Nikki

Sher, I don't have your e-mail address, but mine is NKermish at hotmail dot com.

Sher

Nikki. I sent you a message, hope you get it.
Sher

dsouth

We're doing a 14 day driving tour of the southern half of Portugul in April. I've read several posts from people lamenting being lost and wasting time looking for Hotels etc. Has anyone had success with a portable GPS maping unit?

Matt_from_England

Sorry, I still rely on the map and my wifes navigation skills - mind you in the Landrover we'll eventually get there no matter.

Anyway, I'm back in the hotseat as from tommorrow night when I'm back in ol' Lisboa and I'll get the thread back on track again. Lobo old chap, how was natal?

Matt

lobo_mau

Welcome home Lizzy & Matt. We hold the castle for you
This night Loba and Lobo went to the New Year's Concert in Coliseu with an Orchestra playng 20 works of Johan Strauss including the inevitable Blue Danube and Radetzky March.

Nikki

Radetzky March is by Johann Strauss Sr. Blue Danube by his son, Johann Strauss Jr.

Inevitable, you aren't kidding.

lobo_mau

Thanks Nikki. Using my mathematical training, I can say I knew both works are from Johann Strauss "x" ;-)

lobo_mau

The wolve's pack, sogra included, had today one of the most memorable meals in Vila Fernando (between Estremoz and Elvas). The food is guaranted 100 Akentejo's. The place is tiny, but the experience was great.
Taberna do Adro
Largo Joao Dias de Deus, 1
telephone: +351 268661194

kenderina

oh, joao, if your sogra is included..then it should have been great..she is an extraordinary cooker, isn't she ?

lobo_mau

Thank God, some skills are hereditary

lobo_mau

Worth to see (with the quality stamp of Wikipedia):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Portugal
The same page has a link to "portuguese stereotypes". The myth of king Sebastian (Sebastianism) is my favourite.

lobo_mau

Some notes on people watching, lunches and History.
In Rossio Square there is Pastelaria Suissa. It has a row of tables just in the side walk, allowing to see the people coming out from the Rossio metro station. It's the best people watching spot of Lisbon, but it's expensive, pretentious and nothing special.
A few steps away (technically in the Praça da Figueira) there is Confeitaria Nacional. It has a coffee and cake shop in the ground floor and a self service restaurant in the 1st. Everything is very much Old World. I thing the building itself is begining of 19th century. On the 1st floor they offer complete menus by 7 euros (all included).
Bottom line: to watch people, go to Suissa, to eat go to Confeitaria Nacional. I think that Confeitaria Nacional has a limited schedule, but at least during lunch time it's opened.
As a side note for the more History concerned, the statue of a gentleman riding a horse in the middle of Praca da Figueira is king Joao (John) the 1st. The son in law of England's John of Gaunt, the husband of Philippa of Lancaster and the father of Prince Henry the Navigator.
BTW and believe it or not Praca the Figueira means the Fig Tree Square. In spite of the name, nobody knows where the fig tree is located

kleeblatt

Hello Lisbon experts,

I'm looking into a restaurant/cafe for eating lunch on Friday, March 16. We are 18 people. Someone recommended to me the Solar do Kadete. It sounds good but I can't find any internet info on this besides the address and telephone number.

Is this an expensive or reasonable restaurant? We don't want a restaurant that's too posh or expensive.

Looking at the above info posted from Lobo, we might go to Nacional if the Kadete doesn't work out.

Thanks and we are sooo looking forward to our LDC on March 17!

P.S. Tried to call Caldo Verde but just got an answering machine. Didn't understand a word. I'll try calling this weekend.

Susan56

Hi,
I put my request for itinerary/trip planning help up on this board but it looks to me as of this message gets a lot more traffic, esp. from the Portugal experts - so here goes again: Ihave been reading travel books and hanging out on this board trying to figure out how to plan the itinerary for an upcoming trip to Portugal and I am stuck. It looks like my husband and I will have 6 full days in Portugal (counting the day we arrive early in the morning from NY/NJ area but not counting our travel day home). We are planning to fly into and out of Lisbon. So, I figure two, or three days in Lisbon, then a day trip to Sintra. After that I am stuck. We are high energy travelers and pack a lot in each day, but we do like to kick back with a nice dinner and relaxing lunch including people watching. We are NOT beach people. So, should we head north to Obidos and maybe an overnight then in Coimbra and then head back to Lisbon and stay there the evening before our morning flight home? Or would it make sense to go to Evora for a night or two? I should add that we will not have a car but will be relying on public transportation. I would appreciate some itinerary help with this trip. Thanks in advance, Susan

Also, I am extremely disappointed that I will not be able to join in the Lisbon dining club adventures. From my reading of the postings on this board I realized that I will be traveling to Lisbon just as the group in Lisbon is traveling to NY!
Susan

bailey6325

Hi Susan and welcome!

I think that it's a great idea to use Lisbon as a base and take day trips using public transportation. Sintra is a must and I would also recommend Obidos and Evora. I prefer those towns to Coimbra, but you may have a different opinion. I have a report and photos that can be found by clicking on my screen name.

Susan56

Bailey6325 - Would you stay overnight at Obidos and/or Evora? I would not like to have two many one night stops on the trip, but I was thinking that we could stay in Lisbon for a few days, then move on to another base for a couple of nights, then back to Lisbon for our flight home. My problem is figuring out where to go outside of Lisbon (and Sintra for a day trip) for a base and how to alloate the time. Susan

bailey6325

Choosing between Obidos and Evora, I would probably stay over in Evora because there's so much that you can see in the Alentejo region and Evora is a further drive from Lisbon. Actually, I think that would be perfect. We found the Alentejo area to be so beautiful and we wished we had spent more time there.

bailey6325

I'd like to add that you could also have an overnight in Obidos (we did), but I don't think it's necessary. Basically, it would come down to how much you want to move around (hotel-wise).

Susan56

Bailey6325, do you have the same answer when I tell you that we won't have a car? We are going to be relying on trains and buses. So can we get around the Alentejo area without a car?

artnuvo

I thought I had responded to your query but if not let me try again-we are using the same six days and rail/bus this way: 3 nights in lisbon and using 1 of those days for a day trip on the fast train-2hours to coimba, 2 nights in sintra and 1 of those days by bus to obidos or alocobaca or batalha, and the last night in lisbon where we hope to have a mini ldc that has been discussed.(AND THEN FORM THERE WE FLY FROM LISBON TO BARCELONA FOR 4 NIGHTS) hope that helps you out of your quandary. artnuvo