Best of Portugal May 2014 ~ Tiffany

Day 3 - Lisbon Sightseeing and Free Time - May 8, 2014

I was up at 6:45 a.m. this morning and went down to breakfast at 7:30 a.m. I got off the elevator only to find a crowd of people standing there. It turned out that there were so many tour groups at this hotel, there wasn’t enough room for everyone in the restaurant, so we had to line-up to get a table. Another tour member arrived at the restaurant at the same time as I did, so we stood together hoping to get seated together. After waiting for about 10 minutes, I was starting to get worried that I wouldn’t have time to eat breakfast. We didn’t need to be on the coach until 8:30 a.m., but I wanted time to go back to my room to freshen up and get my bag for the day after eating. Finally, after a 15 min wait, we were seated. We got our breakfast and attempted to eat quickly, however the couple they seated beside us snuck in a 3rd person, and she stood directly behind my travel companion, and stared at us, making it obvious that she wanted us to leave so she could sit down. I found this to be very rude, and if I weren’t in such a rush myself, I think I would have gotten up for seconds, but as time was short, I ate and ran.

I went to my room to quickly freshen up and get my bag, and then made my way to the coach. The single women I had met the day before was already on the coach and saving a seat for me. As it was a full coach, we had arranged to sit together the previous day, and it worked out really well as she preferred the window seat and I preferred the aisle. We were all on the coach and ready to go by 8:30 a.m., and Miguel told us that he would be using the seats we were seated in that morning to make his seating chart, and that we would be moving clock-wise skipping two rows starting the next morning. I found this odd as we usually only skip one row, however, he did this in order to make sure that everyone would make it around the coach. The only down-side to skipping two rows is that depending on where you are sitting on day one, you may not get to sit in the front row. He also advised that one couple was not joining us for the included sightseeing that morning, so the two singles who were sitting on their own would have to sit together the next morning. After he settled the seating arrangement, he introduced our local guide, and handed the microphone to her. We began our orientation drive through the city, driving down the Aveinda da Liberdalde (Lisbon’s version of the Champes-Elysees) past Restauradores and Rossio squares, and through the Bairro Alto and Chiado areas. We then made our way to the Alfama district and drove past the Praca do Comercio. We did not get off at any of these places, but I didn’t attempt to take pictures from the coach as I knew I would see all of these places during my extra day in Lisbon at the end of the tour. From here we drove to Belem, which is considered Portugal’s former maritime glory, and got off the coach at the Belem Tower. This tower was built as a fortress in the middle of the Tagus in 1515-21, and was used as a starting point for the navigators who set out to discover the trade routes. The Tower was much further from the shore back then than it is now, as the land on the north bank was reclaimed in the 19th century. After our local guide walked us to the Tower, we were given around 20 mins to walk around, take pictures, and use the facilities if necessary.

We got back on the coach around 10:00 a.m. and drove to the Monument to the Discoveries, built in 1960 to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Henry the Navigator. We got off the coach and walked around the mariner’s compass and central map, cut into the stone, which was a gift from South Africa in 1960 and shows the routes of the discoverers in the 15th and 16th centuries. After walking around the map, we walked around the Monument and were given about 5 mins to take pictures. We then got back on the coach and made our way to the Jeronimos Monastery.

The Jeronimos Monastery was commissioned by Manuel I around 1501 and took about 16 years to build. It was cared for by the order of St. Jerome until 1834, which is why it’s called the Jeronimos Monastery. Upon arrival, we gathered outside the South Portal while our local guide described the architecture of the building done in the Manueline style, which is typified by maritime motifs inspired by Portugal’s Age of Discovery, and then we made our way into the Monastery. We slowly walked to the Nave, stopping to take pictures, and then made our way to the Tomb of Vasco da Gama. After having a few minutes to take pictures, we met Miguel by the fountain outside the Monastery, where he surprised us with our first treat of the tour, traditional Portuguese custard tarts, still hot from the oven. They were amazing, and one of my favourite Portuguese pastries.

We finished our included sightseeing in Lisbon around 11:30 a.m. and went back to the hotel. Those of us going to Cascais and Sintra were given 20 mins to freshen up, and we left the hotel around 12:20 p.m. and drove along the coast to Cascais, stopping to take pictures at the most western point in Europe, arriving around 12:50 p.m. We were given an hour and a half in Cascais and as the weather was so beautiful, I had lunch on a patio with three other people from the tour. It was a simple lunch of roasted chicken with fries, but it was good. There was some piri piri sauce on the table, and I tried a little bit with my chicken. It was tasty but hot, and a little goes a long way. After lunch, I walked around with a fellow travel companion and did a little shopping. The zipper on my purse broke soon after arrival, so I bought another purse that I could use during the trip. We then made our way to the waterfront to take some pictures, and then went back to the coach for the short drive to Sintra.

As soon as we arrived in Sintra, we went on our guided tour of the castle. Our local guide warned us ahead of time that there would be a lot of stairs in the castle, and two people opted out of the guided tour. I had been to Sintra before, during my first tour of Spain and Portugal in 2008, but we did not go into the castle at that time, so I was looking forward to our guided tour. The castle was beautiful and did not disappoint. We started by walking through the Sala dos Cisnes where the ceiling is painted with 27 swans. Apparently King John I missed his only surviving daughter, Isabella, so much after she married the Duke of Burgundy, he had the ceiling painted with 27 swans on her 27th birthday as a way to remember her. We then made our way into the Sala das Pegas room, where the same King John had the ceiling painted with chattering magpies as a rebuke to the court women for indulging in idle gossip after seeing him kiss a women who was not his wife. We continued through the castle, viewing the conical chimneys above the kitchen, the chapel, and then the beautiful Sala dos Brasoes. The domed ceiling of this room is decorated with stags holding the coats of arms of 72 noble Portuguese families, and the lower walls are lined with tiled panels. This room was my favourite room of the whole palace. From here we made our way to the kitchens, where the tour ended. The tour of the castle took about 45 mins, and we were then given 45 mins to shop, walk around and see the sights. I walked around with another single women from the tour, and saw a purse I liked in one of the shop windows. We went into the shop so I could buy the purse, and then we made our way to a cafe to try one of Sintra’s specialty pastries. We had decided to share a pastry, as they were quite large, but, unfortunately, we were given the wrong pastry. It was still good though, so it wasn’t a big deal.

We got back to the hotel around 5:00 p.m., which gave those of us doing the optional Fado dinner 2 hours to get ready before leaving at 7:00 p.m. I went to my room to freshen up, and as I was ready before 7:00 p.m., I went to the hotel bar to have a drink before dinner. I met a few other travel companions there, and sat with them until it was time to leave. I had been to a Fado dinner and show the first time I was in Portugal, but this was a different venue. The food was good and I really enjoyed the show and thought that this optional was worth taking.

We arrived back at the hotel around 10:30 p.m., and I went straight to bed as we had an early start the next day.

Day 5 - Algarve Excursion - May 10, 2014

I was up at 6:30 a.m. and went to breakfast just before 7:30 a.m. It was a pleasant surprise to see that there was no line-up, a lot of food, and crispy bacon! The little things in life make me happy! 

We left the hotel at 8:30 a.m. and drove to Cape St. Vincent for views of the sea from the south-western most point of Portugal, once believed to be the end of the world. Since the 15th century, this has been an important reference point for shipping, and its present lighthouse has a 95-km range and is said to be the most powerful in Europe. We spent about 30 mins here talking pictures and walking around before getting back on the coach and heading to the Sagres Peninsula. We stopped at two viewing points in the Sagres Peninsula to take pictures, the second stop having the better views. This was at Ponta da Piedade, and the views from here were spectacular. This promontory shelters the bay of Lagos to the south and has a series of wonderful rock formations, caves and blue transparent water. We spent about 20 mins here taking pictures, but I could have spent more time here just admiring the view.

Our next stop was at Lagos for lunch. Lagos was an important naval centre in the 15th century thanks to Henry the Navigator, and is one of the largest bays in the Algarve. We were given an hour and half here to have lunch, see the sights and shop. One thing I really liked about this tour was that we were almost always given an hour and half for lunch, which meant that I had time to sit down and have a proper lunch, and still see some of the sights. I’m not a big fan of sandwiches, and I don’t like to eat while on the go. I had lunch on a patio with the two other single women on the tour, and we shared a liter of white sangria (which became a common reoccurrence throughout the rest of the tour), although we were a bit annoyed when a bug flew into one of the drinks as the waiter was pouring it, and he took the glass away to get her a new one, but didn’t replace the drink. She would have just taken the bug out if she had known that we were going to lose out on a glass from our liter.

After lunch, we did a little bit of shopping, and then went to the market. This market was nothing like the market we saw in Setubal the day before, but Miguel had told us that there was a nice view of the waterfront from the roof, so we decided to check it out and get some pictures before boarding the coach. This ended the included sightseeing for the day, and we made our way back to the hotel around 2:30 p.m.

Those of us going on the optional tour were given about 30 mins at the hotel to freshen up before leaving for Almancil at 3:00 p.m. It was not a long drive to the Chapel of St. Lawrence, and Miguel told us a little bit about the chapel before we went in, and allowed us to take some pictures. He advised that we weren’t allow to take pictures inside, which was a shame as the inside was beautiful, and I would have loved a few pictures. The interior is covered in blue and white azulejo panels which depicts the life of St. Laurence. We spent a little bit of time here, admiring the chapel and waiting for people to buy postcards, and then left for Faro for our guided walking tour of the old walled town. As Miguel is a local guide, he was able to be our guide for this optional. He took us through the Arco da Vila (the entrance to the old city) which was built on the site of a medieval castle gate in the 19th century for a bishop who had decided to redesign the city. We then walked to the Largo da Se (the old city square), which is lined with orange trees, and viewed the cathedral and the Bishop’s Palace which is still in use today and closed to the public. We continued our walk through Faro, which took about an hour, and then were given some free time for some shopping or further sightseeing. I went into a few stores, and then made my way back to the park where we were meeting the coach to check out a local craft/bake fair that was there that day. I noticed some teenagers were selling homemade sweets and pastries, and decided to try a citrus gelatin type of pastry. I shared this with my seatmate, and we both liked it so much, she went to get a second one for us to share. I wish I could remember the name of this pastry so I could look for it in Toronto. We got back on the coach around 6:00 p.m., and Miguel surprised us with some marzipan. I tried it but it was too sweet for me, so I gave the rest of mine to my seatmate who really liked it. 

We got back to the hotel around 6:30 p.m. and were given 15 mins to freshen up before the coach left to take us to the harbourfront for dinner. Miguel had advised us ahead of time that our driver needed to have the coach parked by 9:00 p.m., which meant that we’d have to be done dinner and back on the coach by 8:30 p.m. Anyone who was not on the coach at that time would have to make their own way back to the hotel. Some people decided to stay at the hotel for dinner, but my seatmate and I decided to go to the harbourfront as it was a nice location and there were a lot of restaurant choices. We ended up joining a few more people from our group, and went to a restaurant that two of them had gone to the day before that overlooked the water. We sat down at a table on the patio, and advised our waitress that we needed to be done by 8:15 p.m., and they were very quick to take our order and get us our food, and they even brought us all a complimentary glass of port at the end of the meal. Overall, it was a very good meal.

We made it back to the coach by 8:30 p.m., and found out that a lot of people went to the same restaurant (not the same as ours), and even though they advised the staff that they were short on time, they got slow service and didn’t get their food until 8:00 p.m. They all had to rush to eat their dinner in order to make the ride back to the hotel. I guess our restaurant choice was a good one!

We were back at the hotel by 9:00 p.m., and I sat in the lobby for a little while to check my email, as the wifi in my room was not working very well, and then went back to my room and went to bed. I was tired after a long day, and we had an early start the next day.

Day 7 - Evora-Castelo de Vide-Belmonts-Viseu - May 12, 2014

We left at 8:00 a.m. this morning, and stopped shortly after leaving our hotel at our second hidden treasure. Miguel took us to a quarry is Erstremoz, and told us that we would say “wow” when we saw the quarry, and he was right. I felt like I was in the Lord of the Rings movie, looking down into the mines of Moria. It just went on forever. After viewing the quarry, some of us went to see the local stone carver at work, and view some of his creations. A few people bought items, and I considered buying something, but thought it would weight down my luggage too much, so I didn't.

We got back on the coach, and were only on the road for a short while before arriving at Castelo de Vide, located on a green slope of the Serra de Sao Mamede. Miguel walked us to the church of Santa Maria, showed us where the public washrooms were, and gave us an hour to wander around on our own. My seatmate and I wandered into the church to take a look around, and then made our way to the Jewish quarter. We then began the long hike uphill to the Jewish museum and the castle. We finally made it, and to be honest, the castle and museum really weren’t worth seeing, however, the views of the city through the narrow alleys are nice, and made the hike to the top worthwhile. The general area itself is very picturesque, and I’m glad I walked to the top for that reason alone. Once we got to the top, we realized there was another alley that was less steep that we could have taken, and we took this alley down.

When we got back to the main square, I went to use the public washroom, and then took some pictures of the church and square. I then went to get a pastry at the shop I thought Miguel had recommended, but I found out after buying my pastry that I went into the wrong shop. I shared my pastry with my seatmate, and it wasn’t very good. It was a doughy pastry with cinnamon and sugar on top, but it was dry. Oh well. I guess they can’t all be good.

From here we drove to a mall where we stopped for lunch. This was the only lunch stop during the whole tour where we didn’t have a few good restaurant options, although the mall did have a patio, so you could sit outside if you wanted to. I got a piece of pizza and a beer from the Pizza Hut (yes, you could have beer/wine in the food court), and then my seatmate and I did a little shopping. I got another sundress, and she got a few nice tops.

After lunch we made our way to the Roman tower just outside of Belmonte, known as both Centum Cellas or Torre de Colmeal. The role of this tower is uncertain, and theories have suggested a range of functions from hostel to military base to mansion to temple. Miguel gave us some time to walk around the temple and take some pictures, and then surprised us with another treat. The day before he had told us about “minis”, which is a beer in a mini bottle made by Super Bock, which is one of Portugal’s most popular brands of beer. Apparently other company’s now make minis as well, but Super Bock seems to be the most popular in Portugal. Minis are usually served with a snack called Tremocos otherwise known as White Lupins. They are soaked overnight in water and salt, and I really liked them.

After we finished our minis, we got back on the coach and made our way to Viseu. We arrived in Viseu around 4:00 p.m. and as we were driving through the city, I briefly thought about not going on the optional that evening, as it was a picturesque city and I would have liked to have seen some of the sights. I didn’t want to cancel at the last minute though, so I didn’t say anything to Miguel, which worked out well as I loved the optional dinner that evening. Fortunately, our hotel was in a good location, and after checking in and getting ready for dinner, I went across the street to get a picture of the beautiful church on the corner, and to walk around the area. I ran into my seatmate doing the same thing, and after taking a few pictures, we went back to the hotel to have a pre-dinner drink with a few people in the hotel bar.

We left for our optional dinner around 6:30 p.m, and drove to Casa da Ínsua in the heart of the Dao wine region. Casa da Ínsua is an 18th century manor house and estate, containing beautiful formal gardens and large grounds. Upon arrival, Miguel took us for a walk through the gardens making our way to the back of the manor. We then entered the manor, and went on a tour of the beautiful rooms before making our way to a patio overlooking the gardens and extensive grounds. Here we had our first wine tasting, a nice rosé, and were given time to just sit back and enjoy the views. After we finished our wine, Miguel took us to the formal dining room, which is not original to the manor and was built in recent years for large functions like weddings. Once we were seated, the waiters served us our first glass of wine, a nice white, and brought out our first course. This is where I had some problems with not eating fish. Our first course was a nice rice dish with code cake on top of it. I told the waiter no fish, and asked him to take it away, but he didn’t understand why I couldn’t eat fish. He kept telling me to try it and that I might like it. I kept saying “allergic” but he didn’t seem to understand. I finally went and found Miguel, who told me that he had arranged for a separate meal for me and another guy who couldn’t eat fish, and he wasn’t sure why they had brought me the cod (the other guy had the same problem as I did). Miguel went to the kitchen to speak to the staff, and they eventually brought me the rice without the cod, which was very good. Miguel then told me that the next dish was octopus, but not to worry because he had arranged for a special meal for me. Well, my special meal turned out to be cod fish! I had to call Miguel over again, because the waiter didn’t want to take my plate away, and he went back into the kitchen to get me another dish. I finally got a plate with pork and potatoes, which was very good. In the meantime, the white wine kept coming, and by this time we had tried two different kinds. The next dish was mini goat with potatoes, but for some reason I got veal with more potatoes. I asked Miguel about this, and he said that I had mentioned that I didn’t like lamb or duck, so he had arranged for a separate meal for me. I’m actually not a big fan of veal either, but it wasn’t bad, and the potatoes served with it were very good. At this point, our waiter started serving us red wine, but as I don’t like red he gave me more white. After all of these courses, I thought the meal would be over, but there was another course. This time they brought out a pork dish with rice, but since I had already had the pork earlier as a substitute for the octopus, I didn’t eat much of it. I was pretty full by now anyway. After this, they served us apple pie with ice-cream, which was really good, but, unfortunately I was so full I could only have a couple of bites. After all of the wine served this evening, people were starting to feel a little bit more relaxed, and one of our tour members decided to entertain us with a song and an Elvis impersonation. He was actually not bad, and we all had a good laugh listening to him “perform”. Someone then suggested that I get up and sing a song, but I passed. I advised her that I was tone deaf and that no one wanted to hear me sing!

As you can imagine after so many courses, it was after 10:00 p.m. when we finished dinner and got on the coach. I don’t know how we got on the subject, but people started asking Miguel to sing, which he did after some persuasion. He sang a Portuguese song, so we didn’t understand the words, but he was actually pretty good. We didn’t get back to the hotel until after 10:30 p.m. but it was a good night and I really enjoyed this optional dinner, despite the problems with my substitute meals.

Day 9 - Oporto Sightseeing and Free Time - May 14, 2014

I was up at 6:30 a.m. this morning, and went to breakfast at 7:30 a.m. I arrived at the restaurant only to find the same craziness that I found my first day in Lisbon (I'll note that this hotel is part of the same hotel chain as our first hotel in Lisbon). There was no one at the door though, so I walked right in, and got lucky by finding a single seat at a round table with 7 others from my group. Some of them told me they waited 10 mins to be seated, and when I was leaving the restaurant, I noticed some people from our group eating breakfast in the lobby. Miguel advised us later that he spoke to the hotel manager, who advised that there would be extra tables set up in the lobby the next day, and more staff added to refill the food and clean the tables.

We left the hotel at 8:30 a.m., and our local guide was already on the coach waiting for us. We drove to the Stock Exchange Palace, driving by the main shopping and financial district. Our local good pointed out a book store where J.K. Rowlings got her inspiration for the library in her Harry Potter Books. Apparently her first husband was Portuguese, and she lived in Portugal before writing the books that made her famous. We arrived at the Stock Exchange a little before 9:00 a.m., and had to wait a few minutes to enter, as it wasn't opened yet. The Stock Exchange was built where the Monastery of St. Francis once stood by the city's merchants in 1842. Once allowed in, our local guide took us on a tour of the beautiful rooms, finishing in the beautiful Arabian Room, which was inspired by Granada's Alhambra. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures inside, which was unfortunate, as I would have loved to have taken pictures here.

From here, our local guide walked us to the Ribeira quarter, allowing us to get great pictures of the waterfront. We then walked to a filigree shop, and had time to look at the jewelry. I found a beautiful silver necklace that I loved, but it was too expensive, so I settled on a silver bracelet and a pair of gold plated earrings. I was surprised that we were not offered a discount here or told about getting the VAT tax back, which I've experienced on past tours.

After shopping, the rest of the group left for their wine tasting at a port cellar, however, as I had visited the port cellar the first time I was in Portugal, I opted not to go. I had mentioned this to another couple a few days before, and told them what I wanted to see during my free time, and they asked if they could join me as they didn't want to go to the port cellar either. After the tour group left us, we made our way to St. Francis' Church, which is right beside the Stock Exchange, stopping to look inside the Church of St. Nicola, which is right across the street. We then went to buy our tickets for St. Francis, which was 3.00 Euros and included entrance into the church, catacombs and small museum which contains treasures from the church's monastery.

St. Francis is a Gothic church that was begun in 1300s, but the interior is 18th century baroque and covered in gold. The highlight of this church though is the Tree of Jesse, which is in gilded and painted wood, and was carved between 1718-1721. The Tree of Jesse is Jesus' family tree, starting with Jesse at the root of the tree, with King David on his right and Solomon on has left. At the top of the tree is Jesus, with Mary and Joseph on each side of him. We spent quite a bit of time here, however, we finally had to leave to see the catacombs, as we wanted to go to the Cathedral and had to get there before it closed for lunch at 12:30 p.m. There really wasn't much to see in the catacombs, so we didn't spend that much time there. We then left for the cathedral, stopping at the Stock Exchange again to get a post card of the Arabian Room, however, none of them did the room justice, so we didn't buy anything. We then walked back to the Ribeira quarter, and towards the Filigree store. Miguel had told us that there was an elevator to the Cathedral from there, which would be quicker to use than then the tram. We found the elevator and took it to the top, but when we got off, we found a lot of stairs that we still had to climb to get to the Cathedral. We finally made it, but it was quite the hike.

We arrived at the open terrace, but decided to go into the Cathedral before taking pictures of the scenery, as it closed at 12:30 p.m. The Cathedral was built as a fortress church in the 12th and 13th centuries, but has been modified several times over the years. We went into the church, walked around and took pictures, and then paid to go into the cloisters, which contain beautiful azulejo panels, the Capela de Sao Vincent and the Capela S. Joao Evangelista. We spent about 45 mins here before being told we had to leave by security, as the place was about to close. We then went back to the observation Terrace to take some pictures of the Cathedral and surrounding scenery, and then decided it was time for lunch. We wanted to go back to the river front for lunch, but didn't want to walk back down, however, we didn't see any nice restaurants around the Cathedral area, so we made the hike back down the stairs and elevator. We found a restaurant fairly quickly, and sat outside overlooking the river. I shared some white Sangria and the local specialty recommended by Miguel, the francesinha sandwich, with one of my travel companions. The francesinha is an open faced steak sandwich with cheese and chorizo sausage and topped with a fried egg. It was really good, but really big, and I'm glad I had someone to share it with. The weather was so nice, we spent quite a bit of time just sitting on the patio and enjoying the weather, but we eventually paid the bill and went into some of the shops along the Ribeira before making our way to Sao Bento Station. The central railway station is on the site of an earlier monastery, and was completed in 1916. The inside contains azulejos depicting early modes of transport, rural festivities and historic scenes. After taking pictures both inside and outside of the train station, we walked to Santa Clara, which was somewhat hard to find, but we eventually found it. It was closed when we first got there, but we got lucky as it opened at 3:00 p.m., so we only had a few mins to wait. Santa Clara is a mannerist church, and the interior is covered in gilded wood work. It was beautiful inside, and, fortunately, we were allowed to take pictures.

After leaving Santa Clara, we started walking toward the central shopping and financial district, stopping to take pictures of the Iglesia de los Congredados (the tiles on the outside depict scenes from the life of St. Antony) and the Igreja do Carmo and the Igreja dos Carmelitas (two churches in one building) and the Torre dos Clerigos. We then went into the book store that our local guide had told us about in the morning, which was really cute inside. Unfortunately, we could not take pictures. By this time, we were all tired, so we stopped to have a drink at the cafe beside the book store, and then took a cab back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

We left for the optional cruise and dinner at 6:00 p.m., and went back to the Ribeira area. On the way to the boat, Miguel stopped to show us the house where Henry the Navigator was supposedly born. When then walked to the waterfront to catch our boat, only to find a huge line-up, but we were able to bypass the line-up and get first choice of seats. The cruise was nice and relaxing, and gave a different perspective of everything we saw that day, and after it was over, we walked to our restaurant on the waterfront. When we sat down we found bread and chorizo sausage on the table, and some people stared eating the sausage until Miguel told us to stop. Apparently it was supposed to be lit on fire first, and then eaten. We were then brought a huge salad to share, and after that, we were brought a platter with pork and potatoes and a platter of fish and potatoes. I had the pork, obviously, but I didn't like it very much. I found it to be too fatty for my taste, but the potatoes were really good, as was the salad and chorizo sausage, so overall, I enjoyed the dinner. We happened to have a couple of birthdays that day, so Miguel arranged for two birthday cakes, and that's what we had for dessert. Both cakes were good, but I only had a few bites of each as I was so full from dinner. After dinner, we walked along the Ribeira district to the coach, and then made our way back to the hotel. Overall, this was my favourite day of the tour, and I really loved Porto.

Day 11 - Fatima-Batalha-Nazare-Obidos-Lisbon - May 16, 2014

I was up at 6:30 a.m. this morning, and noticed that it looked pretty cloudy outside. They had been calling for rain, but I was hoping the weather forecast would change by the time I woke up. I still dressed for a hot summer day, as I had looked at the weather for where we were going that day, and knew it would be sunny and hot by noon.

We went on our included sightseeing of Fatima after breakfast. It was raining by this time, and some people decided to change their clothes before leaving, and others decided to skip the sightseeing altogether. It actually cleared up shortly after we started, and it wasn’t that cold, so I’m not sure why they decided to stay at the hotel. We walked to the old Basilica first, where the three shepherd children who claimed to have saw the Virgin Mary in 1917 are buried. Lucia is the only one of the three who heard the “Secret of Fatima”, and she eventually became a nun and entered the Carmelite convent of St. Teresa in Conimbra, where she resided until her death in 2005. Her young cousins, however, died at a young age. Lucia was originally buried in Coimbra, but her tomb is now in Fatima with her young cousins. After viewing the old cathedral, which is partly under construction, we walked to the new church, the Church of the Holy Trinity. This church is huge, and able to seat 9000 people. I personally did not like this church, as I found it reminded me more of auditorium than a church, however, the shrine is decorated with beautiful gold mosaics. Miguel then gave us some free time to take pictures, and told us to be on the coach by 9:45 a.m.

We left Fatima, and were only on the road for a short time before arriving at my favourite abbey, Batalha. Batalha is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is famous for its Manueline elements. It was started in 1385 by Joao I, as a celebration of his victory over Castile at Aljubarrota. We stared our tour outside of the Abbey, and then made our way into the Abbey through the Portal, which was decorated with religious motifs and statues of the apostles. We then walked through the Abbey to the Nave, before entering the Founder's Chapel, my favourite room, where the tombs of Joao I and his English wife, Philippa of Lancaster, are lying hand in hand. Their son, Henry the Navigator, is also buried here. From here we walked to the Chapter House, where guards keep watch by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers, and then we walked through the Royal Cloisters to the Unfinished Chapels. The Unfinished Chapels were begun under King Durate, but were abandoned by Manuel in in favour of the Jeronimos Monastery in Belem.

Our next stop was for lunch in the fishing village of Nazare. We got off the coach and walked to the main square where we found a lot of restaurant selections. We picked a covered patio, as it had started raining again, but by the time lunch was over, the sun was out and it was hot. A few of us walked to the beach to get some pictures of the water and steep cliffs, and put our feet in the water. It was then back to the coach to make our way to our last sightseeing stop of the tour, Obidos.

We arrived in Obidos around 2:00 p.m., and Miguel walked us to a Ginja shop for our last treat of the tour, Ginja in a chocolate cup. Ginja is a cherry flavoured liquor that is served all over Portugal, but Obidos is known for serving it in a chocolate cup that can be eaten. After our liquor, Miguel gave us about 30 mins to walk around Obido, climb the walls or do some shopping. I had been to Ogbdos before, and had walked the walls the first time I was there, so this time, I just climbed the walls to get a few pictures, and then walked through the small town. I went into the town library, which has a beautiful mural on the back wall, and then checked out some of the shops. We really didn't have a lot of time in Obidos, and everyone said they would have liked more time here when we got back on the coach.

We arrived at our hotel in Lisbon around 4:00 p.m., which was further from the city center than our first hotel, but was close to the airport and very modern. Miguel told us to meet in the lobby at 7:00 p.m. to leave for our farewell dinner, and we were all wondering why we had to leave Obidos so early when we had 3 hours at the hotel to get ready.

After freshening up, I met a few people in the lobby for drinks before leaving for dinner, which was at a restaurant on the Avenida da Liberdade. We were given choices for this meal, which we had selected the day before, and I had chosen the beef carpaccio to start, the pasta, and the apple pie for dessert. All were very good, but the other courses looked really good a well.

After dinner, Miguel helped me check into my flight, as the wifi wasn't working for me, and then I met a few people in the lobby for a drink before bed.

Day 13 - Last Morning in Lisbon and Flight Back to Canada- May 18, 2014

I was able to sleep in again today, and slept really well thanks to the cold medication I took the night before, but still felt congested in my chest. I got up, showered and finished my last minute packing, and then went to look for a place for breakfast. When I booked my extra night, I didn’t pay for breakfast because it was very expensive, and I knew I could find someplace cheaper to go for breakfast. What I didn’t realize, was that my last day was a Sunday, and that almost everything would be closed. I did find a small cafe close by, but they only served coffee and pastries, and I wanted more than that. Finally, after walking 5 blocks, I found a small cafe that was open, where I could get some freshly squeezed orange juice and a grilled ham and cheese sandwich for 2.50 Euros. 

After breakfast, I went back to the hotel and ran into a women from our tour in the lobby, and spent about half an hour chatting with her. I then went to my room to get my luggage, checked out of the hotel, and got a taxi to the airport. Miguel had advised that I only needed to be at the airport two hours before my flight, as I was already checked in, however, I think an hour and a half would have been sufficient. It took me 5 minutes to drop off my luggage and another 5 minutes to get through security. At least the airport had a lot of nice shops that I could check out before catching my flight to Porto. If I had flown home on the Saturday, I would have had a direct flight from Lisbon to Toronto, but because I was flying home on the Sunday, I had to fly to Porto first. It was not a long flight though, and I didn’t have a long layover at Porto, so it wasn’t that bad.

The flight home was comfortable (I had three seats to myself) and went by fairly quickly, and before I knew it, I was back home after another wonderful trip.