4 Feb 2022
We arrived in Lisbon a few days ago -- you will never find precision in my accounts, don't ask for it. I think we got past jet lag yesterday, or maybe the day before that. We recommend you save some extra money as you plan your trip here for the business class update that is so worth the expense.
Two nights in Lisbon: Sightseeing. Eating. Walking, 7 miles one day according to ML's Fitbit. A tuk-tuk tour with our driver/guide, Carlos, pointing out the important spots. Enjoyed the most incredible meals of fish, potatoes, greens, and maybe a glass or two of wine (important to hydrate, doncha' know?)
We rented a car for the trip to Quarteira in the Algarve. It's a beautiful coastal town with a marina berthing very high-end sea going vessels of various sizes with one, two, and three hulls, incredible shapes and colors. It's a bit touristy here but not at all crowded in this the off-season. More fish lunches and dinners and maybe another glass or two of wine. We are told that the population expands to about 10 times its current number beginning in late March.
For our entire two-month stay here, we rented a very nice small apartment in Quarteira from a lovely couple, Mauricio, an Italian, and Orianna, a Colombian. We communicated in English and very basic Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. Well, to even use the term basic is to overstate the case, but I keep trying. I think they were amused.
Yesterday, we drove a few kilometers to a rustic town called Tavira, still in the Algarve, and then to Faro, another small coastal town nearby, where we enjoyed; you guessed it, fish, veggies, and maybe another glass or two of wine (see a pattern here?) I'm sure there are some charming parts to Faro; we just did not encounter them.
Today we lunched with a charming Scottish couple, the Ellis's, friends of our friend Sharon from Dallas, who made the introduction for us. The Ellis's live in a beautiful golf resort and have lived in Portugal for the last twenty years, or so. We enjoyed a delicious meal of . . . well, you know. What a gracious couple. We'll be seeing more of them.
I'll add some photos in future posts. For now, I'll keep it brief, sparse, sparing.
Ciao.