I spent 8 nights in beautiful Madeira, three nights in Funchal before renting a car to see the rest of the island and staying in Ponta do Sol. I flew from Faro with a layover/connection in Lisbon before arriving in Funchal. Funchal Arriving in Funchal I took the airport shuttle downtown. I booked a roundtrip ticket to save a couple euro, 6.00€, one way, 10.00€ roundtrip. Unfortunately, three days later, wanting to return to the airport to pick up my…
Everyone in Portugal talks about Evora. It’s one of the things I’m asked frequently when meeting other ex-pats in Lagos. Have you been to Evora? Not yet. Well, it was time. My well-used travel book, 1000 Places to See Before You Die, has a page on Evora. It also recommended the “pousadas” or historic hotels of Portugal. These are old convents or castles. I used the Pousadas de Portugal site to reserve the Hotel Pousada Convento Évora, a 15th century…
There are so many wonderful towns to explore in the Algarve, as well as magnificent trails, rugged coasts, parks, and beautiful beaches. Here are some of my favorites sites and activities. I feel quite lucky to live here and have time to explore little towns and search out new sites. I will continue to add sites as I explore. Carrapateira Islamic Settlement of Ponta do Castelo an archeological site and ruins of an Islamic fishing village from the 12th-13th c….
There are some great restaurants throughout the area. I have been enjoying trying different restaurants and learning more about Portuguese food. Because of all the visitors and ex-pats, however, there are plenty of options and styles. There is a lot of seafood, of course, and I found this article that helped with different types of fish: Portuguese Fish. I used this to make a cheat sheet and saved on my phone when I eat out. Carrapateira Microbar Carrapateira – great…
Kelly M and I decided to go to Lisbon to see the Christmas markets. We took the Flixbus from Lagos to the Lisbon Oriental station. The bus stops at Portimao and another location before taking the highway north. It’s about a 4 hour trip. I thought the train would be faster but from Lagos you have to take a fairly slow train to Faro then can catch the express to Lisbon so it can take just as long. We left…
This was both a visit to a friend, Kelly M, who lives in Lagos, as well as a scouting trip for a rental for a move to Portugal. Kelly M is not the Kelly I’ve traveled with for years, but we also worked together. She recently retired and moved to Lagos. I flew into the Faro airport and she picked me up. We wandered through the Faro Old Town, visited Igrega do Carmo and Capela dos Ossos (chapel of bones),…
In the many years I’ve been wandering the world, I’ve been so lucky to see amazing sites. I do think travel is a wonderful way to learn, about other people, other cultures, and, of course, world history. All of these sites were amazing; interesting museums, beautiful castles, ancient ruins. I recommend each and every one. History Museums Museo Galileo, Florence, Italy Musee Marciano, Venice, Italy Musee Civico Correr, Venice, Italy Musee Storico Navale, Venice, Italy Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt Conciergerie,…
Alex and I booked a week in Lisbon, Portugal in November, 2004, over Thanksgiving break of her senior year in high school. We used Go-Today like we have many times, for their flights and hotels. Thinking about this trip throughout the years, I remember the beautiful Peña Palace and moorish ruins in Sintra, the tile museum, and Christmas decorations. Then I pulled up my scrapbook journaling to write this post and I am quite disappointed both by the amount of…