Back to Lisbon, 2019

April – May 2019

A 26-day adventure by Laurie Read more

List of countries

Portugal
United States

Categories

None

10.5kkilometers traveled

Means of transport

Flight9,784kilometers
Walking-kilometers
Hiking-kilometers
Bicycle-kilometers
Motorbike-kilometers
Tuk Tuk-kilometers
Car-kilometers
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4x4-kilometers
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Barefoot-kilometers

Newest first

Footprints
Photos

Laurie Reynolds Back to Lisbon, 2019
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- Day 1
- Saturday, April 20, 2019 at 5:40 AM
- 🌙 3 °C
- Altitude: 244 m
- United States Clark Park 40.105804, -88.25978940°6’21” N 88°15’35” W
Travel Day
April 20, 2019 in the United States ⋅ 🌙 3 °C
It’s usually not much fun to get from Point A to Point B, especially not if the people who booked your ticket give you a 6 hour layover in Philadelphia! For these long travel days, I always try to get up very early to get to the gym, on the theory that I will feel better and maybe sleep a bit on the plane. So today at 5 am I was up and out. My Silver Sneakers gym is open 24/7 with a little purple thing to swipe, and there are always a few more nut cases like me there so it’s not too lonely.

We are headed to Lisbon — unbelievable though it seems to me, this will be the sixteenth consecutive year I have taught a short course at the law school in the Católica. Cannot believe it!

At the airport I weighed my bags to calculate how much olive oil I can cram in them on the way home. One of my favorite pastimes in Lisbon is buying lots of olive oil for my Berkeley crew, who has figured out that they use about 36 liters a year. I have been keeping up with that demand for about 6 years now and hope to extend it for a few more, at least till I am too feeble to lug all this around. Oil is lighter than water, though!

We arrived in PHL and made our way over to the Lego Liberty Bell and thus began our long layover. Only 5 hours till boarding time now! We will go straight to Lisbon, arriving around 9 am tomorrow morning. Easter Sunday, so it should be a slow day.Read more
TravelerLaurie, Lisbon, lucky you! Such a great place to have a job. Enjoy. If my Primitivo gets too hard I’ll come and visit.
4/21/19Reply
TravelerGreat that you can continue this tradition! Greetings from Santiago. Un abrazo fuerte amiga
4/21/19Reply
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Laurie Reynolds Back to Lisbon, 2019
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- Day 2
- Sunday, April 21, 2019 at 9:32 PM
- 🌙 16 °C
- Altitude: 61 m
- Portugal University of Lisbon Botanical Garden 38.720589, -9.14757638°43’14” N 9°8’51” W
Arrived
April 21, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 16 °C
We’re staying in the central historic area, quite a change from the Marriott. Beautiful weather, lots of tourists, lots of great fish restaurants to choose from.
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Laurie Reynolds Back to Lisbon, 2019
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- Day 3
- Monday, April 22, 2019 at 2:23 PM
- ☀️ 18 °C
- Altitude: 54 m
- Portugal Praça da Alegria 38.72054, -9.14706738°43’14” N 9°8’49” W
Breakfast, gym, and a long walk
April 22, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Lisbon sits on many hills, so there are lots of “miradouros” (scenic look-out plazas is my awkward translation). We decided to head for two located on hills near the castle— these are not the most popular but the views are great—Nossa Senhora da Monte and Graca. Lunch in a little pastelaria where we sat outside in old Lisbon and had a homemade lunch for 9 € for the two of us!

Back to the hotel for a total of 19,752 steps according to my phone. While Joe rested, I went on my first oil-scouting expedition. Making good headway!

Tomorrow it’s down to work for two days. Then Thursday is The national holiday commemorating the Carnation Revolution-saying goodbye to fascism without firing a shot.Read more
TravelerYou are one busy woman! San Juan with buddies and now back to Lisbon. On my way home now via Vigo and blabla car to Madrid as all the trains and buses to Madrid are completo. The Primitivo is my all time favorite. Write more when home. Un abrazo fuerte amiga
4/23/19Reply
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Laurie Reynolds Back to Lisbon, 2019
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- Day 4
- Tuesday, April 23, 2019 at 7:42 PM
- ⛅ 13 °C
- Altitude: 41 m
- Portugal Praça da Alegria 38.716885, -9.14402938°43’1” N 9°8’39” W
Payback time -- time to teach
April 23, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
First day of Introduction to US Property Law. 38 students, a mix of Portuguese, other Europeans, and a group from Macao (former colony, which is still governed by the19th century Portuguese Civil Code). I always enjoy teaching here because the students are undergrads unlike US law students—which makes them less jaded and more “innocent.”

Though a cab to the school from our hotel would be under 10 € and take 1/3 the time, I just can’t bring myself to abandon the lovely Lisbon metro. It’s a great sociological observation— so many different people, all going somewhere.

After a few torrential downpours, all of which I missed while in class, the sun came out in late afternoon, and we took a walk through another favorite part of downtown.

Last night we had a traditional Portuguese meal ( not fish— no Lisboeta eats fish on Monday because fish markets are closed on Saturday and Sunday, so it can’t be fresh). Tonight we went for Indian—Tamarind Restaurant near our hotel — Excellent!!Read more
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Laurie Reynolds Back to Lisbon, 2019
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- Day 5
- Wednesday, April 24, 2019 at 6:45 PM
- ⛅ 14 °C
- Altitude: 68 m
- Portugal Cinemateca Portuguesa 38.721298, -9.14811138°43’17” N 9°8’53” W
Gulbenkian Museum and Olive Oil
April 24, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Second day of classes and tomorrow is another holiday. I met Joe at the Gulbenkian Museum after class- an obligatory stop every year.

Then a quick trip to the Corte Inglés supermarket where I got another 8 liters of oil. According to the weight of my bags when I came over, I can bring back more than 100 pounds of oil, but that would be excessive. :-)

We made it home before the rain and we’re lucky that it had stopped before a delicious dinner at a new recommended place, Quermesse. It’s in the Praça Alegria (Happy Square) but the last time I visited years ago nothing legal was going on. Tourists must be pushing out the drug trade.Read more
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Laurie Reynolds Back to Lisbon, 2019
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- Day 7
- Friday, April 26, 2019 at 7:10 PM
- ☀️ 15 °C
- Altitude: 80 m
- Portugal Ribeiro de Covelinhas 41.150669, -7.68218341°9’2” N 7°40’56” W
National holiday, April 25
April 26, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
The day of the Carnation Revolution, 45 years ago. Not a shot was fired. The army officers, tired of fascism, I guess, went into the president and prime minister’s offices and said, it’s time to go. We don’t want to hurt you, so get in this tank and we will take you to the airport so you can go to Brazil. Yesterday we saw those tanks being driven on their historical route, pretty cool.

We spent the day with good Portuguese friends, two economists Joe has known for years. First to eat baby goat, I guess cabrito translates as kid. The restaurant, about 20 km out of Lisbon, was mobbed, and everyone was eating the same thing.

Then a trip to the Universidade Nova’s new building about 20 km outside of Lisbon, on the river. Pretty astonishing, They even have their own private tunnel under the road to get to the beach, and conveniently the sheds for all their aquatic sports (ocean sports to the right, river sports to the left) are right there.Read more
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Laurie Reynolds Back to Lisbon, 2019
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- Day 7
- Friday, April 26, 2019
- ⛅ 14 °C
- Altitude: 85 m
- Portugal Ribeiro de Covelinhas 41.150702, -7.68223341°9’3” N 7°40’56” W
Up to the Douro Valley
April 26, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
We always take a weekend trip during our two week Lisbon stay. We haven’t been to the Douro Valley in a few years, and it seemed like a great time of year, so here we are. Class was over at 12:30, we were at the airport by 2, in our rental car about an hour later.

The drive was straightforward, except for the fact that I first went to the CASA da Azenha, instead of the QUINTA da Azenha. Luckily they are only 10 km apart! This is a centuries’ old renovated stone house up and looking right over the river. It is close to two good restaurants, so no driving for food is necessary. I am right now sitting on a terrace looking out at the scene you see in these pics. Joe is resting. I think it’s a no brainer who made the better decision!Read more
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Laurie Reynolds Back to Lisbon, 2019
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- Day 8
- Saturday, April 27, 2019 at 12:25 PM
- ☀️ 18 °C
- Altitude: 110 m
- Portugal Ribeiro de Covelinhas 41.152083, -7.67818741°9’7” N 7°40’41” W
Rivers and vineyards
April 27, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
Oh, wow, what a day. We made about a 75 km circle that took us up and down and around, to a neolithic hill fort in Sabrosa, to the Mateus estate (how can such a beautiful place produce such bad wine?! — maybe that’s unfair because maybe I have only had the really cheap rosé wine in the brown ceramic bottle that we used to burn candles in so they would drip all over the bottle. )

The townspeople were making a carpet of flowers for tomorrow’s procession of the Virgen das Prazeres. They told us they had started at 7 am and would finish by 3 am. Mass at 7 sharp and then the procession to destroy their 20 hours of work.

From there all through vineyards, down to the river and then back up again, each vista more gorgeous than the last. We ended with a trip up to the miradouro in Casal de Loivos, which I had remembered from previous trips.

We will finish off the day with dinner in a fairly fancy place, DOC, right on the river about a 15 minute walk from our lovely Quinta da Azenha.Read more
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Laurie Reynolds Back to Lisbon, 2019
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- Day 9
- Sunday, April 28, 2019 at 1:49 PM
- ⛅ 23 °C
- Altitude: 58 m
- Portugal University of Lisbon Botanical Garden 38.720631, -9.14764438°43’14” N 9°8’52” W
Romanesque church-going
April 28, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
Our main objective of the day was to visit three romanesque churches, scattered in little villages around the Douro Valley. It made for spectacular driving to out of the way places. I will say, though, that Portuguese romanesque is just not as beautiful as what I see all the time in Spain. Joe says he has had his fill for a while, can’t say I blame him, but he was a good trooper.

When we wanted to head back to Lisbon, we were in the middle of nowhere and had to cross a pretty desolate part of the country to get to the highway. All’s well that ends well, back in Lisbon for the second week of classes.Read more
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Laurie Reynolds Back to Lisbon, 2019
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- Day 11
- Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at 8:14 AM
- ⛅ 13 °C
- Altitude: 61 m
- Portugal University of Lisbon Botanical Garden 38.720617, -9.14755638°43’14” N 9°8’51” W
Metro, classes, gym, plazas, repeat
April 30, 2019 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
Our Lisbon life has settled into a routine. Up early, metro to class, metro home to fitness center in hotel, then a few hours in plazas around town.
With a meal in a good restaurant to top it off

Today I met with a wonderful friend who is now a justice on the Portuguese Supreme Court, and as always it was as if there had not been a year’s gap since I had seen her.

Tomorrow, another national holiday, May 1, so our routine has been short-lived.Read more
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