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Spain and Portugal, 2024Spain and Portugal, 2024
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Spain and Portugal, 2024

April - May 2024
Two days in London; Gijon and Santiago de Compostela in Spain; Porto, Sintra, Lisbon and 10 days of biking in southern Portugal Read more
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  • TravelerSpain and Portugal, 2024
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    111231
    Day 2–4

    London, England

    April 18 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    Two days in London but one was lost due to fatigue from the overnight flight from Seattle. Stayed in the Mitre Hotel in Greenwich. Visited the Royal Observatory, Saw a wild fox mooching food from visitors. Roger Rakestraw guided us to our hotel from Heathrow Airport and the following day guided us to the Tower of London, London Bridge, sites along the Thames, Buckingham Palace and that night we had dinner with him and his wife Di at a nice Vietnamese restaurant in Greenwich. Learned to navigate the London Underground - which was quite an adventure.Read more

  • TravelerSpain and Portugal, 2024
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    Day 4

    Gijon, Spain

    April 20 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Flew from London to the airport west of Gijon (known as the Oviedo or Asturias airport with awesome view of the coastline while landing. Hiked in the area of Los Lago de Covadonga in Los Picos de Europa with a harrowing bus ride included. Fun meals and sidra (hard apple cider) everywhere. Fun visit to Cangas de Onis, Ribadesella, and many walks around the very nice city of Gijon from our hotel located in the center of the city one block from the waterfront.Read more

  • TravelerSpain and Portugal, 2024
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    Day 7

    Cudillero, Spain

    April 23 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Spent most of a day in the charming coastal town of Cudillero perched on steep slopes above the narrow bay. Except for limited vehicle access at the bottom of the village all the homes perched on the hills are accessed only by narrow stone walkways and steps. We took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up by the parochial cemetery - which, to our surprise, provided a perfect view and access to the town by walking down hundreds of stone steps to the center of town. Split a large sea bass for lunch. We are skipping dinner! Hiked up to the Mirador de la Estrecha for beautiful views of the town and harbor. Very pretty place!Read more

  • TravelerSpain and Portugal, 2024
    1
    Day 8

    Santiago de Compostela, Spain

    April 24 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Left the hotel at the airport early, ran out of time to refuel the rental car, drove in multiple circles at the airport because we couldn't figure out how to turn the rental car in. No signs, Each trip around the airport we eliminated more of the possibilities and finally settled on the winner. But it was a bit frazzling! Flew to Madrid then flew to Santiago. We later realized we would have saved time and money by simply driving our rental car from Gijon to Santiago. But, alll's well that ends well. Then we walked thru the city to the huge cathedral that is the goal of all (pilgrims) who walk the Camino de Santiago. Of which their are many routes. We saw the bagpipe player welcoming the walkers through the arch into the plaza in front of the church. Walked the pedestrian alleys, had tapas, bought ice cream and Gallician cookies. Watched the police arrest, face down in the walkway, a pink haired woman screaming obscenities in Spanish. Later we found out the train to Porto was sold out so we had to find bus tickets online. The internet makes traveling so much easier!Read more

  • TravelerSpain and Portugal, 2024
    Day 9

    Santiago de Compostela, Day 2

    April 25 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We took a full day bus tour from Santiago northwest to the coast visiting numerous places including Punta de Maceiras, which has a picturesque 12th century bridge and stone water mills dating from the 17th and 18th centuries. On to the town of Muros with its bateas (floats made up eucalyptus wood with ropes attached for growing shellfish. Muros was delightful because we stumbled into a small bread shop, and ended up with a loaf of bread, a large cream puff, and two teas for six Euros. And it was fun!. Other stops included Ezare where a waterfall flows directly into waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Finisterre and its lighthouse which was known as "The end of the earth" in Roman times, a small city named"C" where we had lunch with a new friend, Ivo, from Argentina. Then the final stop at Muxia (where we were driven back to the bus by a sudden rain squall) which is the home of the legend of the Virgen in the Stone Boat, as well as a Celtic legend about balancing rocks. Back to Santiago for an evening of catching up.Read more

  • TravelerSpain and Portugal, 2024
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    Day 10–12

    Porto, Portugal, Days 1 and 2

    April 26 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    To Porto Portugal by bus the early evening of the 26th. Had difficulties getting into the apartment we had rented (in the midst of a downpour). Ended up at Hotel da Bolsa for the night. Nice breakfast the next day. Explored the riverfront, walked both levels of the Luis 1 bridge (the bridge in the photos). Hordes of tourists around. Very pretty city. Visited some of the must-see sites. Checked into our apartment. Visited a hole-in-the-wall restaurant/bar for a flaming sausage (photo) and wine. Having a grand time!Read more

  • TravelerSpain and Portugal, 2024
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    Day 12

    Porto, Portugal April 28

    April 28 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

    Our first night in the apartment went well. Eating breakfast and enjoying coffee. Did some more city exploring then took a 50 minute boat tour on the River Douro of the six bridges. Nice views of the city. Walked across the Luis 1 bridge again and bought tickets for port tasting and tour at the Burmester cellars then tasted four kinds of port at the Calem cellars while chatting with two fellows from Nottingham, England. Salads from the local mini-grocery for dinner, then we attended the Fado performance not far from the Hotel da Bolsa, which is a steep hike down and then back up to our apartment.Read more

  • TravelerSpain and Portugal, 2024
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    Day 13

    Porto, Portugal April 29

    April 29 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    To the Clerigos church and tower at 9 a.m. We were first in the line! About a 200' climb up circular stairs to the two observation levels near the top of the tower. Beautiful 360 degree views. Then down to the Burmester cellars on the other side of the Luis 1 bridge for a short tour of the cellars followed by port tasting. Enjoyable. Nice conversation with people from Austria and Poland at our table. topped by a quirky business that sells canned seafood with interesting labels. On to visit the World of Wine (the chocolate and cork exhibitions). Nice exhibitions with occasional errors in English. But overpriced. Returned to the apartment stopping by a small restaurant for Curry Dourada (fish) along the way.Read more

  • TravelerSpain and Portugal, 2024
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    Day 14

    Sintra, Portugal, April 30

    April 30 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Took a Uber to the bus station then a bus ride from Porto to Sintra. Nice ride with Wifi. Checked in to the Villa Aedan using an Uber - which had a tough time figuring out where it was. I had trouble locating the place on Google maps, too. After some unpacking we walked to the recommended Apeadeiro restaurant and had a nice mid-day meal. They even provided a glass of port and a pastry to each of us at the end of our meal. From there we walked to the Quinta de Regeleira a private mansion with lots of novelties now owned by the City of Sintra as a tourist attraction. Fun place including the Well of Initiation, a 70' plus hole excavated in limestone with a circular stairway winding around an open center. Several quirky towers, lots of exotic flowers and trees with a chapel and a mansion right out of The Adams Family (the old TV show). Google maps gave us some trouble here and we ended up walking the wrong way for a while, adding a half mile or more to our walk to the entrance. Our entrance fee was seven euros - the cost for people over 65. Returned to our room at the Villa Aedan which requires three keys to get in. One for the front gate, one for the front door, and then one for the room. Walked into town again to explore and bought two clementines at a local store. Ate the last of the Queso Cabrales from Cangas de Onis.Read more

  • TravelerSpain and Portugal, 2024
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    Day 15

    Sintra, May 1

    May 1 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    A full day of seeing the National Palace of Pena where the last kings and queens of Portugal lived before the 1910 revolution ended the monarchy and the Castle of the Moors, and 11th century fortress which eventually fell to the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula. Did not start well. We paid to take a bus up to the palace. We had traveled less than mile when traffic stopped - due to a bus up the road which had managed to block traffic and not get turned around. So we abandoned the bus and walked - asking for lots of directions along the way. Toured the very crowded palace at 3 p.m. and the palace grounds, then we walked to the Castle of the Moors and hiked up the battlements to the top for views in all directions including the Atlantic Ocean, the Tagus River, downtown Lisbon, and all of the Sintra area. Very interesting visit. Then we hiked down a trail - which sort of vanished when we got to the outskirts of town requiring Google maps to help us find our way. Stopped at a small cafe for wine, coffee, and an appetizer then returned to the Apeadeiro restaurant for a full dinner complete with cheesecake, port, and two pastries, the last port and pastries courtesy of the restaurant.Read more

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