TIGGER

For almost a year now I've used this site, taking tips, suggestions and reviews from others. Guilt has hit me and I feel the need to repay a bit. I am a blessed woman and am able to travel for pleasure 3 or 4 times a year(my husband has an airline job). I think I may be an addict, as I am constantly thinking about my next trip. Anyway, I've just returned from Portugal where we visited Lisbon, Obidos, Sintra and Cascais. We also went to Prague this last spring and are in Amsterdam quite a lot. I am not a 12 countries in 5 days sort of person, I like to spend at least a week in one country, meet people, learn some of the language, eat a lot and listen to their music. I have traveled so much that I've had my share of things go awry...but I think trips not going exactly as planned is part of the whole experience and you need to enjoy every minute as much as possible. Don't waste time getting crabby! Anyway if I can help someone out there by answering a question, I'm willing to try. POST SCRIPT: Before I left for Europe someone on this site had a posting asking others what they hated about tourists. I didn't have time to respond then but I would like to now....every time I see a tourist, whether in my own country or in another, I breathe a little prayer of blessing over them. Here at least is someone who wants to widen their world, who isn't content to "see it on TV". Maybe this person will be in your way on the Metro steps, or maybe they will stand in the middle of your sidewalk reading their maps...never mind, thank God that one more person is making an effort to reach out and understand someone elses world. Yes, they dress badly sometimes, yes they don't always behave correctly but I am pray that when they return to their own countries, they carry back with them the awareness that there are beautiful places and beautiful people...outside their own hometowns. This is a start. Blessings on all of you.

Mike Murphy

Amen. <BR>Kindness costs nothing, is contagious and when practised by enough of us will make travelling - and life - all the more enjoyable.

Maira

Great post, Tigger. Wise words.

Debbie

<BR>Dear Tigger <BR> <BR>I leave for Portugal on Thanksgiving Day and will be there one week; was in Lisbon once, 25 years ago, and am anxious to get outside the city this time. Am always looking for a quiet spot, or a great hamlet/town to take a swim or catch my breath or take a sunset photo...Any suggestions? <BR> <BR>Thanks, Debbie

Georgine

Dear Tigger, <BR> <BR>We also will be in Portugal over Thanksgiving. Our itinerary includes all the towns you mentioned, plus a few others that are north and east of Obidos. If you can share any hints on moderately priced restaurants you enjoyed, or special Do's and Don'ts for the towns you visited--it would certainly be appreciated. <BR> <BR> We've booked the following lodging--any comments on: Lisboa Plaza and Hotel Metrople/Lisbon; Hotel Albatroz/Cascais; Hotel Tivoli/Sintra; <BR>Albergheria d'Obidos/Obidos? <BR> <BR>Did you eat at the Pousada in Obidos? Don't know if we should bother or not. <BR> <BR>Thanks for your thoughts. <BR> <BR>In closing-- it's nice to know there are other European "travel addicts" about!!

Tigger

Thanks everyone for your comments. For Debbie and Georgine; The train system is wonderful, one of the best, you can get anywhere you want. I loved Obidos but it takes about 3 hours to get there with a train change at Cacem. Worth it though. Lots of places to stay there overnight as almost every other house had a "room" sign on it. It's a very "I'm in a fairy tale" sort of feeling, place. You don't have to look for a good photo op because the entire place is one. The pousada there looked fabulous but all I did was look as it was too rich for my blood (I went back to Lisbon on the last train and I ate in a small cafe while in Obidos). Sintra was everything the guide books said it would be...and there was one thing that was much, much more. The Castelo dos Mouros. I went to Sintra twice because on my last day I felt I couldn't leave Portugal without climbing up to it one more time and standing on its ramparts. This was for me the highlight of my trip. It's hard to explain because they don't even charge to see this castle, it's basically a ruin on the top of a mountain, almost no one climbs up to see it, (my first time there early one morning, my husband and I roamed it alone for 3 hours, the second time I went several days later was in the afternoon and we saw 2 other people although the town was full due to a fair). It is wildly romantic, breathtakingly fierce and a bit eerie. You can "feel" the battles that were fought for it. As for food in Portugal....well I may not have eaten in the right places but I wasn't, lets say, overwhelmed. Bonjardim in Lisbon had good chicken and the waiters were nice. In some of the other places we ate, the food was a bit raw, both meat and fish. Might be the style there, but I happen to be a pretty good cook and the famous "pudim", (creme caramel to the rest of us) wasn't very good in the 4 different places I tested it. Also, I found most places charged a bit more than I thought was reasonable. Pastries are very cheap and good and there's a pasteleria on every corner. Well, I'm not an expert on restaurants so maybe I should stop here. Georgine, I saw the hotels you mentioned from the outside and they looked very nice. I stayed in a small pension called Residencial Geres just off the Rossio and it was sweet although the plaza at night (all night) was incredibly noisy. The Brazilian connnection seemed to have their nightly get togethers right beneath my balcony. (I surrendered to it and when I couldn't sleep, spied on them and entertained myself trying to guess what they were up to until 4 every morning!). The Portuguese people are somewhat melancholy by nature but not unfriendly. The most important thing I brought to Portugal was my mini umbrella. I grew up in S.E.Asia and I'm familiar with monsoon type rain but I was blown away by the sudden, torrents of water that would simply cascade from the sky with no notice. It absolutely POURS for about 15 minutes and then...just stops and the sun comes out! Take your umbrella with you everywhere! Oh yes, you really should see the Expo site, (a subway train goes directly there). The aquarium (oceanarium?) is FABULOUS!!! The coach museum is also there now so you can see that too (it's also worth it). I hope these comments were helpful. Need anything else, let me know.

Georgine

Dear Tigger, <BR> <BR>Thanks for all your great thoughts! <BR> <BR>Sounds like earplugs, umbrellas and rainboots will be required packing. <BR> <BR>I've also noticed in just the planning stages that prices are higher than I expected--sure glad we're not going "in season". <BR> <BR>Just a few other questions: <BR> <BR>Did you feel safe walking in the Rossio and Barrio Alto areas at night? Did you have any problems with pickpockets or purse snatchers? (Am getting a bit paranoid on this issue due to two hits and one other failed attempt in Europe in the last two years. I'm now carrying some many pouches under my clothes that I'm beginning to feel like a "kangaroo"!) <BR> <BR> How long would it take to walk downhill ( easier!!) from the Pena Palace to Castelos dos Mouros, and then on to the National Palace in Sintra? <BR> <BR>Has the Coach Museum moved from Belem to the Expo site? How many hours would you allow for this area? <BR> <BR>Is the connection at Cacem from the National Railway to the Sintra/Lisboa line in the same building? <BR> <BR>Thanks again for taking the time to respond!! <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR>

Cheryl Z.

<BR>To Debbie - the village of Cascais (pronounced something like "Kashkhyse") on the Estoril coast about 20 minutes from Lisbon will fit your criteria I think. We stayed at the Village Cascais Hotel. Easy to get to Sintra and Lisbon, and a wonderful coast line. I posted info about our recent trip earlier on here, maybe if you do a search for Portugal, that will help you. <BR>And to Georgine - re walking around at night in Altos Barrios in Lisbon: The first time I was a bit wary when we had a taxi drop us off and we went looking for a restaurant. Shops close early and it looks empty, dark and dreary, but then the restaurants and night life starts. When we <BR> went back again the next night, I felt very comfortable. You just need to be careful like you would in any big city, especially at night. <BR>

Tigger

Hi Georgine! <BR> Downhill from Pena Palace to the Castelo dos Mouros...maybe 20 or 30 minutes. The way we did it was to taxi to the castelo (the Pena palace doesn't open till 10am and I was raring to go by 8am), taxi cost about 5.00US$ and 1.00 tip. You enter the castelo thru a turnstile type gate guarded by a family of cats. We just roamed around by ourselves and when we felt the need to push on, went back out the same gate and started to head uphill to the Pena Palace. Hadn't gone 5 minutes when a bus came by and we hopped on and bought a ticket which was round trip for the return to the town (under 5.00 per person). You can do the reverse and purchase your bus ticket in town, go to Pena, walk or bus down to the castelo, tour that and then wait along the road for the bus or just walk back to town (that is a LONG and dangerously winding road, so wait for the bus). My second trip to the Castelo, we had first gone to the fair in Sao Pedro de Sintra (taxi from the train station in Sintra about 5.00). While roaming around that small town, we could see the walls of the castelo sort of looming in the near distance, so we started walking towards it and working our way through the back streets of this town, actually reached the back entrance of the castelo (maybe 45 minutes of walking pretty much uphill and asked directions once of a passerby). The fair is held every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month, year round. We saw some interesting things. A musical group of Inca indians from Ecuador were playing in the square and hawking their CDs (bought 2 actually ). There was a beggar girl who played the accordion. She sat on the sidewalk and on her accordion carrying case sat a small puppy. He carried a small bucket in his mouth for the people to put coins in. I watched her for a long time. People would put coins in the puppies bucket and pat him on his little head but he would never let go of his bucket. The girl would kiss him from time to time. <BR> The coach museum is now at the Expo site in a building walking distance from the oceanarium. We hadn't planned to spend the whole day at Expo but we did and really don't regret it. The Oceanarium takes 2 or 3 hours if you stop to look at all the different fish and read the writings. You WILL stay this long there even if you're not crazy about fish just because it is all so beautifully done. The coach museum takes maybe an hour or more if you plan to read the descriptions and histories. It is a stunning display. We ate at a cafe outside the Oceanarium and had one of our better meals in Portugal. In the train station (which is designed to make you feel you have been swallowed by a whale, no kidding), there is also a HUGE shopping center with the hugest grocery store I saw in Portugal. I love grocery stores because you can get a feel for the economy, eating habits and productivity of a country. If you want to know if a country is doing well, go to a grocery store and see what the people are buying. When you are in the shopping mall, look UP. The ceiling has water running over it (it is glass), remember you are supposed to be in a whale! The train change at Cacem is easy, the station is actually outdoors and anyone will point you to the correct platform. As for safety in Lisbon....well I'm not one for walking around very late at night anywhere, even though my husband is 6'3" and rather tough looking (so people tell me). I will confess to a slightly apprehensive feel in Lisbon on some of the lonelier streets we crossed coming back from dinner around 9:30 pm or so...but we just stuck to the noisy, busy places around the Rossio. Bairro Alto we did in the early evening and it was already sort of clearing out, I heard it doesn't get really busy there till 11pm or so. We never had any trouble though and not even an attempt. I do get annoyed by teenage druggies from the US and Britain asking for coins, meals etc., but I see that every where in Europe and my standard response is "get a job". My husband carries our money and passports in a small bag around his neck and my fanny pack only has my lipgloss, comb and small change in it. Hope this helps! Oh, yes, bring very comfortable shoes, the cobblestones in Lisbon are second only to those in Prague for sheer feet torture!

Georgine

Tigger and Debbie, <BR> <BR>Thank you, thank you, thank you!! <BR> <BR>The suggestions are really helpful. There is nothing like first-hand info to smooth out potential wrinkles in any trip. <BR> <BR>I've got my Prague walking shoes all ready to head off to Portugal!!! <BR>

Carol

Hi Tigger: <BR> <BR>Thanks for your great post and I love what you say about tourists. <BR> <BR>I've always tried to be around rich people - not the ones who have the most dollars in the bank or the ones who have the most schooling (years in school does not necessarily mean "educated") or the ones who have the most toys. <BR> <BR>I love being around people rich with experiences of the world, who reach out to touch another culture, who take the time to understand that not everyone is like them and who are not fearful of the unknow. <BR> <BR>Thanks goodness for us all! <BR>