Gorgeous Light and Beautiful Tile: 16(ish) days in Portugal
 

After posting many questions here on this forum while planning, the trip has been taken and enjoyed and now I'm back to report in minute detail!

The basics: I'm an American female in my late 30s and the trip was planned for 16 days, including travel time. This was my second solo trip - the solo being less a matter of preference and more a difficulty in finding travel partners - but I find that the pros and cons in solo vs. group/partner travel about equal out, all things considered. I stayed in a combination of private hotel rooms and hostels, and while in the past I've used hostels in order to afford longer trips, I've decided that from here on out I'll stick to shorter trips (I think 12-13 days is the sweet spot) and nicer accommodations.

My general travel approach is eat and wander. I do lots of research ahead of time, book hotels and buy some tickets before the trip, and know generally what I'm going to do each day, but once I'm on the ground I'm pretty flexible. I do prefer to get up early so that I can take photos and wander before things get too crowded. On this trip I decided to make eating well a priority. Last year in Spain I wasn't super happy with my food experience, so I decided that this year I'd plan a little better and spend a little more on restaurants. That's not to say I'm eating $300 meals in Michelin star restaurants, but I was pretty deliberate in where I ate. (I should also mention that I don't like seafood and I don't drink any alcohol, so many of the Portuguese specialties or popular restaurants that others seek out weren't appealing to me.)

DAYS 1-2 - TRAVEL/ARRIVAL IN LISBON
I flew overnight from the US to Paris, spent a couple hours in CDG airport, and then a short flight to Lisbon - which put me in Portugal about 3pm. I easily found the metro station right outside the airport entrance, bought my Viva Viagem metro card and loaded it up with 10 euros, and rode the metro to the Cais do Sodre station, which required one transfer. I came up out of the metro station and immediately saw the colorful Lisboa sculpture. I walked several blocks to my hotel for the next couple of nights, City Lofts Lisbon. This is a small hotel with maybe 15 rooms located on the top floor of a building. I checked into my cute little twin room and immediately leaned out of the large windows to check out my view. There are four bathrooms that all of the rooms share, and I never had to wait to use the bathroom. The bathrooms did have a "bathroom-y" smell, which I had read about in a number of the reviews, but that must be due to old plumbing because everything about the hotel was spotlessly clean and well maintained. My room had an air conditioning unit on the wall, but the remote didn't have batteries and there was a large fan in the room, so I'm assuming the AC wasn't functioning. The fan worked just fine to cool things off and also to muffle the noise from the street. (I don't think this is considered a party area, but in this and all of the places I stayed there was quite a bit of noise at night.) They provided breakfast each morning - rolls, ham, cheese, jam, juice, some cold cereal, etc. The location is not right smack in the middle of things, but it's just about a 10-15 min walk to the Baixa and an even shorter walk to the Cais do Sodre metro station, which will connect you to anywhere you want to go. Overall I was happy with this hotel choice (it was definitely the best combination of price + good reviews + location I could find); I ended up changing my plans to come back here at the end of the trip.

I had dinner reservations that evening at La Buvette da Mae d'Agua, a cute little restaurant about 15 minutes from my hotel. Walking to the restaurant I had my first experience with Lisbon's hills - I would be earning my meals from now on! At the restaurant I was at first seated in a small but pretty back terrace, but apparently I hadn't specified the terrace in my reservation, so I was moved inside. I didn't want to eat anything too heavy on this particular night, so I ordered a dish of salad, quinoa, and roast vegetables. That doesn't sound terribly exciting, but it was so good! I wish I could get vegetables to taste that flavorful. I would recommend this restaurant, but be sure and make reservations. It's small and they turned a lot of people away.

A year ago Portugal wasn't even on my radar, but then I came across a blog post or some photos online and there were two things that convinced me I needed to visit this country asap: the gorgeous light and the beautiful tile. When I came out of the restaurant it was golden hour, that time about an hour before the sunset where the light is, well, golden. I wandered up and down the narrow streets, with each pattern of tile I saw becoming a new favorite. I was just giddy with all of the beauty. It was the perfect introduction to what promised to be a fantastic trip.

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I am eager to read more of your trip report. I remember when you were planning this trip. Love your photos!

I loved Lisbon and took pictures of the tile all over town. Dying to go back to see more of Lisbon and Sintra as I was only there a short time.

wonderful.. i love a good trip report. I am off to Portugal in 3 weeks so eager to read more.

We are going for 16 days in Oct. Thanks so much for this...can't wait to read more..

DAY 3 - LISBON

You can only do research on Portugal for a short time before learning about pasteis de nata. As an enthusiastic pastry eater I was anxious to try out his signature Portuguese treat. I started out the day walking to Manteigaria, a little chain that sells only pasteis de nata and coffee. I really liked the pastel - the crust was nice and crunchy and the filling was smooth. Of course I wasn't ready to declare a "best pastel" opinion yet, but this could very well be a contender.

Next up was a walking tour. I arrived early to Rossio Square and had some time to people watch and take photos of the patterned cobblestones. I had scheduled ahead a walking tour with Inside Lisbon, chosen due to good reviews on Trip Advisor. We were a group of 15 plus the tour guide. The tour lasted a little over three hours and covered the Baixa/Chaido and the Alfama, with a break for a pastel de nata and a streetcar ride between the two neighborhoods. We did stop at some specific sites, but the tour focused mostly on neighborhoods and general history and culture. It was a good orientation to Lisbon. Our tour guide was great: very knowledgeable and passionate about Portugal plus personable and funny. The tour went a little beyond the planned 3-hours, and I had a lunch reservation, so I left a bit early.

Lunch was at Cantinho do Avillez, one of the many restaurants of chef Jose Avillez. I ordered the pork meatballs in green curry which didn't sound much like traditional Portuguese food, but I had absolutely no reason to regret my choice; the meal was fantastic, one of the best of the trip! I also ordered the strawberry basil cheesecake in a jar for dessert, which was good but not out of the this world. While I slowly savored every bite of my entree, I couldn't help but overhear the long and very circular argument between a couple seated near me; I decided that I was much better off being alone but completely content on my trip rather than determining the end of my relationship while on an expensive vacation!

After lunch it was shopping time. I had intentionally packed light, thinking I'd find a summery dress or shirt or even a pair of sandals to take home with me. I hit up Mango, Zara, and some of the other stores in the heart of Chiado but didn't find anything I liked enough to buy...and never did, even though I regularly stopped in at stores throughout the trip. While in Chiado I made sure to stop in at Livraria Bertram, the oldest bookstore in continual operation in the world. I love to read, and I've made visiting local bookstores and buying a book part of my site-seeing/souvenir buying in the places I visit. The selection of English-language books at Bertram was fairly small, but I did pick up a copy to 1984 to add to my library. (I found it interesting that dystopian novels like 1984, Fahrenheit 451, and Brave New World were some of the few books that made an appearance in the English-language selections of just about all of the bookstores I visited.) I also spent a bit of time in A Vida Portuguesa, where I picked up some blank notebooks for my sister, who likes to draw.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with wandering. I wasn't too worried about checking a lot of sites off a list - I had a few days ahead of me to do that - I just wanted to get a good feel for Lisbon. I meandered up to the Igreja Sao Roque, whose unassuming exterior hides a rather ornate interior. The painted wood ceiling is especially impressive. After spending a few minutes exploring the church I continued up the hill to Miradouro de Sao Pedro. Before coming on this trip I had imagined Portugal as a land of orange roofs and pretty blue water, and for once reality looked very, very much like what I had pictured in my mind. (Sometimes reality is better and sometimes it's worse, but most of the time things just look different - are orientated differently, feel different, etc. than what I imagine. Lisbon is one of those very rare places that looks just as I had imagined it.)

For dinner I had a reservation at Palacio Chiado, a palace that has been turned into a collection of restaurants. You are seated somewhere in the beautifully decorated building, but you can order off any of the menus. My reservation was for 7pm, and it felt like I was one of the first guests of the evening. I was seated at a plush emerald-green banquette built into a corner behind a small table in a circular room with a giant gold winged lion hanging from the ceiling. For once as a solo diner it felt like I had the best table in the room! Despite the fairly opulent surroundings, the menus aren't high-end. I ordered turmeric chicken (13 euros), which turned out to be just average; I wished that I had ordered the cheese plate and a mocktail.

My last stop of the evening was the Rossio train station with its distinct entrance of side-by-side horseshoe-shaped arches. The outside of the station is ornate, but I found that the inside is rather nondescript.

This was a great first full day in Lisbon. The walking tour gave me a good orientation to the city, the excellent lunch confirmed my decision to put a deliberate focus on food, and I now own a book purchased at the oldest bookstore in the world!

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I am enjoying your report and love your photos! So far you have eaten at different restaurants than we did so it's nice to read about places we didn't get to. How was the weather?

@KarenWoo: The weather was beautiful! It gets a little warm trudging up and up and up all those hills, but really the weather was pretty perfect. I think the hottest day was the day I spent on the beach at Cascais. The days I spent in central Portugal were overcast and even drizzly, but as my report will show, I wasn't out and about too much those days anyway.

Enjoying your TR! Looking forward to more.

Not planning on visiting Portugal myself, but enjoying your report and photos.

Very much enjoying your report and photos. Please continue!

Love this report! Looking forward to more. Looking forward to going to Portugal as well.

DAY 4 – LISBON

This was one of the best days of the trip! It started with breakfast at Café A Brasileira. Normally I opt to eat on the terrace, but the whole reason for visiting this café is its beautiful, historic interior, so that’s where I sat. I don’t remember what I ate; it doesn’t stand out in my memory. It was probably an orange juice and a pastry and I’m sure it was fine, but I came for the interior rather than the food, so I was satisfied.

Next I went back to my hotel to check out, grab my luggage, and take a bus to Home Lisbon Hostel. I was overall happy with this hostel – sure it’s a hostel so privacy and luxury aren’t to be expected, but the staff was friendly, the bathrooms were clean enough, it had AC, and the location was fantastic. My only complaint is that there was a very strong perfumey/powdery smell in the hallway.

Once that was complete I took a bus out to the National Tile Museum. This museum is located a bit outside of the historic center of the city – not too far, but not walking distance. I spent about an hour and a half here and thought it worth the 5 euro entrance fee. In addition to the galleries featuring tile throughout various centuries, the museum houses a reconstructed church with large tile sections that’s pretty impressive. There’s also a large tile panorama of Lisbon on the top floor; it was fun to look at how Lisbon was depicted in the past compared to what it looks like now. Finally, I really liked the examples of contemporary tile designs that are hung on the walls outside some of the galleries.

I had lunch at Pois Café, which is a hipster café in the Alfama. It has couches – as well as tables and chairs – books around the perimeter of the café, and people working on laptops and having leisurely lunches. There were lots of fresh, healthy meal options, and I was happy with the sandwich I ordered.

The plan for the rest of the afternoon was to explore the Alfama neighborhood – the old part of the city on a hill with lots of little twisty roads. I’d gotten an introduction on yesterday’s tour, but today was the day to really dive in, and what follows is what makes this one of the best and most memorable days of the trip.I made a quick visit to the cathedral, which isn’t too exciting. Then I wandered the streets for just a little while before coming upon Miradouro de Santa Luzia. What a gorgeous spot! There’s a walkway with a terrace overhead and tile on the low walls. To one side is the view of those gorgeous orange roofs and the pretty blue water and to the other side there’s a little square with a big shade tree and bougainvillea climbing the white walls of a church. There was a man in the square playing the most beautiful violin music. I could not stop taking pictures and videos! I wanted to adequately capture the scene and though I knew a camera could never fully convey what it was like to be there in person, I was going to do my best to try. I sat for maybe 45 minutes at this viewpoint, soaking it all in and already realizing that this would be one of the most memorable experiences of the trip. As the violinist was packing up to go I tossed a few euros in his case and moved the short distance up to Miradouro das Portas do Sol. I had been here the day before on the walking tour, but the gorgeous view was worth some more time. I bought a lemonade from a drink stand and settled into a chair to spend a little more time savoring that view.

One of the things you can see from the viewpoint it the Igreja de Sao Vicente de Fora. I meandered my way along the streets until I got to the church. The interior is nice, but the exterior is more impressive. I believe that the attached monastery has a beautiful interior, but I opted to spend my time outside rather than touring the monastery.

I wandered my way to a couple more viewpoints – which I didn’t note down. The most impressive one, however, I did make a note of: Nossa Senhora do Monte Belvedere. I’m not sure if this is the highest viewpoint in Lisbon, but it sure felt like it. There was a guy playing the guitar, singing songs in both English and Portuguese, and he was really good. Despite all of the cigarette smoke (my biggest pet peeve when traveling outside the US), I sat there for a long while listening to the music. Once I decided to go, I wandered my way down, through pretty neighborhoods that felt a touch less touristy than the Baixa, to my hostel.

One of the main reasons I chose this hostel (in addition to its rave reviews) is Mama’s Dinner. Every night there is a home cooked meal that hostel guests can sign up for. For 10 euros you get soup, an entrée with sides, and dessert. I did this two nights and both times the food was delicious. The first time the meal was cooked by Mama, the mother of the hostel’s owner, and the second time it was cooked by a former employee. The cook always comes out and eats with the guests. I’m an introvert and could easily spend a solo vacation having minimal interactions with others, so I chose to participate in these dinners as a way to force myself to meet other people. On this night there was a big table filled with frat boy types – it seemed like most were British and Americans – but I got lucky and ended up sitting at a little table with a woman from Germany traveling on her own for the first time and two friends from Las Vegas who would be doing a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. We had a good conversation during dinner – as good as you can have when you’re trying to talk in a really loud room. The dinner is leisurely and it was 10:30pm or so by the time we finished, but my table mates (who had just arrived in town) and I decided to go out for a short walk to see the cathedral lit up at night. The short walk actually ended up being a long meander through the Alfama, so I got to bed later than I had wanted, but it was worth it to talk with some new people and learn about their lives and previous travels.

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DAY 5 - CASCAIS

I had thought that yesterday might be the best day of the trip, but this day was just as good, if not better.I started out with breakfast at Confeitaria Nacional, one of the places that claims to have the best pasteis de nata in Lisbon. The pastel was good but I liked Manteigaria better.

My daily pastel duty done, I walked to the Cais do Sodre metro/train station and boarded a train for Cascais. For these regional trains you don't need to purchase a ticket ahead of time. You scan your Viva Viagem card as you walk in and out of the automatic gates, just as you would at a metro station. Super easy! If I remember correctly I took an 8am train; I just can't get myself to sleep in. It was a fairly empty, peaceful ride for about 15 minutes, then a loud group of pre-teens boarded for the remaining 20 minutes or so. They must have been some sort of summer school group because there were a couple of drill-sergeant teachers with them trying to make the kids stay in line but mostly just adding to the noise.

Once we arrived at the station I high-tailed it out of there and made directly for the beach. I had brought my swimsuit with me, but I also had a fairly substantial list of sites on my list to see, so my plan was to explore first, then spend the latter part of the day on the beach. But first I needed a few minutes to rest - why had I gotten up so early?! I found a smooth boulder to lean against and watched the drill-sergeant teachers micro-manage their students' beach trip (they had apparently followed me to the same section of the beach...I don't entirely blame the teachers for trying to keep a bunch of hormonal pre-teens in line, but they could have chilled out just a bit!).

After a nice half-hour rest, I got up and began to explore. Just over some rocks from where I was there was an even nicer little cove; maybe I'd come back here later. I did a little walking up and down the streets of the town, stopping in at Santini - likely their first customer of the day - for ice cream. I ended up on a main square, just across from Ribeira Beach. I've already talked about how pretty I found Portugal, but this day was just amazing: clear skies, warm but not too warm sun, the most beautiful blue water. And then there were the beach houses - not crumbly beach shacks, but gorgeous mansions. Victorian beach house is my new favorite style of architecture! When I tell people about Cascais I tell them that Lisbon is very pretty, but it's a real city: there's some trash, horns honking, etc. Cascais is storybook pretty; it's almost too perfect, but I loved it.

I walked along the road until I got to the fortress. Inside the old fortress there’s an arts district. It looks like an upscale hotel, condos, and various galleries or studios. The architecture is stark white and totally modern; you might think that that would make it bare or cold, but with the architecture and lack of decoration was a perfect complement to the bright sun. I didn’t find much of anything to do inside the arts district, but if you’re a fan of architecture, it’s definitely worth a quick walk inside the complex.

At this point I decided to reformulate my plan for the day. I had left the next day open in my itinerary so that I could get around to doing anything in Lisbon I hadn’t had time for yet. I was enjoying Cascais so much that I decided it warranted two days. So instead of changing into my swimsuit and spending the afternoon on the beach, I’d continue wandering around Cascais today and come back tomorrow for a beach day. Happy with my new plans, I walked back into the heart of the city for lunch.

Lunch at Café Galeria House of Wonders was another best meal of the trip. This is a vegetarian restaurant. I’m not vegetarian but I like vegetarian restaurants because I figure that if they’re rated well they must be doing really creative, tasty things with vegetables. On the main floor you choose one of the day’s three options ; I went with a tasting plate of all of the day’s mezzes. You go up a floor and get to choose your drink: fresh mango, passionfruit, orange juice for me. And then you go up one more floor to the rooftop, where there are various tables, chairs and cushions. The food was amazing – more than I could eat – and the setting and view were spectacular. I highly recommend this restaurant; the food tastes great but it’s also light enough to be perfect for a beach day.

My stomach full, I walked back past the fortress/arts district to the Museu Condes de Castro Guimaraes. This is the preserved home of the aristocratic Castro Guimaraes family. It’s full of beautiful furnishings – some of which belonged to the family and some that are just old, beautiful objects that deserve to be preserved and displayed somewhere. In a room on the top floor there was an exhibit of watercolor sketched of Cascais. I really wish that I had that ability and that I could preserve memories of my travels with drawings. I do make little sketches in my travel journal but I’m definitely no artist.

Across the street from the museum there’s a cove that offers a really pretty view of the lighthouse.I went to a second house museum that I can’t find the name of anywhere. Its entrance fee was good for the museum plus the lighthouse, just a little further down the road. I wouldn’t put either of the house museums or the lighthouse on a “do not miss” list, but I did enjoy my visits. The Museu Condes de Castro Guimaraes is located within a beautiful park that I do think it worth taking some time to explore. There were blooming hydrangeas everywhere, plus some vocal roosters and even a lounging peacock. By this point it was getting later in the day I was ready to head back to Lisbon.

Once back at Cais do Sodre, I walked across the street to the Time Out Market. Lunch had been so filling that none of the heavy food I saw appealed much to me, so I ended up getting chocolate ganache cake from one of the stands (I think it was Nois e Mais Bolos). It was fantastic! People were gathering around a large screen to watch the Brazil/Belgium World Cup game; I wanted to stay and watch but couldn’t find anywhere to sit, so after leaning against a wall for a while I gave up and started walking back to the hostel.

On the way back I found that even more people had gathered to watch an even bigger screen in the Praca do Comercio. I joined the back of the crowd and started to watch. I told myself I would just stay for fifteen minutes or so since I was tired, but by the time those fifteen minutes were up the energy had infected me and I had a second wind. I found a more comfortable spot leaning against a street light a little further back. The street had been blocked off and there was a little boy kicking around a ball with his dad. A couple of other little kids soon joined, and their antics were more entertaining than the actual game! Once Belgium got their win the crowd began to disperse and I made the rest of the way back to the hostel.

DAY 6 – CASCAIS

Beach day! I repeated the journey of the previous day, albeit in a train that left a little later. I had scoped out the beaches the day before and decided that I wanted to be at Praia da Rainha. There were a number of beach loungers set up on one area of the beach, and for 14 euros a chair and umbrella in the front row were mine for the day. The day was clear and warm – when I got back to Lisbon that afternoon I found it to be hotter than any of the previous days – but the water was chilly. I just went in once to dunk myself and it took some bravery to let that icy water touch my skin! I read and dozed and snacked and basically didn’t move much for the greater portion of the day. It was wonderful! Because I had thoroughly explored the town the day before I didn’t feel my usual wrestle between relaxing/absorbing one place and exploring/making sure to see all the best spots.

I came back to Lisbon early enough to shower, change, and get to the Carmo Convent Museum before it closed. This is a church that was partially destroyed during the 1755 earthquake. The skeleton of the church still stands, and it’s beautiful – a must-see site in Lisbon. I wished that I had brought along ear buds so that I could have listened to a powerful piece of classical music while sketching the church. It felt like that would have fit the setting and it would have made the experience even more memorable.

I had dinner at Bairro Avillez – a collection of Chef Avillez’s restaurants. The food on the Taberna’s menu looked most interesting to me, but I specifically wanted a dessert from the Pateo’s menu (one that I’d read about on a trip report here). I was seated in the Taberna, which is at the front of the building. From my observations of other people coming in, it sounds like you definitely need a reservation for the other restaurants. I ordered a cozido pie – a small meat-filled hand pie – and a lettuce wrap with roasted pork, pickles, cilantro, and peppermint. I wasn’t sure how big either dish would be, and both ended up being small, appetizer size. But that lettuce wrap was amazing! I much prefer dishes that combine different flavors and textures to something like a big steak. Now it was dessert time! The restaurant staff was really nice in getting me a menu from the Pateo and also really curious about which dessert I was so intent on ordering. It’s the passion fruit with coconut sorbet. There’s a deep purple ball sitting on top of coconut sorbet topped with passion fruit seeds, served inside of a coconut shell. You break the ball with your spoon and inside there is passion fruit mousse. I was trying to figure out what the “ball” was made of – it tasted sort of like blackberries. I asked the waiter and he said that it was passion fruit juice frozen in liquid nitrogen. It was a super interesting dessert – nice and light. Another win for Chef Avillez!

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these phots are just wonderful.. loving your trip report.

Still enjoying your report and your beautiful photos! The day we spent in the Alfama was one of our favorite days, if not our favorite, too. We spent the morning a the Castle Sao Jorge, which we really enjoyed. some people find it boring, but we thought it was fun walking along the walls and up and down the stairs. We took tons of photos from the miradouro and enjoyed the peacocks! After having lunch nearby, we spent the rest of the day wandering through the Alfama, and we did go inside the Igreja de Sao Vicente Fora, (the attached monastery), and the tiles inside are gorgeous! We didn't have time for the Tile Museum, so we were happy to see the tiles in the monastery.

We took a bus tour to Sintra (we don't usually do bus tours), which included a brief trip to Cascais. It was a quick trip but we saw beautiful coastal scenery. So nice that you spent 2 days there!

I envy you that you ate at Confeitaria Nacional. We went there one evening after dinner for dessert, but they had already closed. Then we were never in the area around lunch time, so never made it there to eat.

So enjoying this! Cascais is wonderful. I did the same thing and went back for a second time.

@KarenWooI never got around to the Castle. It was on my list of "if I have time" sights and I never ended up having time. But I spent time at a number of viewpoints, so I don't regret not making time for it too much. I probably should have spent time at the monastery in place of the Tile Museum. I prefer to see things in context rather than in museums, although the museum was still nice.

@Weekender - Cascais is what I talk about when people ask me about my favorite part of the trip.

@millie2112 - Thanks!

DAY 7 - BELEM

My first stop of the day was none other than Pasteis de Belem. Many people say these are the best pasteis de nata, and I was anxious to find out if I would agree. It was only 10am or so, but the lines were already out the door. It didn't look like a table would be available any time soon, so I joined the take away line and ordered two pasteis to go. I walked down the block and across the street and settled myself on a bench to eat my breakfast. They include little packets of powdered sugar and cinnamon with the pasteis, which is nice. The custard was still warm when I bit into the first one. It was full and rich and flakey....definitely the best pasteis de nata I ate in Portuga!

Next up was the Jeronimos Monastery. I had bought my ticket online before the trip, which saved me from waiting in a long line. The architecture of the monastery is beautiful. I didn't go inside the church because mass was being conducted during my visit, so I'm not sure whether or not I missed out on something amazing. I don't really have much more to say about this site, but I did enjoy my time there.

By now it was time for lunch. I joined a line at the popular but tiny Pao Pao Quiejo Quiejo. The line moved more quickly than anticipated and I didn't have time to find an English menu or translate much of the Portuguese menu on my phone, so I just ordered #1, a shawarma baguette sandwich. It was excellent; that bread! And for less than 4 euros it was the cheapest meal I ate in Portugal.

My stomach full, I walked through a tunnel that takes you under the busy street and up to the Discoveries Monument. The scale of this thing is huge; I don't think pictures do it justice! There's a biking and walking path right along the water that leads almost all the way to the Belem Tower (at one point you have to walk around a marina to get to the tower). I didn't feel the need to go up either the monument or the tower, but I sat for a while at the base of each one to people watch and listen to street performers.

At this point in the trip - after several days of going full-steam from early until late - I was starting to get tired. Also, it was a fairly warm day. I was lower on energy than I had been earlier in the week and I considered skipping the National Coach Museum, even though I had already bought a ticket online. But I remembered all of the great reviews and forced myself to go. I'm so glad I did; this was one of the highlights of the trip! The museum was founded at the beginning of the 20th century by the Queen of Portugal, who recognized that horse-drawn coaches would be replaced by automobiles. There are two big halls,and I started in the one with coaches from the 19th and early 20th century. You're probably supposed to start in the other hall, but I'm glad I started here because I was impressed with the rather simple coaches in this hall...then I went to the other hall and WOW! The royal and imperial coaches from the 17th and 18th centuries are beyond impressive. Today's world leaders travel in motorcades, but that's nothing compared to the gilded vehicles that kings, queens, and popes of the past used (although I'm sure today's vehicles are much more comfortable). You read about coaches in books and see them in period dramas, but it's so cool in see in person these vehicles that were actually used by royalty and nobility hundreds of years ago. I believe the museum used to be housed in an old, ornate building that mirrored the style of the carriages. It's moved to a huge, modern complex whose architecture is equally impressive, though very different. It seems like Lisbon has dozens and dozens of museums. Every time I saw a cool-looking building it turned out to be a museum!

Rather than take a bus or streetcar, I opted to walk to the LX Factory. With all of the eating I was doing I wanted to be sure to balance it out with lots of movement! In fact, my first stop within the LX Factory was Landau for their famous chocolate cake. The cake was very good, but I have to admit that I liked yesterday's chocolate cake at the Time Out Market a little better. The LX Factory was very crowded; I'm assuming that's because it was a weekend, but maybe it's crowded all of the time. I stopped in at Ler Devagar, the bookshop you've probably seen on Instagram a million times. Their selection of English books wasn't great, so I didn't buy anything there. I did buy some jams and a really good piri-piri sauce at a little stand at the far end of the market.

That night I participated for a second time in Mama's Dinner at the hostel. The food was just as good as it had been the first time and the room was a little more relaxed (no table of frat boys doing shots). I had good conversations with my tablemates - two friends from Hong Kong and a girl from Japan . I went to bed fairly early because I wanted to catch an early bus to Sintra the next morning.

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(I had a photo here of one of the most ornate carriages, but I decided to take it out because I don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone that will be going to the Coach Museum. I didn't know quite what to expect when I went and I was so wowed by what I saw! Sometimes not knowing what you're getting yourself into is the best approach.)

Reading along and enjoying your excellent report and pictures. We will be visiting Portugal early May.

Continuing on (slowly, it's hard to make time to write!) with this trip report...

DAY 8 – SINTRA

I cut my night’s sleep short once again so that I could get on an early train to Sintra. It turns out that I had pushed everything up an hour in my mind, so I arrived in Sintra about an hour earlier than I really needed to be there. It turned out fine, though, Moon Hill Hostel had a nice lounge area where I FaceTimed with family for a little while. Once it got close to 9am I stored my luggage at the hostel and got in line for the first 434 bus up the hill to Pena Palace.

The bus dropped us off shortly before the palace opened and there was already quite a large crowd of people waiting at the gates. Once inside the palace grounds I followed the crowds ahead of me and walked up the hill to the palace itself. It was very misty, which made visibility of the building difficult in some areas, but I loved the otherworldly feel it created. I took quite a few photos of the outside and then decided it would be a good idea to tour the inside sooner rather than later. Many people have commented that the inside of the palace isn’t really spectacular, and during the first part of the tour (it’s not really a tour, but you’re basically herded along in a line since there are so many people) was quite bland and I was ready to write the interior off as skipable, but as we moved through the palace we entered some rooms that are more ornate and interesting. By the time I finished seeing the interior of the palace and came outside again the whole place was a complete zoo! The line to enter the interior was wrapped up and around various parts of the exterior. I was really glad I had come as early as I did and that I hadn’t dwindled around the outside too long before seeing the inside.

The colorful palace is just one of the features at this site, and I was excited to see what else the palace grounds offered up. I spent a couple of hours wandering the trails of the park and discovered fountains and small lakes and small seating areas. The morning’s cool mist persisted all day and I kept pulling my jacket on and off and on again. The park is quite large and there were moments I found myself in solitude…but usually just for a minute or two at a time. As big as the park is there are also tons of visitors, so it’s pretty hard to find yourself alone for too long.

I could have happily spent the rest of the day in the Pena Palace Park, but I had a couple of other sites I wanted to see, so I forced myself to move on. I wandered down through the park and up on the side of a road and eventually found myself at the Moorish Castle. (A note – I cannot for the life of me understand why people choose to drive to the sites in Sintra. The road is super narrow and windy and there aren’t many places to park. People in private cars were continually jamming the road because they hadn’t parked correctly, were waiting for other drivers to move out of the way, etc. There are plenty of options for buses, taxis, and tuk-tuks that make it just as easy, if not easier, to get around – just take one of those!)

The Moorish Castle is, as far as I could tell, some beautifully preserved castle walls that sit high atop a hill. I started somewhere in the middle and walked first in one direction all the way to the end and then came back and walked to the end the opposite direction. You are HIGH up as you’re walking these walls, which can be uncomfortable if you’re like me and scared of heights. The town below looks miniscule. According to some photos I’ve seen online you can get a great view of the Pena Palace from a distance when you’re up on the Moorish Castle walls, but it was way too foggy to see much of anything in the distance while I was there. No complaints though, I thought the fog added a nice feeling to the day.

By this time my stomach was starting to grumble and I knew it would take some time to get back to the historic center. I had lunch at Saudade – a cute little café that I fell absolutely head over heels in love with. I had vegetable soup and cheese on raisin toast; that filled me up but there were scones and pastries and hot chocolate and tea I also wanted to try. I poured over my planned schedule to see how many times I could come back. This would be the perfect place for dessert or tea after dinner, but unfortunately they close at 7pm.

After a leisurely lunch I walked to the National Palace, the one site that is in reasonable walking distance from the main part of the historic town center. This is the structure with those striking white cones – the kitchen chimneys. The palace was nice, although I can see why it’s usually placed after Pena Palace and the Moorish Castle when people prioritize sites in Sintra.

The pastries were now calling…or at least I thought they were. I stopped in at the bustling Piriquita to try some of Sintra’s signature pastries. I bought three, although I can’t remember now what they were called. I have to say that although I’m normally a huge pastry lover, Portugal’s pastries – with the exception of pasteis de nata – didn’t win me over. Everything is covered in what to me is an off-putting bright orange due to the egg yolks used in the pastries (or maybe the color is enhanced with coloring). After tasting each of the pastries (and saving a good part for later) I wandered in and out of the many tourist shops. I always like to know where the best place to buy souvenirs will be – so I’ll report that souvenir shopping in Sintra is a mixed bag. You have lots of the cheap, mass-produced touristy junk but I also found some shops and items that were unique and seemed to be of good quality.

For dinner I ate at Metamorphosis. My first choice was Nau Palatina, but it was closed that day (a Monday). Metamorphosis had good reviews and it was at a lower price point than the other options I was considering, so that’s where I went. I got the pork sausage with cornbread mixture, which was good but a bit different than I was expecting. I was expecting a whole sausage but it turned out to be chopped and mixed with the cornbread. My appetite wasn’t huge (thanks pastries) so that could be part of the reason I’m not raving about the food, but I do have to say that the service was excellent: by far the most attentive, kind service I received in Portugal.

After dinner it was back to the hostel to watch some Netflix I had downloaded to my phone and nibble some more on those pastries.

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Wow ...fantastic report and photos! Portugal is on our short list for next year. I better get in shape for those stairs and make sure my balance is good. Thanks and looking forward to more.

((H))

Still reading and enjoying your report and photos! We loved Pena Palace, too. It's so quirky, colorful, and memorable!

I just love that garden photo above, makes me want to follow that path.

Lovely report. Thank you. I've been to Sintra twice and it was misty and foggy. Added an air of mystery to the place. My first visit was in the late eighties. The place was practically empty. We returned a couple of years ago and it was a veritable zoo.

DAY 9 - SINTRA

When I had gone to bed the night before, I had the room to myself. I heard someone come in about midnight, but they were gone before I got up about 8 the next morning. Kind of strange, but I'm not complaining. I liked just about everything about this hostel except for the bathroom. The bathroom was shared, but I’m not sure by how many since there were just a few rooms on the floor and some of the rooms have private bathrooms. The two shower stalls are surrounded by glass that is not transparent but it’s not that opaque either. The thought of showering in a place where my body outline would be very visible to anyone else using the bathroom was not that appealing to me, so I just gave myself a sponge bath and called it good for the day. (Good thing the previous day had been cool!)

The hostel offered a decent breakfast spread so I ate there before heading over to Saudade for hot chocolate, which I sipped slowly while updating my journal. I’d had quite a few early get-up-and-go mornings on this trip and today I wasn’t in a rush to get my day started.

Once I was ready to go I caught the 435 bus to Quinta de la Regaleira. If I could have spent the day in Pena Palace Park I could have spent a week here! This is a large park with all sorts of pathways, tunnels, water features, and grottos, plus a house and chapel. There were a lot of people at the site but it never felt as crowded as Pena Palace had. I spent several hours exploring and loved every minute of it. This is a must do in Sintra!

After spending the first part of the day at Quinta I caught the bus and headed to the Palace of Monserrate. It’s funny, I went to most of these sites excited to see a building but the grounds where what often captured my interest and attention. The Palace of Monserrate, like the other sites, sits on a huge expanse of grounds. I took the long way and explored the gardens for over an hour before I made my way to the mansion. The exterior of the house is under restoration so I had a hard time finding the entrance, and when I did what I found inside was both beautiful and gaudy! Something that really hit home on this trip is that Europe has a long history. Most of the buildings in the US haven’t been around that long, but in Europe a 19th century building (which is how the palace of Monserrate is labeled) is often expanded from a smaller, older structure, which is built on a site of medieval significance, which is also a site of Roman importance. Rarely do you find something purely from one single era! Anyway, Monserrate is great and I’m glad I visited.

I returned to Saudade one more time for a croissant and tea. Sitting at a little table in the window, eking out every moment I could at this lovely café is another of the best experiences of the trip. I ordered the Spring blend of tea and I liked it so much that I bought a bag to bring home with me.

Being in Sintra requires patience: it’s crowded and at times you’ll be surrounded by people who elbow and push and can’t wait their turn in line. But it’s worth it. I loved the mist and the trees. The town has a German or Scandinavian look to it, and it just feels like you’re in a place a world apart from the sun and heat and beaches of Lisbon. I’m really glad that I stayed overnight in Sintra and had two days to explore the sites.

I took a train back to Lisbon to stay the night before hearing north the next morning. I ate dinner at Bomjardim and HOLY PIRI-PIRI CHICKEN! I ate a lot of good food on this trip, but the no-fuss roast chicken with piri-piri oil at this place was some of the very best.

I could have gone back to Home Lisbon hostel, but I had also read lots of great reviews of The Independente Hostel, so I had booked a room there for this night, plus a night about a week later when I’d be back in Lisbon before flying home. This is a decent hostel, but by this point I was just done with hostels. The bathroom wasn’t dirty but people had left their shampoo and sunscreen bottles all over. There was no AC, so the window was open all night and it was loud, even with the earbuds I usually wear when sleeping in a hostel. Before going to sleep I got on my phone and cancelled the reservation at the end of the trip and made a reservation at City Lofts Lisbon for that last night. I just had no desire to come back to a hostel, especially this hostel, on my last night of the trip, when I knew I’d be even more tired and worn out than I was now.

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i am still reading and loving your trip report...

DAY 10 - OBIDOS

Of the many little towns in Portugal that I read about while planning this trip, Obidos was one of those that appealed to me most. I love big cities, but the thought of having a slow day in a quaint little town felt like a must. As you'll see, the next two days both did and did not go according to plan.

Once again it was a fairly early morning. I took the bus to the Campo Grande metro station. Finding the bus stop for the Rapida Verde bus to Obidos was a bit tricky - I had to ask a number of different people - but I finally found it and was in the right place when the bus arrived just a few minutes later.

I'm just going to stop here for a little tangent. My knowledge of Spanish was invaluable to me in Portugal. I'd read a few things that said the Portuguese get offended when spoken to in Spanish, but I never encountered that. When I told people I spoke English and Spanish more often than not they spoke to me in Spanish (or Portuñol, which is the Portuguese/Spanish equivalent of Spanglish). That being said, many people speak at least some English, so if you speak neither Portuguese nor Spanish you'll still be okay.

The bus ride to Obidos was nice. Maybe it was due to the padded seats (as opposed to the plastic seats of the trains), but there was something comforting about the environment and movement of the bus. The drive was pretty. Portugal is so green! I saw several old fashioned windmills sitting atop some little hills. After all of the walking and climbing of hills on this trip, the opportunity to just sit and watch the scenery was nice.

I arrived in Obidos about 9am. It was too early to check into my hotel, so I just dropped my bag off. For about a minute it felt like I was all alone in the town. I entered into the walled part of the city and found a place to climb up to stand on top of the walls. Then I looked down and there was a tour group. Well, that solitude was fun while it lasted! I spent the next hour or so walking along the walls, enjoying the great views. To the one side were the white walls, orange rooftops, and church spires of the little town, to the other side there were green, green, green agricultural areas. I stopped often to take pictures - of bright purple bougainvillea, of a cat lounging in a back garden, of the fortress tower in the distance. This was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

I came down off the wall at a stopping place near the pousada; there is a great lookout point there. I meandered the little streets until I got to the main shopping area. The crowds had arrived and Obidos was open for business! To add to the sense of busyness, horse-drawn carriages, a trash truck, and a truck delivering gas all drove - and stopped - along that same street. I was underwhelmed by the shops in Obidos. Most just carried cheap, tacky souvenirs. The one thing I was excited to see where the ginja carts. Even though I didn't drink the ginja, it was fun to see the shopkeepers with their displays of bottles and little chocolate cups. (If there had been a non-alcoholic version of cherry juice in a chocolate cup I would have been all over that!)

Obidos is really cute...but there's not much to see. After walking up and down the main shopping street a few times, plus wandering around the quieter streets of town, I decided I might as well eat an early lunch. I had a fantastic sandwich at Capinha D'Obidos. The food was amazing, although I did have trouble staking claim to my table at one end of the tiny bakery while trying to place my order at the other end (the difficulties of traveling solo).

By now it was drizzling and my plan to sit in the sun and read didn't seem all that feasible. I walked just beyond the town's stone walls to my hotel Casa do Relogio. To most people this would be an a comfortable but not luxurious place to stay, but since I had been in hostels for so many nights, my private room and bathroom felt like the Ritz. I took a shower and then spent the rest of the day in bed reading and watching Netflix on my phone. On the one hand, this isn't at all what I had imagined my day in Obidos would be like, but on the other it was really nice to have a "day off" without feeling like I was wasting time and missing out. I've learned that on trips this long you need a day every so often to recharge.

One odd thing I noticed about Obidos - there are houseflies everywhere. It's not a dirty place, but for some reason I could not go anywhere without being accosted by flies.

That evening I dragged myself out of bed to walk just around the corner to Jamon Jamon. I don't know if upscale is the right word, but it wasn't super casual. I had a thin cut of beef with cheese sauce and fries. It was so good! Normally I'm all about bread and chocolate, but since those were the easiest snacks for me to reach for in Portugal, I really craved meat when it came to meals. Who would have thought that I'd ever choose protein over carbs?!

In the end, this day didn't go as I had imagined it would, but it was exactly what I needed. Obidos is a cute little town, but it's not one to go out of your way for. And I have to give a shout out to the staff at Casa do Relogio; this hotel wasn't anything fancy but the staff were incredibly kind and helpful.

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DAY 11 - COIMBRA...OR WAITING ON TRAINS

If my previous day in Obidos hadn't gone exactly as planned, this day really didn't go as planned. The plan for the day was to take a train to Coimbra, spend a couple of hours touring the university - especially the library - and then continue on a train up to Porto.

I caught the Rapida Verde bus from Obidos to Caldas de Rainha. Once in CR I had to walk several blocks from the bus depot to the train station. At the train station I bought my ticket and proceeded to wait...and wait and wait. I double checked and I knew I was in the right place (the rain station is pretty small), the train was just late. After about an hour of waiting a train came to the station and all of the passengers to Coimbra were instructed to board. The original train itinerary was for a 2-hour ride, but after about 3 hours we stopped in a little town with a single platform. All of the passengers to Coimbra were told to get off this train and onto one waiting on the other track. From the expressions on the passengers' faces in the new train it seemed like they had been waiting there a while. This train was much nicer; I'm guessing that the train I had been on was headed somewhere other than Coimbra and that this was a rendezvous with a train that had come from Lisbon.

After about another hour we arrived at Coimbra-B, the long-distance train station. I knew that I'd have to take a train to Coimbra-A, the train station in town. I had assumed that trains ran between the two stations every 10-15 minutes, but it turns out that that wasn't the case, at least not on this afternoon. The next train into town wasn't for 40 minutes. Given that getting to Coimbra had taken much longer than planned and that I had already purchased my ticket to Porto and therefore had a firm departure time, it wasn't even worth getting onto that train into town, since I'd basically just have to turn around and come right back. At this point I was drained, so I wasn't too disappointed. Sure, it would have been really nice to see that grand library, but I just chalked it up to the fact that something usually goes wrong on a trip like this, and this was far from the worst that could happen.

The train to Porto was only a little late (l learned that in Portugal you shouldn't count on the trains being on time), and luckily the rest of the journey went smoothly. I arrived at the Campanha station and luckily here the trains to the Sao Bento station are frequent and many.

My lodging for the next few days was the Passenger Hostel, a hostel with great reviews right in the train station. This actually ended up being my favorite hostel, mostly because the bathrooms were the cleanest and airiest of all the hostels I stayed at. There was no AC, but each bed had a little person fan. My one complaint about this place is that the common areas had music blasting every time I walked through them. They have some really comfortable furniture in their common areas, and it would have been a nice place to sit and FaceTime with family or catch up on my journal if not for the distracting music.

Despite the fact that all I'd done all day was sit, I was in the mood for comfort food for dinner. A francesinha from Santiago fit the bill perfectly! A francesinha is about five different types of meat stuffed between two slices of white bread, covered in cheese, and topped with an amazing sauce plus a fried egg. This is exactly how I DON'T normally eat, but on this night it was absolutely delicious. I surprised myself by eating almost the whole thing.

If I were to plan this trip again I'd scrap Obidos and Coimbra and take a train directly from Lisbon to Porto. I think it's finally hit home that for me more is not always more. Even if Obidos and Coimbra had been amazing, I still think a 12-13 day trip (instead of 16 days) is ideal for me.

Still to come: Guimaraes, Braga, Porto, and Getting Home

It's too bad you didn't get to see Coimbra after all that effort getting there, but you have the right attitude. You never know what will happen; something almost always goes wrong, especially when you are depending on public transportation. I admire you for traveling solo and for planning such an ambitious trip!

I am going to Portugal next Wednesday so I am loving this trip report. I decided to skip Obidos and Coimbra because there was just not enough time to see everything.
Disappointing for you, but not much you can do about it.
Please continue. Looking forward to your Porto part.

@KarenWoo - I'm at the point in life where finding travel partners is more difficult (and I'm more picky about who I'll travel with), so traveling solo is kind of a necessity!

@millie2112 Have so much fun on your trip! I'm excited to write about Porto and relive that part; it's a wonderful city.

DAY 12 - GUIMARAES

Although I was now based in Porto for a few days it wasn't quite time to explore that city; first I had a couple of day trips on my itinerary.

Getting myself to Guimaraes was quite easy, I just had to walk downstairs from the hostel into the train station, buy a ticket from the kiosk, validate it at a scanner, and board the train. The trip took less than an hour and I enjoyed seeing the suburbs and more rural areas. I mentioned this before, but Portugal surprised me with how green it is!

I got off the train and walked several blocks to the impressive Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Consolação e Santos Passos. This is a tall, thin church with double spires and some tile on the outside. There is a long garden in front which makes for some great photos. I went inside the church and I'm sure it was pretty, but I didn't take any photos and I don't remember anything particular about the interior.

From there I walked up a slight incline to the old quarter, which is the pretty and quaint area you see in all of the pictures. There is lots of old stone, flower pots in window boxes, and tables and chairs set up in the small squares and plazas. It was lively without feeling crowded. I took several pictures before wandering higher up to the Palace of the Dukes of Brangaza.

The palace looked exactly like what I imagined a medieval manor to be: heavy stone, timber roofs, gigantic ceilings, and heavy wood furnishings. I could easily picture a group of medieval lords and knights coming into the great hall to eat dinner. I learned that the Dukes of Brangaza were a family line that originated with an illegitimate son of one of the kings of Portugal. Over time the palace fell into disrepair and disuse and the people took stones from the palace to construct other buildings. I also learned that the restoration that took place at the beginning of the 20th century was controversial. Many people said it made the palace into something grander than it ever was while in use. The furnishings are largely from later periods, so what you see isn't a realistic depiction of how the noble family lived. This all emphasizes what I'd been learning throughout the trip: rarely is a building frozen in history.

It was just barely noon by the time I was finished exploring the palace, but I figured now was as good a time as any to have lunch. I had two restaurants on my list as lunch possibilities, and one - Cor de Tangerina - was right across the street. The restaurant was just opening and I was the first one to be seated in the gorgeous rooftop garden. This was another of the surprisingly plentiful vegetarian restaurants in Portugal. I placed my order and was brought a small salad of lettuce, strawberries, poppy seeds, and the most amazing dressing that was sweet and tasted subtly of mint. I can't stop talking about this dressing; if they had sold it I would have bought half a dozen bottles! I came home and attempted to recreate it (I was generally successful but still not as good as the restaurant's). My entree was a special, so I can't find it by referencing the online menu, but it was a pasta bowl with mushrooms, cheese, nuts and perhaps squash. So good! I loved my meal and ate it as slowly as possible. I found it kind of funny that as I was sitting there inwardly rejoicing in my meal, a family was seated at a table next to me and one of the teenage girls took a quick glance at the menu and declared "There is like literally nothing on this menu I want to eat." I wished I could have tried everything!

After lunch I made my way to the castle, which is a well-preserved stone tower surrounded by a wall. The tower had some nice exhibits about the history of Portugal, which I browsed. This site doesn't require much time; for me the best thing about it is the view it gives of the palace of the dukes. Since the castle sits higher than the palace you look down and get something of an overhead view.

I finished off my time in Guimaraes wandering the little streets of the historic center. I finally found a little nativity to add to my collection of Christmas decor from around the world (it was harder than I thought it would be to find something that I both liked and thought was a fair price).

In planning this trip I considered leaving Guimaraes off the itinerary in favor of more time in Porto. It didn't seem like there would be much to do in this town. Despite the fact that I didn't visit a whole list of sites here, I really liked it and would recommend a trip to Guimaraes to anyone who is spending a few days in northern Portugal.

I finished off the day with dinner back in Porto. I didn't have the appetite for something large or heavy, so I had a sandwich at Sandiera. This is a cute but tiny little sandwich shop in an alley not too far from the center of town. It's a solid recommendation for a light, inexpensive meal, but not something I'd say to put on your "must visit" list.

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Thank you for this wonderful report. I will be re-reading this one and making notes. Your pictures are beautiful. I am going to Portugal for the first time the end of January and am just starting the research. We are staying in Lisbon for 9 nights (a Road Scholar trip) with day trips to Sintra and Cascais. We have 3 days on our own at the end. I was thinking we would go to Porto so I'll be reading that section of your trip with great interest. You have made me excited. I like the way you travel. I also agree that 12 days is the perfect amount of time (at least for me) to be away on a trip.

Did you have any issues finding and using ATMs?? I sometimes worry too much about the mundane things, but I like to know this type of thing. Thanks.

DAY 13 - BRAGA

Today's morning looked a lot like yesterday's morning: up around 8, breakfast at the hostel, and then downstairs to buy a ticket and get on the train. Today I was headed to Braga.

My first stop was the Biscainhos Museum, a mansion preserved to show how the urban upper class lived during the 18th century. I arrived just behind another couple and we were both encouraged to explore the garden for about 15 minutes before the tour would start. The man at the desk made it sound like this would be a guided tour, but it was really just a museum employee accompanying us from room to room without giving any commentary. There were plaques in each room that gave a bit of description, although I can't remember if they were in English, Spanish or Portuguese. The house and the garden were pretty but not spectacular. Given that the entrance fee was only a couple of euros I found my time there worthwhile but it's not the most impressive museum or site you'll ever see.

Next I visited the Jardim de Santa Barbara, one of my favorite sites of the day. This pretty garden is right in the middle of a main shopping area of the town. There are lots of colorful flowers extending out behind the Archbishop's court.

When planning this excursion I had a number of sites starred on my map to visit, but for one reason or another most all seemed to be closed. This was a Saturday and I chose to come to Braga on this day thinking more sites would be open (and I believe I checked entrance times, since it's my habit to do that while travel planning). There was a sports festival going on that week, so that may possibly have had something to do with it. I couldn't enter the cathedral due to a wedding and the Braga Tower was either closed or I didn't find the correct entrance. In another area two churches on the same square were closed but there was a flea market (more like a group garage sale) happening in the square. I did see the beautiful exterior of the Raio Palace. I donated a couple of euros and visited the museum interior of that building but I breezed through pretty quickly; the museum info and artifacts focused mostly on the religious charity that funded the nearby hospital.

I did have a great lunch at Biro dos Namorados- such a cute restaurant! They have lots of different hamburgers on the menu, and although mine tasted pretty different from a US burger (mostly due to the sauce I think), it was very good.

With most of the sites in town a bust, a caught the bus to one of my main interests in Braga: Bom de Jesus. The bus dropped us off in a parking lot, and rather than take the funicular up the hill, I decided to walk. The walk really isn't all that bad; for the first part there are lots of flat stretches between stairs. The main stairway, the one you see in all of the pictures, is beautiful! The church itself was undergoing restoration, so inside there was screen hung from about halfway down the nave showing what the back of the church looked like. I found it ironic that there was a sign encouraging people to be quiet right in front of me and yet there was all sorts of hammering and construction noises going on!

I remembered reading that there were some pretty gardens behind the church, so I walked around to the left and found a pretty little grotto. I climbed a little further up the hill and came to a park with a tiny lake where lots of people were attempting to stay in control of their rented rowboats.

Originally I was sure that Braga held a full day's worth of sites and I was considering skipping Guimaraes, in reality it turned out to be almost the opposite. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Guimaraes but might recommend skipping Braga. I do think Bom Jesus is very worth visiting, but I personally didn't have the type of experience in Braga that makes me want to encourage others to go there.

That evening, back in Porto, I walked along the top of the Dom Luis bridge. Don't look down; it's so high! There are little gaps every so often where sheets of metal come together and I had to actively avoid looking at them because realizing how high up I was was terrifying. It was a pretty time of day - right during golden hour. I intended to go back and do this walk at least one more time, but I either forgot or didn't get around to it, so I'm glad I took the time to cross the bridge this evening.

For dinner I had pizza at Maus Habitos. The food was very good, but you can get nice pizza just about anywhere (at least in the US), so I wouldn't call it a "do not miss" restaurant. However, the price for what you get is pretty good, plus the restaurant has great views. There was a colorful sunset happening while I was eating, and I got some nice photos from behind the large windows.

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@Barbrn Thank you! I would definitely recommend spending those last three days in Porto. I didn't have any trouble finding ATMs, they seem to be all around.

Your pictures are outstanding and i am enjoying reading your detailed report. We just booked a transatlantic cruise to Europe for next April, ending in Barcelona and our plan is to fly to Portugal for an extended trip there. We thought two weeks would be fine, but in reading your report, we are re-thinking our itinerary as it seems that we need at least three weeks in Portugal. Thanks again!

DAY 14 - PORTO

Finally it was time to focus on Porto! I spent the first part of the morning at a branch of my church out in Foz, which seemed to be an upscale neighborhood. After that I came back to the city center and stood in line for a while at Zenith. This is a super popular brunch place. I waited in line 15-20 minutes (a bit extra in order to get a table outside on the terrace) and then waited about 30 more minutes for my food to arrive. I wasn't in any rush though, so I didn't mind. My eggs benedict were very good.

Once I was finished with brunch I wandered slowly down to the waterfront area. It was time to leave the hostel and check into a private room. Hooray! I stayed at Innvict, which is described as an aparthotel. I had the Hank room. It was the biggest of the rooms I stayed in and stylishly minimalist. It was in a great area - nice and close to the water. I was a little concerned that the restaurant below would keep me up all night, but with the shutters closed and the fan on, I didn't hear a thing. The AirBnB ad had mentioned that there would be Castelbel toiletries, and it wasn't until I got to Portugal that I realized what a treat this was. I kind of fell in love with Castelbel soaps while I was there. I don't normally use bar soap, but I did end up buying a soap that came in a ceramic dish for myself, plus a couple more bars of soap to give as gifts.

Once I was checked in and settled, I went down to the waterfront to inquire about a short river cruise. Apparently 2pm on a Sunday is the perfect time for this because I paid my 14 euros, got in line behind a trio of Spanish ladies, and after about a 5 minute wait, I was the fourth person on the boat. The 50-minute cruise was wonderful: so relaxing, and the weather was perfect!

The final game of the World Cup was playing, so I went back to my room to watch the game and chat with family via FaceTime. (Can you tell that my pace had really slowed by this point in the trip?!)

At about 6:30 or so I left the room and walked to Tapabento, where there was already a line anticipating the 7pm opening time. This is a super popular (and very small) restaurant, and had I not had a reservation, I would have been turned away. The menu is mostly seafood, and even though I don't like seafood, the reviews were so good I wanted to come anyway. I started with marinated olives - a small dish of very tiny but totally flavorful olives. Next came the oxtail empanadillas. This was me being brave - oxtail isn't something that sounds all that palatable, but I knew that it was common in this part of the world. I thought that empanadillas signaled that they would be small, but they were full-sized empanadas! The meat filling wasn't anything special; I had expected something more flavorful. Not realizing how much food I had ordered, I also asked for a dish of smoked provolone cheese. This was fantastic, but there was no way I could have eaten it all. I was seated at the bar next to another American woman traveling solo. We let each other taste what we had ordered and talked about how not having a travel companion means you can't share food, so you frequently end up over-ordering so that you can try all of the things you want to taste.

DAY 15 - PORTO

I started the day with a stop at the big Porto word sculpture right across from the Jardim da Cordoaria. It was early enough that I could take photos without a bunch of other people in them.

At about 9am I stopped outside the Livraria Lello, hoping to get a photo of the outside before it opened and the entrance was clogged with people. I found that there were already a couple of early-birds in line, so rather than head to a pastry shop for a quick breakfast, I jumped in line. The bookstore doesn't open until 9:30, but this is the "Harry Potter" bookstore made famous by J.K. Rowling, so there is perpetually a line of people waiting to get in. The bookstore IS beautiful, but I'm so curious as it what it would have been like 20 years ago, before it was jammed wall to wall with people. You have to buy a 5 euro ticket in order to get in, but if you buy a book that amount is credited toward your purchase. Like the other bookstores I visited on this trip, the English selection wasn't huge and the books were expensive, but I still picked up a small hardcover copy of The Little Prince. There's even a page in the book that says it was purchased at Livraria Lello. Try as I might, I didn't get great photos inside the bookstore- too many people and not the best lighting.

Once I was finished with the bookstore I made quick visits to Igreja do Carmo and Igreja dos Carmelitas Descalços. After that I wandered a bit, taking photos of the narrow streets and the wash hung out the windows against the tile facades. Once it was time for lunch I stopped in at Hungry Biker. I ordered avocado toast that was really good and surprisingly filling.

Next I walked uptown, out of the tourist area, to the Praça do Marquês de Pombal. This was the meeting place for The Worst Tour, a tour run by an architect (actually a company of two architects, although only one guided our tour) focused on the urban development of Porto. I had somehow run across a description of this company/tour online as I was planning the trip, and I thought it sounded interesting. We didn't visit any of the popular historic sites you might visit on other tours. Instead our guide (I forget his name) took us to various sites in everyday neighborhoods and talked about how Porto has grown and developed over time. It was super interesting. My only complaint is that the guide didn't have a clear ending time. He would have been willing to go for hours! After about three hours most of the people in our group bid farewell; I left about 30 minutes after that. The guide is obviously very passionate about Porto.

I didn't feel tired during the walking tour, but once it was over I was done for the day. I stopped in at the grocery store for some chocolate and a savory pastry and headed back to my hotel room to eat my purchases, plus my leftovers from the night before.

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DAY 16 PORTO/LISBON

There were still a few sites I hadn't seen and I had planned to get up this morning and see them, but I was exhausted. Maybe that view from the Clerigos Tower would have been amazing and I probably should have gone over to Gaia to visit a Port cellar (even though I wouldn't be sampling the port), but I have no regrets about staying in bed until noon! I waited until the last possible minute to check out of my hotel, then I wandered into some souvenir shops for a couple of last things before taking a bus to Sao Bento. My train to Lisbon was right on time and blessedly uneventful.

Once back in Lisbon I headed straight for Bomjardin for that amazing piri-piri chicken. Of all of the great places I ate, I didn't even hesitate when thinking about where to eat my last dinner in Portugal. Satiated, I took the metro to Cais do Sodre and finished where I started, in a little room at City Lofts Lisbon.

DAY 17 - HOME...OR NOT

After a long trip I was so ready to get home! I stopped at Mantegaria in the Time Out Market for a couple of final pasteis de nata and then took the metro to the airport. I wandered my way all through the airport, doing the requisite security and passport checks and found my gate. It was just getting to be time to board when the gate agent got onto the intercom and let us know that the plane coming in (our plane) had a mechanical issue that wasn't a quick fix, so the flight to JFK was cancelled. Ugh, this is exactly what I didn't want to hear. The gate agent told us that we'd all be booked onto a flight at 8am the next day, but I immediately got onto the Delta app to see if I could get a different, earlier route home. After several minutes and multiple times hitting refresh, some options came up. There was nothing else out that day, but I could choose an option the next day on a 5am flight to Amsterdam and then a direct flight to my city in the US. I hit the button and was rebooked. (A bunch of people went all the way to the ticket counter at the entrance of the airport, but no one was given the option to fly out that day. I learned that using the app really was the best and easiest way to get rebooked.)

What followed was a lot of confusion and a lot of waiting. After instructing us to retrieve our luggage and waiting in the longest passport control line I've ever waited in, Delta escorted all of the passengers to a bus area outside of the airport. The first-class and status passengers immediately got put on buses and taken to a hotel in the heart of Lisbon. The rest of us peons had to wait over and hour until all of the passengers who had gone to the ticket counter were gathered, then we were put on buses and driven the opposite direction. We ended up about 30 miles outside the city, kind of in the middle of nowhere. Lest I paint too bleak of a picture though, we were all booked into a 5-star golf and spa resort. I keep telling people that I can tell this story two ways. The first is that I got an extra day of vacation at a 5-star resort. Delta even sent a box of chocolates to my room and gave everyone a letter that was good for a 30-minute massage, 1-hour golf clinic, or 5 drinks at the hotel bar.

However, the other side of the story is that all this time I was trying to enjoy my massage, the spa, my nice room, I had no idea how I would get to the airport the next day. Before getting on the bus I asked two different Delta employees if they would provide transportation from the hotel for my 5am flight. They assured me it would all be taken care of and that the hotel would let us know of the arrangements. At the hotel they were waiting on Delta to get information to them. I was that annoying person who bugged them every couple of hours to see if they had information. At 9pm I checked with the hotel again and they told me a shuttle would be coming for the passengers at 4:30am. Well, that was not going to work. At first the hotel employee wasn't helpful. She told me I would need to contact Delta myself (they wouldn't call for me) to find out about earlier transportation. Now I pride myself on being someone calm and controlled in tense situations, but at this point I was about to lose it. I FaceTimed my mom and told asked to get on the phone with Delta to see if there was anything she could arrange (I didn't have an international calling plan set up on my phone, so I couldn't have made the call on my own without incurring hefty charges.) Meanwhile I went down to the buffet dinner the hotel was providing without any appetite. I started asking around to see if anyone else had an early flight. Luckily I found a woman who was on my same Amsterdam flight and was told that a shuttle was coming for her at 2:30am. To make a long story short, I went down to the lobby at 2:30, got on the shuttle, and got home without incident from there.

Looking back, I should have been more confident that all would work out and I should have relaxed and enjoyed the time at the hotel more. I still don't count the extra day of vacation as a bonus (I didn't want it), but Delta did take relatively good care of us. However, they get bad marks in my book for communication (and I was far from the only one who felt this way).

At some point in the airport the day the flight was cancelled someone mentioned a passenger bill of rights and Delta employees passed out a sheet that told us we were entitled to compensation. I emailed Delta the details of what happened, and I just received word yesterday that I'll be getting a check for about $600 (600 euros). This is in accordance with EU policies, so I'm not sure if all cancelled flights that result in a delay of more than 3 hours are eligible for compensation, but if you're ever on a flight that is cancelled - especially one in the EU - it's worth contacting the airline to see if you can get some money for it.

CONCLUSION

So that is my very long, drawn-out trip report. I had a fabulous time in Portugal. I planned things out pretty meticulously, but when my feet were on the ground it was mostly about wandering and doing what felt right at the moment, while using my notes as a guide. I ate really well, and this experience has taught me that it's worth some loss in flexibility in order to make reservations and not leave a good meal up to chance (at least not all of them).

The first day in Cascais was my favorite day of the trip. I preferred Lisbon over Porto, but only very slightly. And had I started in Porto with the fresh energy that I had in Lisbon, I might have chosen Porto as my favorite. The days in Obidos, Coimbra, and Braga I could have skipped, but other than that everything was wonderful and very worth doing/seeing.

Now that I've finished writing up this trip and have almost gone through all of my photos, it's time to edit my video clips into the video I like to make of each trip I take. Between the pre-trip planning and the post-trip write up and photo/video editing, I know how to make a trip last a good part of the year!

Great TR! Thanks very much!

I really enjoyed your trip report and your gorgeous photos! I appreciate all the time and effort it took to write this report. I understand what you mean by preferring Lisbon over Porto because Lisbon was your first stop, and therefore, you had a lot more energy.Our favorite day in Lisbon was the day we spent at the castle and wandering around Alfama. I think our second favorite day was our day in Belem. However, we were impressed with what little we saw of Cascais on our bus tour, and we both agreed it would have been nice to spend a day in Cascais.