Beaches of West Portugal

If the wrong people visit the beaches of West Portugal it will be turned into another Algarve overnight but right now it is beautiful. Empty cliff backed beaches, the only occupants were fishermen and a group of six people in wet suits having an absolute ball collecting shellfish for their table. 

Vale Furado

There are also small resorts but all very low key, I know it changes nearer Lisbon.

Foz do Arelho

Tonight I said goodbye to Rei dos Frangos, (the king of chicken), until next time, nothing fancy just a whole small barbecued butterfly chicken with your choice of sauce applied with a wallpaper brush, delicious, again.
I seem to have been away for ever, not just two weeks, it just goes to prove the theory that time only flys by when your routine does not vary, note to self -mix it up more.
The shorts and flip flops are packed, the journey home begins tomorrow at 9am.
Cheers.

More churches?

The Portuguese tourism industry are very proud of all their religious institutions and every Tourismo gives a list of churches, basilicas, convents and monasteries that you must visit.
Today I did visit the Templar church in Tomar and what a simple inspiring place it was. 
The story of the Templars in Portugal is a real lesson on obeying the letter of the law. When instructed by the Pope to disband the Knights Templar in Portugal the King did just that and confiscated all their lands and wealth which the following day was all given to the Knights of the Order of Christ which funnily enough were the self same chaps under a different name, outstanding. 

The Templar Castle and Convent of Christ

I had to have early lunch today when I found a barbecue chicken shop in Tomar, it took me back to my first trip to Portugal when I went to Albufeira in 1984, it was also interesting to see that a litre of house wine was available for just 3 euros. 

Heaven.

One of the places I had to see according to the hotel receptionist was the monastery in Batalha but I did notice a museum close by and what a find that was, it was an interpretation   centre for the battle of Aljubarrota. I had never heard of it but it was the decisive battle between Castile and Portugal in 1385, a two hour fascinating visit and it was also enlightening to know that there was a large company of English archers on the Portuguese side.

Rocky.

I booked a Peugeot 206 with the car hire company and I was looking forward to trying out Edith's young petite sister but I ended up with Rocky, a Mitsubishi Space Star. I called him Rocky because he rocks and rolls all over the place, that combined with the automatic gear box, keyless ignition, stop/start system, auto wipers and lights most of the time I don't know what's going on.
Last exploring day tomorrow, I am heading for the coast.

Back to the country

A day full of hiccups but the first beer is at hand and nothing is broken. The first stop after escaping from Lisbon was in Torres Vedras where the famous lines were built, I managed the museum and castle but the fort of S. Vincente was closed so I hi-tailed it for Obidos, what a lovely place, well worth half a day and I would imagine it is even better at night so an overnight stay would be good especially as the castle is now a pousada but the highlight of the visit was a tasting of the local cherry brandy, Ginjihia, knockout, I think a stay over is a necessity but especially as they cater for the chocoholics by serving it in an edible chocolate cup.

The best Ginjinha in town.

The castle from the town wall.

Bougainvillia and pavement cafes, I may emigrate.

What health and safety.

The contrast between my funky apartment and tonight's luxury hotel is unbelievable and what is also amazing is that they are the same nightly rate but luxury includes breakfast. I have been given so many recommendations by the receptionist that I would have to stay for a fortnight to fulfill them all.
Last night's meal was OK, more than made up for by the excellent bottle of red and a young Hungarian couple on the next table who regard themselves as Londoners.
I am really impressed with Lisbonians? I did an Adamson and asked the waiter to recommend a good red which he did and it was only mid-range i.e.  10 Euros not the most expensive on the wine list! and after all the horror stories I had heard about Lisbon taxi drivers the taxi I stopped in the street put his meter on and drove me directly to the car hire office, he deserved and received a tip.

The view from my hotel room.

Rain

I awoke to the pitter patter of falling rain only to realise that I did my washing last night and that it was all on the line, 5 minutes later I was drenched but the washing was in. I had planned a visit to the Thieves Market but my wet weather programme was a visit to the Military Museum which had an excellent collection of small arms and the large bores on some of their huge collection of cannons were unbelievable. Two hours later the rain had stopped so I visited the market, I am glad I didn't make a special effort to go earlier - expensive rubbish.
Lunch was taken at a pavement cafe opposite the main train station, great people watching with half a bottle of wine all for less than a Tenner.
Time to pack the case now before visiting Pedro's no 1 recommendation for dinner then pick up the car tomorrow for three days in the country away from this ants nest.

WHTT.com again

Lovely towels.

Slippery cobbles when wet

View over Lisbon.

Today's Wehatetourismtours.com was with Pedro, again he was having so much fun it overran by over an hour, finishing at 5:30pm after a 10am start. My companions on this tour were a Californian couple and five members of the crew from the touring production team of Cats, again we visited all the non-tourist sites and sampled pastries in two locations, fresh fruit juices and Portuguese sandwiches with piri-piri sauce, delicious. What a great day.

Volcano fountain at Belem

Copy of the statue of Jesus in Rio.

Pedro also recommended local restaurants that serve good food at local prices and also lots of bars etc for the nightlife which I won't be attending - I am still recovering from Saga.

Cities? No thank you.

I have come to the conclusion that big cities are not for me, sure there are some nice buildings here and the maritime museum today was a joy to visit but Lisbon is a decaying rabbit warren swamped in tourists. Don't get me wrong, the majority of the inhabitants I have met are lovely friendly people but they are outnumbered by the tourists. I discovered the multitrip transport ticket today which gives you access to trains, trams, underground and buses. Superb value for money but don't bother joining a queue for the tram, if you do eventually get on one you become a member of that line's human sauna and get your pocket picked while enjoying the experience. The buses are a little better and the trains and Metro even better - at least they adhere to their advertised times.
I took myself seriously today about having a day off, and after a home cooked meal I am finishing off the white, I hope there are not too many spelling mistakes.
More soon.

Hills, hills hills

Lisbon is all hills. I had forgotten what a touristy city was like, Lisbon is like Venice with hills. What have I let myself in for!
Yesterday's travel arrangements went of without a hitch, I can't fault the express bus service, on time and comfortable. I was picked up at the bus station by Vasco who took me to my funky apartment on the top floor of an old house in Bairro Alto, I had time to walk a couple of the hills before meeting Marta for our Portuguese meal, boy that girl can talk, she didn't stop for five and a half hours. The meal also included a nighttime tour of Lisbon which was great for the views and as an orientation exercise.
I have really struck lucky, Vasco and Marta are such genuine helpful people, their one wish is to make sure their clients have all the info they need to enjoy Lisbon.

Travelling

Mr Sandeman guarding his vineyards.

Yesterday was one of the highlights of this tour with a railway journey up the River Douro, I enjoyed it so much that I did part of the trip again on my own today. I caught the local bus down to Regua where I had an hours exploring before catching the train up to Pinhao. 

Pinhao

Hotel boat at Pinhao

In the short time I was in Pinhao I circumnavigated the town, had a relaxing lunch overlooking the river for a whole £5.00 and met some interesting people in a local bar.

Wonderful lunch stop.

Tonight is my last night with the Saga Louts, my liver is looking forward to some down time.

I have a taxi booked for 07:30 tomorrow hopefully catching the bus from Lamego to Lisbon at 08:00 and meeting the owner of the apartment I am renting at 13:00ish . I have an evening meal booked with We Hate Tourism Tours .com tomorrow night then I am taking Sunday off.
More soon.

Solo exploring

Much as I enjoy the company of most of my travelling companions, today exploring Lamego on my own was a real pleasure - no schedule to follow and go where the mood took me, also it was a relief to not sit on the coach for hours.
I walked into town this morning and visited the church on the hill, just 606 steps up from the town.

606 steps to go.

The view from near the top.

I also visited the museum which surprisingly had two pairs of huge Japanese vases on display, the detail was amazing, I will post photos when I get home.

Two of the vases.

After fruitlessly searching for a cafe or restaurant that sold piri-piri chicken the highlight of the day was inquiring at the bus station about the bus to Lisbon which I need to catch on Saturday. Mr Grumpy behind the counter spoke no English and only limited French so we got by in written notes, basic French and lots of grunts. I will be catching the 0800 bus on Saturday morning, I think.

A train trip is planned for tomorrow following the Douro river from Regua up to Pocinho.
That of course is after tonight's wine laden dinner.
More tomorrow.

Toe in the water.

At Porto airport the man holding the SAGA clipboard told me to go over and wait by the Avis desk, I joined a small group of people which soon expanded to 46. Looking around I thought to myself Oh God what have I let myself in for, all these people were OLD. I then looked again and realised that at least 20% of them were younger than me and I imagine everyone in the group was thinking the same thoughts as me.
That was thee days ago and my feet haven't touched the ground since. I have been out for meals with huge amounts of wine, toured a port warehouse with tasting afterwards, been on a tour of Porto, a cruise up the River Douro which included a meal with copious wine and today been on two tours with another meal booked for this evening. I am having a day off tomorrow - I can't keep up.

Our pirate ship for the cruise up the river Douro