Category Archives: Portugal

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Lisbon – last day!

How can our trip have come to an end? We have seen and done so much; met many wonderful people; stayed in lovely places, and eaten amazing food – and drunk fabulous wine! Unfortunately, this must come to an end – for a while!

Today, breakfast started out at a neighborhood bakery/cafe with a good cup of Americano and my beloved Pastel de Nata and Bola de Arroz! Had to have one of each – who knows when I will have it again??!

We took another Free Walking tour with Gabriella of Lisbon Chill-out Free Tours , a local organization. She took us up and down and around Lisbon for over three hours – hitting some touristic high points, through Alfarma’s narrow “roads”, to a place where we could taste some home-made Ginjinha – a sour cherry liquer, and ending up with a crazily beautiful view over the city.

Street art …

Neighbourhoods…

Plazas and edifices …

Views….

We spent the afternoon taking tram 15 to Bellem – a neighborhood  west of Lisbon with a beautiful esplanade, park, and the humongous Jeronimos Monastery (dating from 15th century). It is also known for its wonderful pastries, but the line was just too long! So we took the tram back to town and then meandered back to our room for a rest for a couple of hours before heading back out again!

Logging in: 16,153 steps/7.37 miles/61 sets of stairs!

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Electrico 28 (tram 28)

In operation since 1873, Tram 28 is the vintage yellow tram that plies various routes in Lisbon. This little yellow tram climbs and dives through the city’s steep and narrow streets. We travelled two of the five routes and hope to cover the remaining three.

Views from along the way….

 

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Porto on foot

We took the Free Porto Walking Tour this morning – we love these tours and take them whenever they are offered in cities we visit. The guide is usually young and offers some different insights and snippets of information on the city.  This one, like most others, was three-hours long and we covered much of Porto’s history and many interesting facts.

Clocking in at 17,353 steps, 7.91 miles, and 55 sets of stairs! Almost all on cobblestones!

This post’s photos are all sights of Porto but through an artistic filter.

 

Views of the city of Porto from the two-tiered iron bridge  – the Dom Luis I bridge (completed in 1886)

Steep alleys twisting down from town to the river.

The ubiquitous Pastela de Nata. An evening glass of port.

The bridge upwards from the lower tier. Port crates.

Alongside the Duoro at dusk in Gaia (across from Porto).

Graffiti – the artist’s grandfather.

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Porto

The day started out with drizzle and light rain for most of our drive from Obidos to Porto, but we still enjoyed passing through the small towns along the way.

Our hotel, Castelo de Santa Catarina, is rather more ornate than we are accustomed to, but it is fun staying in a castle with tiled turret!

As we left the hotel in mid-afternoon the skies cleared. It is all downhill from our castelo to the river (Douro) through the centre of town where many of the buildings have tile facades, and to the historic district (Ribeira) and riverside with its narrow cobbled streets and where port wine is produced. There are many, many cafes and small bars where one can sample the local wines and ports.

Our tapas/evening meal was taken at Wine Quay Bar on the terrace overlooking the promenade and river. Delicious sardines in a tomato sauce, warm bread, olive oil, and spicy chorizo.

Luckily we only had to trek part way up the hill – to the metro station and the metro train, which delivered us back close to the hotel.

 

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O Manjerico!

Everything about O Manjerico in Prazeres is a little different from the norm – from procuring a reservation, to the actual dining experience. I read about the restaurant on Trip Advisor and it sounded good and not too far from our place for night driving. Reservations were recommended and so I attempted to call without success, but then wrote them a message on Facebook requesting a reservation. The response was positive but also inquiring what we would like to eat! I’d read how good the stuffed chicken was, so went with that!


We arrived for our dinner to this lovely little stone building with no obvious outward appearance that it was a restaurant. In we went to a cozily decorated room with fireplace ablaze and a warm welcome from the proprietor. Seated in front of the fire, there was just one other table set for two and we were soon joined by a young Dutch couple. 

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The meal itself was absolutely delicious. Starting with fresh, home-baked bread and a platter consisting melted Brie, stuffed mushrooms, shrimp, short ribs with a delicious sauce, and little meat-filled puffs.

 

 The entire evening was very leisurely and we enjoyed conversation with the proprietor and also the other couple; experiences  whilst on Madeira, living on the island, the U.S. political situation, the pending Dutch elections, and much more.


The deboned roasted chicken stuffed with pork, chestnuts and raisins was absolutely delicious.


 … and dessert! Oo-la-la! Passion fruit mousse, which resembled key lime cheesecake, topped with fresh passion fruit!


 We definitely saved the best for last! Salad for the next few days!!