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A 52-day adventure by Linda Read more
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  • TravelerPortugal, Morocco and Spain
    Day 1

    Getting Ready

    March 31, 2023 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Airports can be so sterile. Victoria is particularly blank. (Photo is Vancouver) However, it does offer a chance to get off the island on a new adventure. And here I go. First leg is a week with family. Then two weeks in Portugal, 2 weeks in Morocco and finally 2 weeks in Spain. I’m ready!

    This was one of those cobbled together trips. I wanted to get back east to see my dad who’s health has been failing, but it has been just years. He is sharp and has a most outstandingly devoted wife, Chris, who keeps him moving. My sister, Robin, from Boston is coming down with her dog. My twin, Michael, will be visiting for part of the time with his son, Andrew, who I haven’t seen since he was about 14 years old. Long story. I last of the gang is my half-brother Jeremy and his family – wife Rebecca and two kids, Austin and Cameron. Should be lots of fun and maybe some drama.

    Last fall, I got a call from my friend, Gail, who said she was going on a tour to Morocco with a couple of her other friends and invited me along. And why not? Sheryl wrangled a couple weeks of vacation to add a trip in between New Jersey and Morocco to Portugal with two friends from Sweden, Lennart and Kirsten. And finally, Gail and Stacey wanted to get to Barcelona after Morocco. Gail and I will do Sevilla, Granada, and Valencia too. Phew!

    I am a little sad to be leaving my pretty new garden. I just love it. Changes the whole feel of the place. It also means living out of a suitcase for 7 weeks. Most travel with be 2 or 3 nights in a place. I gotta be organized or I will spend too much time futzing with my things coming and going. Packing cubes, my friends, packing cubes.

    I’m also so happy to be traveling with Sheryl. She is the best traveler. It will be nice to wander around Portugal with her.

    Thanks for coming with me.

    *************

    A veces, aeropuertos son estíreles. Victoria es blanco en particular. La foto es de Vancouver. Sin embargo, oferta una chance para salir la isla por un viaje nuevo. Ya me voy! La primera semana estará con mi familia. Entonces dos semanas en Portugal, dos semanas en Marruecos, y finalmente, dos semanas en España. Estoy lista!

    Este era uno de los viajes construyó pedazo por pedazo. Me quería regresar al este así que pueda ver a mi padre quien ha tenido mala salud por algunos años. Él es listo y tiene la mejor y abnegada esposa, Chris. Ella se lo queda moviéndo a él. Mi hermana, Robin, de Boston vendrá con su perro. Mi mejillo, Michael, visitará para parte del tiempo con su hijo, Andrew, quien no he visto desde él tenía 14 años. Una historia larga. El ultimo de la familia es mi medio-hermano, Jeremy, con su familia – su esposa y dos hijos. Se debe muchísimo diversión y quizá un poco drama.

    El otoño pasado, recibí una llamada de mi amiga, Gail, quien dijo que va a ir a Marrueco en tour con un par de amigas y me invitó a venir con suyos. Y por qué no? Sheryl negoció un par de semanas de vacaciones así que podemos viajar entre Nuevo Jersey y Marrueco a Portugal con dos amigos de Suecia, Lennart y Kirsten. Y por fin, Gail y Stacey querían visitar a Barcelona después de Marrueco. Gail y yo iremos a Sevilla, Granada, y Valencia tambien. Pues!

    Estoy un poco triste porque voy a saliendo mi jardín nuevo y bonito. Justo me lo encanta. Cambia todo el sentimiento del lugar. Tengo que ser muy organizado en mi equipaje o voy a pasar tanto tiempo en empacando mis cosas ida y vuelta. Cubos de empacando, mi amigo, cubos de empacando.

    Estoy emocionada viajar con Sheryl. Ella es la mejor. Estará muy amable a pasar tiempo consigo en Portugal.

    Gracias por vendiendo conmigo.    Read more

  • TravelerPortugal, Morocco and Spain
    Day 7

    Family Week

    April 6, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    After an impromptu night in Toronto (missed flight) and missed bag (3 days), I have spent a glorious week with family. My dad is still alive and kicking. Chris, his wife, takes the best care of him doing lots but not everything for him. My brother Jeremy got me at the airport, and I got to spend a full day hanging out with him, his wife and two kids. It was fun if a bit noisy. Nine and 12 year olds are like that.

    My sister, Robin, joined us with Frankie (her dog) for dinner and the rest of my 3-4 day stay in New Jersey. The next day my real twin brother, Michael came down from New York to spend the day talking, sharing old stories and watching a movie.

    It was so nice to see everyone but also strange. I think this is probably the last time I will see my dad. He is in failing health and has been struggling for years now. He can still tell those old man Jewish jokes (I did not get that gene). I still laugh. Chris took care of just about every single thing. I hardly made a sandwich. It is the way she shows her love. We already talk about “after”. It is going to be tough.

    I felt guilty, but I took a Lyft from my dad’s to my mother-in-law’s in Atlantic City. It was frankly pretty inexpensive and shaved 3 hours off the trip. And I got to spend more time with Jeanne. She is delightful company. We spent time looking at old photos and walking down memory lane. Of course gossiping about the relatives too.

    Fredda, Sheryl’s cousin, is the matriarch of the family and does all the holiday feasts. Her beef brisket is to die for. I ate too much. There were 18 of us including Fredda’s two kids and their spouses and kids, Jen and Ken (never remember the familial connection), and Sheryl and I. Fredda made a point of including LGBT community support as part of the Seder. I certainly appreciated the sentiment. She can be tough, but she is also very fierce about defending women’s rights and human rights.

    Sheryl is just now polishing her mother’s samovar and candlesticks. Jeanne has 98 years of accumulation and all those things that she got from her grandparents and parents. I just hope I have her strength and cheerful spirit 35 years from now when I am her age!

    On to Portugal tonight. Hopefully I will have my luggage when I land.    Read more

  • TravelerPortugal, Morocco and Spain
    Day 8

    Lisbon Day One

    April 7, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    It is gloriously warm here in Lisbon. We arrived after a not terrible overnight flight from Philadelphia and got into the Airbnb early. Unlike Air Canada, American Airlines actually landed early, and I got my bag immediately. The place has a lovely view of the ocean and sits across from a Monastery. The guy we rented from talked and talked. He thinks Putin is a nice fellow… In any case, he has a great spot.

    We settled in, bought groceries, and then went to the National Tile Museum. The tile was beautiful, but I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at. There were scant descriptions and maybe we were just tired. Mostly we just were soaking up the architecture, narrow streets and outdoor cafes. I’m soooo happy.

    Kirsten and Lennart (our friends from Sweden) arrived by 6pm, and we went for some traditional Portuguese food. Loved it. It was also great to catch up with them. We hadn’t seen them since they came to visit us in Portland just after I retired in 2018. They are both engineers - Kirsten has retired and Lennart can’t seem to break the habit and is working one or two days a week. They are also both politically involved in the progressive and environmental parties in Sweden.

    Even though I went to Costa Rica last year, I was in one place for most of the 7 weeks in a homestay. Here and the rest of my travels will be a few nights or even just one night stays. It is a different way to pack - being organized is essential. So far, so good.    Read more

  • TravelerPortugal, Morocco and Spain
    111
    Day 9

    Lisbon Day Two

    April 8, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    My dogs are tired. We walked on what the book said would be a 4-hour self-guided walking tour that took us all day. Sheryl and I caught up on our sleep. Lennart went out to get some fresh bakery bread in the morning for our breakfast. Cheese, bread, butter and coffee. What’s not to love?

    Across the street, the Sao Vicente de Fora and Monastery were amazing. The tile work, gold tapestry, and tons of narrative that went with it were great fun. We also went through the “flea market” nearby with both stuff you would find at any outdoor market and some art as well. I find that I love to look but don’t really want to buy. I’m hoping to find something that I just can’t live without but not on the first day.

    The rest of the day we wandered from place to place on my already mapped out walking tour and decided not to actually go in to the places. They were swamped with tourists and not all that interesting. The tile on the outside of the buildings, and people-watching was a better bet.

    We stumbled upon a museum of fascism and resistance on the location of a former prison where the Portuguese government tortured and jailed people from the 30s up through the liberation on April 25, 1974. A very long time. I couldn’t read some if it. They showed cells that had a bed and a little room, another with only a slab to lie down on and finally one that was too small to actually lie down in. The cruelty was terrifying and heartbreaking. They had copies of the resistance publications and stories plastered all over the walls. They also showed Portugal’s colonial reach and how these places finally achieved there independence. I’m glad we stopped in.

    After, Kirsten who is a tiny little thing, insisted on gelato. Who am I to stand in her way? While in Rome, she had 4 gelatos in one day… We have work to do. Sheryl also found a wine tasting where you serve yourself from a dispenser. Very cool and nice selection of wines.

    Sheryl took us on yet another wild goose chase to try to find the Botanical Gardens. After a couple of attempts, I finally used my google maps to find the entrance. We saw lots of heat-loving trees, bushes and some parrots too. It was nice to get off the beaten path to a garden.

    Tomorrow is Easter Sunday so several of the things we wanted to see are closed. Sad face. But we will survive.    Read more

  • TravelerPortugal, Morocco and Spain
    1
    Day 10

    Easter Sunday in Lisbon

    April 9, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    We tried to scope out what was open and what was not before our trip, but oddly the info was not really available. We traveled by bus down to Belem to look at the famous tower (that was closed), Jerónimo Monastery (also closed) and waterfront. The outsides of the buildings were beautiful and the weather can not be beat. Sunny and just warm.

    On the way, we discovered this little street that is famous for fado music with murals and stories on the walls outside. These narrow passages are so full of character and art and hanging laundry. This is what makes European cities so delightful.

    The Museum of Contemporary Art was open, and I drowned myself in an exquisitely curated exhibit chronicling the many different modern and contemporary art genres. I loved how each piece related in some way either in juxtaposition or in concert with the piece before it. It told a story. I also noticed that this museum had more women artists represented. A nice change of pace from the usual all-male lineup.

    I had my first Pasteis de Nata (Portuguese Custard Tart). It is made by making a laminated dough for the crust and a rich custard that is charred on the top giving it a texture and flavour to die for. There was close by the “original” place to get them, but it is generally a madhouse. I have read it’s not really that good anymore. It’s hard to churn out hundreds or even thousands on a daily basis and keep up the quality. The one I had was sublime.

    We found the Tropical Botanical Gardens nearby and walked around until we just couldn’t walk any more.

    Dinner was take out from a traditional Portuguese place up the street. Everything seems to be “up” the street. So many hills to climb. We witnessed two knuckleheads almost get into a bona fide fistfight in front of the restaurant. Men are strange. They get all upset and try to use there fists to solve their grievances. Maybe it is cultural, but mostly I think it is just the testosterone.

    Tomorrow we go birdwatching for half a day with a guide. I have done no studying of the birds here. I’m rusty with my binocular skills. It will be interesting.    Read more

  • TravelerPortugal, Morocco and Spain
    1
    Day 11

    Birding and Gulbenkian Museum

    April 10, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    Our birding guide says we saw 70 bird species in 5 hours. I think it was more like 55 or 60. I have to check. WE SAW FLAMINGOS!!!! I love them. And, no, I didn’t take a picture. I rarely take bird pictures. They never turn out. We also saw storks, glossy ibis, lots of raptures and European birds. This will expand my life list by bunches. We were up just north of Lisbon in the Tagus area. The river is very shallow here so we saw many fisher folk digging clams and netting fish. Super fun.

    The bus driver for the bird tour dropped us at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum. This ridiculously wealthy man left his extensive and exquisite collection of art to Portugal along with money to build a garden and foundation. The museum starts with art and artifacts collected from ancient Egypt and civilizations during the pyramids. It wends its way through Asian porcelain, textiles, and glass to Persian rugs and tile work to Baroque French furniture, tapestries and painting to Renaissance and Impressionist painting and sculpture to finally jewelry and fine gold pieces designed by René Lalique.

    In addition to the seemingly endless supply of money to purchase everything, he had the most exceptional and beautiful eye. In each area of his pieces, the items were the most outstanding works in both quality and beauty. I was overwhelmed by it all. The gardens were equally sumptuous.

    It is nice to have Lennart and Kristen with us to share our perspectives on the art and gardens. I love Lennart’s sense of wonder and Kristen’s obvious joy in it.

    Tomorrow we are off to Coimbra.    Read more

  • TravelerPortugal, Morocco and Spain
    Day 12

    Coimbra

    April 11, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    The train trip took 2 hours heading north to Coimbra, a small university town. It was only half a day here and already we have fallen in love with the city. We visited the old church built in the 12th century and updated through the 15th century with tile and art with Moorish and Spanish influences. It was clearly well taken care of and revered as it was in quite good shape for such an old building. The new church (although also very, very old by North American standards) was beautiful, but churches give me the creeps sometimes. All those depictions of a dead guy hanging from a cross by nails in his hands and feet plus the absolute misery imposed by the Catholic Church on people all over the world and in Europe. I can feel it in the walls of them.

    We are staying in an Airbnb situated on a narrow pedestrian street. Everything from here is either up or down a long flight of stairs along corridors packed with little shops or quiet residences. The colours and balconies dressed with hanging laundry make is feel like a real city as opposed to a tourist town.

    The university makes for lots of political graffiti and students yelling, carousing and even barfing in the streets. I’m thankful for the vibrancy but the roving drunk lads, not so much.

    We have eaten quite well on this trip sharing great wine and traditional Portuguese foods. So far I have had goat, chicken, beef, lamb, grouper and several amazing vegetarian meals. The food has been great and the service has been very friendly. Even with my knowledge of Spanish, the menu items are usually a mystery. Portuguese is a close cousin of Spanish so I can often read the signs at museums and historical markers but I still miss a lot.

    Tomorrow we have another day in this incredible town to explore more…    Read more

  • TravelerPortugal, Morocco and Spain
    111
    Day 13

    Coimbra Day Two

    April 12, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Our first rainy day. We made the most of it visiting the Museum National de Machado de Castro and Roman Crypts. We started with exploring the extensive ancient Roman crypts and halls - we got a bit lost - they were that big. From there the museum followed with ancient sculpture and relics. Next paintings, then paintings, then ceramics, then jewelry. It was never ending. We quit for lunch at noon not getting through to the last quarter. Our heads were full.

    Our bellies were not. We ate at the museum cafe with a view overlooking the town. I was taken by the density of houses and the lack of cars everywhere. They just didn’t fit in lots of the alleyways. It afforded a sense of quiet and peace hard to obtain when you have to fight to talk above traffic. There are pastelerías everywhere you turn. Sheryl bought some almond tarts to share for dessert.

    We had tickets to see a most important part of the old university - the Library. It was stunningly beautiful - however - we had exactly 10 minutes to explore the two library rooms with no possibility to take photos and no signs or other information about the library. We were frustrated that we just couldn’t really understand what we were looking at. Why were there some shelves empty of books? What was the significance of the place to the university and how was it organized? How did they access the impossibly high shelves? What were the symbols and representations painted on the ceilings all about? Etc. Honestly, it seemed overpriced and disappointing.

    Connected were the halls for students to present their dissertations for their degrees with a court of scholars seated in the large hall. It seemed like it was deliberately designed for intimidation. This building was connected to the palace with beautiful tile work.

    Even with the cloud and rain, we still walked and walked and walked the streets/alleyways getting periodically lost and returning back to the same squares. Tomorrow we leave for Porto. I see port in our future.    Read more

  • TravelerPortugal, Morocco and Spain
    Day 14

    Arriving in Porto

    April 13, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    We took the train up to Porto for a long (relatively) stay - 4 nights. Train travel is so luxurious compared to flights. Arriving 15 or even 10 minutes before the train leaves and getting right into the heart of the city is a nice benefit. After dropping our bags at our AirBnb, we ate at yet another traditional Portuguese restaurant for lunch. It seems that the big meal of the day is lunchtime including soup, main dish, french fries, salad, dessert, wine, and coffee all for a modest price of just about 10 euros. I got a giant salad with tuna. I’ve been craving vegetables.

    We arrived in time to take “The Worst Tour of Porto” conducted by this wonderful architect fellow who showed us the some quirky and “real” places in this city. A few highlights included how the tiles on the exteriors of the buildings were great for both the hot, dry climate of southern Portugal and the wet northern parts of the country. Designs were modified from old Moorish tile work. He spoke about the political expansion of Porto with the central area starting as a Roman walled city, then an expanded Medieval walled city, and then on to the larger area controlled by the Jesuits who once ousted converted all those monasteries and convents into municipal buildings. After the Roman’s ruled, their wall and road stones were used to construct homes leaving that history behind.

    He showed us these homes that were called home islands - they took generally narrow homes and converted the alleyways that accessed the backyards to a narrow passageway with little homes with shared bathrooms. I would compare these to tiny homes of today. Of the 500 “islands” located throughout Porto, only 6 have been upgraded in the last 5 years. Slow going. These islands also shared a outside laundry area with pools of water, washing stones, a flow of water for rinsing and areas to hang laundry. In this climate, it works.

    We also learned more about the rule of fascists in the 30’s through the first liberation on April 24, 1974 and the second liberation 30 years later when the country finally became a more stable democracy. It’s complicated. This is the kind of tour you would never get from a regular tour company. What a treat.

    We finished the day getting into our lavish apartment with two floors, two suites each with its own bathroom and a beautiful garden. Photos to come. It was too late to get food so we shared the bottle of wine provided by the host and nibbles we have accumulated in our shopping travels. Plastic-wrapped croissants were involved.    Read more

  • TravelerPortugal, Morocco and Spain
    Day 15

    Rainy Day in Porto

    April 14, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    It wasn’t supposed to rain much in Porto today but… tell that to the clouds. We started the day walking to the famous outdoor market. It was basically an over-priced food market with gorgeous looking flowers, fruits, vegetables, fresh fish and other specialty foods. We purchased meh little pies for lunch and left.

    Afterwards we walked to the medieval wall and bridge over the river. It is fascinating to see all the very, very old and dilapidated buildings located in the center of the city that also has exquisitely appointed tile-covered homes. The rule is that a building has to become so bad before the owner has to right to tear it down and build something new in its place that will cost much less to develop. Housing here is not as much an issue of not enough dwellings, but the condition of the homes.

    I do love the variety of building styles and ages. There is absolutely nothing like it on the west coast of the US and Canada. Old is 150 years. Here old is 1300’s. And the walls and roofs grow flowers. So charming. We walked down (again, everything is on hills - very steep hills) to the river’s edge and then back up again. My legs were tired.

    It was now really raining so Kirsten, Lennart and I took a nap and hung out at the apartment and have some much deserved quiet time. Sheryl had the energy to walk around some more. Good for her. It was nice to have the garden to appreciate in the rain.

    We found rabbit on sale and Lennart cooked up a delicious rabbit stew with actually tasty gluten-free spaghetti for dinner. We shared a lovely bottle of wine and watched some Netflix show about Street food. A perfect evening.    Read more

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