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Europe 2023
  • Danielle and Co travels
  • Danielle and Co travels

Europe 2023

We are off to Europe to catch up with family, explore new cities and revisit some favourites. We will also be joining a walk and wine tour with Explore through Spain and Portugal. En savoir plus
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  • Danielle and Co travelsEurope 2023Voyageur
    Aqueduct, Rua da Porta da Vila
    Azulejo in an Óbidos city gateStreets of ÓbidasThe city wallSeveral buildings have a painted trim of bright blueLovely bookstore and grocery storeThis monument is now a hotelNadia and IanÓbidos Chocolate ShopDelicious chocolate

    Óbidos

    26 octobre 2023, Portugal ⋅ 🌬 20 °C

    Nadia, our guide for the day, picked us up from our apartment at 10.30 am. Nadia, who took us on a day trip to Sintra in 2019, was as bubbly and talkative as ever. We love her enthusiasm and love for life and adventure. Today, she was taking us to the medieval town of Óbidos about 80 kms north of Lisbon. The weather was quite rainy and overcast but we hoped it would clear by the time we there.

    Óbidos grew from a Roman settlement near the foothills of an elevated escarpment, constructed by early Celt tribes. It was later a centre of trade for the Phoenicians. Archeological evidence from the base of the medieval tower at Óbidos also indicates Roman construction; surveys found the remains of a forum, baths and other Roman structures. After the fall of Rome, the region came under the influence of the Visigoths. Sometime after 713 the Moors established a fortification on this mountain, while a Christian community of Mozarabs lived in the Moncharro neighbourhood. So, quite a colourful early history.

    The area was taken from the Moors by the first King of Portugal, Alfonso Henriques, in 1148. The retaking of Óbidos was a final stage of the conquest of the Estremadura Province region. In 1120, King Afonso II gave the title of this village to Queen Urraca. Since then, Óbidos has often been patronised by the Queens of Portugal, giving rise to its informal title as Vila das Rainhas (town of the Queens). The 1755 earthquake caused damage to the village walls, a few churches, and many buildings, and resulted in the loss of much of the Arab and Medieval architecture.

    It is a visually beautiful town with a well preserved wall surrounding it. We parked and walked through narrow streets of the old village. There are beautifully maintained buildings and it is a colourful town. As we wandered about the town the rain started again. Once we had walked through the town we headed off to the coastal surf town of Nazaré.    En savoir plus

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  • Danielle and Co travelsEurope 2023Voyageur
    Where we had lunch
    Where we had lunchThe restaurant was full to the brimTo start - amazing olives, sheep & goats cheese and delicious breadCod, chips and vegetablesNadia serving up the fish stewFish stewSanctuary of Our Lady of NazaréThe main square of NazaréStreet ArtThrough the gate heading down to the wild and windy Atlantic coastlineVeado by Adália AlbertoLower town of PraiaThis is where they get the big wavesChurning ocean

    Nazaré

    26 octobre 2023, Portugal ⋅ 🌬 19 °C

    We also visited the town of Nazaré which is one of the most popular beach resorts on the ‘silver coast’. It is located on the Atlantic coast and it has long sandy beaches, considered by some to be among the best in Portugal. The town consists of three neighbourhoods: Praia, which is along the beach, Sítio, an old village, on top of a cliff and Pederneira, another old village on a hilltop. When we arrived it was raining so we went to a local Portuguese restaurant for a traditional seafood lunch.

    Nazaré is the venue for surfing championships. It is also a popular surfing destination because of the high breaking waves that form due to the presence of the underwater Nazaré Canyon. The canyon increases and converges the incoming ocean swell which, in conjunction with the local water current, dramatically enlarges wave heights.

    Due to the height of the waves, numerous surfing records have been set at Nazaré. In November 2011, surfer Garrett McNamara surfed a then record-breaking giant wave measuring 23.8 metres. In November 2017 Brazilian surfer Rodrigo Kodak broke the previous record by surfing a wave of 24.4 metre. Then in October 2020, German surfer Sebastian Steudtner broke this record, riding a wave which measured 26.2 metre. On 18 January 2018 Brazilian professional surfer Márcio Freire died whilst practicing tow-in surfing.

    When we walked down to the point it was very windy and quite difficult to walk. The waves were only small, about 4 metres but the ocean was still churning and looked fierce. I wouldn’t want to swim in it.    En savoir plus

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  • Danielle and Co travelsEurope 2023Voyageur
    Getting familiar with my segway
    Ian on his segwayChris our leader and instructorLovely views up to AlfamaThe Eiffel elevatorViews from the elevatorViews from the elevatorHeading up the hillCastelo De S.JorgeLisbon and the 25 De Abril Bridge25 De Abril BridgeBeautiful tilesWonderful Street ArtLovely street artThe Pantheon

    Lisbon on Segway

    27 octobre 2023, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    This morning Ian and I took a Segway tour around Lisbon. Our guide and leader was Chris, he was lovely and had great knowledge of the history of Lisbon. It was so much fun and a great way to see this colourful city. We spent the first 30 minutes getting familiar with operating our Segways. We spent time practicing and then had a little race to ensure we were familiar with how fast we could go. Ian won the race.

    Our first stop was Praça do Comércio, where Chris encouraged us to tool around a bit on our Segways and gain confidence operating them. Our next stop was the Town Hall, a building that had been destroyed by the Lisbon earthquake, rebuilt and then damaged again by fire, and rebuilt a third time. Today they were hanging the Christmas decorations.

    We then headed up. Lisbon is built on seven hills and so there is a lot of climbing up and down the narrow streets. Going up these steep streets on a Segway was wonderful. Going down was initially a little scary but once you worked out how to slow down it was fine. We then headed further up to the Elevador de Santa Justa, where we had wonderful views across Lisbon. The lift was designed by Gustav Eiffel.

    We then started heading down, first to Praça Dom Pedro IV and then across to Praça Martim Moniz. We then wound our way up narrow streets, dodging Tuk Tuks and a few aggro drivers to Miradouro da Senhora do Monte. Chris told us that women trying to fall pregnant would come up here to pray to the Virgin Mary. Here we had views over to the 25 De Abril Bridge, the Castelo De São Jorge and over central Lisbon.

    We then headed downwards again and, unfortunately, it started to rain so we had a quick stop to put on our ponchos and then kept heading down to the Pantheon, which is in the district of São Vicente de Fora. Our last part of the tour was to wind our way through the narrow and steep streets of the Alfama district before heading back to our starting position. It was a really fun and easy way to see this beautiful city. We passed a lot of wonderful street art on this tour but, unfortunately, we couldn’t take many photos.    En savoir plus

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  • Danielle and Co travelsEurope 2023Voyageur
    Out the front
    Looking forward to lunchFour starters and all of them were deliciousCarrotCorn bread and olive briocheActivated charcoal & rosemary, sausage & tomato, plain salted butterDry whiteLupin BeaEuropean lobster Cesar SaladJorge the Sommelier, he loves his job!Amazing Green wineGolden EggHakeSuckling PigDessert wineCHOCOSweet egg cream and lemonPetite FourChocolate Petite FourSour jellies to clean the palette

    Lunch at Belcanto

    27 octobre 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Today we had our second lunch at a Michelin (⭐️⭐️) restaurant. Belcanto is the brainchild of José Avillez who says the aim of the restaurant is to take people on a journey through Portuguese cuisine inspired by all its coastal contours, the plains and mountains of its interior history, it’s people, overseas discoveries, exchanges, and influences. José’s ethos - “cuisine is culture, cooking is caring. At Belcanto, each dish has its story to tell”.

    Belcanto is a lovely restaurant, with a great team that is very knowledge and professional. We were looked after mainly by Ricardo and Jorge. A small silver dish was placed on the table, containing two white objects that looked like mints. Ricardo added a bit of warm water and the tablets expanded. He told us they were to “cleanse our hands”, although Ian thought he said “cleanse our palates” and was about to pop it in his mouth, but I was able to stop him doing this, just!

    Our first dish was four starters, Barnacles on a seaweed cracker, Mackerel, Crispy chicken skins with shrimp, and a foie gras sphere. They were all fabulous and delicious but the chicken skin was the favourite.

    We then had Carrot with pine nut milk and olive; this dish was simple and delicious. We also had some delicious bread with three types of butter. Next we had lupin bean, ajo blanco and horse mackerel, which was divine. The third entree was European lobster Cesar Salad, a very innovative and wonderful dish. The last entree was The Garden of the Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs. This has been on the menu since 2008 and did not disappoint.

    We had two mains, Hake and coriander cod sounds. The final savoury dish was suckling pig with orange peel purée and lettuce. Both of these dishes were superb.

    We were then presented with two desserts. The first was CHOCO which was everything chocolate and then second was sweet egg cream and lemon. Then with coffee we were presented with three petite fours.

    Regarding wine, I had a glass of champagne to start and Ian a glass of Verdelho. We then chose a dry white from Alentejo to accompany the rest of the meal. I spoke to Jorge about a Green wine that people were getting as part of the wine pairings out of an impressively large bottle. I told him I was rather partial to a Green wine, so he gave us a generous taste and it was sensational. So, I ordered a glass. I also had a dessert wine to finish the meal.

    It was another first class, delicious and wonderful experience.    En savoir plus

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  • Danielle and Co travelsEurope 2023Voyageur
    Street art
    The narrow streets of AlfamaLovely tile workColourful AlfamaThe Sol barWork by Bordolo IIMoon risingThe three MariasWork by ogringo

    Wandering around the Alfama

    27 octobre 2023, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    After a little rest - I needed a lie down after our lunch at Belcanto - we decided to take a bit of a wander around the Alfama district in the evening. We headed upwards, climbing lots of stairs as we wound our way through the narrow streets. There are so many little bars and restaurants, and many of them offer Fado which is a style of singing that originated in the Alfama as this is where fisherman used to live. Fado is about longing and loss, as the job of a fisherman in Portugal is a dangerous job, even to this day. During our walk we came across some great lookout point that provided good views down to the river.En savoir plus

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  • Danielle and Co travelsEurope 2023Voyageur
    MAAT - Power Station
    Tree of LifeOut the front of the new building of MAATJoana Vasconcelos - SOLITÁRIO #1 (2018)Joana Vasconcelos - VALKYRIE OCTOPUS (2015)

    A Visit to MAAT

    28 octobre 2023, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    This morning we set off for the suburb of Belem to visit MAAT, the Museum of Art, Architecture and Technology. It is located in two buildings, a disused Power Station and an architecturally magnificent modern building.

    One of the main artists being featured at the moment is Joana Vasconcelos, a Portuguese artist known for her large-scale installations. She was the first artist to receive the EDP Foundation New Artists Award in 2000. Joana takes over the interior spaces of the museum’s two buildings and her work is also in the outdoor area, showing a series of works either previously unseen or not seen in many years. A further common thread across almost all of these works is that they are mechanical and/or luminous pieces, hence the unifying title chosen - PLUG-IN

    Joana Vasconcelos maintains and develops the traits of irreverence from earlier works (in themes, forms, materials and working methods): an ironic, humorous and critical look at the things in the world and the nature of those things. What she does is steal things from everyday life and give them another dimension. What is poor becomes rich, as in fairy tales; and what is rich explodes into excesses that break the boundaries of plausibility and reasonableness. Under the cloak of her fantasies and commitments Joana Vasconcelos’ work contains the naked truth of the work of art as a reflection on reality; as a process that transforms reality; as a critical look at reality.

    In 2012, Vasconcelos showed her work at the major annual contemporary art exhibition in the Palace of Versailles. She was the first women and the youngest contemporary artist to exhibit in Versailles. In 2020, she created a massive site specific work, “Valkyrie Mumbet” at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston. This was her first solo exhibition in the United States. The work is part of a series of large scale pieces the artist creates for specific spaces, in homage to inspiring women connected with that location. This particular work honours Elizabeth Mumbet Freeman, an enslaved woman whose court battle for her freedom in 1781 helped make slavery illegal in Massachusetts.

    I loved all her installations, especially the Valkyrie Octopus and Tree of Life. I can’t imagine how many hours it took to create these two installations.    En savoir plus

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  • Danielle and Co travelsEurope 2023Voyageur
    Another piece by Bordallo II

    LX Factory

    28 octobre 2023, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    The LX Factory is an historical industrial complex that houses an array of arty retailers and unique restaurants. There is also quite a bit of street art. We spent a couple of hours here just wandering around and discovering the street art. We also had a drink and a big serve of padron peppers, much to Ian’s delight.En savoir plus

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  • Danielle and Co travelsEurope 2023Voyageur
    CheersWaiting for lunchCod fish cakesBaby OctopusEggplantOrange saladCrème BrûléeLovely narrow streetsThese tributes are all over the AlfamaLaneways and stairs, so many stairsTile work outside a laundromatFADO venuePart of an old wall within Alfama

    Late lunch in the Alfama

    28 octobre 2023, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We had been told about this little locally run Portuguese restaurant in the Alfama that had blown up on Tik Tok. We were told it was hard to get a reservation but I thought I would try and, what do you know, we were able to get a table at 3.30 pm. I know it was a little late for lunch and even early for a pensioner dinner, but we were on holiday and almost anything goes!

    On the way home from the LX Factory we got drenched, even with umbrellas, and so we had a little time to dry out in our apartment before our reservation. After changing into dry clothes, off we headed towards the Alfama district, which means lots of stairs and walking up hills. My glutes have had quiet the workout in Lisbon!

    We arrived at our destination, Taberna Sal Grosso right on time and there was already a line of diners waiting to get in. We had to wait a few minutes for the first sitting to leave, the tables to be reset and, finally, we were seated. The restaurant seats about 24 people.

    The menu was on a blackboard and quite extensive. We chose cod fish cakes, fried baby squid, eggplant with smoked yoghurt, an orange and almond salad and fries. It was all really delicious. I drank a Porto tonico and Ian had a Bock (Portuguese beer). We even had room to share a passion fruit crème brûlée and coffee. I love going to little local, family run places that are passionate about what they do. It was a lovely way to spend our last afternoon in Lisbon, as we were off to London on the following day.

    After lunch we decided to take one more stroll through the Alfama, which was just getting ready for the dinner crowd and those wanting to take in a FADO show. Ian and I had intended to see a FADO show on this trip but we just felt like a quiet night in and to stay dry (weather wise). It will be on our list for our next visit to Lisbon. We will definitely be back to this tremendous city.    En savoir plus

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  • Danielle and Co travelsEurope 2023Voyageur

    More lovely shots from Lisbon

    29 octobre 2023, Portugal ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

    Lisbon has to be one of my favourite major European cities. I love the vibe, the people, the architecture, the art, the food, the bars and the tiles. Portuguese is a difficult language, but still we were able to communicate with many of the locals, many of whom speak English. Love love love this place, and we will definitely be back.En savoir plus

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  • Fin du voyage
    31 octobre 2023