They are cyanide potatoes

 Had to get up ‘early’ to have breakfast and go to the laundromat. Our hotel was charging $5 for undies. ‘Nuf said.  So after about $20 and 2 hours we came back to the hotel, showered and headed west.  My goal was to see the coast, Foz do Douro, but it was a bit lofty given it’s about 4 miles away. But first we were starving and I had found a place that makes authentic, grandpa-serving Francesinha. Rumors on the internets is it’s 2000 calories per serving.  We found the tiny place, Casa de Pasto O Golfinho, and ordered teeny tiny beers and each a sandwich. Kirk’s had an egg on top and mine was just regular.  It’s layers and layers of meat on bread, smothered in the most delicious light tomato sauce. And also it’s important to put fries in it to soak up the goodness!  We were in heaven!  Kirk said ‘this is the sandwich I didn’t know I needed.  We also were not allowed to share.  It was in large print in the menu!  Grandpa made us sign a book and I said it may be better than Primanti’s. Blasphemy I know.  

Then we headed to a lovely park and after we wandered around we decided to walk to the coast.  It was sunny but breezy and really quite a nice walk.  Until Kirk declared ‘let’s get some beers and call a Bolt.’  It was a good call. After 3 beers Kirk said he was dancing like Magic Mike.  He was moving his shoulders in his chair.  LOL. And then wondered how he could drink 50ml of beer but the same amount of water was impossible.  

Called a Bolt and were back at our hotel in 15 minutes.  Relaxed a bit and changed to walk down the river and see the crowds. Can’t imagine what it’s like at summer.  It feels a little like Venice Beach to be honest.  It’s so petty and the views, bridges and old buildings are really beautiful, but it still feels very touristy.  Not sure why I didn’t quite expect it. Got ripped off with 2 glasses of wine over looking the river ($37 for water and 2 glasses while our dinner with a whole bottle of wine, 4 apps and 2 fresh fish dinner was $140) but had a lovely dinner.  Up up up the hill back to the hotel. 

Off to Douro tomorrow.  We’ve decided to skip the Penede-Geres forest and head straight to wine.  Did 10 miles today.   

Leaving us alone

So mad I can’t load in photos!!!!!

For some reason we can’t wake up until past 8.  Then off to a delicious hotel breakfast with the most amazing butter.  I need to find some. American butter sucks.  Kirk was saying all of his inflammation has subsided and currently I don’t have the lingering morning cough I’ve had for a while (which could be allergies).  You know we eat quite well at home but it feels different here. And it is.  

And moving on. We headed over to Vila Nova da Gaia today.  Luckily lol we didn’t have to go down the 300 steps (not 100 like I thought b/c I counted 276  today not including the landing areas) to cross the Ponte Luis bridge since it’s on the level of our wonderful hotel (Lenscape Coterie). Headed to Serra do Pilar Monastery but it’s under construction so we just milled around there looking back to Porto proper and meandered down thru a park and along the Douro River and to our Port tasting at Espaco Porto Cruz.

Really was not what I expected.  We had a white, rose, tawny and ruby which was light to heavy, young to older, paired with quite delicious chocolates.  Our ‘host’ barely explained our tasting and only answered what we thought were quite obvious question when interrupted. We felt we had to interrupt him b/c he really didn’t seem to care more than his normal script.  But once we got some answers it helped us understand, compared to wine.  White and rose were both done in stainless while tawny and ruby were done in french oak, all used.  Tawny in smaller barrels and ruby in very large barrels, larger than wine barrels. They are not syrupy or thick but quite thin and delicious.  Here they have white and rose before dinner but not sure about the tawny and ruby.  We both unexpectedly enjoyed them.  We are trying to get used to the servers ignoring us.  But in this case we could have used some more information. 

Had lunch at the Port house upstairs overlooking the Douro and Porto. It was delicious - we had a dry white which wasn’t my favorite, artichoke and goat cheese salad, bacahalu and I had a shrimp safffron risotto. So good.  Then back over the bridge and stopped at a hilltop bar for some beers b/c the rain outlook was 100%.  Kirk said “this is their Cronies” which is a sad statement b/c it’s a beautiful view of the hill and the river and not a parking lot full of racists.  🙄. The beers, location and company were good.  Kirk was laughing at some younger men taking photos of bald spots and it turned out they were Aussies and all ‘on the pills’ for hair growth!  They were quite forthcoming about it!  Said there are very little side effects and “we’d know in the first few weeks if our dicks fell off”. Dying!!!!

After a few beers and lots of rain we headed to Guindais Garden Bar and Restaurant but since it was raining we could not be outside.  Shame b/c it is a spectacular view with nice grass and seating.  So inside we went to sit at the bar for some wine.  Kirk ordered a Pinot and I ordered a Touriga nacional.  His was very much like a Santa Ynez Pinot which to me had sweet tart characteristics and mine was similar to a Cab Franc - dry with later fruit.  We talked to the bartender who told us about Douro but had never been.  He said it’s beautiful and has great wine.  It’s about 1.5 hours from Porto.  Interestingly we have heard this many times that the locals haven’t been to place just a few hours away. Our guide in Lisbon to Sintra said many people who live in the eastern part of part of the country, closer to Spain , have not been to the ‘big cities”.  I guess we take travel for granted. 

Back at the hotel for a quick nap (Kirk) and the we decided to stay here for dinner b/c of the rain.  Sitting here on the bed with the slider open, nice breeze and soft rain.  

A bit more. Dinner was AMAZING here at the hotel.  We had a caprese salad with fresh basil we watched the chef pull off the growing bunch next to him, with a handmade pizza and mushroom pasta TO DIE FOR with a fabulous bottle of Chianti and then a bodini with cake for dessert.  OMG.  Just lying down in bed and Kirk said “I could live like this,”. 😂. Go eat downstairs, no dishes to clean and then hanging out in bed with the rain outside. I do love the rain.  We went outside after dinner just to listen to it.  Cali people for sure.  lol. 

We’re travelers, not on Holiday

 Slept in, had a really nice breakfast with delicious butter. Kirk had his normal, omelette with everything.  Took our time getting ready and headed out after 11.  Damn photos are still not pulling in. Ugh.

Off to Sao Bento train station but we went by it and then looped around to see the castle and some beautiful tiled buildings. Saw a kid getting handcuffed and put in a police car - well there were 5 police cars.  Most have been a quiet day.  Tried to cross the street (they really don’t like it if you jay walk) and the light was out so a tour guide next to us announced ‘we are just going to go as a group’ so Kirk said “lets use them as our shields and go!”. Finally found the train station and honestly it was stunning. The tiles tell the stories and are divine. One looked slightly like me and Kirk said ‘that’s you only younger.  And the eyebrows of course.’  Lol  I love European train stations.  The easy mode of travel to the beauty they put in to them is so unlike America.

Speaking of America.  We have sat with, talked to and even just heard in passing some variation of ‘we are not trump supporters’ when Americans are talking to or with locals or other tourists.  A LOT.

Decided to do a super touristy thing and climb the tower Torre dos Clerigos.  There was a small bit of art and artifacts plus information on the graves below they dug up about a decade ago.  The views were really cool and cool aka breezy, which was nice after climbing.  Here you could see the city is building, building building b/c there were more than a dozen high cranes.  We saw a lot of land level building going on as well.  We talked about how the tourism is undoubtedly playing a big role in this.  So on our way down we got to look at the pictures they took of us - super touristy! - me pushing Kirk off the tower, us kissing on top of the tower and then us just sitting up on the tower.  $10 euros for one cheap ass pic. Lol no thanks.  They were a little pushy even saying “you need your memories!”.  

Found a cute, tiny restaurant just off the beaten path and had the crazy large piece of octopus while Kirk had the bachalau, the traditional Portuguese dish.  And of course some wine -  Mateuse, a local, slightly fizzy rose which I love and 2 beers for Kirk. Kirk made up a cute song “I’m shaking my caboose while drinking my Mateuse”.  Clever  The toilet was crammed into a teeny tiny corner next to the kitchen. Kirk didn’t fit very well and had to use his gymnastics background to pee.

Headed across town to Parque das Aguas.  Kind of disappointing.  May be a gay hook up site.  View was spectacular but it really need some love and care. 

Decided to head back and took the literal high road b/c if we went down to the river we would have to climb up the staircase to heaven.  Walked through some peaceful, treelined neighborhoods and by elementary schools and back to our hotel for some drinks by the pool.  There are quite a few people at the pool and Kirk and I discussed how people are either on Holiday or on a travel vacation.  We rarely take advantage of the areas like this b/c we are the travelers.  The hotel pool area has a garden you can relax in as well as around the pool/spa.  It’s very very serene and feels so relaxing after all the walking we have done.  Although today is a measly 6 miles . Haha.  

A little more…strolled up to dinner and had to wait for a protest march to go buy.  They had police escorts and it was all very civil, made up of mostly older men and women, vs teens or young adults.  I have to look up what it was as I couldn’t translate with the few words i know or the Spanish equivalent.  The restaurant was a quaint tapas place.  The waitress suggested we order 4 to share and we laughed.  We started off with 5 and then added 2 more and another bottle of wine.  Started talking to Chris, who sat next to us.  He was admiring our food and said he wished he ordered what we had (at the time was steak).  From London and we got talking about travel.  He has a home in Puglia and one in London and has traveled quite extensively.  He is planning a month long trip next year from Puglia up to the Dolomites and maybe a bit beyond.  Lots of talk of our ‘leader’ and the economy as well.  And wine of course.  How a great bottle can be $10 here and in Italy.  Italians love their local wine even if it’s like a red Zin on a hot day.  He said that’s the only problem!  

Unfortunately we had to wrap it up b/c something hit my stomach wrong.  Unfortunately it was not a good end to the evening 💩. 

11% is basically water.

Still can’t load pictures.  Did so many fixes and I can’t figure it out. 

Lounged around the hotel in the morning and then we were off to Santa Apolonia train station in Lisbon.  had to pay to use the bathroom.  It’s a thing here. Kirk and I were in different cars but all was well.  Smooth ride thru mostly countryside.  Lots of olive groves, vineyards and other farming.  Interesting to see many abandoned homes in small towns and also ruins of very old walls and building. Between the cities, like many countries, it’s quite rural. It was so calm and natural after the busy, bright city.  I don’t mean bright in a bad way, just as contrast.  

We both felt our time in Lisbon was enough.  We managed over 30 miles, and hit many places most tourists don’t. We both said many times we can’t imagine what it’s like in the summer with crowds.  It was crowded but not wall to wall. A very vibrant city. 

The train was late arriving, just before sunset. We took a bolt to our beautiful hotel and quickly freshened up and headed to dinner.  We asked directions just to be sure and the front desk said ‘take a left out side of the hotel and go down the stairs’.  We knew we were up a bit but it was hard to tell exactly how high on the map.  So down we went..and down..and down. At least 100 steps?  Maybe more?  I will find the count somewhere! Towards the bottom there was a pop up type of bar and house music bumping!  About 50 people with drinks were dancing on the steps. Kirk used his football moves to maneuver us thru :)  Walked the river to our lovely restaurant.  2 bottles of light white wine (11.5% “it’s basically water!”), octopus, chorizo flamed on our table, pot of fish and then pork and potatoes. Mouthwatering goodness, all of it! 

Headed back with all the night lights on the bridges and port houses.  And then UP THE STEPS.  We are champions!  Fell into bed.  

Woke up to a notice to confirm our restaurant and went to get directions and realized it is in Lisbon.  LOL.  That was a fuck up. Gotta find a new dinner place.  Today we plan to wander the city and hope to miss most of the rain.  Tomorrow is our big day of wine and port tasting and it may rain heavily but we ain’t wimps!

No breeze today

Can’t load pics in. Remember to do this later and see if it works.

Slept like the dead.  Another lovely fresh breakfast here at the hotel and then off to explore.  And it was so freaking hot. Over 90 with zero breeze.  Headed to the Aqueduct by way of the fancy part of town - Louis Vuitton, Saint Laurent etc.  Kind of like a prettier, park like Rodeo drive. Which reminds me - people dress nicer here, even the children and teens. No lululemon, athletic wear out and about, except to actually workout. People look nice and comfortable, but well put together. Glad I had on tennis shoes with traction but all the locals were wearing slim flip flops, Birks or similar.  Apparently experienced on these beautiful stone walk ways and streets! 

The Aqueduct was amazing to see in person.  After we passed through the popular part of town it was quite quiet walking there.  We went into the museum (which we didn’t even know there) we thought we’d just go look at the beauty of this engineering feat from the mid 1700’s.  Very cool information and we were able to walk on the top of the aqueduct itself and inside where the water flowed.  It survived the earthquake b/c of its iron (rebar) cores and also b/c it was not built in a straight line. They lost only a few skylights and very minor damage. It was another hot day with barely a breeze so we enjoyed the breeze at the top of the aqueduct looking over the homes and lives of the people who live there.  One side of the freeway was what seemed like lower income housing and then crossing over the freeway was what looked like a gentrification in process Some had pools, albeit small ones, with tiny but nice yards.  

Headed back thru Principal Real neighborhood which had children playing, small boutiques and small restaurants.  Kirk found a sushi place and we were sweaty, starving and ready for a beer as we were over 5 miles in at this point.  Our server was born in NY and spoke perfect English but had been living here since he was 7, and thought I was Portuguese.  People keep thinking I’m local, asking me directions and giving me menu’s in Portuguese. It was yummy and we headed back to the hotel.  We needed some down time and felt we had seen so much.

The air con felt GLORIOUS! And I was finally calmed down from the train ticket mistake.  Which i thought i wrote about but something is weird w blogger. The internets were wrong about train tickets. I spent hours researching tickets and literally every site said we can basically show up so I didn’t book our tickets to Porto b/c of it and I wasn’t sure how we’d feel the day before about getting out early or late. Apparently Sunday is the MAJOR fucking exception. Well we were almost out of luck . Kirk found the last 2 tickets on the 3:30 train. The entire freaking day was sold out.  I was so upset and Kirk handled it a bit better at the moment. We could figure something out but I was so mad at myself for not just booking a ticket months ago as my gut suggested.  So we’ll get to Porto but later.  Oh well. Something will go wrong over the month.

After a nice, cool rest we headed out to get some money b/c our dinner and Fado show was cash only.  We headed back up the hill (let’s be real, it’s all hills!) and found our little Fado place.  Duque da Rua. It was probably 12ft wide and 50 ft long, bar at the back and small table w low stools.  I had booked this months ago and it was all through email. We sat at a long table with a small group of German maxiofacial drs in their late 20’s and early 30’s, and another much older :) couple from Michigan who were also lovely. The Germans were hilarious, kind and interesting. And liked to party!  We ordered food (tapas, small plates, sandwiches) and really only got half of what we ordered and some things that we didn’t but it was all delicious.  Their prosciutto is much better here than Italy, to me. We ordered a bottle of wine and the Fado began.  First a middle aged man who was quite good, then a red haired older woman who was also amazing.  But then a dear man who looked like everyone’s Italian or Portuguese grandpa came out of a side door and stunned us all. Towards the end our server, a younger women, also got up to sing.  Unbelievable.  We just had the best time and 2 bottles of wine . The server was shocked when we ordered another bottle. We were cashing out and apparently I lost the ability to count!  Kirk saved the day and we headed back to the hotel for another drink.  But not before we passed a GinGinha sign that had us laughing our asses off.  

Kirk “too tall for castles” Stillmak

 Woke up at 7, not rearing to go. Always feel day 3 is the worst and we were dead tired.  But we had a tour to Sintra and are being picked up at 8:30.  But wait!  Changed to 9:30.  We could have used more sleep but all was well. Pako picked us up a few blocks from our hotel.  Interesting character  - As in, he talked a lot in English but didn’t understand many of our questions in English. Or didn’t like to listen to my questions. Hard to tell.  He said he was a professional footballer. Gotta check it out.  So we drove to Sintra.  So glad we hired a car.  We could have not done all the things I had hoped to. He had planned the day differently bc he was not really informed by his company of my plans so we hashed it out and were ok b/c the internet is not right about a lot of things Sintra.  Started off at The Moorish Castle which was amazing.  We could see it from a distance and it was a stunning sight.  

So fun Portugal fact (that we made up) is that the signing is terrible and the maps they hand out are not to scale. But the good part is there are few signs to intrude on the beauty.  I think as an American we are used to over explanations and warnings everywhere to protect us from ourselves.  Here there is more wanderlust and common sense. 

So back to the Moorish Castle. On the drive we saw a sign “Sintra a traffic jam in Paradise”.  The tourism is a huge problem as this town is so small.  The views are spectacular, the wind was chilly and thinking about the sheer amount of work it takes to build these sites are just hard to fathom. Also many centuries and layers of civilization. We never ceased to be amazed.  I did get a bit nervous up there once in a while like where if you missed a step and fell you’d fall right down to the next level.  And who knew the climbs here were going to be the start many climbs.  What a leg day.

Next we were off to the famed Pena Palace. Wow. Stunning color on amazing land high above Sintra. But we did not go inside.  Instead I chose to just “stroll around the grounds”. Apparently the palace is just a place of old rooms with old furniture.  Blah.  But dozens and dozens of sites (no joke) said strolling around the grounds was amazing and we could see most of what we would see from the palace.  So we did see the lands below from the Moorish Castle so assuming it was similar, but the strolling around the grounds was a huge misnomer.  Thankfully we were ok with the hiking.  Not on dirt trails, but well marked, wide paths (enough for cars) but man it a lot of climbing!  Totally worth it.  It’s beautiful with a lot of smaller areas, small lakes and duck homes.  Even have redwoods and sequoias.  We saw quite a few people resting with lunch on the grounds.  This would have been a nice idea.  But we had water! Mostly.

I was so freaking hungry but we were not to be fed.  Our guide had taken it upon himself to decide lunch was to be around 3!  No. But we did agree we (I Lol) could make one more stop before lunch at Quinta Regaleira.  Here is the famous wishing well and more stunning grounds with lovely hidden spots to rest and map that was so not to scale! :)  Lots of tunnels and storage. Some beautiful tile work. 

Lunch.  Off to a spot were most of the drivers take people, which was ok b/c seriously all the food here is wonderful. He recommended we order cheese fish dish for the main so we all ordered it (he had lunch with us) while we noshed on some amazing local prosciutto, cheese, olives and Kirk and I had a local white wine. It was like au gratin potatoes with fish. Kirk and he loved it and I was ok with it.  It was rich and creamy and tasted wonderful but was a lot.  

Jetted out to the western most point of Europe, Cabo da Roca.  Windy as hell and this place actually had a new fence which according to Pako b/c tourists were falling off taking photos and it was now illegal to go past the fence. Of course there were people way past the fence.

Then off to The Park and Palace of Monserrate.  This place is less popular but wow is it beautiful.  We had just over 30  minutes to tour the palace which actually was quite small but the intricate design and work was unbelievable.  The grounds are a bit different than the other places with a lot of grass and open space vs more forest.  A family lived here for a short time enjoying the lakes, horses and property before their war. 

Our driver just waited for us at the end of each stop and drove us to the next.  Winding thru all the tiny roads and small towns was wild.  After a full day in Sintra we headed back to Lisbon by way of Cascais.  Wound thru lot of the coast, where coastal land is a natural park that gives way to very expensive, hidden homes for the likes of Renaldo. Then to Cascais which is basically a touristy beach town and on back to Lisbon.  We were fucking fried but we had dinner reservations in an hour! 

Tasca da Zebra in Chiado. Excellent.  Sat next to a large group of what looked like teens loudly but sweetly enjoying themselves. Headed home, showered and fell into bed. 

We ended up walking/hiking 11.5 miles.  OMG. And everyone in Portugal loves Snoop Dog.

Did you hear the foghorn in the Maritime Museum?

 Well I woke quite refreshed.  Kirk was up for a few hours in the middle of the night.  Met some Cali people at breakfast and then were on our way to explore Alfama.  We didn’t have big plans for the morning b/c we never know how we feel day 2 but off we went and ended up doing 11 miles today. 

We headed towards a few spots we wanted to see and stumbled upon some ruins and a church being redone. First major stop was the Castelo de Sao Jorge. Wow what a stunning view and impressive feat.  Built over hundreds of years, became a prison at one point and is now a tourist attraction.  I would say the castles we saw in Ireland and Scotland came with a bit more information out in the open.  This had very few signs or information but it was still stunning.  

Then of course we were starving! Octopus and Bacalhau.

Headed back to our hotel to cool off and get ready for Belem.  Took a multi car tram.  Missed getting tickets to Jeronimos Monastery unfortunately but made the most of it. Belem Tower, Monument of the Discovers and the Maritime Museum.  Rounded it out with another amazing dinner of octopus and salmon with Sagres beer and Matuse Wine.  

And of course!!!! 

But the foghorn was Kirk farting and it echoing in the museum.  Twice.  

As we got back to our hotel, after waiting 30 minutes for the tram that was supposed to be there in 10 and we got a bolt, we noticed all the young people heading towards the water where all the bars and fun was!  We are snug in bed.  Heading to Sintra tomorrow.  

We’re off!

 The traffic gods were on our sides to LAX. An hour 20 home to lounge!  We were starving so we enjoyed some food and wine before we boarded.  

Long flight, and although we had lie down seats the rest wasn’t very restful.  Kirk only slept a few hours while I may have had just a bit more.  Deplaned and headed to clear customs, which at first was fairly smooth.  We were told “congratulations you can use the E-gate” but the E-gate wasn’t working for everyone so we had to wait in line over an hour for them to rescan our passport. It was a little confusing but the airport personal were very nice. Very warm wait. Kirk has sweat dripping down his back 😩. Then we were off to find Bolt (like Uber).  In all the videos we watched it showed a quiet airport with an easy trip to Bolt. Well this was not the case. The airport was super crowded and while there were fairly clear directions the Bolt area was insanely crowded and a bit confusing.  Thankfully our guy skipped the line and parked in a more expensive area (2 euro) but it was very close and not crowded.   

Checked in to Hotel de Baixa and headed out to explore but really to stay awake until our dinner at 7. We were zombies. Dinner at Taberna da Baixa - octopus and fresh fish with a bottle of local Sauvignon blanc.

UPDATE forgot to talk about the strange musak at all the restaurants. We heard Prince, The Cure and many more in a slow elevator style.  It was not good but we found ourselves humming along and then laughing at the absurdity once we realized what it was.  That or we were just so delirious.  Or both.