TPAYT,
I am enjoying your report about Porto and Lisbon. We won't have time in April to visit Porto, so hopefully we will some other time.

In April 2018 we will spend 5 nights in Lisbon. How many nights were you in Lisbon? Did you write down names of restaurants? Would especially like restaurant recommendations.
Thanks, Karen

KarenWoo.....we were 4 nights in Lisbon. I had a list of higher end restaurants to try but we did’t go to any of them. After 8 nights of gourmet food on the ship we were done with that.

These were excellent:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura..._Portugal.html

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura..._Portugal.html

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...l_Portugal.htm

The others we tried not so good.

A lot of good coffee and dessert everywhere.
We voted Lisbon the city of fantastic pastry and.....the worst bread in Europe!
I mean everywhere. How does that happen?

Thanks for the TR, TPAYT - very interesting. This isn't the sort of trip I've never been on, but having read what you've written i can see its attractions.

<<Where is Scilly?>>

Karen - I'm glad someone else answered this. What that article doesn't really tell you is that of all those 140 odd islands, only 5 of them are inhabited - St Mary's [the main one], Tresco, Bryher, St Agnes, and St Martins. The rest are known as the "off islands" and can be visited by day boat but generally for no longer than that as most of them don't have any water. A trip out to see the seals or the sea birds is a lot of fun, and the beaches are wonderful - the closest you'll get to a tropical beach in the UK.

Thursdaysd - you used to be able to fly into Tresco [as well as St Mary's] in a helicopter and see the island as a day trip but they closed the heliport in PZ a few years ago and they are still arguing about whether to re-open is elsewhere. The flights weren't cheap but when you added in the cost of accommodation on the island they weren't a bad deal. We took my every elderly aunt there once as a surprise and she never stopped smiling all day.

You're right about the problems of accommodation on the islands; you generally need to book very well in advance which is probably something you don't feel able to do at present. The other problem I have to say is the weather - it's ok if you get one day rain out of 7, but if it's six out of seven it would seriously limit one's enjoyment I would say. But if you like wildlife and getting away from it all, they are magical.

Ann - thanks, I'm fine with the ferry. Once went round in circles outside Dover because it was too rough to enter and I was one of the few not sick. Alas, doesn't look like I'm going anywhere next spring...

I'm sorry about that thursdaysd. You're brave thinking about using the ferry - it's a bit of a tub as it has no draft so it can get into port at fairly low tide which makes it roll A LOT. [the father of a friend of mine was master of the Scillonian for years, even my friend was sick on it on occasion].

Thanks, Ann. I am actually thinking about moving back to the UK, but then I remember the winters. Plus I have no energy at present and the effort involved feels too much. I still miss the countryside and the buildings, though.

thursdaysd - I know just what you mean about the winters. The best ones I've had here are in the South East - less rain and damp then here but it does get cold. OK if you wrap up warm. Here in Cornwall it can sometimes be difficult to know whether it's summer or winter - it is cold and damp a lot of the time. Lovely when the sun shines on a warm Spring day but very chilly when the wind blows which is a lot of the time.

Sintra, Cabo da Roca, & Cascais

We booked a tour with. insidelisbon.com

A friend recommended this and it was excellent. Small vans, no more than 8 people. 65 Euros per person. Our guide picked us up at Hard Rock Cafe a few blocks from our hotel.
We were 8, 2 of us and 6 French Canadians who spoke no English. Our guide, Gonzalo, was so personable. Said everything in French & English, was very knowledgeable and quite entertaining.

First we went to Sintra. He wanted to get us into Pena Palace before the hoards of tour buses arrived. During the drive he gave us much info on the Palace and area.
After parking it was a very hilly walk up to the Palace. There was a vehicle to take you up if the walk was too much but the line was long. We all walked a pretty wooded path The Palace was definitely worth the time. Beautiful inside and out.
By the time we came out it was getting very, very crowded.

Then we had time alone in the town of Sintra. What a tourist trap. We walked the narrow hilly lanes filled with junk shops. There was a Hotel off to the side that looked like a safe haven. We stopped in a bakery and had a few of those delicious custard tarts. The streets were packed end to end, tour buses everywhere.

I would definitely recommend seeing Pena Palace but go early....or maybe late.

Off we went to Cabo da Roca, the westernmost spot in all of Europe. The weather was beautiful with sunny skies. This was sort of like the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.
Huge cliffs into the sea with stunning views. I asked the guide if anyone ever fell in and he said all the time They try to get to the edge for a selfie and over they go. There is a beach below to catch them if they’re still alive. In other spots it’s just cliffs into the sea...better not go off there!

There were a couple of guys playing guitars & singing to add a bit of fun. As we walked the sandy, rocky path along the cliffs we heard some giggles behind us.
Here came 2 young ladies in 5 inch heels trying to navigate the walkway. Yikes!

Back in the van we headed to Cascais. What a lovely town. Sort of like the French Riviera only pocket beaches instead of a long Beach.

The town is well manicured, lots of flowers everywhere. Cute shops & restaurants, hotels, and beach clubs. We had a 2 hours to explore. We chose to have lunch at John Bull restaurant. Sitting outside in an inviting square, I had a shrimp. Mango salad and my husband had a tomato mozzarella salad & ham, mushroom omelette.
Along with cappuccino and bottle of water 41 Euros

On the drive back our guide said he would pay some music popular in Lisbon.
I couldn’t resist and said, “Please, not Despacito.” Everyone got a good laugh. I figured even the French people would know that song and I was right.

This was an 8 Hour day we’ll spent.

Enjoying this TPAYT thanks for carrying on with the report. Not happy to hear of crowds in Lisbon...I don't see when you were there? We are thinking the latter part of September next year.

Arrived in Lisbon Sept. 18, left the 22nd.

We’ve traveled to Europe in Sept. for the last 16 yrs.
Sept. was always a bit less crowded until a few years ago. It seems every year it increases with more and more crowds. Twice we went right at the end of Sept. into Oct.. The weather was lovely and the crowds less, ‘08 & ‘15.

It does seem that more & more people from all over the world are now going to Europe.

TPAYT, what a trip! We enjoyed Ireland, including Dublin, but not as a part of a sailing adventure.

We, too, are considering a visit to Portugal in the fall of '18 and are enjoying your experiences there. Thanks for posting your report.

Thanks for the restaurant recommendations!
Karen

Lisbon......our last full day. We walked, and walked, and walked.

We started at Restauradores Sq. (Next to Rossio Sq.) and walked up Avenue de Librdade all the way to the statue Marquis of Pombal. Both sides of the street are all the high end shops, Gucci, Armani, Hermès, etc.
The middle of the avenue is a wide pedestrian area with beautiful patterns in the tiles on the ground. That day there was a market for about a mile with vendors selling local things. Neptune’s Fountain is about half way up along with a couple of places to have coffee.

We came back down to the Ascensor da Gloria tram. Again a long line waiting to get on so we walked up a very steep hill admiring the creative street art along the way.
At the top was the Miradouro de San Pedro de Alcantara lookout terrace.
Lovely views across the city to the castle. We had a fantastic Lavazza Cappuccino at an outside cafe. There was. Lot of construction going on but the view was still worth the walk. Probably much better without the construction.

Then we headed down through Bario Alro to Chiado stopping at Igreja de San Roque church for a look inside. Absolutely gorgeous. If you’re anywhere close to this church, stop on in.
There is a courtyard in front of it with restaurants.....actually it seems like Lisbon is a huge courtyard of outside restaurants everywhere.

Down more hills to Rue Garrett which is a main shopping street in Chiado. Wow, was it crowded and the heat was getting to us. We were a.so tired of Nike, Zara, H&M, Etc. Stores. The same that you see in every city around the globe

I spied what looked like a nice cafe in a garden a bit in from the street. A real oasis in the madness.
Aprazivel was a real find. They have a great looking inside restaurant but we chose to sit in the lovely garden area.
Some Vino Verde, Diet Coke, tap water
2 excellent hamburgers (with bacon & a fried egg) & fries.....37 Euros
After all the gourmet food on the cruise this was a welcome menu.

The we headed down more hills checking things out on the way back to Rossio sq. and our hotel. Stopped by the Sandra Justa Elevator to view a line several blocks long. Every time we passed it the line seemed longer. Is it really worth waiting for an hour or 2 in the hot sun to go up. Not for us!

Last night in Lisbon......

A few photos from Dublin to Lisbon cruise
 

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...14c36f2b1.jpeg

Favorite photo
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0e644d3c9.jpeg

Sailing out of Vigo, Spain harbor

I love the views from the sea. :blush:

Nice!