish it was an incredible meal. The most expensive item we had was the wine. The entire meal including a good bottle of white Portuguese wine was under 85 euros. Before I get in to the food, a word about the proprietor, he was a very lovely gentleman whom I perceive to be family, I believe he runs the place with his partner. In any event, he spent a great deal of time explaining the food to us, which is the first time anyone has taken the time to actually tell us what we were eating. It just made the entire meal that much more memorable. Now for the food.

First and foremost, I am still stuffed even after walking back down the hill to the hotel. We started with Farineira com Lingucia. This is an amazing Portuguese dish. Farineira itself differs from region to region in the country. The basics of it is, a wheat flour (don’t say it AJ), pork fat and chorizo stuffed inside a pork skin to make a kind of sausage. It can be served many different ways, we had it baked maybe fried until is split open and the stuffing burst out. It was so good, and so bad for you at the same time. We also had Queijo de Azeitao, a sheep milks cheese that is made just across the river from Lisbon. It was some of the best cheese we have had on this trip.

I also just could not resist another bowl of garlic bread soup, this was good, but not nearly as good as what I had in Lagos yesterday. We then split a tomato, lettuce and onion salad. This seems to be the basic salad of Portugal. That brings me to the main dishes. Jerry had a Bacalhau a Bras (codfish, thin sliced potatoes, and eggs) it is a very nice version of what I grew up with as potato eggs, which was eggs and potatoes. It was perfectly seasoned and tasted great. I went off the chart and ordered grilled octopus, a very traditional dish here. The dish was called Polvo a Lagareiro. It was cooked perfectly. The pressure cook the octopus before grilling it, it was so tender and OMG the sizzling olive oil garlic sauce that came with it, was just beyond words. Needless to say there was no dessert, there just wasn’t any room.

After dinner we strolled down the hill, the youngsters were beginning to gather for the nigh of parting. Note to travelers, if your young and the party type, then this area is for you. We were offered hash, coke, and pot about every five feet, we naturally did not partake. If you are not into that just be prepared for the offer. Everyone thinks that the US is drug central, but I am here to tell you they are far more brazen about it here than anywhere I have ever been in the United States.

Our walked included a walk by of tomorrow’s restaurant, which will be discussed tomorrow, we mainly just wanted to make sure we knew where it was, since it will be the nicest place we eat in Lisbon and don’t want to be late.

One last travelers tip for this entry. Lisbon is very hilly; it is the city of seven hills. There are numerous elevators, trams, funiculars and busses to get up the hills but one of the easiest ways to get form baxia-chiado to bairro alto is via the baxia-chiado metro stop. From the Bairro Alto side you enter at Largo do Chado, take the escalators down walk across the metro entrance, no need to pay because you’re not actually going in the metro, take the escalator up and exit on rua crucifix. You have just avoided a steep climb and moved from one section of town to the next with ease.

It is now a weekend so the city is more alive and busier, the younger set has certainly moved in for the party session. That wraps up today, tomorrow is cooking class.

---

Comments

[Nancy]

Enjoying your travel journal
Wow, sounds like a busy and mostly gratifying trip! I have never been to Portugal or Panama and would like to see both. Are you ever coming back to Portland? You wouldn't recognize N. Williams. I'm beginning to dislike what's happening. Good to hear from you. Vive la France!