Castelo de Monsaraz Arena
2 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F
We biked all the way up the large hill and then climbed the castle wall. Beautiful view and I am so glad I had an e-bike.
another amazing dinner in Portugal
2 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ 🌙 64 °F
This was our last dinner in Évora. Once again more food than we could finish.
last morning in Évora
3 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F
It is all foggy and quite pretty. We were up and out and on the train to Lisbon by 9 am. We were both very sad to leave the Alentejo (this region of Portugal). It has been our favorite stop so far onLeggi altro
Lisbon
3 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
Navigating the train and metro and walking in the city to get to our hotel with all our luggage (6 bottles of wine and a bunch of cork souvenirs including a small chair!) Was a tad difficult, but aLeggi altro
on the train to Sintra
3 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
Greg and Rhonda will meet us there. They have been there a full day so they can play tour guide for us. They have picnic food and we have wine so we should make a great match.
wandering Sintra
3 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ⛅ 70 °F
Sintra is a small tourist town not far from Lisbon. It was the home of the royal palace and so a lot of nobles also built vacation homes in the area.
Moorish Castle
3 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
We hiked all the way up to a semi-ruined castle that was originally built by Moors. There was a bus that would take us up, but of course we decided to challenge ourselves.
By the time we reached theLeggi altro
morning in Lisbon
4 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
It is cool and rainy and a little foggy on our first morning. We are on a short bus tour of the city.
By the time we got to the first stop, the sun was starting to come out.
This was the BelemLeggi altro
next stop on Lisbon tour
4 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
Next we went to a monument to the explorers of Portugal, but the building is under restoration so couldn't get a photo of it, but we learned a lot about all the people who helped build the PortugueseLeggi altro
pastry and church
4 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F
Then we went and got a special pastry made only at this one shop in Lisbon. There is a very similar version sold everywhere else, but this one shop has the original recipe they bought from the monksLeggi altro
Al Fama district
4 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ⛅ 68 °F
The rain stopped just when we had to get off the bus again.
The Al Fama district is the old Moorish and Jewish quarter. It was built outside the city walls, on the bank of the river. As the cityLeggi altro
nap, laundry and wandering
4 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F
I hadn't slept well the night before, so by the time we finished the bus tour, I was ready to crash. So we went back to the hotel and I took a brief nap.
Then it was time to drop off our laundryLeggi altro
another Moorish castle at sunset
4 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ⛅ 63 °F
We decided to hike up to the Moorish castle that overlooks the city, but we got there just after they closed. Just as well. I found out the next day that the castle was destroyed in the earthquake andLeggi altro
on our own in Lisbon
5 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ 🌧 61 °F
This is the last day we are in our own on this tripv we tried to get up and out early, but by the time we got up, had breakfast, and left the hotel, it was past noon.
So we wandered off to exploreLeggi altro
Coach Museum
5 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ⛅ 61 °F
Then we were off to a museum of horse drawn carriages. It was pretty cool, but not earth shattering or anything.
last dinner in Lisbon
5 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ 🌙 55 °F
We found a little place that was mostly full of locals and had one more authentic Portuguese meal with a great wine.
leaving Lisbon
6 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F
We boarded a bus and headed off north to board the boat. We stopped on our way at a university in Coimbra. It was built in the 1700s and is still a working university.
boarding the boat
6 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F
They had to move the boat from Porto to another port up river because we don't have as much daylight that they normally would to get to our next destination. The bus drivers got a little lost but weLeggi altro
Setting sail
7 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F
Early morning the boat set out and the scenery was just beautiful.
Rabelo boat
7 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ☀️ 46 °F
We left the boat in the morning for a very short bus ride to bypass a lock and then we boarded a small rabelo boat of the kind that was traditionally used to bring the port wine to Porto.
We hadLeggi altro
winery tour
7 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
The winery was in a gorgeous location up on a hill and the scenery was just amazing.
first lock
8 novembre 2016, Spagna ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
The next morning, I saw my first lock transition on this ship. The ship had actually done 3 so far that we missed, so this was exciting. We tried to watch from the upper deck, but there was so littleLeggi altro
second lock
8 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ⛅ 52 °F
Just a couple hours later, we went through our second lock. This is the last one on our upstream journey
castle on the hill
8 novembre 2016, Portogallo ⋅ ☀️ 46 °F
After a nap (I skipped lunch - sleep was more appealing) we boarded another bus for a short ride to medieval village on a hillside. The village still has a small number of inhabitants. Russell made aLeggi altro
Salamanca, Spain
9 novembre 2016, Spagna ⋅ 🌬 48 °F
The boat is docked just over the border in Spain. This day we had to get up early for a two hour ride to the town of Salamanca, home of one of the oldest universities in Europe. It was opened in 1218Leggi altro