Portugal the Blog
Author: Brandon (Dad)
In less than a week we will be back in California. This thought has left us trying to squeeze every moment out of this summer that we can, and in a way we’ve neglected the writing of the blog. My apologies to the one or two of you that are following along! I assure you that the story of this trip will continue to be told after we return.
We’re on a flight to London as we speak, leaving Portugal in our chemtrails.
We hadn’t planned a trip to Portugal. In fact, the original plan (and by original, I mean the plan I concocted a few weeks ago) had us winding down our final days in Ireland. However, plane tickets from Budapest to Dublin spiked and so I looked at a map and thought of new destinations. By the way, if you ever have the opportunity to look at a map, point, and go somewhere, it’s incredibly fun.
Portugal had always been of interest to me. We were in Spain back in June and we really liked it. My brother, Aaron, and his wife Marian, visited the country a couple years ago and had good things to say, so I said, “How’za bout Lisbon”. Fortunately Tiffany travels the same way I do, with as little planning as possible, so we found a flight to Lisbon, an airBNB in the historic Alfama district and headed west.
We didn’t arrive in Lisbon until late, after 7:00 PM, so our first day consisted of finding our place and grabbing a quick (and very good) dinner, just around the corner from it. We also managed to infuriate the old man in the apartment below ours, who is not a fan of lugging large suitcases, or general movement as it turns out, above his ceiling. We made sure to tip toe past his door the rest of the time.
On our first morning, we departed on our traditional walk around the city. We found our way to Castelo de Sao George, less than a quarter mile from our house and enjoyed a beautiful view over the city. The castle itself was quite beautiful, but it was, more or less, walls and ruins.
After the castle, we strolled over to the Lisbon Cathedral or "the Sé" and really enjoyed the treasury, chapel, and learning about some of the history of the building. All of these churches are free to walk around in, but we’ve found for just a couple of euros, you can buy a ticket that gets you access to lots of great stuff. Well worth it.
Following lunch we continued our walking tour by heading down to the waterfront (not very developed) and having a beer at the grandly named “Museo de Cerveja” or “Museum of Beer”. In truth it was more of a bar/restaurant than a museum, but I enjoyed a nice IPA, maybe two, then we walked back to the apartment.
We really enjoyed walking around Lisbon. Many times I’ve seen it compared to San Francisco and I think that’s an apt comparison. From the hills to the orange suspension bridge to the trolley cars clanging through windy roads, it felt like a much warmer San Francisco.
On Tuesday evening we found a cozy old restaurant to enjoy a traditional fado dinner show. The food was great and the entertainment superb. You can read up more about fado right here.
This trip has featured many castles and churches, but we’ve also fit in more than our fair share of football stadiums. We find they are a great way to see another side of the city… often the side that they take the most pride in. Portugal is home to two huge clubs: Benfica and Sporting Lisbon. With no Portuguese team that I support, I checked out the stadiums online and decided we would go to Estada da Luz, home to the most successful football club in Portugal, Benfica!
We had planned to spend about an hour at the stadium, but ended up hanging out for about three. Between the stadium tour (amazing.. they even had live bald eagles on standby) and the museum (perhaps the best museum we’ve been on during this trip…not just football, but ANY museum), I think the club gained four new fans. We even got Luke a personalized Benfica jersey with “Bronzan” and “#7” on the back. He hasn’t taken it off yet.
We’ve seen football stadiums in Liverpool, San Sebastian, Barcelona, tiny ones in Croatia, in Budapest, and Lisbon. I’m a huge fan of the sport, so it’s obvious that I get something out of these tours, but I think the whole family has enjoyed them. I talked a lot about the game during our time in Croatia, but it’s hard to put into words what these clubs mean to a community. In 2008, when Portugal hosted the European Championships, they built 9 new stadiums. I’m not saying that’s a great use of taxpayer money, but the fact that they pulled something like that off, just to host the tournament, is an incredible statement.
It will be fun following all these teams when we get home. It will also give us a chance to learn more about the country. When, say, Benfica plays host to their neighbors from the north, FC Porto, we can talk about our time in Portugal and show the kids on our big world map, where everything is. Sport can serve as a wonderful learning tool.
We grabbed lunch (including a blue hamburger called the “Smurf burger”), then hopped back on the metro, then a bus, then walked a bit to arrive at the Tile Museum, a few miles away. The city of Lisbon is filled with buildings covered in the most beautiful tiles you can imagine. The museum was wonderful and very informative, but upon wandering the streets later that night, both Tiffany and I commented that we love seeing the weathered tiles on the old buildings more than we liked seeing them in the museum.
We spent our last full day in Portugal exploring the picturesque town of Sintra, just a 45 minute train ride from Lisbon’s city center. There were several sights to see in Sintra and we started off at the Palacio de Pena, a sort of summer home for the Portuguese royal family. The building itself was spectacular, but the tour left a little to be desired. It was incredibly crowded and you are pretty much herded through the palace like cows.
What it lacked in a tour was made up for in incredible views from the castle. We spent a lot of time taking photos.
It was incredibly hot and we thought we’d grab a bite after walking down a bit from the palace (it sits high up in the hills). We have had some amazing meals on this trip. Some of the best we’ve ever had, in fact. Thursday’s lunch was at the other end of the spectrum. I ordered us three chicken sandwiches and when I was asked if I wanted them heated up, I said, “no”… remember it’s incredibly hot. Turns out a non-heated up sandwich is basically a frozen sandwich. We struggled through them for a bit before cutting our losses and heading the rest of the way down the hill, into the historic village center.
We spent an hour or so going through the less heralded Nacional Palacio, which I enjoyed much more. Many historic paintings and rooms, plus the freedom to wander at your own pace…must appreciated after our experience at Palacio de Pena.
Not quite ready to leave Sintra yet, we found a little whole in the wall café that provided a scenic lookout over the village and the surrounding area. Tiffany and I had a pitcher of sangria while the kids enjoyed Fantas. We got to meet a very friendly server and enjoyed our time there very much.
Our train ride was delayed a bit, but we finally made it back to the flat, showered (did I mention it’s hot?) then enjoyed a tremendous dinner at a spot right around the corner from us called Audrey’s.
We called it an early night, as our taxi was due to pick us up at 4:30 AM. Right on time, we got into our van, headed to the airport, and here we are…35,000 feet over Spain…or France… or the ocean… I don’t know really.
Several different options for the final four days of the trip presented themselves, but we opted to keep it simple. We’re heading back to London and staying near our airport, Gatwick International. We’ll use this time to take some day trips and I hope to explore a historic venue or two during the waning days of this adventure of a lifetime. Who knows, we might even find a football stadium to tour.
In less than a week we’ll be “home” and I’m not sure how I feel about that. I say “home” because we’ll be moving into our empty rental house in Cotati while we figure out the next move. The reality of this has set in and I’ve been looking at a few job opportunities here and there. Although, if you remember, I did pay extra for the flex ticket on our way back…. so you never know!
He’s joking, right?
Right?
Until next time…
In less than a week we will be back in California. This thought has left us trying to squeeze every moment out of this summer that we can, and in a way we’ve neglected the writing of the blog. My apologies to the one or two of you that are following along! I assure you that the story of this trip will continue to be told after we return.
We’re on a flight to London as we speak, leaving Portugal in our chemtrails.
We hadn’t planned a trip to Portugal. In fact, the original plan (and by original, I mean the plan I concocted a few weeks ago) had us winding down our final days in Ireland. However, plane tickets from Budapest to Dublin spiked and so I looked at a map and thought of new destinations. By the way, if you ever have the opportunity to look at a map, point, and go somewhere, it’s incredibly fun.
Portugal had always been of interest to me. We were in Spain back in June and we really liked it. My brother, Aaron, and his wife Marian, visited the country a couple years ago and had good things to say, so I said, “How’za bout Lisbon”. Fortunately Tiffany travels the same way I do, with as little planning as possible, so we found a flight to Lisbon, an airBNB in the historic Alfama district and headed west.
We didn’t arrive in Lisbon until late, after 7:00 PM, so our first day consisted of finding our place and grabbing a quick (and very good) dinner, just around the corner from it. We also managed to infuriate the old man in the apartment below ours, who is not a fan of lugging large suitcases, or general movement as it turns out, above his ceiling. We made sure to tip toe past his door the rest of the time.
On our first morning, we departed on our traditional walk around the city. We found our way to Castelo de Sao George, less than a quarter mile from our house and enjoyed a beautiful view over the city. The castle itself was quite beautiful, but it was, more or less, walls and ruins.
 |
| The kids are thrilled to tour another castle. |
After the castle, we strolled over to the Lisbon Cathedral or "the Sé" and really enjoyed the treasury, chapel, and learning about some of the history of the building. All of these churches are free to walk around in, but we’ve found for just a couple of euros, you can buy a ticket that gets you access to lots of great stuff. Well worth it.
Following lunch we continued our walking tour by heading down to the waterfront (not very developed) and having a beer at the grandly named “Museo de Cerveja” or “Museum of Beer”. In truth it was more of a bar/restaurant than a museum, but I enjoyed a nice IPA, maybe two, then we walked back to the apartment.
We really enjoyed walking around Lisbon. Many times I’ve seen it compared to San Francisco and I think that’s an apt comparison. From the hills to the orange suspension bridge to the trolley cars clanging through windy roads, it felt like a much warmer San Francisco.
 |
| San Francisco or Lisbon? |
On Tuesday evening we found a cozy old restaurant to enjoy a traditional fado dinner show. The food was great and the entertainment superb. You can read up more about fado right here.
 |
| What a great show. |
This trip has featured many castles and churches, but we’ve also fit in more than our fair share of football stadiums. We find they are a great way to see another side of the city… often the side that they take the most pride in. Portugal is home to two huge clubs: Benfica and Sporting Lisbon. With no Portuguese team that I support, I checked out the stadiums online and decided we would go to Estada da Luz, home to the most successful football club in Portugal, Benfica!
We had planned to spend about an hour at the stadium, but ended up hanging out for about three. Between the stadium tour (amazing.. they even had live bald eagles on standby) and the museum (perhaps the best museum we’ve been on during this trip…not just football, but ANY museum), I think the club gained four new fans. We even got Luke a personalized Benfica jersey with “Bronzan” and “#7” on the back. He hasn’t taken it off yet.
 |
| Stadium Tour! |
We’ve seen football stadiums in Liverpool, San Sebastian, Barcelona, tiny ones in Croatia, in Budapest, and Lisbon. I’m a huge fan of the sport, so it’s obvious that I get something out of these tours, but I think the whole family has enjoyed them. I talked a lot about the game during our time in Croatia, but it’s hard to put into words what these clubs mean to a community. In 2008, when Portugal hosted the European Championships, they built 9 new stadiums. I’m not saying that’s a great use of taxpayer money, but the fact that they pulled something like that off, just to host the tournament, is an incredible statement.
It will be fun following all these teams when we get home. It will also give us a chance to learn more about the country. When, say, Benfica plays host to their neighbors from the north, FC Porto, we can talk about our time in Portugal and show the kids on our big world map, where everything is. Sport can serve as a wonderful learning tool.
We grabbed lunch (including a blue hamburger called the “Smurf burger”), then hopped back on the metro, then a bus, then walked a bit to arrive at the Tile Museum, a few miles away. The city of Lisbon is filled with buildings covered in the most beautiful tiles you can imagine. The museum was wonderful and very informative, but upon wandering the streets later that night, both Tiffany and I commented that we love seeing the weathered tiles on the old buildings more than we liked seeing them in the museum.
We spent our last full day in Portugal exploring the picturesque town of Sintra, just a 45 minute train ride from Lisbon’s city center. There were several sights to see in Sintra and we started off at the Palacio de Pena, a sort of summer home for the Portuguese royal family. The building itself was spectacular, but the tour left a little to be desired. It was incredibly crowded and you are pretty much herded through the palace like cows.
What it lacked in a tour was made up for in incredible views from the castle. We spent a lot of time taking photos.
 |
| The view from the palace. |
It was incredibly hot and we thought we’d grab a bite after walking down a bit from the palace (it sits high up in the hills). We have had some amazing meals on this trip. Some of the best we’ve ever had, in fact. Thursday’s lunch was at the other end of the spectrum. I ordered us three chicken sandwiches and when I was asked if I wanted them heated up, I said, “no”… remember it’s incredibly hot. Turns out a non-heated up sandwich is basically a frozen sandwich. We struggled through them for a bit before cutting our losses and heading the rest of the way down the hill, into the historic village center.
We spent an hour or so going through the less heralded Nacional Palacio, which I enjoyed much more. Many historic paintings and rooms, plus the freedom to wander at your own pace…must appreciated after our experience at Palacio de Pena.
Not quite ready to leave Sintra yet, we found a little whole in the wall café that provided a scenic lookout over the village and the surrounding area. Tiffany and I had a pitcher of sangria while the kids enjoyed Fantas. We got to meet a very friendly server and enjoyed our time there very much.
Our train ride was delayed a bit, but we finally made it back to the flat, showered (did I mention it’s hot?) then enjoyed a tremendous dinner at a spot right around the corner from us called Audrey’s.
We called it an early night, as our taxi was due to pick us up at 4:30 AM. Right on time, we got into our van, headed to the airport, and here we are…35,000 feet over Spain…or France… or the ocean… I don’t know really.
Several different options for the final four days of the trip presented themselves, but we opted to keep it simple. We’re heading back to London and staying near our airport, Gatwick International. We’ll use this time to take some day trips and I hope to explore a historic venue or two during the waning days of this adventure of a lifetime. Who knows, we might even find a football stadium to tour.
In less than a week we’ll be “home” and I’m not sure how I feel about that. I say “home” because we’ll be moving into our empty rental house in Cotati while we figure out the next move. The reality of this has set in and I’ve been looking at a few job opportunities here and there. Although, if you remember, I did pay extra for the flex ticket on our way back…. so you never know!
He’s joking, right?
Right?
Until next time…
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