lobo_mau

Good questions

"how long is a 'Portugese block' ?" It's a 10 minute walk, but a 10 minute walk with steep streets up the hill and irregular cobbled stones.
It's for some reason that castles were built up the hills. The steepest the climb, the better the castle.

Yes, it is (generally) a safe area late at night.

BYoung4u2

Matt/Lobo...As we get closer to our trip there always seems to be more questions. Have decided to take a couple of days to wander our way up to Porto and a couple more on to Santiago de Compostella. Read something about Bucaco Forest and a hotel there. Does anyone have any info. on either? I have considered renting a cell phone but after reading some of the input in this thread am now considering buying something through EBay and purchasing the required SIM card..any thoughts? We are renting a car through AutoEurope and have been told that it will come from Eurocar. Does anyone know if they are at the airport or another location? I am trying to get ahold of them now. Have referred this thread to a number of friends who a planning trips to Europe and got nothing but wonderful comments...what a great idea!! Bob

dwsnyder

Lobo:

Please excuse my slowness . For clarity, is a 'Portugese block' a 10 minute walk ? In which case 4 or 5 blocks would be closer to an hour. After a few beers probably closer to a day or two ?

Or... are 4 or 5 'Portugese blocks' a ten minute walk ?

Portugal is in the northern hemisphere, so downhill is easier than uphill... is this also correct ?

I won't cancle my reservation just yet, however I'm still interested in alternative places for lodging.

David

lobo_mau

4 or 5 'Portuguese blocks' are a ten minute walk. Please note that a 'Portuguese blocks' is not padronized in International System of Units. For official purposes we user meters and multiples (kilometers, etc).

Downhill is much easier than uphill. If you studied Analysys and Calculus, I advise you to revisit the 'Method of Steepest Descent", otherwise you may study it locally, specially if it is a rainy day and the cobbled stones ate wet

lobo_mau

To Bob:
Check this link: http://europeforvisitors.com/europe/...es/bussaco.htm
I've never been there but Sher and other fodorites may give you 1st hand impressions.
In relation to the cell phone, is Lisbon your point of arrival to Portugal? If the answer is yes, than don't worry about cell phones and SIMs. Call me on arrival and within 30 minutes, your problem is solved. The last time I checked my favourite shop, they were selling a 2nd hand terminal by 19.90 euros. From this to the fancy models, you may find the whole range.

Matt_from_England

Okay so other than the trip report and travels up north I haven't been about much - my apologies everyone. And time is getting very tight now with school holidays and babies etc etc. Thankfully the world cup is over so at least I am now sober most of the time ;-)

One must also be carefully of infamous undulating Portuguese pavements - they occur usually at the end of one's night after a few too many drinks...

Now it is touch and go whether Lizzy will be able to make tomorrow night - whereas I on the other hand will be lenaing against the cow if still there at the arranged time...

Shall I bring my Yankee's cap or will you all recognise me by now?

Hey did someone mention cold beers a couple of posts back

Matt

dwsnyder

Lobo:

I think I understand ...so, how many parking meters on a typical 'Portuguese Block' ?

David

Sher

David.

I used Carjet last year. I have nothing but good things to say about them. The prices are good. They placed us with Budget, which is at the airport and very easy to find/return.
This year we want to use Economy because they have a little better price and all insurance is included with no excess. But someone just posted about bad service with Economy and I am trying to find out.

I wouldn't hesitate to use Carjet again. They are just more expensive than the company I choose.

Bailey used them too with good results.

I wanted to stay at the location you picked and although I have heard very good things about this B&B, I was concerned about the walk to and from as I do not want to overdo going up hill. So we picked something closer to the center of Lisbon in Chiado.

BYoung4u2. Just be careful on Ebay that you receive the correct charger with the phone. Remember the phone has to be at least dual band, unlocked and the charger must be able to be used for 120V to 240V. I noticed that the less expensive phones have not been listed with chargers. You will also need a plug adapter to charge the phone.

We spent one night at the Bucaco hotel and felt it was something that is just beyond that which we could experience here. The grounds are spectacular. We did not eat there, but had a drink in the bar. The rooms are very nice sized and the furniture is antique.

Sher

lobo_mau. I think we are considering getting a second phone since they seem to be so reasonable.

Did you tell me which SIM you thought was the best? I know there is a Vodaphone shop in the airport and they sell SIM cards, but have no idea about their rates.

lobo_mau

Matt, I think I will recognise you ;-)
The green cow was there last Saturday. I hope Lizzy is able to go! If you like, it will be our pleasure to drive you all home safe. Pateo's sangria is alcool free
BTW, Isabel and Nikki are already in town.

Matt_from_England

Lobo, what time are we meeting up by the cow? Bad news re Lizzy, she can't make it... I'll have to drink on her behalf. Oh damnation gotta drive

Matt

lobo_mau

That's bad news.
I'll have a chauffer on my side

lobo_mau

Dear Sappa
I wish your mother to have a very happy day, together with you and friends and relatives.

To other fodorites: mail for congratulations is [email protected]

dwsnyder

Decided to do a little pre-trip cooking. Started off with bowls of Caldo Verde (fresh greens from the farmers market) followed by some sardines brushed with a little olive oil, alderwood smoked sea salt, thyme and rosemary and then grilled to just a char. Served with local corn and a well chilled Vinho Verde ... yum....


http://www.dwsnyder.com/Food/Sardines.html


Haven't been able to find chicken stomachs locally -yet !

Sher

David.

Wow. I am impressed. Even the presentation was nice.

Sherry

lobo_mau

WOW!!! It looks delicious... Marcia is a brave girl!!!
David, forget the chicken stomachs and google for "chicken gizzards", you'll find 1000's of references. It's my very favourite food.

dwsnyder

Lobo:

I don't need to google for chicken gizzards - I know what they are :-&.

Actually I don't really mind them, but they aren't my favorite food in the world. See my previous post about heart and [Colhões] of the Bull' 3 - not sure that I'd call that my 'favorite' food in the world either, but it was wonderful. You'd also need to hear the whole story to appreciate it - it's certainly one of my favorite food stories !

David

lobo_mau

I'd love to hear the whole story. But I don't want to eat Colhões of the Bull. It's a kind of male solidarity.

Today we had an outstanding LDC!!! It's becoming better and better I hope Matt and Gert and Isabel and Nikki to drop some notes, because I had too much Port.

lmernal

Chicken gizzards! Great stuff. Been eating them since I was a kid, but alas, most modern chickens seem to lose them in the packaging.

Please do not eat all the food in Lisbon or get too burned out before we get there in October!

Leslie

lobo_mau

I'm back in business!!! I feel that the açorda de gambas was not good enough according to the LDC's high standards... On the other hand the fado performance was excellent, with a very good interaction between artists and LDC members.