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2018 Wanderings

August - October 2018
A 45-day adventure by ElizabethLorraine Read more
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  • Traveler2018 Wanderings
    Day 45

    And that brings to a close

    October 1, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    It has been a different kind of trip this year. Time to get back to the house and make plans for the next jaunt. I did not have extended time alone in Dublin which was different. Not that I missed out on anything but I realised that being there alone was really nice and I only had about 8 days of that.
    I also do not like being on the sofa in someone else's life for more than three or four days. Kevin and Chelsea were very nice to me and great fun to be around but I prefer to have a room to go to as I can not get out of the way if I am on the sofa. That is just me being too independent I suppose. However staying with them in Donostia was really great. I love that city and all it's style, none of which I had! Next time I will have to pack some fancy stuff because this time I only had Camino capris pants and armour all t-shirts. I left the t-shirts to a charity shop as I was sick of looking at them. I wore them.on the Camino last year too so I got my money's worth out of the, that is for sure
    Thank you Lord for the good health and good fortune that stayed with me for the entire trip. At the end, Jacinta and Philip were very gracious and kind hosts and we had a good time together.
    Philip brought out some Chinese rice wine he was presented with on a trip and it was horrific. He also had some stuff from Latvia and that was only a little less bad. Jacinta and I were quite happy with our wine and Port.
    Philip is good company and we had lots of chat about all sorts of things. He has done some interesting things in his work life.
    We did a video chat with Orla, who had just done cave diving with sharks. She is a very motivated and a real adventurer and making the most of her stay in Australia.
    Maybe my next entries will be from Hawaii as Conor finally has a wee place of his own. That would be nice .    Read more

  • Traveler2018 Wanderings
    Day 45

    Day 45, and now it changes

    October 1, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ 🌙 3 °C

    Airport today, 45 days ago I left RI and now it is time to get back to the everyday life.
    I asked myself what had I to look forward to going back to Lincoln. The only thing I came up with was yoga, so I am lucky that it is so close to my house.
    Before , I was always excited to see Rajah, but now that she is gone, the house is like an airplane hanger. She is greatly missed , that is for sure.    Read more

  • Traveler2018 Wanderings
    Day 44

    Dublin

    September 30, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    I met up with Michael and Naimh and Danielle on Friday for dinner and then Daphna and Lorraine and Collette on Saturday. It was great to see everyone and I love to be connected to them all.
    Jacinta is a great hostess and we enjoy each other's company. We went to Howth and had coffee and a walk about. It was a beautiful sunny day. I love Howrh.
    It is really expensive to eat out over here.    Read more

  • Traveler2018 Wanderings
    Day 41

    Back "home"

    September 27, 2018 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Easy trip back to Dublin and the buses out to Jacintas house. I brought here some Port but I got it at the wine shop down the road and probably paid 4 times more than in Porto.
    Anyway Jacinta and Philip are gracious and kind hosts.Read more

  • Traveler2018 Wanderings
    Day 41

    Vigo

    September 27, 2018 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    This is a lovely city and much more civilized than Porto. It feels more comfortable for me to be in Spain rather than Portugal.
    There were lots of references to Galicia on adds and in magazines so they show off their cultural heritage too. The accents are tough to understand.
    The bus journey out to the airport was a laugh. packed in like sardines, people yelling at the driver. One woman said he was " un bruto" because of how he was driving, which was like a rally car race. I was holding on tight.
    I got all disoriented about the time switch and really could not remember if I was to go ahead or back, so I did neither and showed up at the airport thinking I had too much time to kill but no, I had to go straight to the gate. I am really glad I did not know it was that close or the bus would have been less fun and more stress.
    Photos : Sardines on the bus, window washing class and sunrise at the train station in Porto.    Read more

  • Traveler2018 Wanderings
    Day 41

    Train fo Vigo

    September 27, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    Barreling down the tracks towards Vigo and my Ryanair flight to Dublin.
    I have to say that Porto will get another visit .
    There is many empty seats in the train
    The driver would do well on a bullet train in Japan I bet. He is making this grubby trian fly along..i
    As we go past the country side,grapes and corn and small vegetable patches are predominent.    Read more

  • Traveler2018 Wanderings
    Day 40

    Good bye Por-tu-gal

    September 26, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Another hot day. I wandered about , checked out some more churches, walked up and down a lot of hill and took the metro out to the Drago football stadium for a look. It is impressive but quite intimate. The metro leaves you out literally at the turnstiles.
    I took the bus all the way to Maraschino this evening. What a place, huge beach, huge prom, loads of high rises. It would be ok to live there as it is easy to get into Porto on a bus. Only 40 minutes and under 2 euro.
    Kind of like leaving Stoneybatter and going out to Malahide.
    Porto is a very intense place. It is a workout getting around , the hills are very steep and it was very hot. I keep saying that it was hot...... I do like it though and want to come back to check out the Duro vineyards. I did not want to join tourist throngs on one of the $100 day trips up the river to the vineyards. I will save those options for my next trip.
    I got a great pastel de nata today, out of the oven,still warm.
    It was delicious. Rua Santa Catalina, in a bake shop.
    I would try to get some basic Portuges phrases mastered before returning so I do not feel so inept. Port wine is good and so is vinho verde. It has been an interesting and tiring visit. I walked all over the place.    Read more

  • Traveler2018 Wanderings
    Day 39

    Oporto

    September 25, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    So, three days here in Porto and I am over my initial dislike . I think that I was overwhelmed by the amount of tourists, not speaking a word of Portugese and the oppressive heat.
    I got a handle on the layout, stayed in the shade, drank Conor Verde and Port and settled in.
    It is really quite the city. The hills and narrow streets are amazing and the mix of old and new, clean and dirty, crowded and relaxed is all a wonderful experience.
    I took a river boat tour and a port wine tour and they were fine. However the city bus,for 2 wiro , out to Masachnos was the best. It was cooler out at the beach and it is very different from the old city.
    Food and wine are cheap, Cork bags, shoes and all kinds of things are not really expensive and best of all, a CR7 Beach towel is only 10 euro.    Read more

  • Traveler2018 Wanderings
    Day 38

    Porto

    September 24, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    No o problem on the overnight bus. Arrived to a dark and deserted bus station . I went into a coffee shop and had a really bad coissant . Then I put my backpack into a locker and went on a wander.
    It is a busy place, that is for sure, mobbed with tourists. It got really hot in the afternoon so I headed into an air conditioned shopping center and there was a Fado concert on, so that was good.
    I got into the bnb at 3 and then spent a lot of time on line getting a plane ticket to get out of Portugal a day ahead of the one day strike. That was annoying and expensive.
    I went to get groceries and there was no Portugee people ini there , All bnb guests, I thought. I bought vino Verde, for less than 2euro and went to bed early. I was tired and it was hot.
    It seems.like there is another heat wave coming.    Read more

  • Traveler2018 Wanderings
    Day 37

    Overnight bus to Porto

    September 23, 2018 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    I left Donostia at 10.15 pm and I was greatly relieved that the bus was not full so I had extra room. The ticket only cost 9 Euro and it takes 9.5 hours . It is called a Flixbus, and it is run by a German company. It is very much a budget bus compared to Alsa.. The seats are small and hard so it was probably built as a local bus. Anyway it is quiet, does not smell and it is cheap.
    . We just crossed the border into Portugal , it is pitch black out with a huge full moon.
    It is hard to see out the big windows because of the reflection. Let's see what Porto has to offer.    Read more

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