Portugal

After our Camino ended, we spent a few days in Porto and Lisbon with our friends before returning home. 

Carrie and Jerry’s kids, Ben, John, and Jane, joined us in Porto. Their work and college schedules didn’t allow for them to participate in the Camino. We were so happy to spend several days all together in Portugal!

Portugal is beautiful!

My favorite part was seeing all the Portuguese tiles. They cover the facades of many buildings and give a very unique look to the old cities. 

Our VRBO in Porto was very much not as advertised on the website. It was disappointing, but now we find the comedy in the situation. There are many stories that will make us laugh as we remember them for years to come. 

When we arrived we were met by the grandma who manages the house. Even though it was past check in time, she was still cleaning and making the beds. She did offer us a bottle of port that we believe she made, though none of us speak Portuguese so we aren’t fully sure. 

There were grocery carts with garbage in them out back. The room where Dan and I slept was barely larger than the bed. We had to shuffle sideways between the bed and the wall to get to the door. Another bed was held up with paint cans. The couch was held up by an old car wheel. The locks in the doors didn’t work well and getting the keys to open them was very challenging. When I accidentally locked us out of the apartment Dan and I stayed in it was no problem because the windows didn’t lock or even really close all the way. 

The VRBO website indicated there was laundry available. Here it is-

The actual washer was in a locked room which was in the main house, but accessed off the patio. Dan and I got a panicked text from Claire and Eliza at 10:00pm thinking someone was in the house with them. Dan raced out to find the grandma doing laundry. She continued with the washing until least 2:00am. 

It was all part of the journey and none of that deterred us from enjoying our time together exploring a fascinating city! 

After Porto we took a train to Lisbon for the last 2 days of our trip. We visited the waterfront, ate in several good restaurants, and enjoyed wandering the city. 

I loved visiting the tile museum in Lisbon. It was in an old cathedral and had amazing displays where we learned more about the history of the tiles.

Here’s my favorite view that we saw in Lisbon. 

Now that we are home, I have had more time to reflect on our trip. I have one or two additional posts I intend to make in the coming days. 

It was a life changing experience in many ways and I’ll never forget this 50th birthday celebration 😊.