I'm late in reporting back from my trip. I'll start by saying it was wonderful. I treated it like a cruise where I got only a glimpse of places. At least I got to spend four nights in Madrid and six in Lisbon. Loved Madrid -- it was full of energy and the architecture with beautiful buildings with wrought iron balconies reminded me of Paris.

The Grand Circle Tour was terrific. Our tour director was interesting, entertaining and watched over us. The other people were friendly and there were 11 singles on the tour of 39. We bonded by about the fourth day. There were places I would have liked staying longer, but that was the trade-off of taking a tour. The group meals (six dinners and three lunches): I enjoyed the company and the locations, but the food was bland. My best dish was at an outside cafe where I ordered bull's tail (tasted like short ribs). Large buffet breakfasts at each hotel. All the hotels were four star and catered to tour groups. All of them were fine (not like the small, quaint hotels I usually book). In most I had very quiet rooms, and the A/C worked well in all of them. Hotel locations were good and better than I expected. I enjoyed this so much I'm looking forward to my next Grand Circle Tour, especially since they waive the single supplement for many of their tours.

I haven't written a formal trip report and didn't take notes, just photos. Speaking of photos, I bought a new camera, the Sony RX100 II. Small and mighty. The quality of my shots were great. No flash inside dark areas that came out perfect. Also got great shots of ceilings without a flash.

I probably should work on a trip report rather than add details here. My photos should help me remember where I went.

I'm so glad you enjoyed the trip. Please put your photos on the internet and share them with us.

Welcome home!

Luvtotravel,

Thanks so much for coming back with a review. I like doing things myself and seeing exactly what I want, but sometimes as we get older, we just want a little sightseeing and fun without any work. There are also some places where I do not want to do so much work to learn about the transportation, etc. GCT has some bad reviews, so hearing that you enjoyed it and would do it again is quite helpful.

I finished my trip report with photos if anyone is interested.
http://www.travelswithdiane.homestea...ortugal01.html

Thanks for posting. I'll take a look at it. Am curious how you liked Lisbon.

Thanks, luvtotravel, I loved your photos and the link to the pastry shop in Belem.

I have to compliment you on your photos. They're excellent! You have a good eye.

Thank you for the compliments. I must say that I love my camera. The low light shots without flash were great and the camera is very responsive.

Tabernash2, you asked how I liked Lisbon. I liked it, but I can't say I loved it and I doubt I will return. My next trip is a Mediterranean cruise on the Viking Star and then a land tour of Croatia/Slovenia. There are so many places I haven't been and so many places to which I would like to return.

Diane

Hi luvtotravel - you said in your trip report that you wished you had taken your friend's advice and stayed in an area called The Oriente. I am curious why that was recommended. I see that it is close to the airport, and thus convenient if catching a plane - but it appears to be about half hour from downtown. Do you think it is a good area to stay in for touring Lisbon?

nancythenice.If I may chime in. I have been to Lisbon several times and I don't think the airport area is a good area for touring Lisbon.
It is just too far away from everything you probably want to walk to in the city. Taxi rides are reasonable but you want to be able to go outside at night to have dinner.
A taxi ride to the airport takes about 20+ minutes and is about 15E from anywhere in central Lisbon.
This is just my opinion for what it is worth.
P.S. We love Lisbon.

thanks Sher - your advice fits with my assumption - so I was curious at Luvtotravel's comment. But maybe I am misunderstanding where "the Oriente" area is. Where do you like to stay in Lisbon?

The Oriente would have worked well for me as it is close to the airport. Once my tour was over I didn't go into the tourist areas. One day I took a bus to my friend's home outside Lisbon and one day we drove around in his car. Meanwhile, the Oriente is quite modern (reminding me of Century City in Los Angeles) with hotels a lot less expensive than central Lisbon. There is a major transportation hub that would have worked well for me had I not spent time with my friend. I realize most tourists would want to be in south or mid-Lisbon, but for one or two nights before a flight out, I think the Oriente would work well.