The ship's internet service was very slow and trying to post from there was a challenge, so I haven't been posting the entries. I do have notes and will be going back to post them now that we are off the ship in Venice. All in all a good trip! Lots of fun stories to tell when I return....
Ciao!
Garren
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Lisbon on our own
Today's adventures were thouroughly funny - I'm going to give a quick overview for now and go back and try and update with more detail tomorrow.
Got up, had some nice breakfast and then walked down to the nearest Metro station to buy an all day pass. This has to be the best value in the city for transport - it covers busses, trolleys, metro and all the funiculars (elevators) around the city for 4.10 euro. Our first stop was the Coach museum in Belem - took approx 30 minutes to ride the tram out there - felt like we were on the MAX train, even down to the intelligible stop announcements......(I guess it doesn't matter what language it's in when you can't understand it anyway!) Absolutely packed both ways, I think the entire city was on the move for the Easter holiday weekend. The Coach museum was very interesting, it's a collection of about 50 coaches from the late 16th-18th century that were used by various royal houses around europe. I know, sounds kind of lame but they were really neat. Pictures coming once they get uploaded to the computer.
Then back to central Lisbon for a walk about- it was interesting just seeing all the people, and tour busses, and cars and other craziness. Kept us occupied most of the day, picked up a few knicknacks and came back to the hotel. The funniest thing we saw all day (and I have video to prove it) was on the Rua Augusta, which is a pedestrian only street in central Lisbon. There are many street performers, from the typical guitar players and balloon animal maker to this, which is my favorite. A guy playing the accordian (and this is where it gets good) with chihuahua in front of him on a shoe box(really!) holding a little plastic bucket in his teeth. And the best - he sang along with the guy. Maybe howled is the best.....so check out the attached short video clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_a-0XEW2qc
Next, we wandered around a bit more, had a great waffle for a snack (going to have to find those again I think!) and came back to the hotel for a bit of a rest before our dinner. We took the Gloria Funicular (think tram that runs up and down hills) up to the Bairro Alto area to walk around a bit. Ended up finding a restaurant with a Fado group singing, so we decided to try the traditional Portuguese food with the traditional Portuguese music. Both were very good. Dinner was a bit more expensive than last evening, but very tasty and we enjoyed the music as well. We didn't expect the restaurant to get so crowded, as when we showed up (about 7:45) it had only 6-8 people in it. But as soon as 8:15 rolled around, the place got PACKED. Lucky for us, we got a great table for 2 and had a nice view of the singers as well.
Got up, had some nice breakfast and then walked down to the nearest Metro station to buy an all day pass. This has to be the best value in the city for transport - it covers busses, trolleys, metro and all the funiculars (elevators) around the city for 4.10 euro. Our first stop was the Coach museum in Belem - took approx 30 minutes to ride the tram out there - felt like we were on the MAX train, even down to the intelligible stop announcements......(I guess it doesn't matter what language it's in when you can't understand it anyway!) Absolutely packed both ways, I think the entire city was on the move for the Easter holiday weekend. The Coach museum was very interesting, it's a collection of about 50 coaches from the late 16th-18th century that were used by various royal houses around europe. I know, sounds kind of lame but they were really neat. Pictures coming once they get uploaded to the computer.
Then back to central Lisbon for a walk about- it was interesting just seeing all the people, and tour busses, and cars and other craziness. Kept us occupied most of the day, picked up a few knicknacks and came back to the hotel. The funniest thing we saw all day (and I have video to prove it) was on the Rua Augusta, which is a pedestrian only street in central Lisbon. There are many street performers, from the typical guitar players and balloon animal maker to this, which is my favorite. A guy playing the accordian (and this is where it gets good) with chihuahua in front of him on a shoe box(really!) holding a little plastic bucket in his teeth. And the best - he sang along with the guy. Maybe howled is the best.....so check out the attached short video clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_a-0XEW2qc
Next, we wandered around a bit more, had a great waffle for a snack (going to have to find those again I think!) and came back to the hotel for a bit of a rest before our dinner. We took the Gloria Funicular (think tram that runs up and down hills) up to the Bairro Alto area to walk around a bit. Ended up finding a restaurant with a Fado group singing, so we decided to try the traditional Portuguese food with the traditional Portuguese music. Both were very good. Dinner was a bit more expensive than last evening, but very tasty and we enjoyed the music as well. We didn't expect the restaurant to get so crowded, as when we showed up (about 7:45) it had only 6-8 people in it. But as soon as 8:15 rolled around, the place got PACKED. Lucky for us, we got a great table for 2 and had a nice view of the singers as well.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Sintra and the Pena Palace
What a beautiful day we had! All sorts of fun. We got up this morning, had our continental breakfast at the hotel (with fresh orange -laranja - juice!) and met Jorge at 9:30 for the drive to Sintra which is about 30 minutes away up in the mountains. Sintra and the Pena Palace were the summer home of the Portuguese monarchy.
After quite a windy ride thru the Pena preserve, we arrived at the gate, where our wonderful guide went to the short line (cause he's a licensed guide!) and got our entrance tickets. In we went, and after a short wait for the tram (it's a big steep hill) we arrived at the top. I honestly can't describe how pretty this was - we were very lucky with the weather and timing, as we arrived prior to the large crowds (which we saw as we were leaving) I'll post some pictures here once I get them uploaded to the computer, as words don't really do it justice.
Back down after a few hours, and met Jorge and off to the town of Sintra to see the National Palace and some lunch. Because it was Good Friday, the museum was free until 2pm, so that saved us a bit. The palace was impressive, but not nearly as much as the Pena Palace. As they say....location, location, location!
For the rest of the day, we toured the coast of Portugal thru the seaside towns of Cascais and Estoril. Think Seaside at spring break. It was crazy! Apparently, all of Spain loves to vacation at the Portuguese coast, and they all drove in separate cars this weekend....it was gridlock. But, it was a beautiful day, clear mostly and sunny, so it made for a nice drive. Back to our hotel for a brief nap, then out to find some dinner. Success! at a small restaurant nearby we had some very fine food for a good price. Back to the hotel, a few phone calls on Skype, and then off to bed for more adventures tomorrow - Lisbon on our own!
After quite a windy ride thru the Pena preserve, we arrived at the gate, where our wonderful guide went to the short line (cause he's a licensed guide!) and got our entrance tickets. In we went, and after a short wait for the tram (it's a big steep hill) we arrived at the top. I honestly can't describe how pretty this was - we were very lucky with the weather and timing, as we arrived prior to the large crowds (which we saw as we were leaving) I'll post some pictures here once I get them uploaded to the computer, as words don't really do it justice.
Back down after a few hours, and met Jorge and off to the town of Sintra to see the National Palace and some lunch. Because it was Good Friday, the museum was free until 2pm, so that saved us a bit. The palace was impressive, but not nearly as much as the Pena Palace. As they say....location, location, location!
For the rest of the day, we toured the coast of Portugal thru the seaside towns of Cascais and Estoril. Think Seaside at spring break. It was crazy! Apparently, all of Spain loves to vacation at the Portuguese coast, and they all drove in separate cars this weekend....it was gridlock. But, it was a beautiful day, clear mostly and sunny, so it made for a nice drive. Back to our hotel for a brief nap, then out to find some dinner. Success! at a small restaurant nearby we had some very fine food for a good price. Back to the hotel, a few phone calls on Skype, and then off to bed for more adventures tomorrow - Lisbon on our own!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Made it to Lisbon
Well, we arrived safely this morning in Lisbon. Immigration and customs were a breeze (you show them your passport, they scan it, stamp it and let you thru. None of these crazy forms the USA wants you to fill out! And our bags were #3 and #7 on the carousel for pick-up, so we didn't have to wait to long which was very nice.
Now, what was not so nice (although it worked out OK) was that due to a computer glitch on our flightplan from SFO to LHR, we were about 30 minutes late leaving the airport -but of course we "pushed back" on time so it counts. One would think they could make that up en route, and we did, but then sat on the taxiway at Heathrow for appox 30 minutes.....which means we had 45 minutes left to make our connection plus pick up boarding passes because they couldn't print them at PDX. Lucky for us, the United agent when we landed paged us when they opened the aircraft door, and he had our passes plus a set of directions of where we needed to go to catch our flight. So off and walking quickly we were - but still made it with 20 minutes to spare. I think we walked a half-mile easy and we had to reclear security too. PHEW! crisis averted. Of course, our bags had to go about 500 yards from 1 termanal to the other, and they made it no problemo.
It's about 75 and partly sunny when we arrived. Our hotel room was ready, so we went up and took ashower and unpacked before our tour guide Jorge arived at 2pm. The of Lisbon was great, and it kept us awake all afternoon too. Then off to some dinner, and back we are at the hotel. It's about 8:30pm, and I'm pretty sure we'll be crashing anytime now......
Now, what was not so nice (although it worked out OK) was that due to a computer glitch on our flightplan from SFO to LHR, we were about 30 minutes late leaving the airport -but of course we "pushed back" on time so it counts. One would think they could make that up en route, and we did, but then sat on the taxiway at Heathrow for appox 30 minutes.....which means we had 45 minutes left to make our connection plus pick up boarding passes because they couldn't print them at PDX. Lucky for us, the United agent when we landed paged us when they opened the aircraft door, and he had our passes plus a set of directions of where we needed to go to catch our flight. So off and walking quickly we were - but still made it with 20 minutes to spare. I think we walked a half-mile easy and we had to reclear security too. PHEW! crisis averted. Of course, our bags had to go about 500 yards from 1 termanal to the other, and they made it no problemo.
It's about 75 and partly sunny when we arrived. Our hotel room was ready, so we went up and took ashower and unpacked before our tour guide Jorge arived at 2pm. The of Lisbon was great, and it kept us awake all afternoon too. Then off to some dinner, and back we are at the hotel. It's about 8:30pm, and I'm pretty sure we'll be crashing anytime now......
Tour of Lisbon
After a lovely shower and a change of clothes, we were ready to take on the world - or at least the city of Lisbon.
Our guide, Jorge showed up at 2pm in a very nice black mercedes to chauffeur us around the city and see some of the major sites. Up first was the Castelo de Sao Jorge - which we can actually see on top of a hill near our hotel. It gave a nice overview of the city - a bit windy, but it's at the top of a hill! Then we took a driving tour thru the Alfama district and admired some of the old Moorish buildings and tile work. The streets are extremely narrow and the car barely fit thru some of the alleyways - quite a feat of driving (but somehow, I think Jorge has done it before......!)
We drove thru town out to Belem - which has a beautiful old monastery and church. There is also a pastery shop (as there seems to be everywhere in Lisbon!) selling Pasteis de Belem - which is a type of custard pastry Lisbon is known for. So we picked up a few of those and they were quite good. Originally, the monks & nuns made them to use up the egg yolks that were left over when they used the egg white to starch their white habbits etc. After all the monasteries were closed, they passed the recipe down. If you don't buy the pastry in Belem, it's known as a Pasteis de nata. Our last stop was at the tower of Belem - a former fort that had been in the middle of the river and was the only one left standing after the 1755 earthquake that leveled Lisbon. (there were 2 others on either shore that fell down) The river shifted after the earthquake and the tower is now on the north shore of the Tagus River. There was also a nice monument to Henry the Navigator, and a beautiful world map out of inlay granite showing Portuguese influence areas around the world.
Back to the hotel, some dinner and off too bed. We were TIRED!
More after our trip to Sintra!
Our guide, Jorge showed up at 2pm in a very nice black mercedes to chauffeur us around the city and see some of the major sites. Up first was the Castelo de Sao Jorge - which we can actually see on top of a hill near our hotel. It gave a nice overview of the city - a bit windy, but it's at the top of a hill! Then we took a driving tour thru the Alfama district and admired some of the old Moorish buildings and tile work. The streets are extremely narrow and the car barely fit thru some of the alleyways - quite a feat of driving (but somehow, I think Jorge has done it before......!)
We drove thru town out to Belem - which has a beautiful old monastery and church. There is also a pastery shop (as there seems to be everywhere in Lisbon!) selling Pasteis de Belem - which is a type of custard pastry Lisbon is known for. So we picked up a few of those and they were quite good. Originally, the monks & nuns made them to use up the egg yolks that were left over when they used the egg white to starch their white habbits etc. After all the monasteries were closed, they passed the recipe down. If you don't buy the pastry in Belem, it's known as a Pasteis de nata. Our last stop was at the tower of Belem - a former fort that had been in the middle of the river and was the only one left standing after the 1755 earthquake that leveled Lisbon. (there were 2 others on either shore that fell down) The river shifted after the earthquake and the tower is now on the north shore of the Tagus River. There was also a nice monument to Henry the Navigator, and a beautiful world map out of inlay granite showing Portuguese influence areas around the world.
Back to the hotel, some dinner and off too bed. We were TIRED!
More after our trip to Sintra!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Made it to SFO.....
Here we are, in SFO enjoying the hospitality of the United Airlines First Class lounge - and their free wi-fi service! Swwwweeeet! had some snacks, a drink or 2 and read the paper, all in the quiet environs of the lounge.....I'm afraid to talk above a whisper, it kind of reminds me of a library - or maybe a mortuary, but with better food and beverages. Plus the age of the people here lends itself to a mortuary feel....but I digress.
We have about 1.5 hours until we leave for Heathrow (assuming the flight is on time, they are supposed to page us) and we will spend it in quiet contemplation of our vodka tonics.....from the free bar
More to come tomorrow - after we get to Lisbon. Ciao! (Practicing my Italian for later!)
Well, we're finally on our way.....
Yes, we are really at the airport at 6:42 am. And we've been here over an hour. And our flight doesn't leave until 7:35 am.....but the flight crew just walked by and went to the gate, so things are looking up so far.
We had breakfast before going thru security - it was not too bad. Security was a breeze, although Chris got caught by the dreaded puffer machine.
Why does it always sound like a good idea to book an early morning flight, but when the alarm goes off at 4 am you are like "really???? why did I do this again?" You'd think I'd learn I'm not a morning person.
And I figured out how to take a picture with my computer camera and post it here. Lovely, isn't it? Might be too much of a close-up. This is what you look like on 3 hours of sleep!
Well, maybe more later, if I can think of something to say........!
Monday, April 6, 2009
I hate packing!
While I do love to travel, it's the packing that's the pits. Why can't my bag just magically be packed...by the packing fairy? Then I could just leave, and have everything I needed.
I think my biggest issue is I'm afraid I'll forget something. As though there aren't STORES that carry STUFF TO BUY when I forget things. It's not like I forget the important stuff either - it's usually cotton balls or toothpaste (and I packed those last night, so not this time!)
Plus, we're going to be gone for several weeks - and you never know what the weather is going to be like, and what shoes you might want to wear (I mean, what if I get blisters? OK there too, got some blister band-aids!)
Clothes are almost the easiest, some pants, some shirts, a dress, sweaters, socks......but I usually start out with too much and then have to go back and take out 40% of what I packed.
Well, at least I know my issues.....!
I think my biggest issue is I'm afraid I'll forget something. As though there aren't STORES that carry STUFF TO BUY when I forget things. It's not like I forget the important stuff either - it's usually cotton balls or toothpaste (and I packed those last night, so not this time!)
Plus, we're going to be gone for several weeks - and you never know what the weather is going to be like, and what shoes you might want to wear (I mean, what if I get blisters? OK there too, got some blister band-aids!)
Clothes are almost the easiest, some pants, some shirts, a dress, sweaters, socks......but I usually start out with too much and then have to go back and take out 40% of what I packed.
Well, at least I know my issues.....!
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