Is it wrong for me to say that I like Portugal more than Spain?
Don’t get me wrong, Madrid is great and I don’t think I’d want to live in Portugal, but it is just so cute and quaint and friendly! We flew to Porto on our first stop and then went to a tiny town called Nazaré and finished up with Lisbon and a small city outside of Lisbon called Sintra.
Don’t get me wrong, Madrid is great and I don’t think I’d want to live in Portugal, but it is just so cute and quaint and friendly! We flew to Porto on our first stop and then went to a tiny town called Nazaré and finished up with Lisbon and a small city outside of Lisbon called Sintra.
Our first day was in Porto, a very charming city with a great view from across the river where we did a Port wine tour and tasting, after 10 plus years and lots of sugar, it was delicious but a bit sweet for my taste buds.
The only hitch was when we woke up to no showers because of a broken city pipe and discovered we were an hour early, thus missed an hour of precious sleep, for our 7 am bus because of the time change between Spain and Portugal….a small detail…but the next city TOTALLY made up for it.
The only hitch was when we woke up to no showers because of a broken city pipe and discovered we were an hour early, thus missed an hour of precious sleep, for our 7 am bus because of the time change between Spain and Portugal….a small detail…but the next city TOTALLY made up for it.My favorite city by far was Nazaré, its a tiny town on the beach with traditional everything. When we arrived an older lady, dressed in the traditional dress of tons of petticoat skirts and a knitted shawl across her shoulders, greeted us saying, “Two beds? You look, if you like, you stay; if not, no problem.” So we went and checked out a really nice apartment about two minutes from the beach with three beds and a kitchen and when she said “35 euros”, we took it!
Basically, the nicest part of Nazaré was how calm it was and the cute quaint streets and the gorgeous view from Sitio, the city just above you get to by funicular.
After our relaxing beach day we headed to adorable Lisbon with tiled houses and old street trolleys. This is the main street Rua Augusta where our hostel was.
My favorite part was the traditional fado music we got to listen to while sipping a cherry liqueur. Although I didn’t understand it, they tell me that they usually are about love and betrayals…big surprise…
Finally, we did a day trip to Sintra, a town about an hour outside of Lisbon that has three castles and lots of gardens and beautiful grounds in the mountains.
And yummy, yummy pastries.
Basically, I would LOVE to head back to Portugal and probably most of all to relax during the summer on the beaches at Nazaré and wander more in the adorable streets in Lisbon where you feel like you’ve gone back a century in time!
Basically, the nicest part of Nazaré was how calm it was and the cute quaint streets and the gorgeous view from Sitio, the city just above you get to by funicular.
After our relaxing beach day we headed to adorable Lisbon with tiled houses and old street trolleys. This is the main street Rua Augusta where our hostel was.
My favorite part was the traditional fado music we got to listen to while sipping a cherry liqueur. Although I didn’t understand it, they tell me that they usually are about love and betrayals…big surprise…
Finally, we did a day trip to Sintra, a town about an hour outside of Lisbon that has three castles and lots of gardens and beautiful grounds in the mountains.
And yummy, yummy pastries.
Basically, I would LOVE to head back to Portugal and probably most of all to relax during the summer on the beaches at Nazaré and wander more in the adorable streets in Lisbon where you feel like you’ve gone back a century in time!