The Cannon Family's travel blog

Today we bid a fond farewell to Lisbon and start the trek up the coast to Porto. Even though it’s just over 3 hours to drive, we decided to stop overnight in Sintra for a change of pace. We tidied up the flat (highly recommended AirBnb BTW) and headed to the National Palace of Sintra – not to be confused with one of the other 4 (!) palaces there. We originally thought we would head for Pena Palace – the bright yellow one we could see from the plane as we landed – but a little bit of research revealed that it is a relatively new palace (circa 1854) and while spectacular on the outside (UNESCO site blah blah), it doesn’t have the history that the National Palace does – dating back to the 12th century.

So off we went. Again, Google maps provided less than stellar directions but this time it was due to police closing the road but we managed to park on the side of a steep street and hike the 1KM to the palace. And we were not disappointed. The exhibits are extremely well laid out and the flow of the place makes a visit very easy. The history, decorations, and architecture are all amazing.

We wandered around the town for a bit and tried to enjoy a cappuccino in the town square but the crowds were becoming increasingly large and annoying so back to the trusty Toyota to get to tonights accommodations – at the beach!

I would not say we are beachy people. We love the seaside and do spend a fair amount of time in beach towns and wandering up and down the sand. But we are not very good at staying at the beach. Even when we do a beach-focused holiday, we need other distractions because just sitting on the sand in the sun for hours on end is not our vibe. (Note: with a good book, I could manage just fine. Frank however…. ) That said, a little time by the seaside is good for my soul so one night in a swanky beach hotel is just the ticket. We arrived at Praia Grande just around lunchtime. Our room wasn’t quite ready yet so we wandered the short secluded beach to find somewhere to eat. At the exact opposite end of the beach, we found a lovely place where our server spoke little English – nor did any of ther other diners. Nevertheless, we managed to enjoy seafood risotto (Frank is back on track!) and a lovely goat cheese salad, all accompanied by sparkling sangria. We watched the waves crash on the sand – apparently this is a surfing beach – and began an afternoon of doing nothing.

And that’s what we spend the day doing: nothing. Once we got checked in to our room, we hit the unbelievable pool – much warmer than the waters of the Atlantic even though that’s where the salt water came from. We swam and sat in the sun, watching the surf occaisionally crash up over the wall. Then we showered and headed to the hotel restaurant for dinner. The food was delicious and the view of the sunset was outstanding. All in all, it was a great day of doing (nearly) nothing.

Data for today:

• Steps: 11,582 (or 5.4 miles)
• Flights: 28
• Dips in the pool: 6
• Pages read in current book: 125

As our last day in Lisbon, we planned to do all the tourist things that most people probably start with – and a few that I suspect no one else does. Another yummy breakfast of fried egg sandwiches on the balcony and we were ready to tackle the day. And it started with a visit to Castelo de São Jorge – the castle of St George. We had walked past this imposing ediface several times but the queue for tickets was insane. So we bought ours online before we left the flat and breezed right in.

We’ve been to many castles before but this was the first one with such pronounced crenellations. It really looks like what a castle looks like in cartoons and children’s books. And the view of the city is outstanding. Unlike many of the castles we have at home, it didn’t seem to be used as a residence but strictly as a fortification against invasion.

The history itch scratched, we wandered toward the water in search of a gluten free bakery where I could get my own pastel de nata. While I happily helped bake them in our cooking class, actually tasting them was out of the question. Luckily there is a place that makes them gluten free and I happily consumed 2. 🙂 Along the way we found the Banco de Portugal – yes, I still am enough of a central bank nerd to take my picture at each one when I find them.

A lovely wander along the riverside and the decision was made: we would make another attempt at being “typical tourists” and board the hop on/hop off bus. We knew there were many parts of the city we would never find on foot – and we had already ruled out driving in town! – so off we went to allow someone else to drive for us while we listened to some commentary to learn more about the city around us. One route happened to stop quite close to our flat so we hopped off to drop things off and have lunch at another creperie nearby that makes buckwheat crepes. Frank continued with his fish-at-every-meal-but-breakfast pattern and I opted for one with ham, two kinds of cheese, potatoes and creme. Yummmy.

Then we hopped back on the tourbus and spent the rest of the incredibly warm afternoon seeing lots of sights around town and in Belem. Then another walk back up the multiple hills to our neighborhood (which funnily enough Google maps describes as “mostly flat”!!!) to a lovely bistro with no English menu or menu with photographs of the food. In fact, there wasn’t really a menu but a list of dishes listed on a trash can lid. Our adorably camp waiter – think Serge in “Beverly Hills Cop” – explained that the restaurant was grandma’s house and grandma doesn’t speak English so there isn’t an English menu. But he was happy to translate and another lovely meal was enjoyed. I had a different cod dish than what we cooked (obviously ours was better!) and Frank was disappointed to learn that they were out of stuffed squid. The other fish options weren’t as appealing as the goat option so he broke his seafood quest to have a goat dish that he described as “insane.” Then it was back to the flat to pack and prepare for new adventures.

Data for today:

• Steps: 21, 630 (or approx. 10.4 miles)
• Flights climbed: 55
• Number of Tuk Tuk tours to pass us in a 15 minute span: 28
• Number of adorable Portuguese dogs I wanted to steal: 6

Today we thought we had a great plan: get out of the city and see some other parts of Portugal. Specifically head to Nazaré on the coast for some seafood and cooler temps then stop at the walled city of Óbidos for some history stuff before returning to Lisbon for our Portuguese cooking class. However, reality doesn’t always respect one’s planning.

First we slept late. Okay, until 8.30 but still that is very late for us even on holiday. We had breakfast, did a load of laundry, and finally got out of the flat about 10.30. It was a 121 km through a very dry landscape (reminded me of southern California actually). Frank had way too much fun playing with the Assistive Cruise Control in our rental Corrolla, testing how long he could take his hands off the wheel and let the car drive on it’s own. (Answer: 15 seconds before the Toyota “yelled” at him. )

Unfortunately the late start meant that it was after noon when we arrived in Nazaré. It is a lovely beach town with an amazing expanse of sand and a funicular that goes up to the old town on the top of a cliff – which of course was out of order. So we wandered around town and found a little back street cafe for lunch where Frank continued his seafood quest with a shrimp and squid skewer. I opted for the grilled sea bass and we shared a fruity sangria. Of course, “shared” has many meanings and since Frank was driving it meant that he had a glass and I had the rest. Ooops.

Fully sated we headed back south to see some medieval sights. Because the cruise ships in port in Lisbon today had day tours to Óbidos, we wanted to let those crowds disperse and head back to the city before we arrived. Of course, that implies that we would actually arrive and be able to explore the city. And that didn’t happen. One of the downfalls of our reliance on technology is that when Google maps gets it wrong, we often don’t have alternatives to help figure out what is right. And our mapping software got this spectaculalry wrong, trying to get us to go up a road that was closed and offering no alternative routes. So we spent more than half an hour driving up and down tiny wee streets to no avail. We even got stuck behind a Belgian van that was trying to squeeze past a delivery truck but couldn’t make it until the two truck workers bent the stop sign to allow the van through. That was the sign that it was time to throw in the towel and head back to the city. Maybe next time Óbidos.

We were very glad that we didn’t stay any later as there was already awful traffic getting back in the Lisbon at 4.30pm. We eventually made it safely and parked the car with just enough time for a quick stop at the local grocery store for necessities and then it was off to learn to cook ala Porguese! The Uber ride across town took another 45 minutes (I had no idea we were going from Alfama to Belem when I booked this. Next time I’ll check a map and hope it’s right.) But we made it and began a lovely evening with a teacher from Boston and a Hungarian brother and sister. We made Codfish Gomes de Sá, Pork ribs, rice and beans, fried deviled eggs and the famous pastel de nata. Everything was delicious (even though I couldn’t eat some of it) and copious amounts of wine was consumed during the meal. And then we went to a wine bar with our new Hungarian friends and consumed more vinho verde and tried to solve all the world’s problems. It was an unexpected treat to make such a great human connection in just a few hours.

Today’s data:

• Kilometers driven: 262
• Steps: 8,639 (Slackers!)
• Bottles of wine consumed with new cooking friends: 5 (!?!)

Okay it was actually subway, train, bus, and taxi but that isn’t as cool for a title. 🙂

Today we decided to venture a bit out of the downtown to try to avoid some of the crowds from the cruise ship that was docking today. (Tomorrow there will be 2 including a Disney ship with 3500 so we are definitely taking off!) We decided to visit Cascais, a resorty town just west of Lisbon which supposedly has great cliffs with a great name: Boca do Inferno. We thought we’d try being real tourists for a change and get one of those hop on/off tickets and see if we could learn something along the way.

After a lovely breakfast ala Chef Frank (fried egg sandwiches and fresh squeezed OJ!), we walked the 2km to the departure point only to find out that the tour buses only run twice a day to that location: earlier in the AM or later in the PM to accommodate beach goers. Harrumph. That’s not what we would have wanted even if we had gotten there in time. So off we go to the Metro station to buy a Viva Viagem card which covers all public transport including trains to outlying areas for €10. So we took the blue line to the green line to the train station and caught an incredibly crowded train for the 30ish minutes to Cascais.

The scenery out the window to the coast was lovely and so was the town when we arrived. First stop was the cliffs. And they were lovely.

(Snarky aside: weather notwithstanding, we have nicer cliffs outside Aberdeen. Just saying….)

With that accomplished, it was time to begin the visit to the town. Starting with piña coladas in a pineapple. Nothing says Portugal like a piña colada, right? Then lunch at a sidewalk cafe where we *though* we were ordering paella but apparently we ordered Portugues seafood rice. It’s more of a soup than a paella but yummy none the less. A lovely bottle of vinho verde to go with it and we were ready to tackle the rest of the sights. Luckily it is a pretty small resort town so it didn’t take long. We stopped in the obligatory souvenier shops to pick up a token or two. By mid-afternoon it was much more crowded, very hot (29c or 84f) and time to head back to town.

Back to the train and then the metro to the main shopping district where people watching is outstanding! We experienced an all girls school musical performance (well worth the 2.50 donation!) and then had the BEST gelato I have ever had. The dark chocolate was AMAZING! But eventually it was time to head back to the apartment and get sorted for dinner. Now it was time for the bus – No 735 took us up all the hills to our lovely little flat.

We freshened up and got things sorted and then headed out to dinner. I had read about Bomjardin on several gluten free blogs and was really keen to try their piri piri chicken. We decided to walk there (all down hill!) and joined the short queue just before 8pm. The dinner did not dissapoint. The chicken was fantastic and Frank loved his grilled prawns (the fish theme continues!). By the time we left just about 9.30, there was a queue of at least a dozen people. Eating late is definitely a thing.

Now it was time to enjoy something we haven’t done is ages – wander a city at night. We found Avenida de Liberdad which is apparently Lisbon’s version of Rodeo drive. Another fun wander until the dogs were barking so we went to find a bus to take us home (up all the hills)…. and we missed it. And the service gets pretty scarce after 10pm on a Monday so after several other attempts, it was time to call an Uber. Which went to the wrong pick up spot because the app wasn’t quite sure where were were – and neither was I. So that was an epic fail that cost me a whole €4 for a cancellation fee. We were lucky to flag down a taxi and got home in good time.

Today’s data:

• Steps taken: 25,989 (or about 12.6 miles)
• Flights climed: 17 (slackers!)
• Drinks: 2 pairs of 2 – piña colada and vinho verde

Well hello! If you have followed our adventures in the past you already realise that things are different with this trip. No “get ready, we’re hitting the road” warnings. No pictures of passports and G&Ts. It’s because we are woefuly unprepared for this particular adventure. Given the chaos in our lives over the last few weeks (another post for another blog), we set off with plane tickets and AirBnB accommodations settled and that’s about it. No exhastive research. No language practice. We don’t even have the storied “book” that usually accompanies us. So let me tell you how well we managed our first day of making it up as we go in Portugal!

With the car safely ensconsed in an airport hotel carpark in Edinburgh, we were up with the sun (4.30am) and off to the terminal. It was first EasyJet flight – the only thing we did do research for. The UK discount airlines are notorious for their restrictive baggage requirements so we went out of our way to ensure that our cabin bags met the standards – even buying two new cheap wheelie cases that advertised their suitability for the task. And for this flight at least, it seemed not to matter. We had packed light and have everything for a 10 day trip in two small bags and others around us had the most obnoxiously large backpacks and bags. Cie la vie.

Another entertaining thing about EasyJet that I didn’t realize when booking our tickets is that they feel no obligation to seat two people on the same reservation anywhere near each other. Don’t know how I missed that but Frank got his “extra legroom” seat in the 1F – bulkhead row window – while mine was 13E – exit row middle. WTF? When we realised it and tried to change it, there were no other options available on the website. Of course when we boarded, the seat next to Frank was empty (!?!) so I was able to sit with him. But a family of 3 with a little girl wasn’t so lucky and Emily was very sad that mommy was sitting about 8 rows in front of her and daddy. 😦

But we arrived and nearly on time sort of. We picked up our hire car -booked just days before we left because…. unprepared – and drove into the sunshine in Lisbon. Our apartment is one of the few with parking and we met our host in the top story flat in the Alfama area. It’s an adorable little place with everything we could want. We parked, unpacked, showered and went out to explore. First, some real food. We went to a lovely little crepe shop on Rua de Graça called Maria Limão where I had a yummy buckwheat crepe filled with proscuitto, mozzerella, tomotoes, and rocket. Frank began with a salmon crepe which would be a bit of a theme for him today.

Then we walked. And walked. And walked. Up and down hills but it felt like it was mostly up. Around our neighboorhood, past the castle (queues were too long) to the church and tower by the castle – where you pay 5 euros for entrance and get a glass of wine! Down to the harbor to watch a cruise ship pull out. Down to the pink street and Time Out Market. Back up and up and up.

Eventually we knew we had to get some more food and a decent night’s sleep. Unfortunately, Portugal appears to be one of those amazing places where lunch is at 3 and dinner at 8 or 9. Well that certainly wasn’t going to work for us today. So we joined the other tourists eating at the ungodly hour of 7pm. Frank continued his salmon quest and I had steak portuguese – which in this establishment was a something that resembled beef with ham, cheese, and “mustard sauce”. Very interesting but certainly not gourmet. A lovely bottle of vinho verde made things much better. Then a little more walking and back to the flat. Where we did actually try to do some preparation for the next few days. Then we went to bed after sunset for the first time in months. The days here are MUCH shorter than in Aberdeen: sunrise at 6.30 and sunset at 9pm instead of 4.30 and 10pm. We’ll try to make the most of it tomorrow.

Here’s your culture for today. Some of the street art in Lisbon:

And the tiles that are EVERYWHERE. Now we know where Azul gets their ideas.

But what is a travel blog post without data? Here’s some numbers for today:

• Steps taken: 26,532 – approx 13 miles
• Equivalent flights climed: 51
• Number of different drinks tried: 4 (iced coffee with cinnamon and lemon, Portuguese rose, vinho verde, and a dragonfruit cocktail!)