Tag Archive: Traveling

1. Day 13 Lisbon

   May 27, 2011 11:36 AM Comments Off on Day 13 Lisbon

   We woke up without an alarm, which was a lovely treat although I didn’t sleep that well anyway because my legs were so stiff. We had our last breakfast with that gorgeous view and then packed up to drive back to Lisbon. We were not looking forward to 4 hours in the car. But it was mostly freeway and it was easy. Even getting into Lisbon center was painless and we found a parking spot right near the hotel, where we checked in and the concierge took the car keys and called the rental agency to pick the car up. Our two car rentals of the trip were both handled by hotels and went so smoothly that I will try to arrange that again on future trips.

   So we dumped our bags and headed out to see just a few more sights in Lisbon.

   

   One of our first stops was a little wine bar near the Castle of Sao Jorge. And I’m so glad we found it because next door was an artist’s co-op that featured tiles by an artist whose work we saw in Obidos. While there we had gone back and forth about a particular piece but didn’t manage to pull the trigger, figuring we might see something we wanted more. I was so happy to find her work again.

   

   From there we headed down to the waterfront to check out the restaurant partially owned by John Malkovich. Do I look tired? I am so whooped.

   

   We went back to the hotel to freshen up, then wandered back up to the Barrio Alto to hit a favorite wine bar. We were sitting on stools in the street when this Hummer drove through. The funny owner said, “Perhaps not so appropriate for the city center,” as we all scrunched our knees in to make room.

   Also in the Barrio Alto, we purchased our last souvenir of the trip. When shopping for souvenirs I seek out individual local artists, and we found this ceramics studio with the most insane sculptures you could imagine. They were all made of clay but with intricate carving and bright colors. I loved meeting the sculptor in his apron with his kiln behind him. I could have spent days studying these pieces. There was one tea pot with a lion that I really wanted but it was a bajillion Euros.

   

   But there was a hand-made bowl that caught my eye. He wrapped it very well and we took it on our way. He told me this story about a couple from LA who purchased one of his floor lamps and carried it home on the airplane. I asked him if they bought a seat for it.

   From there we walked back to the Chiado and ate dinner at Sacramento. It was our last meal in Portugal. So what do you think I ordered? That’s right. Octopus.

   

    

2. 1 Day 3 Hours

   May 9, 2011 2:01 PM Comments Off on 1 Day 3 Hours

   John and I spent the weekend running last minute errands and running through several packing configurations. We have decided to check our bags and for two very good reasons. First, after 5 weeks of physical therapy, I re-injured my shoulder and am back to pain levels I had on day 1. I don’t need to be lifting any bags, or dragging them around, for that matter. Plus, we have a big bag of snacks to bring with us.

   We’re really looking forward to this getaway. We’ll be updating you on our progress soon.

3. Eight More Days: Packing Run-Through

   May 1, 2011 3:35 PM Comments Off on Eight More Days: Packing Run-Through

   Were you getting anxious about the Packing for our trip to Portugal? I hope I haven’t waited too long to tell you I have completed my Packing Run-Through. And boy am I glad I did, because the Packing Run-Through made it painfully clear that I needed some more tops and bottoms. The Packing Run-Through sent me off on a shopping trip to fill in some blanks in the wardrobe.

   I started the Packing Run-Through a few weeks ago but got distracted and put it on hold. In the interim, John made some funny additions to my packing list. Ha ha ha. I wish!

   Today I picked up where I left off and completed the Packing Run-Through. I don’t know what it’s like packing at your house, but here’s what it’s like at my house.

   

   John “writes in” some items on my list.

    

   

   Kitty really does want to come to Portugal

   Here’s the final list of what I am taking. I have 12 dresses so far. John mentioned I should probably pack more. He’s a good man.

   

   Final Packing List

4. Some Restaurants

   April 25, 2011 11:09 AM Comments Off on Some Restaurants

   You already know we will be running two races in Portugal, a 25K trail run and a Half Marathon. So I’m sure you understand that we will need to make up for that calorie deficit with some fine dining.  In fact, my mouth is already watering over these dinner reservations:

   May 12 Tea at Reid’s Palace Tea Terrace will include delicious cakes and finger sandwiches.

   May 14 also at Reid’s Palace we will enjoy a Gala Champagne Dinner at the Main Dining Room.

   May 17 we will walk up the hill from our hotel in Lisbon to experience a 7 course tasting at 100 Maneiras.

   We’re still working on the rest of our choices for dinners and lunches in Funchal, Lisbon, and Porto. Any recommendations?

5. The Lodging–Five Hotels in Portugal

   April 20, 2011 6:08 AM 1 Comment

   Our approach to planning the Portugal trip, I will admit to you, was a little sloppy. We came back from Peru in December feeling manic. We tried to plan an Italy/Croatia adventure for August, which is the perfect time to get out of Phoenix, but we couldn’t make the flights happen. So then, we tried Portugal in May, and it worked. We spent about a month thinking we would go to Morocco as well. We’re going to Madeira, which is off the coast of Africa, so we thought it would be easy to hop on over. Well, to get to Morocco we would have had to fly back to Lisbon. We were looking at only about 32 hours in Fez. I really want to spend more time in Morocco, so we’ll dedicate a future trip completely to it.

   That decided, and our races picked, we looked for places to sleep. John found our Lisbon hotel lx boutique on Tripadvisor. We booked it, and later it showed up on Conde Nast’s 2011 hot list for Europe. We’ll stay there a total of 4 nights, though they are spread out: our first and last night, and a couple in the middle. We’re hoping it will be a nice home base.

   Lisbon: lx Boutique Hotel

   

    

    

    

    

    

   We looked into staying at the race launch point in Porto Moniz, but all the hotels were booked, and I have to say thank goodness since we waited a few weeks, and a package for Reid’s Palace came up on Luxurylink.com. This is an Orient Express hotel so the service has already been impeccable. The concierge has made my dinner reservations, arranged a car on the day of the race, and promised to pick us up at the airport in a limo. Since I haven’t been in a limo since prom, this is going to be fun!

   Madeira: Reid’s Palace

   

   Back to the continent, we are going to take several days to drive from Lisbon up the coast to Porto. I’m interested to see the two cities, since Lisbon was devastated by an earthquake in the 1700’s, and Porto was not. I wonder how much difference that will make in landmarks and architecture? Our first stop on this drive up the coast is Obidos.

   Obidos: Casa d’Obidos

   Also on our drive, we’ll stop in the town of Coimbra where I can’t wait to stay in this elegant manor.

   Coimbra: Hotel Quinta das Lagirmas

   

   We are running a half marathon in the Douro Valley, so we wanted a retreat where we could relax afterwards. When I emailed and inquired about rooms, I got a sweet note from Ursula, the owner. She said “It’s hard to believe our little half marathon made its way to Arizona. Sometimes I feel like we live at the end of the earth.” Well, I can’t wait to see her end of the earth. And soon, I will!

   Pinhao: Case do Visconde de Chancelerios

   

6. Last Minute Preparations

   December 15, 2010 3:57 PM Comments Off on Last Minute Preparations

   Decisions are exhausting. That might be one reason some people choose not to travel: there are endless decisions. We have made most of ours, including when to go, where to stay and what to do. But with 1 day and 18 hours left before we leave, there are still several important decisions to be made.

   Perhaps the most important decision to be made is in a category I will call Trip Electronics. This category has become more complex over the years, but it is especially complex on this trip since we will be hiking for 4 days and will be separated from the majority of our luggage (not to mention electricity) and will have with us only what we decide to carry.

   All day today I had to resist the urge to purchase a third camera to take on the Trek. And while I am usually dependent on a laptop for photos, GPS, blogging, email, etc., this time we are trying out the minimalist approach and determining if we can use the iPad for all of the above.

   This blog post is coming to you from the iPad. Today I bought a camera conversion kit and loaded photos straight from my camera to the iPad so I can test that combination to see if it is adequate for the trip.

   Here are three pictures from a recent training hike on South Mountain with my friends Cindy and Lesley, and one picture featuring some last minute bonding between John and Penny.

   What do you think? Adequate?

   

   Cindy and Lesley

   

   Trish and Cindy at the Top.

   

   Blue Sky Cactus.

   

   Who Spoiled the Vizsla?