tangwah

Lucked out with the weather while in Portugal, except for some passing showers one day in Lisbon. My feedback. Enjoyed Porto which is a pretty town, the Douro Valley nearby is pretty scenic too except for the many ugly modern houses scattered in the countryside, with new orange roof tiles and white undecorated walls with small windows and doors. The drive around the wine estates of the big port producers were the most scenic since there weren't many houses in the area. Enjoyed my visit to Fonsceca Port's estate. Free informative audio guide and tastings. I loved Obidos and Marvao too, and the town of Guillarmes (sp). The castles in Portugal are most impressive. But overall I was disappointed, and wished I had gone to Seville and explored southwest Spain instead. I like the Portugese people who were mostly friendly and helpful, but my husband and I enjoyed our trips to France Italy and Spain much more, not only because food was better, also the scenery and overall ambience. Of course there are many who will disagree but I feel obliged to write a feedback since I have been helped much on this chatsite.

111op

What did you think of Lisbon?

111op

And welcome back of course!

tangwah

Thanks. It's good to be back in Florida with warmer temps. Lisbon was surprisingly uncosmopolitan, it reminded me a little of Istanbul and Athens but while I would return to Istanbul and Athens, a day is Lisbon was enough for me. The Jeronimo Monastery was impressive and had one of the most attractive cloisters I have seen, and the views of the city from the Duomo was nice. We parked in the Baixa area and walked around for 2 hours. We were lucky there was an outdoor photo exhibition of aerial photography of places around the world at the plaza.

111op

Yes, that photography exhibition was very interesting. I only saw parts of it as I noticed it right before I was leaving Lisbon (for those unaware, it's at Praca Comerico).

My views of Lisbon are a little more favorable. I didn't find Athens all that interesting (save the Parthenon). I've not yet been to Istanbul, but I'm beginning to see that it's sliding further down the list.

I was in Andalucia (and Seville) on the same trip. Thematically it made a lot of sense for me to see these places together. But it'll probably be a while before I visit Lisbon or Andalucia again -- though I did have a good doing stuff I wasn't expecting to be doing (I probably decided on the final itinerary a week or two before I left).

lobo_mau

This sequence of postings is evidence that not everything is for everybody. A little homework could spare visitors a lot of disappointment.

111op

Well, I'm not sure if I necessarily agree, lobo. There's a lot to be said about spontaneity. In that sense I was quite happy to end up in Andalucia and Lisbon (as opposed to be say, Nice, a place that's been on the list perennially and where I've yet to visit).

Also it's never really possible to "prepare" completely. What you read is quite possibly different from what you see. I've read about the chair lifts in Boppard, but that couldn't have prepared me for the spectacular views that I saw.

So, some planning is necessary, yes. But actually I think that the key is to have an open mind. I find that I'm the most disappointed when I've preconceived notions or when I've unrealistic expectations. While I'm not dying to visit Lisbon again, for example, that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy my time there. Since I didn't know what to expect in Lisbon exactly, I found that I was more receptive and spontaneous, for example.

So it's not just preparation. It's having the right frame of mind. I've friends who do not book hotels in advance and have a great time.

tangwah

I decided to visit Portugal a few days before leaving, talk about spontaneity. It is one of the few places in Europe my husband and I have yet to visit. The weather plays a big role in my choices of places to visit. Since I ride standby cheaply to many European, Caribbean and Mexican destinations I can decide last minute where to visit. The countryside of Portugal is similar to that of Tuscany or Provence except for the style of houses which is why the latter places are more charming with their traditional old stone farmhouses and attractive villas. I did see some stone farmhouses in Portugal but they were in ruins and probably waiting to be torn down and replaced with modern housing.
YOu ought to visit Istanbul, it's a lovely colourful city with lots of interesting impressive sights to visit mostly within walking distances. And a very happening nightlife too. I spent 3 days in Istanbul. Food isn't too bad either. We drove around Turkey for 2 weeks three years ago and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly.
Have driven around Spain for 3 weeks, picked up the car at Madrid airport, headed north, did a bit of the south (Toledo,Cordoba, Granada, my most fav.memory was the windmills of Consuegra) ended up in Barcelona. Did not have time to visit Seville and the area around it unfortunaely. Enjoyed that trip greatly too, and the food was excellent.
My husband and I tried to guess the places shown in the photos in Lisbon but managed to get less than 1/3 correct between the two of us.

111op

Wow -- lately my longest trips have been a week. But the longer ones are never quite two weeks.

So I'm envious of these long trips!

But it's too bad that you found Portugal a little disappointing, but you did get away, so that was good!

tangwah

On the subject of attractive cities, I was surprised at how much I liked Budapest 2 years ago. Wasn't expecting much. But one could spend 2-3 days exploring Budapest quite happily. I wasn't lucky with the food there tho.

111op

For what it's worth, my mom is still complaining about the fish we ordered in Lisbon.

Not yet been to Budapest, however.

tangwah

I was a free wheeling housewife with flying priviledges up till June this year when I went back to work. Hence the long and frequent vacations. So now I have only 21 days of vacation a year, most precious. Perphaps that's why I am more disappointed with my 8 day trip to Portugal than if I had all the time in the world like before. The prices were a bit of a shocker too with the high Euro. But all these considerations aside, I would still advise my friends to do Portugal last.

tangwah

Ouch, that must have been a pricey fish dish.
I had a 11/2 kg, 3.3lbs, crab, boiled. It was so good. Had a bad meal at a pricey fancy restaurant in Sintra. We try to eat at different types of establishments from street stalls to 3 Michelin stars wherever we travel. But France has to be it for greatest customer satisfaction altho Thailand is a close tie. But Singapore where I am from originally is a gourmet's delight for the variety and quality of cuisine available.

lobo_mau

111, you have words of wisdom, however you didn't completely answer to my previous remark. Each destination have each own kind of attraction, it could be architecture, food, beaches, history, commerce, museums, environment, nature, etc...
If you are interested in sea swiming you are not going to Geneva, if you are interested in nature you are not going to Paris and if you are interested in cosmopolitan live you don't choose Lisbon as the primary destination.
The most beautiful place I've seen in my live are the Islands of Sao Tome and Principe just over the Equador, I'd return there in a heartbeat, however I can't imagine everybody to be equally impressed.
I mentioned homeworkd because each visitor should select for the destinations that are more attractive to him/her, otherwise the disappointment is more than likely.
As a different record, don't rule out Istanbul, I loved every moment I was there and the Blue Mosque, Topkapi palace and Grand Bazar are things to be kept in my mind forever. But bear in mind that it's not alike Paris or London or Milan, just different.

111op

Actually the fish was cheap -- maybe that was the problem. It wasn't terribly fresh, I suppose. The restaurant was quite crowded though. Maybe I just don't know what to order.

111op

I guess you're right, lobo, if I take a very literal reading of what you wrote, which is probably what I should have done. I guess what I was attempting to clarify is that one could do basic homework and still be disappointed (granted, this is not logically equivalent to what you wrote).

Friends who've been to Istanbul all rave about it. I thought about going when I was in Greece in June, but then I went elsewhere instead. My leanings are definitely more towards the cosmopolitan city (which was why Lisbon and Andalucia were never high on the list in the first place -- but I ended up going there a couple of weeks ago). Anyway, one never knows. Perhaps Istanbul will end up being a spontaneous destination in a future trip.

lobo_mau

It was very nice to "talk" to you. I wish you luck in future trips

111op

Great, same here! I think that one thing is for sure -- regardless of how things turn out, I find that traveling and being away is almost always better than staying at home, so there'll always be a next trip.

tangwah

I enjoyed our "chat" too, 111 and lobo.

111op

Wow, everyone is being so civil.