This is way over due. Our first trip to Portugal was last September, a perfect time to enjoy.

Portugal
September 2003
Our adventure began with an uneventful flight from Boston through Paris to Lisboa. This was our first trip to Portugal and we weren?t sure what to expect. Needless to say we were delighted. If you like scenic driving through diverse landscapes, history and ?lots? of castles, wonderful, warm, genuine people and incredible food you will fall in love with Portugal. Here is our 14 night itinerary:

Sintra 4 nights (1 night Lawrences Hotel & 3 nights Hotel Tivoli) Saturday, Sunday, Monday & Tuesday nights
Day Trip to Sintra own Sights, Palácio Nacional de Pena & Castelo dos Mouros
Day Trip to Lisbon via train
Day Trip to Quinta da Regaleria, Convento dos Capuchos, Cabo da Roca, & Boca do Inferno

Obidos 1 night (Estalagem do Convento) Wednesday night
Day Trip to Batalha, Alçobaca, Nazaré and Óbidos (regret - not enough time to visit Tomar)

Viana do Castelo 3 nights (Pousada Santa Lucia) Thursday, Friday & Saturday nights
Day Trip travel to Viana and the town
Day Trip south to Guimãres, Citânia de Briteiros, Bom Jesus and Barcelos
Day Trip north Carminha, Valença, Ponte Barca and Ponte Lima
(one of our favorite rides!)

Buçaco 1 night (Palace Hotel do Buçaco) Sunday night
Day Trip travel to Bucaco and the forest

Evora 3 nights (Pousada Convento dos Loios) Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday night
Day Trip travel to Évora via Castelo de Vide, Marvao and Estomez
Day Trip to Évora town sights
Day Trip to Monsarez and Megalith tour

Palmela 2 nights (Pousada da Palmela) Thursday & Friday night
Day Trip to Palmela, Jose Maria de Fonseca Winery and tile factory
Day Trip to Setúbal Castelo de Sao Fillpe, Serra da Arrábida, Cabo Espipchel and Sesimbra (great ride)

Saturday (4 nights Sintra)
We picked up our rental car and proceed to get lost trying to get through Lisboa to Sintra. We had a rather confusing unexpected tour of Lisboa. The outskirts of rolling hills covered with condos turned into the forest primeval. Sintra was everything we had expected. Sure there are tourist there, but that is because it is beautiful.

The travel gods were with us because we found a parking spot right in front of Hotel Lawrences. The reception was friendly and unpretentious. The hotel was charming. Supposedly, this is the second oldest inn in the world, not sure what the first oldest is. We were offered a suite for the price of a regular room but preferred our original room, the William Beckford. It was full of bright light, wooden floors with large French windows looking out towards the sea. Lord Byron?s room was next door.

Slightly jet lagged we decided to take a short walk and check out town, plus we were hungry. Walking by the town?s quaint church we were treated to a beautiful bride and her groom posing in their horse drawn carriage for photos. I love Europe! Sintra is a charming hillside town with its own style. Cobbled streets and alleyways lead to shops and restaurants. We were searching for the perfect place for a light lunch. There are a few outdoor cafes but we wanted something traditional. Michael found a small bar on the corner of the main square where the police were drinking espresso and brandy! There was a small snack bar called Adega das Caves, with tables attached and a larger restaurant in back. Our first experience with couverts was perfect. Couverts are small appetizers that they bring to your table before you order. What you eat, you pay for. The fresh cheese, fish pate and crusty bread were great. Of course our first meal in Portugal had to be a plate of grilled sardines. Yummy! Two big beers and we were in heaven. Foot weary from climbing through town we headed back for a well-deserved nap.

We chose Albacoa for dinner and were pleasantly please. I had read great reviews about this small family restaurant. The owner Christina spoke English and helps us order a fabulous Portuguese meal. We started with fresh cheese, little clams in garlic oil and coriander and a bowl of seafood soup. Then for dinner we had a huge shellfish dish with the best-flavored rice I have ever had. We had fun smashing the crab with a hammer and board. Our dining neighbors were friendly. After dinner we both had Porto and shared a not too sweet almond cake. Dinner came to 43,00 Euros with two bottles of cold refreshing white wine.
We walked to brightly lit Palacio Nacional de Sintra. Finally we noticed the lights on the tippy top of the mountain. It was the Castelo dos Mouros, or as we affectionately called the ?Castle of the Moops.? If you?re a Seinfeld fan you?ll remember the episode when George played Trivial Pursuit with the bubble boy. The answer was supposed to be Moors, but there was a type-o. The answer was listed as Moops on the card, causing a hilarious argument. What a great first day. We are already immersed into the flavor of Portugal.

Sunday (Sintra)
We awoke to a picture perfect day. Breakfast was great. They will make an omelet to order if you ask. We walked to the Palacio Nacional de Sintra and were pleased to find out that Sunday was a Free Day. We opted to tour on our own. I had purchased both Fodor's and DK Eyewitness travel books. We like the kitchen with its two cone towers.

Driving up through the mist-covered forest, with streams flowing through the dense greenery, we felt that this place was unreal. We noticed people walking up to the Palácio Nacional de Pena, not recommended. The Pena Palace is probably one of the best we've ever seen. It is so colorful, with oranges and yellows. It looked like it belonged in Disney World. Magnificent! The view was spectacular. What a fun place to climb around and explore. Every room had beautiful wood, tiles, furniture and plants, very livable. We walked down the street to the entrance to the Fortress of the Moops (Moors). Make sure you pay before you walk in. We were told it was free on Sunday by a guard at the Palace but it was not. After a quick hike down through the bright green moss covered forest an attendant asked us for our tickets. Opps. He wanted us to walk all the way back up, but we asked nicely and he let us in. The ruins were fun, high and scary. I'm not big on heights, which became a theme to our Portuguese trip. This was a perfect day.

Back in Sintra, we had a couple of Toastas with ham, pork and egg and cold beers at the little bar/cave on the corner where we ate lunch yesterday. Just right.

Our plans were to move hotels to the Quinta das Sequoias. This charming place is outside of town. They did not have availability of the first night, hence we stayed at the Lawrences. The drive up to the inn was on a windy, rutted scary road. I would not like to drive this at night. The place was very quite. We told the owner, who was very understanding, that this wasn't what we expected. She claimed it was not for everyone. It's more for people who want to get away and relax. So we left. Instead of heading back to the Lawrences we decided to check out the Tivoli Hotel. This Holiday Inn style hotel built right on the cliff-side. I was turned off by the Holiday Inn comments from the boards, but this turned out to be perfect for us. The rooms were a little worn, but they were also 100,00 Euros less then the Lawrences. Lovely Melinda led us to room 610. It was a very large room with two sliding glass doors leading out to our own private roof top veranda. The veranda (rooftop patio) was huge, bigger than our room. The view was over Sintra and up toward the Castelo dos Mouros. Every night we'd have a pop here and look up at the magical lights. We also had our own private pigeon aerial display at sunset for the next three nights, when the church bells rang.

Before heading to dinner we had a cocktail on the balcony of the hotel. It was happy hour and that we were. What a fabulous view watching the sunset, looking down to the Atlantic Ocean. Dinner tonight was at Tulhas Bar and Restaurant, next door. The food kept getting better. We had pudding cheese (the kind that poured open when you cut it), olives, fish pate and bread. For dinner we shared an assorted fish platter for two, salmon, a whole fish, squid, shrimps, potato and broccoli. Wow! What a presentation. Then we shared the Sunday special, roasted lamb with fried potatoes. Dinner came to 41,00 Euros with two bottles of vino and a cheesecake. The service was perfect and they brought us complementary glasses of Port. Back at the hotel we asked Melinda what she like as a treat, she said the cakes from Sintra. We walked across the street to the bakery and bought 6 for her and 2 for us. These are a must, delicious. Another perfect day.

Monday (Sintra)
We woke up late 9:45 am and had a quick breakfast at the hotel. It was OK. It was the usual buffet of cold cuts, fruit etc. A nice lady at the tourist bureau suggested we visit the Palacio e Quinta de Regaleira. We did not take the guided tour and explored the amazing gardens on our own. My guidebook describes this as a Neo-Manueline palace and extensive gardens are a feast of historical and religious reference, occult symbols and mystery. The palace was neat, but the highlight was the labyrinth of paths full of secret grottos, waterfalls, towers, stairways, caves and best of all, the most magical wishing well ever. It was actually a deep cistern built under a pile of big rocks. Amazing and a bit scary! We had the place to ourselves except for one young girl and her guide. It you have time, take a tour, I'm sure it's extremely interesting. Be warned, the walk is up, up hill again. My legs feel like rocks.

We drove through the forest on a small well-paved serpentine auto-cross designed for 1 car, to the Convento dos Capuchos, the Cork Convent. Fortunately no one was on it but us. The Convento, build in 1560 by Franciscan Monks was a trip into medieval times. Here you must take the tour. It is very informative. Two huge boulders guard the entrance. Michael claims the Portuguese like their rocks. They are everywhere. When you enter you must choose a path, left or right. This theme is in numerous places. Once chosen, both paths lead to the same place, with a cross, meaning all paths lead to God. Cool. The rooms that house the eight monks were teeny, tiny and covered with cork, their only comfort from the cold winter nights. This was a retreat for religious solitude, perfection and nature. Our tour was with two other people. Our guide, Ms. Portugal, according to my husband was the most beautiful woman in Portugal. The climb to the top of the hill was worth it for the spectacular view.

We drove towards the coast, down, down, and down, until we almost drove head on into a bulldozer. Michael loved driving, I had white knuckles from grabbing the Oh Sh*! handle. We went out to Cabo da Roca, the most Westerly point in the European mainland. This is way cool, if you like that kind of thing. On the way back we stopped at a small local place full of kids for 4 little beers and Jamon and cheese sandwiches, 7,00 Euros. This was perfect, we love being in local places.

We drove down the Lisbon coast towards Cascais. We stopped and parked at the beach in Guincho to watch the kite surfers. We stopped at the very exciting, Boca do Inferno, the Mouth of Hell. We were mesmerized watching the fisherman perched on the rocks above the abyss. After that we tried to drive the shoreline of Cascais, but were not allowed for some reason by the police, buses only. So we headed back to Sintra pasted the big Casino in Estoril. We had another fun day of sightseeing and driving.

Dinner was at Pateo do Garrett. We stopped there before returning to the hotel and it looked lovely. After a nap and a bath, we climbed up to the restaurant. We hardly ever take baths back home, but our sore legs enjoyed the soak. There was no one there. This town is so quite off-season during the week. They cooked especially for us. We had wild mushrooms with sausages in a cream sauce (probably were picked from the Convento). Dinner was roasted kid to die for and pork Alentejo. It was the best ever. Totally stuffed, we managed to hit the bakery before it closed. Hey, were on vacation. We had dessert on our own roof top patio. The Castelo dos Mouros was covered with clouds, the lighting was very eerie.

Tuesday (Sintra)
Today is our Lisboa day. We slept late, until 10:30, no breakfast today. We took the local bus to the train station and the train to Lisboa. Very easy, 5,00 Euros total round trip for two. Lisboa was a crazy confusing but fun city. We took a taxi to the Castelo de Sao Jorge at the top of town. This is a peaceful park with incredible views. We took our time and walked down the tiny alleyways through the Alfama. Everything seemed slightly broken, tiles, sidewalks, windows, but this all added to Lisboa?s charm. We had a fabulous outdoor lunch of grilled rabbit and grilled squid at O Cofre Churrasqueira on Rua dos Bacalhoeiros. Michael was in heaven. We loved that the cuisine was not just seafood but included wild game. Lunch with 4 beers was 23,00 Euros.

We took the tram to Belem, saw the Mosteiro dos Jeronimos. We then ascended via elevator to the top of the Monument of the Discoveries. The best part of Belem was the pastries at Antiga Confeitaria de Belem, hot custard pastries sprinkled with cinnamon. I could have eaten a dozen. Tired from a long day we took a taxi back to the train station. Lisboa is old world charming. You could easily spend days exploring this wonderful genuine town.

For dinner we decided to return to Albacoa, to our first dining experience in Portugal. At 9:00 PM Sintra town was empty, however, Christine?s places was busy. We had local cheese and salad, sole with bananas which was a house specialty, monkfish with that delicious rice and amazing prawns with cilantro and cayenne pepper. So Flavorful! We loved our stay in Sintra and would highly recommend it. I woke up at 3:55 AM and the lights were still on at the Castelo dos Mouros. Orion?s belt was guarding over us. Tomorrow we?re hitting the road, beginning our fabulous tour of Northern and Eastern Portugal.

Wednesday (1 night Obidos)
Lucky us, it?s another perfect day. We said goodbye to lovely Sintra and drove to Óbidos. Portugal has great highways. We checked into the Estalagem do Convento, just outside the walls of the town. We were in suite #1, which was large and clean, a little bit dark, but just right for us. We dropped off our luggage and headed North to Batalha. This cathedral, Santa Maria da Vitoria, is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was built to commemorate a decisive Portuguese victory over the Spanish in 1385. Our favorite part was the Unfinished Chapels. This is one BIG church. We toured the Royal Cloister and were fortunate to be there for the changing of the guards at the tomb of the Unknown Solider. Lunch was two chouriço sandwiches and a couple of cold beers at an outdoor café overlooking Santa Maria da Vitoria.

From here we drove to Alçobaca. The drive was like OZ, some of it was most beautiful and some of it was not. The Mosterio de Santa Maria is Portugal?s largest church and is renowned for its simple medieval architecture. It was dramatic. The best part was the story of Pedro, son of King Alfonso and heir to the throne. He fell in love with a lady in waiting, Inês. She was banished but later Pedro secretly married her. Then his father, the King, had her murdered. After Pedro?s dad died and he became King, he had the killers hearts ripped out. Then he had Inês?s corpse exhumed and crowned. He compelled his court to kneel be fore Inês and kiss her decomposed hand. Yuck-o! They are buried here in tombs that face each other. Pedro insisted that they face each other so that his first sight on Judgment Day would be of his beloved. Now that is true love.

We drove over to Nazaré and up the cliff to the Sitio. This is a small fisherman village on the cliff?s edge. The view is fantastic. We didn?t stop in town and drove back to Óbidos on back roads, not the highway. Michael claims that Portugal is like a one big cream sickle, all the homes are white walls and orange tiled roofs.

Now it is time to explore Óbidos. What a charming town, draped in bougainvillea. It was late afternoon and most of the tourists had gone. I was to chicken to climb around the walls. The Pousada looked cool, but they seemed a bit stuffy. We had three other Pousadas booked and opted not to stay at this one. We plucked a lime off a tree to have with our evening cocktail. Later when Michael made us our drinks he declared ?this isn?t a lime, it?s a green orange.? It tasted good anyway.

We checked out a few restaurants and decided on Restaurante A Ilustre Casa de Ramiro which was right next to our hotel. The coverts we chose were delicious, a meat pâté, cheese (of course), and olives. For dinner we shared a special of the casa, duck with rice. Very tasty. Then we had crispy roasted kid. Dinner with two bottles of vino was 54,00 Euros. This meal would have been twice that back home. We stopped in the bar at the Convento and had our first Ginjinha, cherry liquor and two desserts, a sugar chocolate cake and apple pudding. I?ll never sleep tonight I proclaimed. It was a great ending to another perfect day.

Thursday (3 nights Viana do Castelo)
On the road again, heading North to Viana do Castelo. You think you?re driving fast when a young girl in a small car passes you. Nuns even passed us. We named the cars ?appearers?, because no one would be on the road and before you knew it a car would appear in our rearview mirror, out of no where. Wow do they drive fast! We pasted a truck carrying giant trees that we the biggest I?ve ever seen, at least 6 ft across. The highway was great although the signs can be confusing. Every now and then they skip a beat. Viana do Castelo was a bit confusing at first, but we found our way up, up, up to the Pousada Santa Luzia do Monte. This place is amazing. Originally we couldn?t get a reservation, but three weeks before we left I was notified that a standard room was available. I wasn?t sure if it would be OK, but Bob the Navigator replied to an e-mail ?I?d stay in a broom closet there.? When we arrived, I asked if they had a better room available. All they had available was the one (and only) suite for 2 out of the three nights that we were there and that they could move us to the room next door (with a view) the last night. Hey, were on vacation, we splurged and went for the suite #107. It was huge with a big living room, dining table, a separate bedroom, a large bathroom with a Jacuzzi and big plush bathrobes. The best part was the large terrace with big wicker lounge chairs. The room next door, #108 that we moved to the last night shared the balcony.

We unpacked and drove into town to check out some restaurants. This is a lovely town. We had a light lunch in the town square.

We were spoiled so far, walking to dinner, now we have to drive. Our first ride down the hill in the dark was scary, but there were no other cars so it was fine, just take your time on the windy turns. We ate at Casa D?Armes near the riverfront at Largo 5 de Outubro 30. Amazing, the food keeps getting better and better. Our server, who I think was also the chef, looked like Mario Batali from Molto Mario. The couverts were incredible, stuffed bread with chicken, mussels, bacon wrapped sausage, and a stuffed crab filled with spread and fried toasts. Dinner was Hake with Madeira and fabulous mashed potatoes and then cod with mayonnaise. This sounds yucky but it was great the topping cooked to a golden crispy brown. We enjoyed the meal with two bottle of local ?green? wine. No dessert, we were to full. The silly Church Monte de Santa Luzia rang every fifteen minutes. Fifteen past was one ring, half past was two rings, forty-five past was three rings and then what ever the hour was. I?m a light sleeper. Oh well.

Friday (Viana do Castelo)
Sigh, it?s cloudy. We?ve been so lucky. The reason why this area called the Minho it?s so green is because it rains a lot. Let?s hope it only rains a little. We stopped in the weekly market and were not impressed. There were lots of people buying and selling jeans and shoes. We took a scenic drive to Guimarães where Afonso Henriques was born in 1110. Portugal was born here with him. The Castelo was fun to climb around. The Paco dos Duques was closed. We didn?t stop to walk around the medieval old town because it started to rain and we couldn?t find parking. Finding our way out of town was interesting.

From there we took an unbelievable drive heading to Bom Jesus, via Citânia de Briterios. Set on a hillside are the fascinating remains of a Celtic settlement dating back to 300 BC until 300 AD. There was a small entrance fee and a charming caretaker, son and his brother-in-law, who aided us in our Portuguese. We had the place to ourselves and wander around just picturing the past.

After leaving our new friends, the road got even more thrilling, high above the valley. Somehow we ended up at the top of Bom Jesus do Monte. The gardens were in full bloom. There was a small café open and it was well past lunch time. We were getting tired of eating ham & cheese, so we went American and ordered a burger deluxe. Guess what, the burger came topped with ham and cheese. I suppose we can?t escape it. Bom Jesus was so peaceful. The chapels with life-size figures were a little strange. Many people were tackling the many stone steps. We walked down a bit to experience part of the climb up.

We stopped in Barcelos, home of the famous cock. While looking for a parking place we can upon and impasse and got stuck between a giant earth-moving truck full of dirt and a wine cart tractor, full of grapes. This cobbled road was barely big enough for our car let alone the truck. He couldn?t past by the double parked cars. So we sat there for ? hour (at least) while he blew his big horn. Finally someone came and move one of the cars so he could pass. The wine Senhor directed traffic. I was frazzled and a bit claustrophobic. We could have been there all night. Michael was kind enough to pull over and buy me a big cold beer. Much better! We headed back to our suite for a nap and a soak in the Jacuzzi.

We had another fabulous dinner at Cozinha das Malheiras, Rua Gago Coutinho, 19. Our waiter, Melo, was delightful. We taught him English, he taught us Portuguese. We started with a simple fresh salad, white tuna and little sardines and a always great serra cheese. We then had a big baked fish for two with clams. The sauce was fabulous with onions and bits of clams. We closed the place, finishing with crème brulee and sweet bread, called a Christmas dessert.

Saturday (Viana do Castelo)
The sun is popping out. Our drive today (our favorite of the trip) was Northeast along the Minho river which separates Spain from Portugal. Our first stop was in the picture perfect town of Caminha for a light breakfast. The Saturday market was small and picturesque. The fisherman?s wives were selling the morning catch next to stalls full of colorful fruits and vegetables. People were lined up for roasting chickens. The aroma was intoxicating.

We drove through the small town of Vila Nova de Cerveira on our way to Valença da Minha. In Valenca, upon approaching the rampart walls we came across a stone gate with a red light. Did you know about this Lynne, Michael asks? No, this was quite a fun surprise. We pulled in the mirrors and when the light turned green, after the exiting cars, we drove through three more arches. Inside was a beautiful walled town full of people and shops. Many Spanish day trippers came over to shop.

From there we headed to Monção and just about got stuck. Driving in these fortified towns is an experience and you can?t let it frustrate you. We headed down the 101 towards Ponte de Barca. This 24 mile drive was gorgeous. The winding drive by the terraced vineyards through rolling the hills was by far our favorite. I finally saw and Oxen! My travel book said to look for 6 foot cabbages. Funny, I was picture a six foot head of cabbage. What we found was 6 foot stalks of kale. Ponte de Barca, the bridge of boats, had a beautiful one-way, 10 arched bridge.

We continued to Ponte de Lima. A carnival was setting up and the local atmosphere was electric. We had a lovely late lunch on the porch of Restaurante Encanada near the waterside. Cod cakes, caldo verde, cheese and a grilled meat platter was our choice.

It was late afternoon and we headed back to where we had seen a long, long, long line of tractors loaded with grapes heading up a hill. This line seems to snake for miles. Of course at the top was a wine cooperative. One of our favorite visits was to a cooperative in Provence, so we were thrilled to find the Portuguese version. They were way to busy to give us a tour, it being harvest time, so we walked around ourselves and watch the grapes getting measured for acidity, weight and then dropped into the big crushers. The farmers were wonderfully friendly. This was the real Portugal.

We had moved to room #108, a standard, but with a sea-view that share our big suites balcony. We were exhausted from our long day and decided to eat at the Pousada. The dining room was full of a tour group, but they were finishing up. We got a lovely table overlooking the town lights. The couverts were black eyed peas with tuna fish, chicken liver pâté, garlic butter and olives. We had a huge tender grilled Octopus for dinner and the traditional salt cod with sautéed onions, garlic and salted punch potatoes. The food was great, the service a little rushed, so if you want to linger, wait to order your main course. I think the staff wanted to go home.

Sunday (1 night Buçaco)
We slept in and then said our goodbyes to the wonderfully helpful and friendly staff. We truly expected them to be stuffy. We had an easy drive to Buçaco. We stayed at the Palace Hotel Buçaco in room #21. It had a big balcony complete with gargoyles, a big bathroom and unfortunately looked out over the parking lot. We drove to the top at the Cruz Alta for a fine view and then walked around the magical woods and saw the cascading fountain. The small monastery was simple. This was a nice retreat.

Our neighbors at the Pousada in Viana had just come from there and had mentioned that they didn?t think the food was up to the pre-fixed price. This was good news because I was torn. Many had said the dining room is a must do experience. However, the town of Curia, below the palace is known for roasted suckling pig. In the afternoon we drove by Pedro dos Leitõs. Being a Sunday afternoon, this place was mobbed. They closed between 4:00 and 6:00, I think. We were the first ones in for dinner. People were lined up for takeout while the chefs chopped up the crispy bronzed piggys. Anna, our waitress gave us a fine table in the corner. We order the roast pig by the kilo, with salad and fried potatoes chips. We ordered more pig it because it was so delicious. This is not a heart-healthy meal. We picked up some pastries on our way up to the palace. We were pleased to find a bottle of sparkling local wine and fruit. I had mentioned we were celebrating our 25th anniversary. An owl was hooting away in the trees as we slept. Life is good.

Monday (3 nights Évora)
This was the beginning of a unique day for us, which should have been a boring travel day to Estromoz in the Alentejo. We stopped at Castelo de Vide, a quite hilltop town. We tried to drive up to the Castelo and finally go stuck. Fortunately there was no one behind us and we had to back out down the street that kept getting smaller. You could probably make it up in a Smart Car. We drove up and up, 2,828 ft to Marvão a spectacular medieval fortress town. We parked halfway up to the Castelo because we were unsure of the road ahead and walked up. It turned out that the road was large enough and actual the only way out. So go ahead and drive to the top. This place is picture perfect, a must!

We headed out of the green mountain area into the sun-baked plains of the Alentejo. The countryside was mesmerizing dotted with numbered cork trees. The have the year they are stripped written on them. A 5 would mean 1995. They allow them 10 years or so to grow the bark back. The newly stripped trees are an eerie reddish color. Before we hit the road outside of Portalegre, we stopped at a roadside bar for a beer and a few appetizers that tasted like they were cooked in 1908. Well, every meal can?t be perfect!

Heading out of Portalegre the road became very flat and straight. Michael had been driving like a saint on all of the side roads and highways. Actually nuns and teenaged girls had passed us on the highways. We were stuck behind a band of slow trucks. Passing was interesting on this two lane highway (one each way). He finally got to the last truck and kicked our Opal Vectra (very nice car) into 5th gear. He noticed the cars coming the opposite way were flashing their lights, but it was too late. Speed trap! The officers laughed when Michael asked in Portuguese for ?mercy?. I believe it was a 60 K zone, just outside of town that would go to 90 K shortly. We were caught going well over 90 K. He told us in bad English that if Michael were Portuguese that he would go to jail and lose his license for going that fast in a 60 K zone. Forty-five minutes later and 120,00 Euros we were released. Funny, we didn?t have enough cash so the swiped our credit card. That?s what took so long. When the officers weren?t looking I took a picture of my husband and the cruiser. It?s a memento now. Drivers beware!

The day got even screwier. We had reservations at the Pousada in Estromoz. Nothing against Estromoz but we didn?t like the feel of it. It didn?t seem as quaint. The scary road up to the Pousada didn?t help. This one is a true medieval castle. That is why I booked it. We asked to see the room first. They took through the dark and spooky halls ways guards by Suits of Armor, to a remote very quite room. It was right out of the movies. The room was large with a huge four posted bed. It seemed nobody else was there. I felt like I was in that old Three Stooges episode where the castle was haunted. Perhaps if we didn?t have such a long day it would have been better. But we decided not to stay. The gentleman at the desk seemed perturbed, but called ahead to the Pousada in Évora. They had availability for our next three nights.

We arrived after a crazy drive through town at the Pousada in Évora. You can drive right up to unload and they?ll park the car for you. The Convento dos Lôios was charming. The Templo Romano was right next door. Yes, you sleep in a cell barely big enough the fit the bed. The bell boy exclaimed that our cell #117 with a queen size bed ?was a big one?. I can?t imagine what a small one was like. Our room look over the pretty courtyard with a pool. It had begun to drizzle, so we sat with our fellow cell mates in the big comfy chairs in the hallway having a much deserved French vodka and soda. This became an evening tradition.

We went to the recommended Cozinha de Santo Humberto for dinner. It was full of tourists. All of the good game dishes were crossed out. This was not our best day by far. We left, our second time in one day, and had dinner at O Antao, 5 Rua João de Deuz, off the main plaza. Someone had recommended this from the boards. Our lovely host and owner was from Africa. We had couverts of fava beans and sausages and a mushroom dish. Dinner was stewed rabbit in red wine and then pheasant dish. Dinner with two bottle of vino was 56,00 Euros.

Tuesday (Évora)
Our first rainy day. We stayed in our cell, in bed, (can you believe it?) until 1:00 PM. Vacation can be very tiring. By then it was a light drizzle. We looked on the bright side and were happy we didn?t have any day trips planned. Travel umbrella in hand (make sure you bring a good sized umbrella, ours was really good for 1 person not two) arm in arm we explored enchanting Évora. We loved this town, drizzle and all. We visited the amazingly creepy chapel of the bones. It was actually very light and well designed. Michael touch a skull. Yucko! We got yelled at stealing a lime from the trees outside. We needed one for our evening pop. We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around, guide book in hand visiting Évora?s sights.

The rain had stopped and we walked down to dinner at Luar de Janeiro, Moon of January, Travessa do Janeiro, 13, recommended by the concierge at the Pousada and our African host from the night before. We had stopped in during the day and made reservations. We requested a table in the corner. When we arrive the table was covered in couverts. Everything looked so fabulous we didn?t send anything back. We had a runny pudding cheese, sliced Jamon, chorizo, rabbit, octopus, peppers, melon, cod cutlets, chicken pies and bread. It was the best couverts ever, although we found out later we had eaten 35,00 Euros worth. The waiter, Paul, brought out a huge whole grouper and we requested a grilled piece for one since we were going to share something else. He brought us enough for two! It was served with green beans, peppers and carrots. We were full when he brought out a ?surprise? a large platter of roasted baby lamb, with a special rice of the meat and cream spinach. This had to have been our best meal of the trip. The service was great. Paul told us the history of Évora. We were even more surprised when he left the bill and it came to 124,00 Euros. Wow, so far our most expensive meals were no more than 60,00 Euros. The fish was about 60,00 Euros. It was a great meal and a great night but we were a bit unhappy about them just bring us food we hadn?t ordered. We didn?t leave a big tip. We had a nice walk back up the hill to digest the huge meal we had just eaten.

Wednesday (Évora)
It rained all night. We woke up at the crack of 11:00 AM. I figured out why I were so tired. The stupid church bell outside the Pousada rang every ? hour. The rain stopped, thank you. We went to our favorite little breakfast/lunch café for a quiche with asparagus and a quiche with bacon. As usual we shared. Today our daytrip was out of town to Monsaraz, on the Spain boarder. This fortress is used for a bull fighting ring. It was awesome and as usually we were the only ones there. I bought a little painted yellow box from an elderly man (Gepeto) who was making miniature furniture in his little shop. He wouldn?t let me take his picture though. At the bottom of town we drove off on a dirt road trying to find the big Domen ruins in the area. We were way out into the countryside when we decided to turn around. The road (cow path) was getting smaller and we weren?t sure how far away it was. Another different kind of day.

After Monsaraz we went to the other Domen/Megaliths ruins outside of Évora. We saw the Dolmen of Zambujeiro, the largest in Portugal, built between 4000 ? 2000 BC. How did they get these rocks here and on top of each other? Michael did a very funny impression of caveman carrying boulders. We also so the way cool Cromlech of Almendres, an oval made up of 95 ellipitical stones. This ride was so peaceful through the eerie naked red cork trees. We saw a truck full of cork and wanted to follow it to see if we could take a factory tour, but we were too exhausted. We finished this great day with an ice cold beer in the Pousada?s hallway. By now, we had staked out our own chairs. God forbid if anybody was sitting in them when we returned.

We had stopped in and made dinner reservations the day before at Fialho, a starred restaurant in our Fodor?s guide. Dinner was amazing. The room was rustic. We had fava beans, octopus, cheese, Jamon and bread, just right. We had pork and clams, no potatoes, but a great sauce. Then rabbit with black rice. Dinner was 70,00 Euros with 2 bottles of vino. We even had room for an ice cream cone on our walk back to the Pousada.

Wednesday (2 night Palmela)
Up early today and enjoyed one last breakfast at our little café. The ride to Palmela was an easy 1 hour drive. The Pousada is amazing. It's an old fort/castle/monastery all in one. We splurged and reserved a suite #101. Classic yet comfortable, the room had a big sitting room with huge windows looking out over the land and sea to Lisboa. The other side look out over the small parking lot to the castle. Very, very nice!
We took a ride to Azeitao and took a private, free tour of the Jose Maria Winery where they make Moscatel. We saw rooms with over 2 million bottles. Our guide Sophia was lovely and we tipped her well. We also bought 4 bottles of Moscatel to bring back as gifts. On our way back we stopped at the nearby tile factory which was very interesting. We check out our restaurants for the next two nights of local dining. Back in our room a bottle of sparking wine was waiting for us. Again, when I book the Pousadas I mentioned our Anniversary. They must have saved the surprise for our last nights. The wind kicked up and our open shuttered windows started banging. The door was creaking. It was very dramatic. I think this place is haunted.

We drove down the hill about 5 to 10 minutes to Pérola da Serra, Rua Dr. Bernardo Teixeira Botelho, 46, Palmela. This is definitely a local place, no tourists here. Couverts were just right, the best olives, tender Jamon and a running pudding cheese. For dinner we had macaroni with fish and shrimp for two, a house specialty. I know it sounds strange but, oh my, it was delicious and more than enough for two. We had two carafes of vino. Michael explained when he got the bill that dinner was too expensive. It came to 27,00 Euros! Back to our howling castle keep.

Friday (Palmela)
Our last day, sigh! We had a lovely breakfast at the Pousada, all by ourselves. Then off to tour the Serra de Arrábida. We started in Setubal and stopped at the Castle Pousada. We liked ours better. The nice man opened up the stunning small chapel decorated with Azulejo tiles. Heading out of town we decided on the low road out and the high road back. We drove down the impossible road to Portinho da Arrábida. It's short but only big enough for one car. Luckily no one was coming either in or out. The drive was great. We ended up at Cabo Espichel, similar to Cabo de Roca, but involving possible death. This place was pretty much deserted with big danger signs about falling to your death due to high winds. The lazy dogs outside the pretty church and ruined monastery took a walk with us and their owner, the lady caretaker to the edge of the rock. My toes are curling just thinking about it. This place is very remote.

From there we went to Sesimbra. We went up to the Santiago Fort. Why not, we needed one last fort to complete our trip. I had read about the Porto de Abrigio, a sharp right coming from the castle, west of town, and took a detour. I thought perhaps it would be a charming colorful fishing area. It wasn't. It was a big commercial fishing area. However, this is where we had our all time best meal of our trip. Restauraçã Lobo do Mar, Porto de Abrigo was a small building with a man outside grilling all shapes and sizes of fish. The place was mobbed with locals eating inside and out. He escorted us to a room filled with fish on ice. We opted for the traditional sardines. We ordered salad and bread, skipped the potatoes. Dining outside, he brought out 12 sardines, 6 at a time, grilled crisp and covered with sea salt. Two elderly men sat next to us enjoying their sardines. Lunch with 4 large beers came to 23,00 Euros. Incredible.

We drove into Sesimbra, a quaint town, but built up with condos all over the hills. We walked around a bit and sat on the wall mesmerized by the surfers and boogie boards in the water. The trip back over the mountain was petrifying. I'm not thrilled about edges and being the passenger I got to enjoy the outside of the cliff. Michael loved it and drove fast to scare me.

Our final dinner was, as Michael put it, I died and went to Portugal Heaven. We went to Restaurante Alcanena, Rua Venâncio da Costa Lima, 99 Quinta do Anjo, about 20 minutes down the hill, past last nights dinner place. We had planned to eat a la carte, but we ushered into the buffet room. We are not big buffet eaters, but this was different. This was a typical Adega Buffet. You can not imagine how much food was there and how mobbed it was with locals. What a way to end our journey!

Saturday (Home to Boston)
Our big thrill today was driving over the long bridge to the airport. I think it was 6 K long, something like that. Our trip home was uneventful. We can't say enough about our fabulous adventure in Portugal. What we loved about our trip was the diversity of the Portuguese countryside, from lush Sintra, to the green Minho, to the sun-baked Alentejo dotted with cork trees, to the mountain ranges of the Serra da Arrabida and the Lisbon coast. It was like four vacations in one. Dining was always an extraordinary experience. Most of all it was the people who warmed our hearts. Adeus!

Sorry about those silly ???. I copied from a Word Documnet, previewed and edited and they still appeared. What's up with that?

What a fabulous trip--the definitive Portugal itinerary IMHO. So many people think of the Algarve as Portugal. Here is the perfect trip for those who want to see the real Portugal and not just beaches lined with fish and chips shops. Thanks for the feedback--finally ! I was wondering what happened to you--better late than never.

We owe our successful trip to you Bob. You outlined the itinerary and helped with hotels. Portugal was incredible. We loved it so much we're going to southern Spain in three weeks. Can't wait to eat! Thanks again and sorry so late. Lynne

This trip report was perfect timing for me. Had planned to go to Portugal in November, but had to postpone it until April.
We just ordered our ff tickets today and want to add your report to the ones other Fodorites have kindly sent me earlier.
Now for the planning. I love it.

Thanks, Easygoer, for a great trip report. We leave for almost 4 weeks in Portugal at the end of September, with an itinerary similar to yours except that we start in the north and work our way south, and my mouth is watering already -- again many thanks, especially for the wonderful restaurant recommendations.

beautiful!!!