We were quite excited to be headed back to Portugal. It is no secret that this country has risen to the top of our list of possible places to settle down. We were very keen to see if we enjoyed other towns in Portugal as much as we did Lagos.
What made the trip even more exciting was the fact that we got to meet up with friends while we were there. So off we set from Croatia and after a couple of flights arrived in Lisbon. We decided to stay in a hotel for the first night and arrived midday for lunch for a much-needed nap.
After a rest and a shower, we headed out to meet our good fiends, Iain and Ruth. One our many favorite things about this
couple is that we are so simpatico that even though we have not seen (or spoken to) them in years, we fall right back in as if we just saw them yesterday. George worked with Ruth in the early days of BellSouth and later with Iain at T-Mobile. When they invited us to their wedding in Turkey years ago, we don’t think they really thought we would come, but we did and had a great time.
Our visit with Iain and Ruth had a bonus, we got to catch up with many members of Ruth’s family, as well as Ian’s best friend. Everyone was in town for Ruth’s brother’s birthday celebration. We had an amazing seafood dinner and a wonderful visit.
The next day we got up packed up and headed to the train station to meet our dear friends Leslie and Becky. We met up at the station and hopped on the comfort car of the train for an enjoyable 3 hour ride to Porto. Leslie and Becky have been a constant part of our lives since we met
them in Atlanta 16 years ago. They live in St. Pete Beach Florida, and if you check out driver’s licenses you will find that 
we all share the same address. Allowing us to use their house as a home base is just one of the many things these two amazing people do to support our traveling life.
From the train station we headed to our Airbnb in Porto, a large well-appointed place where we all settled in quickly. Everyone was a bit travel weary, but we still managed to have a lovely dinner down on the river that evening.
Our first stop on the tourist route was the Livaria Lello, which is an amazing 
bookstore that was known to be frequented by J.K. Rowling. Once you visit it is easy to see that this location was clearly the influence for “Flourish and Blotts” the best bookstore in Diagon Alley. The combination of NeoGothic style and amazing woodwork takes your breath away. But what really catches your eye is the hand carved wooden stairway. When you are on it, one can easily imagine that you are on the grand staircase at Hogwarts, and you can’t help but wonder if it is about to suddenly change configuration like the one in the books did.
It would be impossible to describe a trip to Porto without talking about the food. Mornings are a chance
to get espresso and a Portuguese specialty called Pastel De Nata. And between the four of us, we tried a lot of them looking for the perfect creamy egg custard nestled in a flaky crust cup. Some were better than others, but most were delicious and we had a lot of fun looking for the best.
Another staple of Porto cuisine is the francesinha sandwich (Little Frenchie in Portuguese). This over-the-top sandwich contains sliced sirloin steak and Portuguese sausage, served on crunchy sourdough bread, smothered in a thick layer of cheese and swimming in a tomato and beer sauce. It might sounds sketchy but trust us – it is fantastic. The best ones are topped with a fried egg. Imagine if an amazing steak sandwich and a perfect French onion soup got married and had a baby….
Porto of course is known for its fortified wines or Ports. Bonnie made arrangement for us all to be picked up for a day
touring the Douro River Valley, to learn about Ports and the other wines there. We toured two lovely wineries, which were very small by California standards, and enjoyed tasting a lot of different types of wine and Ports. We also enjoyed a river barge cruise down the river to see the sights.
All too soon it was time for us to pack up and leave delightful Porto. But the good news was that we still had to more days to spend with Leslie and Becky exploring Lisbon. We all hopped on the train and headed back.
One of the fun things about an Airbnb is that you really don’t know what to expect, sometimes the residences can be fun
and quirky and our place in Lisbon certainly did not disappoint. Tucked into a historic building in the Alfama district of Lisbon, this apartment was beyond eclectic, right down to a combination bicycle and bulls head that adorned the wall. The location was an excellent central spot for us to use as a base for exploring. We wandered for miles, tasting more pastel de nata, and generally got to know Lisbon.
After an amazing week together, we loaded Leslie and Becky into an Uber bound for the airport and home. This next day we made the same trek on our way to Penang Malaysia.
Portugal was everything we hoped it would be, the style, the vibe, the food and friends.
We will be back!
We lucked out and met one of the locals, a delightful non-poet and musician by the name of David Dixon. When he is not actively busking, hosting open mike nights or writing sharp little sonnets, David is a bartender at the best spot in Lagos for Mexican food,
David turned us on to several local events including a music festival at the cultural center in Barao de Sao Joao (about 15 minute Uber ride from Lagos). At this festival we were introduced to the music of 
Castle which was built by the Moors in the 8th century. The town itself if divided by a large shipping canal that cuts the area diagonally. Most the residential area, old town, city hall and grotto beaches on are the Northwest side, while the major marina, ship yards and the largest public beach is on the Southeast side.
almost all painted bright white with blue or green accents. The local language is Portuguese, and while almost no one speaks Spanish, many can muddle along in English. The distinction between Spanish and Portuguese is important since both Bonnie and I are pretty comfortable in Spanish, but we had each forgotten the Portuguese we learned while living in Brazil. One certainly wants to try and speak the local language, and since they sound similar the inclination is to ‘fake it’ by speaking Spanish. However, with all the similarities, they are different enough to be difficult. Orange juice, for instance in Spanish to jugo de naranja and in Portuguese it is suco a laranja.
sea. This means there can be some pretty steep walks back up the hills to return from town or the beaches. The town in the old city is what you would expect to find in a European tourist area, jammed with small bars, coffee shops and trinket vendors. Kiosks line the boardwalk along the canal and small restaurants fight for space on the waterfront.
One delightful thing we have found is the quality of the live music presented by buskers in the street. Unlike many areas that shun traveling bards, Lagos encourages it and has it organized. Buskers are required to present their address and a photo once a year, they are also required to go in on Fridays and get a permit for performances the following week. We are told that the enforcement of these requirements for newcomers is pretty loose, and a first time cry of “gosh I didn’t know” will get you a slap on the hand and an explanation of the rules.
beaches, starting with Batata do Praia (Potato beach) are harder to get to, smaller and surrounded by sheer walls of ancient rock. The waterline of the beach has more shells, stones and rocks than Meia Praia, but the views are amazing, Many of grotto beaches are interconnected by small passage through the stone cliffs.
