2019:
Cascais – Part 2 – Portugal
April 28, 2019: Today we took the train from Lisbon to Cascais, rented bikes and toured the peninsula west of Cascais to Guincho Beach. TRAIN FROM LISBON TO CASCAIS: We joined the commuters on the train from Lisbon to Cascais… It was standing room only. BIKE RIDE FROM CASCAIS TO GUINCHO BEACH: We fortunately had…
Lisbon – Part 5 – Portugal
April 27, 2019: Today we have another long schedule touring Lisbon: Mouraria District; Graça District Walking Tour; Graça District Street Art; Igreja e Convento da Graça (Church and Convent of Graça); Jardim/Miradouro da Graça (Garden/Viewpoint of Graça); National Pantheon; Igreja e Mosteiro de São Vicente de Fora (Church and Monastery of St. Vincent of Fora);…
Lisbon – Part 4 – Portugal
April 26, 2019: Today we’re touring several more sites in Lisbon: Cemetery of Pleasures (Cemitério dos Prazeres); Igreja do Santo Condestável (Church of the Holy Constable); Mercado de Campo de Ourique; Basílica da Estrela; Jardim da Estrela; Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (National Museum of Ancient Art); Museum and School of Portuguese Decorative Arts (Museu…
Lisbon – Part 3 – Portugal
April 25, 2019: Today we’re back in Lisbon, touring many sites: Oriente Train/Metro Station; Parque das Nações (site of Expo ‘98) and Vasco da Gama Bridge; Lisbon Oceanarium (Aquarium); Jardim de São Pedro de Alcântara; Convent of São Pedro de Alcântara; and Shopping and a Wine Bar in the Principe Real District. ORIENTE TRAIN STATION…
Estoril and Oeiras – Portugal
April 24, 2019: Today we are going to take a short walking tour of the town of Estoril, then we are going to tour the Palace and Gardens of the Marquês de Pombal. ESTORIL WALKING TOUR: Church of Saint Anthony of Estoril (Igreja de Santo António do Estoril):The present church of Church of Saint Anthony…
Sintra – Part 3 – Portugal
April 23, 2019: Today we’re going to start by taking a Hop-On, Hop-Off bus around Sintra, with stops at Cabo da Roca, the Capuchos Convent, the Countess Chalet, and the Moorish Castle. From the Moorish Castle, we will be taking a trail downhill to Sintra. CABO DA ROCA (CAPE ROCA): Cabo da Roca or Cape…
Sintra – Part 2 – Portugal
April 22, 2019: We started our day by walking from our Historic Center of Sintra accommodation to Quinta da Regaleira, then took a bus to the Palace of Monserrate, and later in the afternoon strolled between the Train Station and the Historic Center of Sintra. WALK FROM SINTRA TO THE QUINTA DA REGALEIRA: It is…
Castelo de Vide – Part 2, Sanctuary of Fátima, and Óbidos – Portugal
April 21, 2019: Today we participated in the Easter Sunday Resurrection Procession festivities in Castelo de Vide, drove to and explored the Sanctuary of Fátima, and then drove to and finished the day in Óbidos. Resurrection Procession – Castelo de Vide: Easter Sunday begins with the Resurrection Procession with its long established routing and hierarchy.…
Castelo de Vide – Part 1 and Marvão – Portugal
April 20, 2019: Today we had breakfast at our Pousada in Estremoz, checked out, and then drove to Castelo de Vide and Marvão, Portugal for self-guided walking tours. Following these tours, we drove to the countryside outside Castelo de Vide for our accommodation, topping off the day participating in Easter Vigils in Castelo de Vide.…
Vila Viçosa – Part 2 and Estremoz – Part 2 – Portugal
April 19, 2019: Today we’re going to visit the Ducal Palace in Vila Viçosa in the morning and then drive over the Estremoz, to check-in-to and visit the Pousada da Rainha Santa Isabel. Paço Ducal de Vila Viçosa (Ducal Palace of Vila Viçosa): The Ducal Palace was erected in 1501 by the fourth Duke of…
Mérida – Spain
April 18, 2019: I know this trip is supposed to be about Portugal. But we decided to mix it up and do a Day Trip from Vila Viçosa to “Visit the Old Roman Empire”. We had missed Mérida on our previous trip to Spain in 2018, and thoroughly enjoyed this diversion from our 2019 Portugal Travels.…
Estremoz – Part 1 – Portugal
April 17, 2019: Having spent the morning touring Vila Viçosa, we spent the afternoon of this day exploring Estremoz (a 20-minute drive from Vila Viçosa). On April 19, 2019 we toured more of Vila Viçosa in the morning and of Estremoz in the afternoon. World Famous for Marble: Together with the two other nearby marble…
Vila Viçosa – Part 1 – Portugal
April 17, 2019: Today we did self-guided driving/walking tours of Vila Viçosa and spent the night in Vila Viçosa. Self-Guided Driving/Walking Tour of Vila Viçosa: We started our driving/walking tour of Vila Viçosa at the square of the Ducal Palace, the… Terreiro do Paço (Vila Viçosa): Here, in the middle of this large square, there…
Évora – Part 2 and Évoramonte – Portugal
April 16, 2019: Today we’re going to explore parts of Évora we didn’t see yesterday, using Rick Steves’ Self-Guided Walking Tour of Évora as a guide. In the afternoon, we’re going to drive to the nearby town of Évoramonte, for another Self-Guided Walking Tour. We are going to spend the night in Vila Viçosa. Rick…
Évora – Part 1 – Portugal
April 15, 2019: After taking a day to return to Lisbon and packing up Georgia to return to the United States, we rented a car and embarked on our second tour of Portugal. Our first stop was about 1-1/2 hours east of Lisbon by car at the beautiful city of Évora, in the Alentejo region.…
Coimbra – Portugal
April 13, 2019: Today we are going to be doing a lot of walking – along the Mondego River, up and down the hills and streets of Coimbra, through the University of Coimbra, and lastly mostly downhill through the hills and streets of Coimbra. Riverfront Walk: We started our riverfront walk with breakfast at Café…
Convent of Christ of Tomar, Monastery of Batalha, and Monastery of Alcobaça – Portugal
April 12, 2019: On this day we took an all-day guided tour of UNESCO World Heritage Sites Central Monasteries in Portugal (Tomar, Batalha, and Alcobaça) from Coimbra, hosted by Go! Leisure & Heritage. It was a reasonable rate day excursion (€98/person – this tour is more than double this price coming from Lisbon) without the…
Braga – Portugal
April 11, 2019: Braga Overview: Braga is a wonderful tourist destination that combines history and culture, with numerous outstanding tourist attractions. The city is often regarded as the religious center of Portugal, and this is confirmed every hour when a cacophony of different church bells ring-out. Braga is home to the oldest cathedral in Portugal,…
Guimarães – Portugal
April 10, 2019: Today we did a Day Trip from Porto to Guimarães. A little over an hour train ride from Porto, Guimarães was easy to access, to navigate and to enjoy. After arriving at the Guimarães train station, we walked a short 12 minutes (we could have hired an UberX to drive us for…
Porto – Part 2 – Portugal
April 9, 2019: Today we continued our exploration of Porto with more walking tours, with a lot of shopping, followed by a trolley ride to and from Foz. Porto Self-Guided Walking Tour, Part 2: Today’s self-guided walking tour starts at Praça Guilherme Gomes Fernandes, to which we took an Uber from our apartment in downtown…
Porto – Part 1 – Portugal
April 8, 2019: This was a day of travel. We had our usual wonderful breakfast at Da Pergola in Cascais, checked out, took a train to Lisbon, and then a train to Porto, arriving around 3 pm at our apartment in downtown Porto. Porto Self-Guided Walking Tour, Part 1: We began our first Porto self-guided…
Sintra – Part 1 – Portugal
April 7, 2019: From our home base at Casa da Pergola in Cascais, we used this day to make a side trip to Sintra to see the Pena Palace, do some Sintra shopping, see the National Palace of Sintra, and then to return to Cascais for a late afternoon walk through the town. Breakfast Buffet…
Cascais – Part 1 – Portugal
April 6, 2019: Background – The seaside beach resort town of Cascais (kahsh-KAYSH), about 17 miles due west of Lisbon, is the premier holiday destination of the Portuguese Riviera, as well as being a fascinating town to visit as a day trip from Lisbon. Many members of the royalty have lived in Cascais, including King Edward VIII…
Lisbon – Part 2 – Portugal
April 5, 2019: Palace and Garden of the Marquises of Fronteira – The Fronteira palace is one of the most beautiful seventeenth-century monuments in Lisbon. It holds the largest collection of seventeenth-century “azulejos” (Portuguese tiles) preserved in situ. It was built around 1670 and was used as a second residence and hunting lodge by the Mascarenhas family. …
Lisbon – Part 1 – Portugal
April 2, 2019: For the first part of our trip to Portugal, we had Nancy’s cousin, Georgia, join us (she flew from California, we flew from Denver and we met at London Heathrow Airport). Here Nancy and Georgia are enjoying our layover in London on our way to Lisbon. On our first night in Lisbon,…