Blogs from Portugal, Europe - page 166

Viana do Castelo was a surprisingly pleasant place. I say surprisingly because I don’t think any of us were expecting much to be there at all. We were expecting a small town perhaps. What we found when we got there was very lovely. We were berthed up next the Gustav Eiffel bridge. We then ventured into the town centre which was buzzing with activity. It just so happened that we stumbled into the town a night when they were celebrating an outdoor music festival. In the evening we were spoilt by a jazz trio playing bass and guitars in one of the town squares. After us spending time trying to get by in Spanish, to then arrive in another country and not even know how to say thank you was a bit disastrous. The morning after, ... read more

Hello happy bloggers... We are back travelling western Europe this time. We started in Portugal 10 days ago .. landing into Lisbon. A few days exploring the old city and climbing up to the fortress on top of the hill overlooking the city. From there on to Sintra in the hills where the kings of old spent the hot summer days hunting and generally enjoying the spoils of Aztec gold that was being returned by explorers to the new world. From Sintra we headed north to Nazare on the coast for a few days of sun and surf.. not that either of us surf you understand.. but the waves were worthy of it. On to the hilltop town of Tolmar encircled by its wonderful wall and overlooked by a fortress. Wonderfull little place.. then to Coimbra ... read more

Saturday, 10 July 2010 Ritz - now Yes! Lisbon Slept fairly well until 4am then and dozed until alarm. Some people were just getting home. Transfer came on time and had paid Voyo already. Only took ½ hr to airport with no traffic. Checked out a couple of exchange rates and similar but one charged commission and percentage and one only percentage. A couple of locals pushed in which I bitched about loudly and then got charged commission there anyway! Got 9.78 to rand which worked out .62 to Euro but that is with commission included. I think it is around .70 for Euro now? Oh well, what is another $15 just to change money, is cheaper than the $45 stolen! Neck was extra tight this morning so not looking forward to flight. Watched the 1970s ... read more

Having boasted in my introductory, blog-joining note of how worldly-wise and extensively travel the pair of us are, on Thursday we are "going Local" and flying to Portugal to stay with our friends, the Hamatons, who live in the Algarve, Portugal. They emigrated some 10 years ago to escape the UK Winters and are now part of an ex-Pat community in Lagos. Not sure if we could be brave enough to make such a decision but, hey, why do we need to consider such a thing when we have an open-ended invite to go and stay anytime we wish. This year will be the 7th time we have taken up their offer to go and enjoy the quiet beauty of an relatively unspoilt part of Europe. Hopefully I'll be able to make a few entries whilst ... read more

Após uns dias de chuva e frio que levaram os participantes desta viagem a frequentes conversas sobre quais as indumentárias mais adequadas, partimos num avião da Ryanair com destino a Stansted (norte de Londres). Tivemos de fazer uma madrugada pois, sendo a partida às 06h e 30 m, foi necessário comparecermos no aeroporto pelas 05 h (!!!!!!!!) para se proceder ao despacho das malas de porão. Mas para passear estamos sempre prontos e, mal o avião se elevou no ar, o sol fez a sua brilhante aparição. Que bonito! O sol sobre as nuvens! Foi uma viagem óptima e chegámos a horas. Esperava-nos um autocarro conduzido pelo Paul, que sempre se mostrou cuidadoso na condução. Chegámos a Oxford para uma visita à cidade universitária. Mas, dada a hora, seguimos para o restaurante Cherwell Boathouse onde almoçámos. ... read more