Portugal - Lisbon & Algarve

 

(Dec 25, 2024 - Jan 5, 2025) 

For the holiday break we headed to Portugal again. We visited Lisbon and Algarve and included Sam this time.  Portugal was a huge improvement over Amsterdam this time of year for sun and warmth. 🌞

More Lisbon and Algarve photos here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZY7MkqnYN8KMzUrb9

Lisbon

As usual we did a food tour in Lisbon. Here is a photo of a "competition" the tour guide did on who could fill the glasses the fullest without spilling. Ryan will claim he won but gave the victory to his opponent. 

Castelo de Sao Jorge (St. George's Castle) is a good place to visit for views.

Sintra is a popular town to visit outside of Lisbon. I will say up front that I have not figured out the best way to do a day trip and this was no exception. I opted not to do a big group tour due to prior challenges (see Madrid blog entry). We took the train which was the easy part. Then we took a local bus to see some of the sights including the Pena Palace (picture below) and a castle plus have lunch in the town. We did not take the advice the internet gave us to get an early start to avoid the crowds and that is likely the root cause of the less than ideal day.

The bus ride was slow due to traffic and between the curvy roads and stop-and-go nature of the ride, I was worried about Sam's motion sickness (he didn't vomit) and it took FOREVER to get anywhere. By the time we got off the bus Sam and I had to go to the bathroom really bad but there were no bathrooms in sight (or at least that were open). So despite being on a scenic hike which is normally my favorite thing, all I could think about was needing to go to the bathroom.

We had a good lunch and went to a wine bar near the train station so it was not a complete failure, but not the experience I was hoping for.

The Oceanario wouldn't normally be on my agenda but it was chosen by Sam since he now has input into our activity planning. We get a winery tour (in Algarve) and he gets an aquarium which seems fair.  I have not been to many aquariums but I think this was good.  Ryan did his usual cooking class while we were there. 

A sunset boat cruise is a popular activity in Lisbon. It was a small group tour but it ended up being just us because I think most people don't think to do a boat ride in December.  The guide let Sam drive the boat and it frightened me. 😟

The Ponte 25 de Abril Bridge (or Tagus River Bridge) is similar to the Golden Gate Bridge and was actually made by an American company.

When Ryan and I went to Porto, it was suggested that we attend a Fado Show, which we did not do.  This time I booked it!  Fado is traditional Portuguese music which is meant to be sad, although it was all in Portuguese so I am not sure what they were singing about. 

Ryan can't miss a Packer game and now Sam can't miss a football (soccer) game. Three games at once in our little Lisbon apartment.  Every man's dream.

Algarve

Halfway through the trip we rented a car and drove to Algarve.  We stayed in an apartment in Lagos with an ocean view.

We had another private boat tour in Lagos to see the caves on the coastline that this area is known for. Despite the calmness in the photo below, much of the ride was fast and "bouncy".   I did not enjoy that aspect, but the caves were nice.

New Years Eve included Ryan making the meal he learned in his Lisbon cooking class and then trying to teach us cards.  Sam took to it and became obsessed.  Me not so much.

Hiking was the activity I was most looking forward to in Algarve.  We did 2 hikes that I started by myself and Ryan and Sam met me part way through (family compromise!).  

The Seven Hanging Valleys hike is well-known in the area.  After we took this photo Sam had an extended meltdown because the sun "burned his eyes". 🙄

The other hike was in Lagos and ran in front of our apartment, through Lagos and then along the coast where the caves were that we saw on the bouncy boat ride. 

Winery Tour / Albufeira

Algarve is another wine producing region in Portugal.  A unique aspect of our winery tour was learning about cork production.  Portugal is the #1 country for producing cork.  The picture below is a cork tree with part of the cork exterior removed.  They are required to leave part of the cork on the tree during removal.  

Albufeira had a more touristy feel than Lagos.

Lisbon (again)

We had a night back in Lisbon before catching our flight home. Another Sam activity was going to a football (soccer) game that night.  Braga upset Benfica (one of two Lisbon football teams).  Sam will definitively say that this was his favorite part of the trip.  Video from the game.