Tere

Lol Matt, you know more about Portugal than I do!! I am learning some things with you . Your posts are excellent! Lobo Mau is making me hungry , I can't hear or read the words "Periquita travesseiros"......

Matt_from_England

Sorry Lobo, I just saw Periquita and thought <i>WINE</i> DOH! Now what were we talking about, ah yes, wine wasn't it...?

lobo_mau

it wasn't wine...

Matt_from_England

For Art Lovers visiting Lisbon...

Centro Cultural de Bel&eacute;m (www.ccb.pt) is hosting a Frida Kahlo exhibition from Feb 24th through to 21st May this year. Translated from the official site it states &quot;The largest and most complete exhibition of Frida Kahlo in recent decades&quot;. That's something my wife and I will be spending a couple of days at. And CCB has a very nice coffee shop with large open air patio overlooking the River Tejo (Tagus). You can easily spend an hour in the sun watching cruise ships easing out under Ponte 25 de Abril.

So, see you there?

Matt

Matt_from_England

Some Embassy details:

British:
http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk/ser...=1053700030207

US:
http://lisbon.usembassy.gov/

Canada
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/canada-europa/portugal/

Matt

Matt_from_England

A great interactive road map of Lisbon can be found here:

http://www.hot-maps.de/europe/portug...on/homefr.html

Matt_from_England

<i>7 - Take a cab or tram to Belem. A MUST SEE is Mosteiro dos Geronimos. The resting place of Vasco da Gama. UNESCO world heritage site. Monument to the Discoveries across the park and Belem Tower. (Tor de Belem) Fill up with traditional pastries in &quot;Pasteis de Belem.&quot; Just ask someone, everyone knows where it is.</i>

Okay so Belem is a MUST SEE. To give you an idea of what The Jeronimos Monastery and Belem Tower look like go to this website:

http://www.mosteirojeronimos.pt/english/index.html

It has amazing 360º panoramic views of interiors exteriors etc. You can spend a good amount of time just within the site so imagine what it'll be like when you are actually here!

Take care

Matt

lobo_mau

It's funny Matt mentioned Lisboa-Entrecampos railways station. I am watching Lisbon-Entrecampos from my office's window. Should you take or leave a train in Lisbon-Entrecampos, please raise and wave your hand and I'll know you are a Fodorite ;-)

Matt_from_England

I mentioned under day trips the possibility of visiting the Quinta of Jos&eacute; Maria Fonseca - here's a link to their website, (which sadly appears to be a very amateur effort for such a respected company) anyway, it has the contact details for the tours and a list of their wines. Ones that I have in my own collection are the Periquita and Periquita Cl&aacute;ssicos. The American Fodorites here may well be familiar with Lancers.

http://www.jmf.pt/defaulten.htm

Matt

TeresaJAT

Thanks Matt,
Wouldn't dream of having a car in a major city if we can help it. We really love the flexibility it allows us when seeing a country but do like to use local transportation when we can. This thread has been very helpful, I'm cutting and pasting like crazy. I appreciate all the great info.! Will have plenty of questions later as I get things more organized (which you and other are helping me do.)Teresa

lobo_mau

JMF site is very basic indeed. I noticed 2 wines called &quot;alambre&quot;. Just as a curiosity, the name honours it's colour, amber. The name alambre comes from Arabic and has the same root as Alhambra in the ancient kingdom of Granada. Those who have been there should remember the honey colour of the Mosque's external walls.

lobo_mau

Before somebody corrects me, I must say that Alhambra is not a Mosque. You should forgive me at this early hour of the morning.

Matt_from_England

For those intending to take trips to Obidos, or stay more than a day have a look at the official town website:

http://en.cm-obidos.pt/

I think of particular interest will be the photo album to give you a small taster:

http://en.cm-obidos.pt/custom/vpage....obidos&amp;m=1

And should you have definately decided to visit then my suggestion is to take a guided tour of the town, details of which can be found here:

http://en.cm-obidos.pt//custom/vpage...obidos&amp;m=1

Take care

Matt

Matt_from_England

Weather forecasts for Lisbon: http://english.wunderground.com/glob...ons/08536.html

But if you want to know what it's like just email me and I'll look out of my window ;-)

Matt

Matt_from_England

Tours whilst in Lisbon: a few sites

http://www.sunnytours-pt.com/tour.htm

http://www.portugalvirtual.pt/50trav...ama/index.html

http://www.lisboatours.com/index.html

http://www.toursforyou.pt/Eng/indexeng.htm

http://www.grayline.com/franchise.cf.../details/id/41

Please note that I am not recommending any of these services but for those of you wanting to take tours within Lisbon or further afield, say perhaps Obidos, then it is worth checking each of these operators and comparing their services and prices.

Matt

Matt_from_England

Okay: let's see who Matt from England is -

http://www.smartgroups.com/picvault/....jpg/saf38.jpg

I'm on the right ;-). Actually this was taken with a Maasai Elder in Tanzania with whom I became friends: his name is Matayu - swahili for Matthew.

Hey, lobo is this you?

http://sotaodaines.chrome.pt/Sotao/lobo7.jpg

;-)

lobo_mau

Yes, that's me How did you get my picture???
As you can see, I already have a lot of grey and white hair

lobo_mau

I had a lot of fun prepairing my
&quot;McGyver's Guide to survival in Portugal&quot; for another thread. I think it's worthwhile to post it again. In spite of it's light style, I think it has some good advice. It was writen as addressed to a lady, but valid for men with minor corrections:
1 - class A roads (toll) are good and safe - if you have to drive a long distance (Lisbon to Porto, Lisbon to Algarve, etc...) do not hesitate, unless you want to take the scenic road. Maybe some drivers drive fast but you have only to take the right most lane, drive at your speed (less than 120 kph) and don't worry about the others. Check http://www.brisa.pt for motorway network.
2 - regional, rural roads are completely anti-stress, I can't imagine you may have a problem in there.
3 - Avoid approaching major centers at early hours of working days or leaving them by the end of the day.
4 - Avoid if possible driving at A class or IP class roads during the begining or the ending of long weekends or during festive days. It's not a question of driving style, but statistics, if there are 10 times more cars then the usual, a few accidents are inevitable to occur.
5 - don't leave unattended luggage outside of luggage compartment or personal goods (cameras, coats, purses, etc...) in the car and visible from outside...
6 - if there are beggars helping you to find a parking place and parking the car, give them a coin by the end, something between .5 and 1 euro. In pay&amp;display parks, don't forget to pay and display.
7 - always stop at pedestrian crossings when there are pedestrians to cross, I think it's not uniformly respected in all Europe, but it is in Portugal
8 - always give right of way when approaching a roundabout
9 - if you are hesitant about the direction to take in some intersection and some impatient driver horns his/her car, just ignore... finger signals are not common, and never expected from a lady.
10 - tailgating is not common
11 - don't use sandals and socks at the same time. It's the only no-no I know for Portugal, except for this Portuguese people is very tolerant to exhotic habits. Don't eat in public places with a hat on, ask your husband to remove a hat before shaking hands with somebody (male or female), don't eat with a hand under the table. Try to eat with a fork in left hand and knife in right hand. If it's too difficult just swap. Never, ever, ever, let knife touch tongue or lips.
12 - if somebody touches your hand or arms, or put a hand in your shoulder to give you some directions, this is not sex harassment.
13 - if you need some directions while driving or walking, just ask. when you are driving and stop the car to ask something to a pedestrian, it's good policy to turn off the radio of reduce the volume, the same for police agents.
14 - read extensively http://www.discoverportugal2day.com
15 - if somebody addresses you complimentary words, try to accept them with graciosity (ask your husband to avoid breaking the nose of the guy)
16 - if somebody holds a door for you to pass, just smile and say Obrigada
17 - if in a escalator, elevator, etc, there are gentlemen obviously waiting for you to advance, do not frustrate them and step forward (ladies first thing)

Sher

I am loving this thread!

Sherry

Matt_from_England

Sorry Lobo, I have to take issue with some of your points...

Point - 7: those visitors unused to crossing Portuguese roads at pedestrian crossings should be aware that many people will NOT stop even should you have your foot out onto the crossing. This is especially evident when crossing dual carraigeways, 2 lanes in each direction: 1 car may stop but as you step into the fast lane cars there will sometimes not. BE VERY CAREFUL. And should you survive there is I think a Portuguese tradition of exchanging finger gestures: and if extra lucky the offending driver will blare his horn at you because you are in the wrong for crossing the road at all. Make sure then that there are no cars at all anywhere near when crossing. This also applies to traffic lights and the green man &quot;Walk&quot; signal. Look carefully.

Point 8. Are you sure Portuguese drivers know this? Motorcyclists? Normal cyclists?

Point 9. Finger signals <i>are</i> common, at least where I live... &quot;<i>and never expected from a lady.</i>&quot; You haven't met my wife ;-)

Point 10. Tailgating <i>is</i> common, at least on the A1 Norte when I drive to Beira Baixa for the weekend.

Point 11. <i>Don't use sandals and socks at the same time</i> or have a mullet haircut - people will think you are from Germany - at least that's what my wife says and she lived there for ages.

;-) ;-)

Pay attention to the sidewalks - treat each as if walking through a minefield - fresh dog crap trodden into shoe soles is very embarassing if entering a posh restaurant of friend's house. Despite the fines (supposedly imposed) few dog walkers pay attention and let their dogs go anywhere - I've had many arguements which have ended in an exchange of insults, I hate dog crap on the pavement but no one else seems to care. The thing to remember in Lisbon if strolling around after dark is not the possibility of crime but the likelyhood of slipping in a fresh turd.

There are very few, (perhaps to be counted on one hand?) restaurants that have no smoking sections and at busy times some can be hazy with cigarette smoke. (Especially more local, less so but still in the tourist places) so if you can choose outside tables if available.

If wanting to fit in with the locals research a little about Benfica or Sporting (football clubs), latest results etc. You will always find lively conversation surrounding this topic!

Matt