Hello everybody. We just returned a week and a half ago from what can only be described as one of the most perfect, 24/7 enjoyable and delicious trips of our lifetimes (together and independently). Since I know just how helpful trip reports can be when trying to decide where to go and how to divide time while traveling, I thought I might just try and write one. I’m well aware that there are a lot out there regarding Spain, but not so many on Portugal – so hopefully this will be useful to some. I’ll probably divide it in 3 or 4 parts, as it might prove to be rather long otherwise.

First, some context: we are a married couple on our early thirties (I’m 30, my husband is 33), we are independent and active travelers, and while we enjoy museums and high brow culture, we are mostly interested in enjoying the culture of a place through its food, music and people. We usually rent a car when traveling and book our nights in advance but don’t really much plan anything other than that because our mood might change a lot from day to day. So, off to our trip report then.

PART 1: SPAIN

We arrived in Madrid after a long, exhausting flight from Lima, Peru. We had friends in Madrid and while we both knew the city quite well, were still excited to spend some days there eating, drinking and taking day trips to surrounding cities that we had never been to before. I won’t get into too much detail regarding Madrid, since I know there is a lot of info out there, but what I will say is that adding a couple of extra days to some very easy day trips is definitely worthwhile. If you are doing a classic European capitals tour, adding some day trips from Madrid will allow experience a whole different Spain. While in Madrid, though, remember it is a fun, outgoing and exciting city - so enjoy your days, but do not exhaust yourself to the point of not being able to enjoy just what a great city it is at night.

Day 2: Segovia + Avila

We visited these two cities by car, since it was Sunday and our friend could drive us.

We began our day in Segovia, walking around the Old Town. Since our time was limited, we decided to focus our sightseeing in the architecture, the aqueduct and the cathedral, which we found to be incredible (despite not being catholic AND coming from a country with beautiful catholic cathedrals, such as Peru). Segovia is a beautiful city, albeit a highly touristic one – but it just takes a moment to wander off from the main streets to find a calmer and quieter town. After a delicious lunch and tintos de verano at Taberna Lopez (worth all the hype, reservations are recommended, as we only managed to get a seat because our friend is friends with the owner!) we drove to Avila for an afternoon stroll.

We found the old town of Avila to be even more touristic than Segovia, which gave us a more “real” feeling BUT I do have to say that the town has been beautifully preserved and that it should not be skipped. Our favorite thing to do? Go up the walls surrounding the old town and enjoy the beautiful scenery around it.

All in all, a day trip that combines Segovia and Avila IS possible, but you must be aware that –even with a car- you won’t be able to do a lot of specific stuff in any of them. My feeling is that both deserve a full day, but if you are more interested in enjoying the architecture and wandering the streets (and have limited time!), then its not only doable, but definitely recommended.

Day 4: Toledo

After a day in Madrid visiting Paseo del Prado and wandering around Chueca and Lavapies, we decided to head to Toledo. Our friend was working that day, so no car for this day trip. Quick heads up! Buy your tickets the night before. We arrived to the station the day before (day 3) only to find that almost all train tickets were sold out and that the trains available meant that we would only get to spend a couple of hours in Toledo. Not good. Also – buy your return tickets in advance too, because those sell out fast as well. So, we bought tickets for the next day that same night. Our round trip left Madrid at around 11am and then left Toledo at around 7pm - we felt the amount of time was just right. We took the AVE train. Its quick, comfortable and much cheaper than 4 years ago, when I was last in Spain.

The charming train station in Toledo is worth a quick look. Outside, you’ll find taxis and a tourist bus that can take you to the Old Town, but I would personally recommend just walking. It’s a short 10-15 minute walk and unless it’s the hottest day of summer or freezing, I really don’t see much reason to miss it. It’s a beautiful walk and there are even escalators to make your way up to the city if you don’t feel like walking up the stairs.

And so, we walked and climbed the stairs and got into the city and I have to confess… our first impression of Toledo was… not that great. It seemed crowded, overly touristic and full of souvenir shops and bad restaurants. We felt so confused and didn’t really know what it was about it that people loved. We started walking around the main street until the crowds slowly began to subside. Again, as with many European cities, their true beauty only shines once you get off the main drag. We made our way into the Cathedral (stunning and breathtaking – do not miss. It even has a smaller door you can go through for free and see a bit of the cathedral from an enclosed space – worthwhile if you are low on money and trying to save) and then to the Museo del Queso Manchego for a bite and some wine. The Museo del Queso Manchego is not really a museum, but a cheese shop with some information – but we thought it was HIGHLY recommendable. It is very clear they’ve put a lot of love into it and for 4 euros you get to have a tasting experience were you learn about cheese and how to pair it with different wines. They're clearly very passionate about their cheese and we loved it.

Afterwards, we walked to the Judería (Jewish Quarters), by far our favorite part of the city. It’s a calm and laid back neighborhood, were daily life goes by at a different pace and Toledo becomes easy going and melancholic. We wandered into the Monasterio de San Juan de los Reyes and fell in love with its architecture, which tries to recreate a garden of Eden on Earth feeling. Finally, we climbed the tower of Iglesia de San Idelfonso to catch some views of the city in the afternoon light before walking back to the train station.

We truly loved our day in Toledo – though I would recommend, if you have the time, to spend a night there. I have the feeling the city probably looks beautiful at night. While it can get a bit insane with the tour groups walking around, its easy to leave them behind to enjoy the city at a slower pace.

------------
So, anyway, after 4 beautiful days with Madrid as a base camp, we were ready to head into Portugal, for the two most amazing weeks ever.

To be continued

I look forward to reading the next chapter. Bravo!

loving your trip report... I am visiting Spain and Portugal next year so I appreciate your tips.
looking forward to your Portugal part.

We will be in Lisbon for 5 nights in April so I am looking forward to your report about Lisbon. Thanks!

I understand your first impression about Toledo. We spent one night there in September. My first impression was that it was too crowded and touristy, & I was not impressed with Plaza Zocodover. It was beautiful at night, and the Plaza was less crowded, and there were families there with their young children. A much nicer atmosphere. Staying at least one night is extremely worthwhile.

PART 2 – Portugal: Lisbon and Sintra

Day 5:

On our fifth day we took an early morning flight to Lisbon and started what actually felt like the more adventurous part of our trip. We had decided on visiting Portugal on a rather whirlwind moment, since we had originally been planning for a while to visit Scandinavia but were deterred by thoughts of coldness and rain in October. Coming from what is considered a harsh winter in Peru, we really wanted to see some sun while in Europe, so, on a rather short notice, bought tickets to Portugal. And so, we found ourselves in Lisbon.

After buying a couple of SIM cards for our phones (very cheap, very easy), we bought two metro + bus cards and added 10 euros to each, which proved to be too much, since Lisbon is very small and easy to visit by foot, especially if you’re used to walking. My advice would be to charge it with enough money to get to your hotel and then figure it out how much more you need once you are there. You might discover you don’t really need to board the metro again! By the end of our stay in Lisbon, we were using our card to go up and down four or five blocks at a time since we didn’t really know what to do with it. After a decend metro ride, we our lovely and small AirBnb. We had rented a small studio for three nights in a little street right next to the Bica Elevator and felt like our location was unbeatable for a first excursion of Lisbon. What a beautiful neighbourhood! Waking up and seeing the elevator make its rounds down and up was just a treat and while the area was very touristic, our street was filled with local families and old women that chatted with us from their windows at night.

So, Lisbon… Lisbon is the stuff dreams are made off. The light, making its way through the streets and buildings, colouring everything with its golden colour. The “miradouros”, overlooking the ocean and where people from all walks of life gather to enjoy life, music and wine. The streets, the combination of liveliness and melancholy, the quiet charm of its people. Lisbon was love at first sight. You can tell the city is very “happening” right now and also that people there feel very proud and excited about the fact that the world is beginning to discover what a hidden gem they’ve been. We walked around the Chiado and Baixa neighbourhoods, and did some fun people watching. Discovering a few miradouros and beginning to fall in love with the azulejos, we explored the area for a couple of hours. Being both surfers, we were also very positively surprised about how strong surfing culture seems to be in Lisbon. Walking around, we met a man shaping a very classic style surfboard on hollow wood outside a huge garage were his friends made furniture. It was easy to start a conversation with him and he gave us a tour of the workshop without us asking. Lisboans have to be, without a doubt, some of the friendliest most educated people I’ve ever met. Just give it a try when you are there: smile, struck up conversation, ask a few questions and make some new friends.

Feeling still a bit jetlagged and tired from our early flight, we walked back to the Time Out Market for a late lunch/early dinner. It’s a fun experience if you like food courts and can’t really settle on where to go, but pretty crowded and overpriced for Portuguese standards. Still, we enjoyed a good meal there, had some wine, walked around and headed Scooteria, a Lisbon scooter rental place to get ours for the next day’s adventure.

Day 6:

Early morning and breakfast at home. As soon as we were ready, we boarded our scooter to visit Sintra. We had decided on renting a scooter for the visit from the get go, since we had heard a lot about how crowded it was and how you had to take a taxi every time you wanted to visit a different site. We had initially thought we would rent a scooter after arriving to Sintra, but were convinced while in Lisbon that we should do the whole trip on two wheels and, boy, was it worth it. If you are used to riding a bike and have a licence, by all means, do it! You will not regret it.

And so, off we went on our way to Sintra and, instead of taking the highway, we took a smaller road bordering the ocean. It was a bit more than an hour to our first stop: Cascais, a beautiful seaside town with charming architecture relatively close to Lisbon. If you are looking for some beach time without traveling a lot, I feel like this would be a great destination. We only stoped for a coffee and some fruit juice, but thought it was most definitely worth the detour. An old resort town for Portugal’s royal family during the XIX and XX centuries, it really is Portuguese coastal charm at its finest.

After a happy stop in Cascais, we decided to ignore Google Map’s suggestion on what route to take and improvised by taking smaller roads accross the Sintra-Cascais natural park. Rewarded by beautiful sights, endless forests and empty roads, we made our way onto Sintra, where our independent travellers spirit almost sank in despair. Thankfully, we had been warned about the traffic jams to leave the town and the unbelievable amount of tourists, since they – had they come as a surprise- could have been enough to send us back to Lisbon (this was the reason we had decided on renting a scooter). We also discovered afterwards that the king of the Netherlands (or someone like that) was visiting, so maybe traffic and tourist jams were even worse than usual.

But, nevertheless, we persisted. And I must say the rewards were high. After quickly leaving the town behind, we headed into Palacio da Pena. Having read that the gardens were the real highlight, we decided to buy the “gardens only” ticket and didn’t regret our decision. You can still climb the castle and visit its beautiful gardens and, to be honest, don’t really feel like you are missing out on anything. Despite the massive hordes of tourists, we fell in love with the castle and its surroundings. The castle itself is in its own architectural and stylistic category. The yellow and orange building, perched on top of a hill, has to be seen. And walking around the gardens we managed to be completely alone and in absolute silence for long stretches of time, which allowed our thoughts to wander through its paths, imagining what it must have been like in the past. We were looking enough to enjoy a beautiful sunny day, but I imagine visiting it in the winter, were I’ve read fog covers everything and adds a layer of mystery to the experience must be beautiful too.

Alas, after a few hours it was time to continue and so, we headed to Quinta da Regaleira, an intricately built mansion on equally intricate gardens. The famous wells, covered in moss, its lush vegetation, hidden labyrinths and countless nooks and crannies made me feel like we were walking through an Alice in Wonderland scene. A friend we made later on our trip told us about how a lot of the quintas were designed as creative and relaxing havens for the bohemian bourgeoisie of the time, where they used dance and paint and smoke opium and dream. And yes, that is exactly what you imagine Sintra must have been like.

Seeing that we still had a few hours of daylight yet, we decided to head to Cabo da Roca. After arriving and realizing that there was not really much there, we parked our scooter and hiked up to Praia da Ursa, a short 15 minute hike across beautiful deserted hills covered in tiny flowers and vegetation. Watching the waves against the cliffs and hearing nothing but the wind, our hearts soared (I’m sorry I haven’t yet uploaded most photos from our trip to Portugal, but you can check out Praia da Ursa here https://www.instagram.com/p/BaKeqifH...n-by=jimedylan). Should you decide to visit Cabo da Roca, set aside some time to explore the nearby beaches, were you will find nothing but beauty and silence.

And so, after an absolutely glorious day, we headed back to Lisbon, bordering the ocean again and smiling even as we fell into a good night sleep back in the city.

Day 7:

Our exploration of Portugal on four wheels was about to start on the following day, so we decided to stay in bed and take the morning off to write applications and papers from a trendy delicious café with gorgeous staff called The Mill. We spent the afternoon wandering around the neighbourhood, visiting the oh so beautiful Carmo Archaeological Museum, enjoying a late lunch in a restaurant with what I am sure must be some of the best views of Lisbon (Lost in Esplanade), discovering more miradouros and happily killing time while visiting small shops, and stoping for coffee/beer/wine and grabbing tiny bites wherever we felt like it. As late afternoon approached, we took a long 45 minutes walk to LX Factory, an old industrial building converted into a sort of restaurant hall, gallery space, bookstore and boutique mall, that we found fun enough. And so, with our energy (kind of) replenished, we were ready to embark on the next part of our adventure.

To be continued…

Thank you everyone for your kind comments! We'll continue to write in the next couple of days

I enjoyed your Lisbon and Sintra portion. Your trip along the seacoast sounds just lovely! I love your writing style - very inspiring.

Even though our April trip will only be to Lisbon, I hope to eventually visit all of Portugal, so I'm looking forward to your road trip!