Before leaving Fátima this morning, a few of us took a quick tour of the overabundance of souvenir shops in the village, and I was able to take a picture of the wax body parts people bring to the shrine to pray for someone with a particular medical problem e.g. breast cancer, brain tumor, etc.… Read More Last day in Portugal
Our hotel, the Hotel Fátima could not be any closer to the site where the Miracle of Fátima occurred. In fact, I could hear the priest chanting and the organ playing from my hotel room. We arrived in late afternoon and Pedro, our guide, quickly gave us an overview of the site, when I took… Read More The Fátima experience
This morning we checked out of the Neya Hotel and started to drive towards Fátima, stopping first at the University of Coimbra, which dates from 1290. The students still wear a traditional costume on special days—these particular students, however, are trying to earn a little money by selling pencils to tourists. By far, the biggest… Read More Coimbra and Alcobraça
If I had to choose one place to come back to again in Portugal, it would be Porto. We arrived yesterday afternoon and went out for a 45-minute boat ride on the Douro River, with cool, breezy winds brushing our faces and seeing picturesque buildings which could be reflected in the water, a gorgeous day,… Read More Glorious Porto
Today was billed as some of the prettiest scenery we would see of the trip. Along the way I was luckily seated on the right side of the bus for some spectacular views of the hillside vineyards of the Douro Valley, where port wine is made. Bear in mind that all these photos were taken… Read More On our way to Porto
Last night Jo Ann and I decided not to join the optional dinner in a wine cellar but to try to find a local restaurant. We asked at the front desk for a nearby restaurant, not expensive, and that had seafood and other choices. “It’s very easy… only a five minute walk!” On the way… Read More ¿Español?
This morning we stopped at a cork tree grove and our tour group leader, Pedro, warned us that there were land mines in the field. I was a little worried that Trafalgar would put its guests in danger, but as we learned, the cattle grazed among the cork trees only a few minutes before our… Read More Beware of land mines!
This is my first Trafalgar tour, and my first experience with rotated seating on the bus. What that means is that on each day, there is a seating chart. With each succeeding day, your assigned seat moves up two rows, and on the 5th day “Best of Portugal” tour it means that Jo Ann Condry… Read More In the front of the bus!
I was almost feeling human today, this being my 9th day in Europe. I went to bed about 10:30-11:00 pm and woke up at 4:30 am—just about my normal routine time at home. It was a little overcast today but we still saw some absolutely spectacular scenery in the Algarve region. Our first stop was… Read More Cliffs, caves, church, and chimneys
Today we had two memorable stops on the way to the Algarve — a local farmers market in Setúbal and a stud horse farm. Our tour director, Pedro, said that some of his tour guests said they wanted to move here—simply because of all the fresh produce and seafood available in this market! Locals spend… Read More On the way to Algarve