After our fantastic 2015 Rick Steves trip to  France and our  memorable 2016 trip to Sicily, we knew that we wanted to continue to  travel according to the “Rick Steves Method.”  First and foremost, he says that grumpy people need not apply! There are no porters on his trips, so everyone carries his or her own luggage.  We had already purchased clothing that could be  washed in our hotel room sink at night and  that would be dry in the morning. We used to bring lots of “just in case” items on trips, but no more.  This wouldn’t work for everyone, but it works for us. Continue reading Portugal and Paris, Introduction →

Flights to Paris typically leave New York at night. That way, after a “restful night’s sleep” in  your seat  in the plane,  you can begin your vacation as soon as you arrive in the morning. Actually, tourists are so excited to be there that staying awake is not a problem. Continue reading Portugal and Paris, Day 1 – September 19, 2017 →

We awoke at 9 AM and decided that we would do as the French do for breakfast by eating croissants. Before he left, J-M had suggested his favorite nearby bakery. Nick chose a chocolate croissant, while the one I selected  had apple filling. While enjoying these treats back at the apartment,  we planned our day’s adventure. We decided to go to the Marmottan Museum, which features the works of Claude Monet displayed inside a Parisian mansion. Continue reading Portugal and Paris, Day 2 – September 20, 2017 →

Since there were so many patisseries in the neighborhood, we decided to try a different one for the morning’s croissants. Nick’s choice was chocolate, while I chose almond filled.

Our destination for the day was the Cluny Museum, also called the National Museum of the Middle Ages. Nick was pleased that unlike the Marmottan Museum, the Cluny allows photos to be taken.  As for me, I was immediately taken by the progression from the Dark Ages to the Renaissance through art, including stained glass and wood sculptures. Continue reading Portugal and Paris, Day 3 – September 21, 2017 →

On Saturday morning, we lingered over our croissants in the apartment while we chatted with the next guest, Charlotte. We learned that she had lived in Washington D. C, but had taken a job in Paris and was having difficulty finding a “flat.” We  wished her good luck and were on our way to the airport, not Charles de Gaulle, but Orly, which is much smaller and easier to navigate. Continue reading Portugal and Paris, Day 4 – September 23, 2017 →

We prefer arriving early in the city in which our tour will begin  just in case there might be a problem with the flight. Our tour would start the following day, so today was our day to explore Lisbon  on our own. We began with the breakfast buffet. Continue reading Portugal, Day 5 – September 24, 2017 →

At breakfast, I noticed a  Portugal guide book on one of the tables, and I thought perhaps  Nick had put ours  there. He hadn’t. It belonged to Joan, a woman who, we learned, was one of our fellow Rick Steves tourists. She was going to spend the day in Sintra, a town fifteen miles from Lisbon, as were we, so we decided to go together. Continue reading Portugal, Day 6 -September 25, 2017 →

Our group met  with our tour guide after breakfast to start the day with a  walk  through the Alfama neighborhood,  which dates back to the Visigoths from the sixth to the 8th centuries AD. Near the sea, it became the home of Lisbon’s fishermen and mariners. We walked up to São Jorge Castle, the highest point in town. We were looking forward to going to the castle because our son had told us that he enjoyed doing just that. We were not disappointed. Typically, castles are fortifications while palaces are royal residences, but the Portuguese royal family lived there for several centuries. After the royal family relocated, the castle became a military garrison. It was declared a national monument in the 20th century. Continue reading Portugal, Day 7 – September 26, 2017 →

We started our day at the part of the city called Belém, which is at the waterfront. There in the early 1500s, King Manuel, who married a daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain,  constructed the Monastery of Saint Jerónimos. We had a tour guide who specialized in this structure, and she pointed out many sea motifs that  we might have overlooked. Vasco da Gama, the first to sail around Africa and return  to Portugal with a cargo of spices,  is entombed here. Continue reading Portugal, Day 8 – September 27, 2017 →

We were leaving Lisbon right after breakfast. From the buffet, I chose yogurt, granola, and tea.  Nick, well into vacation mode, selected chocolate cake with chocolate sauce from  the fountain, and a chocolate filled croissant.

We boarded the bus for  the city of Évora. Being a walled city, it has a unique charm.  We met our local guide, who led us on a  walking tour of the city. Continue reading Portugal, Day 9 – September 28, 2017 →

After breakfast at the hotel buffet, we were off to a family owned  farm, called Rovisco Garcia. We rode through the farm’s various terrains in a specially constructed jeep, seeing  the trees that produce cork, and  learning how the cork is extracted. They also grow umbrella pines that produce pignoli nuts,  grapes for wine and olives for olive oil on their property. Continue reading Portugal, Day 10 – September 29, 2017 →

The breakfast choices at our hotel were too numerous to imagine. As for me, I chose yogurt and cold cereal. After breakfast,  our bus took us  to Alcobaça to  to see the Monastery of Santa Maria, described as being “Cistercian Baroque-Gothic.” The Cistercians were monks who  arrived in 1228 with the plan to create an abbey designed for hard work, prayer, and total silence. Inside are the tombs of Portugal’s most tragic romantic couple, Dom Pedro and Dona Inês, who met and experienced love at first sight at Dom Pedro’s wedding, which had been arranged by his father. After his wife died, Dom Pedro’s father refused to let his son marry Inês. Note that they already had four children by then. Continue reading Portugal, Day 11 – September 30, 2017 →

Our first stop today was Batalha, famous for its Monastery of Santa Maria, considered Portugal’s finest architectural achievement.  King João the First had the monastery built to give thanks after his small Portuguese army defeated the  large Spanish army, maintaining Portuguese independence. Continue reading Portugal, Day 12 – October 1, 2017 →

Nick was disappointed with the breakfast choices because there were no cakes, pies, or other desserts. He satisfied himself with scrambled eggs with bacon and a croissant. My breakfast was scrambled eggs, banana yogurt, and a Portuguese roll.

Mutiny was beginning in the ranks. Some of our companions were saying that they were getting tired of cathedrals. Surprise! There were to be no cathedrals today! Instead we went to a ceramics studio, where we observed all stages of the making of ceramic tiles. Continue reading Portugal, Day 13 – October 2, 2017 →

We packed and boarded the bus for a  family owned farm  in the Douro Valley called Santa Eufêmia, where, in addition to growing  grapes for port wine, they also grow almonds, olives, and figs. We marveled at the beauty of the farmland. We were near the city of Porto, which is famous for port wine. Wine was featured in every course at lunch! Continue reading Portugal, Day 14 – October 3, 2017 →

At the breakfast buffet, there were two offerings that we had never seen before: poached eggs and watermelon juice. Everyone  wished that we could stay at this hotel longer and enjoy more  of its amenities, but after packing, we were back on the bus. Continue reading Portugal, Day 15 – October 4, 2017 →

This was our final breakfast of the tour. I made a sandwich of ham in a croissant for myself. For dessert, I chose something we had not seen since we left Lisbon, a pastel da nata. This one was just as good as I remembered, with a flaky crust and a creamy custard filling. Continue reading Portugal, Day 16 – October 5, 2017 →

We were in  our hotel lobby at 5 AM, ready for our cab to the airport. We were fortunate; a large group had to leave at 3 AM! We had an easy flight from Porto to Madrid, and the passport control line was short. From Madrid, we had a direct flight to JFK. Although the line there was long, the reentry process was problem free. Continue reading Portugal, Day 17 – October 6, 2017 →

Here is a photo slideshow, with music, of our tour of Portugal. It runs about 25 minutes.

Continue reading Portugal, a Postscript →