Wink headed to Portugal

[Wink]

Resa and I often talked of going to Portugal together, then after awhile to Italy, Spain and Costa Rica. Now that she has passed I am going to pursue those dreams, only for ten days at a time rather than three months. I will still spend a lot of time between trips with my grandkids, and of course with my wonderful job with Continental Diamond.

One of my intended goals in Portugal is photography, which I will share freely, and also to visit some jewelers in Lisbon and hopefully find some interesting tidbits about the jewelry world in Europe, which I will also share freely.

I leave for the airport in one hour, so I will be out of normal contact for the next 24 hours or so. I did have the fortune of many points having accumulated on my credit card, so I use some of them to by first class passage on the Boston to Lisbon leg. I have always wanted to travel in a bed, and for my last leg to Lisbon, I will.

 

[dk168]

Enjoy your trip!

DK

 

[ItsMainelyYou]

Have a fantastic time! Enjoy the coasts and all those summer colors. Your pictures will be fantastic, guaranteed. And the food. We'll need to hear about the food.

 

[MissGotRocks]

Enjoy your trip! Will be waiting for pics and stories!

 

[Petalouda]

One of my favorite places!! Will you by chance be making a stop at Sintra? It’s phenomenally beautiful there and you can make a day trip out of it.

 

[nala]

@Wink I am sorry to hear of your wife’s passing.
I hope you enjoy your trip.

 

[LilAlex]

Excited for you, @Wink! We were just there less than a year ago -- Lisbon, Porto, and the Algarve.

That was our first foray out of coach (into Business Class) and we loved the food on TAP -- guinea fowl confit (!) that actually got me to un-mask.

Best photo ops, imo, were in Porto (in the old city along the Duro at dusk -- amazing sense of history and "place") and in the Algarve at Praia da Marinha, Ponta da Piedade (kayak rental from Lagos -- but I did not bring my camera in the kayak), Praia de Benagil. Great views (photo ops) from the continuous cliff trail that runs the "width" of the Algarve and where you can hike (walk, mostly) from town to town. On the Atlantic Coast of the Algarve, there are gorgeous bowling-ball-sized multicolored boulders at the base of the cliffs at Praia do Amado -- but I don't think the rest of our group was as enamored of them as I was. If you just want to walk along an empty sandy beach (not a tourist attraction but seemed like a nice, peaceful place where our group hung out in the water), take the (many) stairs down to Praia da Salema. Silves castle at evening "golden hour" was also very cool, photographically. In the Algarve, we were based in Praia da Luz which was sleepier and more affordable than the bigger and more "nightlife-focused" coastal towns like Lagos. Plus, there were lots of shell fossils visible in the coastal sandstone.

Also near Porto is the Art Deco Quinta de Serralves which is super-cool, architecturally and photographically, on a clear blue-sky day. Maybe it just looks like Florida architecture but I thought the pink against the blue amidst the manicured green was iconic.

Less to see in Lisbon, imo. Sintra, outside the city, had better photo ops than Lisbon proper, and was an easy trip; we should have done more there. As I'm sure you know, the most striking thing in Lisbon is the ubiquitous azulejo (blue-and-white tin-glazed tile) facades -- I kept finding new favorites on every block.

For a tasting in Porto, bypass the buck-a-glass houses with hundreds of people and duck into Kopke -- the Portuguese-owned (still, maybe?) house that was served in the better restaurants. For maybe $40, you can taste a half-dozen vintage and aged offerings (like a '66 Colheita -- and decent-sized pours) with tasting notes and a plate of milk and dark chocolates to pair with white and ruby, respectively. It was an absolute highlight of the trip -- even if you're not a Port aficionado (I was not -- but I am now!). Plus, they will ship to the US for a modest fee, which we did. Also, for like $14, you can buy an outstanding late-bottled vintage like the 2018 that is insanely good just to enjoy on your trip!

In general, there is very good, moderately-priced food and wine almost everywhere in Portugal. Lots of cafe culture but not quite the effortless excellence of Paris or the major Italian cities. We splurge on food but not lodging. Best meal by far was at Ocean in Albufeira -- weird resort vibe to the "compound" and we were the riffraff staying offsite and stumbling in just for the food. It's a Michelin two-star but the equal of any three-star and on par with the best meals we've had anywhere.

So glad you get to do this!

EDIT: Just re-read your post -- so sorry about your wife! Too focused on my own memories, I guess.

 

[Matata]

Wink, gosh, I'm so sorry to hear about Resa. Sending gentle hugs.

Portugal is wonderful. I eagerly await your photos and tales of your adventures.

 

[Daisys and Diamonds]

safe travels
enjoy the journey

 

[Ally T]

I am so very sorry to hear about your wife. Hugs to you & I hope you find enjoyment & healing during your amazing trip.

 

[rcjtraveler]

So very sorry to hear about your wife. Hoping this trip brings peace and healing along with wonderful new memories. Travel safely. Looking forward to hearing about your travels once you return.

 

[lala646]

I'm so sorry to hear about your wife, @Wink. I think travel can be so healing for the soul. I was in Portugal for 2 weeks in April, and particularly loved the following:

Lisbon - Jeronimos Monastery; the Azulejo Museum; watching the morning warmups and practice at the Portuguese Equestrian School. We also took a train out to Cascais and walked the waterfront back to Estoril, and had the best meal of our entire trip in Estoril, at Lamassa. It may seem counterintuitive to enjoy pasta in Portugal, but the food was transcendent.

Sintra - the town can be exceptionally crowded, but my personal favorites were the Palace of Montserrate, and the gardens surrounding Pena Palace.

Porto - We ended up preferring Porto over Lisbon, which I was not expecting. I was hoping it might be a little less hilly than Lisbon, but alas, that was not the case. We went to Casa da Guitarra one evening for a Fado show, which was truly lovely. We also took a bus out to the Matosinhos neighborhood, then walked back along the waterfront until our feet wouldn't carry us any farther. That walk was my hands down favorite of the entire trip.

Oh! And our favorite pasties da nata in Lisbon were from Fabrica da Nata. And trust me, we tried them all.

 

[Neptune]

Wishing you good trip.

If you have different cravings while in Lisbon

Zubir Churrasqueira Halal - grilled chicken and meat

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Saborizze - Brazilian street food nibbles

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TREESTORY Restaurant - Georgian dishes

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Need gourmet ingredients for picnic in the park? check out the basement of El Corte Ingles. Or go up to the top floor for casual eateries run by local Michelin starred chefs w/o the Michelin $$$.

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Check out the 19th-century palace turned shopping mall, EmbaiXada, if you're in the Principe Real neighborhood.

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[canuk-gal]

Wink, gosh, I'm so sorry to hear about Resa. Sending gentle hugs.

Portugal is wonderful. I eagerly await your photos and tales of your adventures.

+ a billion.

 

[Kim N]

Wink, I am so sorry to hear about Resa.

Hope you have a lovely time in Portugal.

 

[Rockdiamond]

Have a great trip old buddy. You definitely deserve it!

 

[Karl_K]

Fair winds old friend.
Stay safe, have fun!

 

[Lookinagain]

I'm so sorry to hear that your wife has passed. I'm glad you are taking a trip that you two had talked about. I agree that the Monestary is worth the visit. And the food at El Corte Ingles. Also the Mercado Da Ribeira/ Time Out Market is worth a visit. It's more than just a food market. If you have the 10 days, you definitely have time to get up to Porto. I also prefer it over Lisbon. If you get up to Porto, after your port tastings, as @lala646 mentions, the Matosinhos neighborhood is the place to go if you want a fresh fish meal. It's where the fishing piers are and the restaurants grill the fish outside on large grills.
You can take a train to Porto from Lisbon and if I remember correctly, it takes about 3 hours. If you are driving, you can stop in Obidos, or up the coast to Nazare or Coimbra. I've not been to Evora, as it's East a bit so has never been on my driving route, but it's on my list. Have a wonderful trip and I can't wait to see the photos!

 

[lovedogs]

Incredibly sorry to hear about your wife, wink. There are no words. Hope you have a great trip, you deserve it!

 

[foxinsox]

I’m so sorry to hear about your wife’s passing.
I hope you travel twice as joyfully in her memory.
My in-laws have just returned from Spain, Portugal and France. They particularly enjoyed Sintra.

 

[Tonks]

Wink, I am so very sorry for your loss.

Thinking about you and hoping your trip is both wonderful and healing.

 

[chrono]

Condolences on Resa's passing. I hope the trip will be both exciting, calming, healing and a distraction all bundled into one. Stay safe!

 

[missy]

Safe travels Wink and we all look forward to seeing your beautiful photography

 

[Wink]

First, I want to thank everyone for their kind wishes and suggestions as to where to eat. I am just woken up from getting here, I actually flew first class from Boston to Lisbon and I can tell you it was worth every point that I used from my credit card points for Delta.

The food in first class was phenomenal. I felt like I was in a four-star restaurant. The lamb fell apart with a spoon. I didn’t even need a fork. The flavor was incredible.

I also want to thank you for all of the comments and best wishes and concern about my wife having passed. I miss her horribly, but it was time. She’s had Alzheimer’s for a few years now, and I was her caretaker. She was ready to go, so I have to look at the wonderful 50 years we had together and know that I was truly blessed to be married to this magnificent woman.

Now I’m getting all teary-eyed trying to talk, to type and talk and think. It happens a lot but I have 50 years of wonderful memories that I keep thinking about and that takes a lot of the pain away.

I got a couple pictures of food on the plane I haven’t taken any pictures today because I was exhausted. When I got here I did take a short walk, but I’m not in a photographic part of the city, so I will take pictures mañana and I am looking forward to going to try many of the restaurants that were offered to me. I am going to take a side trip to Sintra for sure. I’m not sure if I’m gonna make the time to go all the way to Porto, but it could happen.

Free drinks served with hot nuts.



Boy oh boy was this lamb good! So was everything else on the platter.



Desserts, yes I had two, the cheese cake was the only thing that did not light my fire.

 

[Bonfire]

Have a lovely time Wink. You’ll be experiencing it through Resa’s eyes too. I wish much comfort to you.

 

[Wink]

I wanted to attend a Rotary Club meeting, but when I got to the hotel the club did not meet tonight.

Ty concierge pointed me to this charming Italian pizza place. Told me the pizza was good AND affordable. I should have taken a shot of this beer before drinking the head.

 

[Wink]

And now, with the pizza. Bacon, pineapple, corn and garlic.

 

[Wink]

Omg!!! The garlic makes the whole pie delectable.

More tomorrow.

 

[Wink]

Oops, I forgot this shot as we were approaching Lisbon.

 

[canuk-gal]

Omg!!! The garlic makes the whole pie delectable.

More tomorrow.

Yes, garlic makes a great pie!