Juliesadventure

Sept 2

Porto- same issue into city as Lisboa- almost worse because no one around to help and language barrior. We stayed in a cute european hotel in the central of the city. City was empty and little scary.

Joe and I seem to have a difference of comfort zones when travelling. Hard to imagine why I would want to go down a deserted alley to the river at 10 pm to look for restaurants. The nice little man that Joe befriended told us to be careful due to all the homeless that live on the path. Decided to get up early and leave. Little did I know- what was ahead

We headed to 3 coastal areas outside the city. Estoril and cascais-nicer areas and then headed to Sintra. Sintra is a city where kings and queens had summer homes. I lost my guide book. Would have been good help.

Little did we know when we followed a castle and palace sign we were about to go hiking. I had flip flops on and joe-dress shoes andd jeans. After Madrid we take all valuables with us-so joe had 20 extra pounds on him. I wondered why we were passing people with walking sticks. We were laughing all the way to the top of the palace. Really great seeing how they lived. The palaces in spain nicer-however this one had furniture-a real sense of life and style. We bought some bread and cheese and off to Porto.

Have no idea the difference between palace and castle. The castle next door very cool.

Sept 1-2

Anyone that knows me-knows I bought every travel book on these countries and tried to plan the unplanned portion of the trip.

The guide book said a nice way to enter lisboa is from a boat ferry. Why not? We found one and realized the weather had changed from hot, sunny and bright to late fall. The boat was nice-the only issue was it did not drop us off at the terminal marked on the map.

Driving through the cities gets very tense in the car. Joe is convinced I have no sense of direction.

We drive around for an extra hour. City was not impressive. Hard to go from sevilla to any other place.

We stayed at the Sofitel. Very nice-small hotel with great staff. Went to dinner at an area known as The Docks. Tourist area. Lisboa has an unsafe feel to it. Lacks the charm of Madrid. Hard to imagine.

The next day, I went on a great walking tour of the city-guide book in hand-took public transportation all around. Nothing so special. Except lost book during tour.

Went back to get Joe off to next destination.=

Sept 1

We left Sevilla to explore Portugal. A very nice drive into Portugal-no border patrol-sad because wanted a new stamp. We were spending the afternnon on the beach. This area called the Algarve is a very popluar destination for british. The towns are quaint-the portuguese do not speak english at all.

We went to a boat dock and caught a ferry to an outer island-just like fire island. The beach was beautiful. Joe and I relaxed and planned to continue to Lisboa.

This is a great city. We arrived last night.

After, leaving malaga, we travelled to Ronda- this is described as a white town. The town is one of a few in the mountains. Joe did a great job manuevering all the twists and turns- even with a camera in his hand. Ronda is a great place to visit. Nice views and we went to the bullfight museum. We left and went through more mountains and these white towns. It is amazing to imagine anyone getting there to live and build without these new roads.

The roads here are awesome. All new and without traffic. A great decision to drive Spain.

We are staying in a beautiful hotel. The Hotel Alfonso XIII. It is a reored palaceJin the heart of Sevilla. Two nights were needed in one place. There are great little winding roads and fantastic gardens, palaces, squares ect.

Today Joe and I separated- I'm a morning person and wanted to take pictures before everyone started for the day. In Spain, 10 am is early. After walking and exploring the area, went to the pool and siesta. I'm a big fan of this custom.

Tonight dinner and on road to Portugal. We planned a coastal route to Lisbon. J