Well the last three weeks have certainly gone by, covering over 4000kms to get to Portugal, all we really knew of the country was Christiano Ronaldo and custard egg tarts. But since being in Portugal we have seen the busy cities of Porto and Lisbon, enjoyed the amazing food and experienced the hot Portuguese summer.
We arrived in a beach side park which was our base for our time in Porto. First nights’ dinner was a local delicacy, a Francesinha, which in kiwi terms would be a toasted sandwich with 3 different meats including steak, ham and what we call ‘surprise meat,’ cheese melted on top and slammed in a bowl of gravy……….not so yum and judging by the amount of empty toilet rolls the stomach didn’t like it either, but the locals do rave about it.
Our first day in Porto was an eye-opener into the city’s rich architecture and sweeping terrace views with buildings covering every square inch of the land. We spent the morning looking around and taking in the sights and looking for some nifty bikes to get around the rest of Europe with us. After a few hours of walking and waiting we had success, picking up a couple of ex-olympic sprint machines to get us around during our journeys. After seeing what Porto had to offer and riding our new race machines home we decided one day there was enough and packed up heading an hour down the coast to a beach front campsite near Aveiro. Time for some RnR after some long days on the road.
What we drove into was anything but a campsite, it looked like a tropical resort in the Bahamas. A site complete with a waterpark, pools, long golden stretches of beach and a beach bar, what more could you want. The next few days consisted of, beach, swim, tan, custard tarts and wine, oh and more custard tarts.
The surrounding bush in the Aveiro region was being overcome by wild bushfires so we thought it was a perfect time to pack up and head down towards the capital of Lisbon. Again, we were far from disappointment and still amazed by the coastal scenery of Portugal, the hot sunny weather to boot. We hit the tolls, as some quick maths meant tolls + quicker journey = same as petrol money + longer driving!
We arrived in Cascais, parked Big Karl up and headed out for a small walk (Caitlin describes all walks as small, great sales pitch). We strolled along the beautiful coastline taking in some amazing cliff views and massive vertical drops from the roadside. The weather was perfect and the tourists were out in full force, we even stumbled across an All Blacks billboard in town.
The old fishing village had a nice shopping hub, plethora of restaurants and multiple swim spots. We stopped at a local wine tasting bar for afternoon refreshments and tapas before ending the evening with a fresh seafood dinner including, oysters, scallops, cod fish and a bottle of wine followed by dessert for a measly 60 euros.
The next day we travelled to Lisbon, about a 40 minute train ride. The morning was spent planning our day at a wee brunch cafe before we headed off visiting the various sites around Lisbon, by foot as the hilly roads were deemed to adventurous for our once olympic heroes. A steep walk up to the Miradouro Da Graca presented us with a panoramic view of the city and a chance to take a break with a lunch time beer. The city has a rich tram culture and watching tourists go by packed like sardines provided a laugh for fellow walkers. All in all a great day walking round.
Next stop the Algarve, Portugal.
D
Damien + Caitlin 