As we sat eating our bread and fruit dinner last night (Monday) in front of Spanish TV, which we watch while playing a new game of guess what the news is about today, we realized how much we enjoy this particular Spanish city. The national news channel (the only news channel) was showing a picture of this city with people being interviewed. All of the interviewees were wearing sweaters or shawls and we guessed that maybe the news was about the chilly weather that Santiago is having right now. It is in the low 70´s, probably a global warming anomaly for usually HOT Spain, but it is so enjoyable to us that we may never leave. We interrupted our delicious picnic dinner to write a note to our hotel manager/landlord who we have never seen except for our arrival. Mike worked on the note for awhile, carefully requesting an extra two nights at this hotel using our guidebook Spanish. The book has a sample sentence asking for only one night, but considering the weather too good to move one, we greedily asked for two. After the note was done we talked to Caitie by phone and it looks as if we may meet up with her tomorrow instead, so the note went into the can and we used the sample note verbatim. We left it on his desk and hope that our belongings aren´t all sitting on the street when we go back to our room later today. We´ll let you know.
This hotel room has been one of our best although I would not recommend it to anyone afraid of noise or addicted to fresh air. The only window, one that opens up to the balcony above the plaza, has glass doors that effectively block out all the noise, but unfortunately also block out all of the air too. They have total black out shades attached to them, which makes the room soundproof and dark when closed, but also airtight. So, we have developed a system in which we go to sleep at 11:00 or so with the room as quiet and dark as a mausoleum, then when we wake up perspiring and out of air we open it up for awhile and listen to a) the people reveling down in the plaza, b) the street cleaner and garbage trucks that come through every night, c) the speeding cars that come through occasionally, but not constantly, d) the pick up at night of the tables and chairs of the restaurants in the square e) the noise of our fellow lodgers coming in later at night than us, and leaving earlier in the morning.... you get the point. Thankfully the weather has been so pleasant, making the necessity for fresh air must less important.
We have determined that our favorite towns are ones big enough to have places to go out and see, but small enough to see in one or two days making the remainder of our stay feeling familiar and at home as we eat at a favorite restaurant or shop at the grocery for the second or third time. This city has about 88,000 people, most of whom live outside the old town. We have located a grocery, a health food store (source of the all-important non-chemical shampoos that don´t aggravate my allergy to sodium laurel sulfate) and the almonds and raisins we snack on, multiple cafes and places to hang out. We are in the habit of stopping for an espresso once each morning and afternoon and like the locals, using the price of that cup of coffee as rent on a chair that enables you to spend an hour people watching. The chairs at tables are never arranged facing in straight to the table, instead they are arranged around empty tables in an angled fashion as if they expected us to plunk right down and face the crowd rather than each other while we drank our coffee. We see people sitting at their small table like landlords for the hour or two it takes to consume whatever beverage sits in front of them. On hot days we trade our afternoon coffee for Coke Light(Mike) and aqua with gas (carbonated water for Deanne). We appreciate the price we paid in Portugal (50 cents) now that we are paying at least double that in Spain.
The internet cafes are much more lavish in Spain than the shady little run-down places of Portugal that felt a bit like you were participating in an elicit activity. Here they are large, multi-room facilities with special lighting to accommodate game players and rows upon rows of computers. We remain the oldest patrons in these facilities every time we visit, but the kids that work the counters seem predisposed to like old codgers that are computer literate. When I blew up the computer in the other store yesterday, the counter person was surprised but pleasant and turned the machine off giving me a free half hour to make up for the fact that I had to start over in writing my blog entry.
We will push off tomorrow going Eastward to either Leon or Avila. We have both on our to-do list, as they seem to fit our target profile of small, historical cities with beautiful scenery. We suggested that Caitie decide which of the cities she would prefer, as the current plan is to meet her there.
We´ll write again when we land. Until then So long,
Deanne
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Monday, August 6, 2007
Still a great Monday
I am writing this for the second time. I was about two paragraphs into this when all of a sudden the computer in the internet cafe bit the dust. I was writing about the mass we attended this afternoon.... I don´t think I said anything powerful enough to blow up a computer. We left here a few minutes before noon to attend the pilgram´s mass at the cathedral. History says that St. James´remains were brought here in the first century BC on a stone boat and buried at the site of the cathedral. A man was led there by a guiding light (which the city is named after)and the church decided to begin a cathedral which pilgrams having been coming to see for 1,000 years. Today´s pilgrams walk a minimum of 100 kms, or bike double that with designated low cost accomodations and meals along the way, then they are given a special mass every day at noon and a certificate of completion. The 1000 year old cathderal is majestic (photos to follow) and huge and it was full to the gills with pilgrams and tourists. Today is the anniversary of Mike´s father´s passing so it was nice to have a special church to attend. We loved the mass although we had to stand (the seats were taken when we go there) and we didn´t understand a word of the service.
We are trying to get a new SIM card for Mike´s phone this afternoon. The Portuguese phone doesn´t work in Spain, so we are starting over. I won´t post the number on the blog, but send an ´-mail if you want to call us and we will send our phone number once we get it. Hopefully this number will work throughout Europe and we won´t find ourselves starting over in each country.
We love this little town and our noisy little space above the square so we are going to do our best to get another night or two. The proprieter of our hotel speaks no English, but he found help to translate for us the day we got here, so hopefully we will make our wishes to stay known somehow. The Spanish don´t seem to understand any English, unlike most of the Portuguese we met that worked in customer service. I wonder if it is the difference in TV... since they don´t hear any English on TV like the Portuguese they don´t seem familiar with our requests. They treat us well enough and we make ourselves known using the few phrases we know, pointing to the menu and looking things up in the phrase book we brought along.
You´ll all be happy to know that the weather has cooled down. It is expected to be in the 70s here all week. We may never leave!
The hours things are open take some getting used to. The stores all close between 2-4:30, but most places stay open until 8 or so. We are going sightseeing this evening to see the sights that are all open until about 8.00. We know from the noise on the plaza below last night that we won´t be sleeping until around midnight, so we may as well adjust to the later day- sleeping til 9:00 then staying up later. Our children are all laughing to read this part, because we go to bed ¨so early¨usually.
We have been living on ham and cheese. As a welcome change, Mike wanted to try a pizza last night. We thought we ordered a cheese pizza only to find pieces of ham and pineapple on it- another ham and cheese meal in way too long a succession. This hotel does not serve breakfast, which seems more common in Spain, so we are saved the obligation of eating ham and cheese every breakfast because we have already paid for it. This morning we went to a msall cafe and successfully ordered our coffees and Mike´s croissant. Deanne´s toast was not expected to be fried bread, but that will be the last time I order toast in a restaraunt. We have committed to a good dinner tonight at my request, so Mike says he will go along with an octopus looking menu on my behlf tonight. We´ll see what we end up with- but it won´t be until after 9:00 when the dinner hour beings. More on that tomorrow.
Well, we are off to the phone store and the sights. Later...
Love,
deanne
We are trying to get a new SIM card for Mike´s phone this afternoon. The Portuguese phone doesn´t work in Spain, so we are starting over. I won´t post the number on the blog, but send an ´-mail if you want to call us and we will send our phone number once we get it. Hopefully this number will work throughout Europe and we won´t find ourselves starting over in each country.
We love this little town and our noisy little space above the square so we are going to do our best to get another night or two. The proprieter of our hotel speaks no English, but he found help to translate for us the day we got here, so hopefully we will make our wishes to stay known somehow. The Spanish don´t seem to understand any English, unlike most of the Portuguese we met that worked in customer service. I wonder if it is the difference in TV... since they don´t hear any English on TV like the Portuguese they don´t seem familiar with our requests. They treat us well enough and we make ourselves known using the few phrases we know, pointing to the menu and looking things up in the phrase book we brought along.
You´ll all be happy to know that the weather has cooled down. It is expected to be in the 70s here all week. We may never leave!
The hours things are open take some getting used to. The stores all close between 2-4:30, but most places stay open until 8 or so. We are going sightseeing this evening to see the sights that are all open until about 8.00. We know from the noise on the plaza below last night that we won´t be sleeping until around midnight, so we may as well adjust to the later day- sleeping til 9:00 then staying up later. Our children are all laughing to read this part, because we go to bed ¨so early¨usually.
We have been living on ham and cheese. As a welcome change, Mike wanted to try a pizza last night. We thought we ordered a cheese pizza only to find pieces of ham and pineapple on it- another ham and cheese meal in way too long a succession. This hotel does not serve breakfast, which seems more common in Spain, so we are saved the obligation of eating ham and cheese every breakfast because we have already paid for it. This morning we went to a msall cafe and successfully ordered our coffees and Mike´s croissant. Deanne´s toast was not expected to be fried bread, but that will be the last time I order toast in a restaraunt. We have committed to a good dinner tonight at my request, so Mike says he will go along with an octopus looking menu on my behlf tonight. We´ll see what we end up with- but it won´t be until after 9:00 when the dinner hour beings. More on that tomorrow.
Well, we are off to the phone store and the sights. Later...
Love,
deanne
A Beautiful Monday morning in Santiago de Compostela, Spain
We took the train north from Valenca to the first significant train stop in Spain, Vigo. Our plan was to decide at the train station whether to stay or keep going northward. We were told that our 10:15 train which left the Valenca train station at the Portuguese almost on-time time of 10:50 was intended to get to Vigo at 12:15 so given our delayed start time, we expected to get to Vigo about 12:50. Our train car was almost empty, and at one stop the last few people got off as we waited to resume our journey to Vigo. After sitting there for a few minutes a security guard came and chased us out of our seats telling us ¨vigo- finish¨over and over. It seems we were already in Vigo but had forgotten that there was an hour time difference between the countires.
The countryside on the way to Vigo was beautiful rural, hilly land. The Portuguese and the Spanish both use rolling shutters on their windows to block out the sun, and the houses all look like people with their eyes closed against the sun. At first I thought they were closed down vacation homes until it was apparent that not every home in the district could be a vacation home- they are just resting against the strength of the sun. The farms are all small, with mostly corn growing and the grape vines interspersed periodically. Aside from the occaionally vegetable garden we have not seen any other crops growing except corn and grapes.
The Spanish towns along the tracks look more modern than the Portuguese, as if this area was not inhabited until the last fifty years or the old ruins have been replaced with modern homes. There is a feeling of more money here, and many more people. The train stations are modern and relatively luxurious compared to the Portuguese.
As we appraoched Vigo (of course not knowing that it was Vigo and having no announcements on this Portuguese train that corsses the border to Vigo) we were both thinking that Vigo, beautifully located on the coast was a much more commercial looking city than either of us wanted to visit. At over 200,000 people, it is a large port city with a small historical center. Not much to hold our attention. So, when we got to the attractive and modern station we caught the next train north- a much more modern and clean train than we were used to.
We arrived in Santiago de Compostela at 3:00 and jumped on the phone to call around and find a room. After several calls we found a room in a one star hotel above a square in the old town. It is a beautiful room, with exposed rock walls, in an ancient building within the formerly walled old town. We entered the cafe marked with our hotel name and they gave us the key and carried our luggage upstairs to our room on the third floor. For 54 Euros a night it really isn´t all that different from the rooms were we have lived for much more. Two hard twin beds, a bathroom with a flexible handle bath/shower and a tv that in Spain, gets no English speaking television. The Portuguese use subtitles when they frequently show US movies or tv shows, but the Spanish broadcast the Mighty Ducks with Spanish speaking voices.
Running out to time. Will post more later. Love, Deanne
The countryside on the way to Vigo was beautiful rural, hilly land. The Portuguese and the Spanish both use rolling shutters on their windows to block out the sun, and the houses all look like people with their eyes closed against the sun. At first I thought they were closed down vacation homes until it was apparent that not every home in the district could be a vacation home- they are just resting against the strength of the sun. The farms are all small, with mostly corn growing and the grape vines interspersed periodically. Aside from the occaionally vegetable garden we have not seen any other crops growing except corn and grapes.
The Spanish towns along the tracks look more modern than the Portuguese, as if this area was not inhabited until the last fifty years or the old ruins have been replaced with modern homes. There is a feeling of more money here, and many more people. The train stations are modern and relatively luxurious compared to the Portuguese.
As we appraoched Vigo (of course not knowing that it was Vigo and having no announcements on this Portuguese train that corsses the border to Vigo) we were both thinking that Vigo, beautifully located on the coast was a much more commercial looking city than either of us wanted to visit. At over 200,000 people, it is a large port city with a small historical center. Not much to hold our attention. So, when we got to the attractive and modern station we caught the next train north- a much more modern and clean train than we were used to.
We arrived in Santiago de Compostela at 3:00 and jumped on the phone to call around and find a room. After several calls we found a room in a one star hotel above a square in the old town. It is a beautiful room, with exposed rock walls, in an ancient building within the formerly walled old town. We entered the cafe marked with our hotel name and they gave us the key and carried our luggage upstairs to our room on the third floor. For 54 Euros a night it really isn´t all that different from the rooms were we have lived for much more. Two hard twin beds, a bathroom with a flexible handle bath/shower and a tv that in Spain, gets no English speaking television. The Portuguese use subtitles when they frequently show US movies or tv shows, but the Spanish broadcast the Mighty Ducks with Spanish speaking voices.
Running out to time. Will post more later. Love, Deanne
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Getting help from all of you
Thanks for all of the great suggestions from all of you. We have gotten advice on other ways to dry laundry (wrap in a towel and stomp on it to get rid of the excess water), post photos (I really appreciate all of the pointers from Dana and Curtis, and feedback from the rest of you), get the internet to work on our computers(the fact that we got advice that didn't fix the problem alerts us to the fact that none of my consulting friends or Microsoft buddies are reading this) and travel more efficiently than all day train rides (thank you Aunt Donna). As you can all tell, we needed and appreciate all of the help. Keep it coming.
For those of you who want to see the slides more slowly or without the captions, I am working on it. In the meantime, you can see the photos at any speed you want to and download any you want to keep by going to: http://picasaweb.google.com/WanderingGypsies
You may have to open an account on google to go there, but it is not too onerous.
Deanne
For those of you who want to see the slides more slowly or without the captions, I am working on it. In the meantime, you can see the photos at any speed you want to and download any you want to keep by going to: http://picasaweb.google.com/WanderingGypsies
You may have to open an account on google to go there, but it is not too onerous.
Deanne
Saturday, August 4, 2007 No internet access today
Another quiet and hot day. We had our routine breakfast, although bread, ham and cheese is starting to get monotonous and headed out for a walk of the old town. Feeling like veterans we braved the car entrance with the double walls and the stop and go system for cars. We definitely have the hang of it now. We had our morning espresso and water sitting in a plaza from the years 1000- 1500 when each of the cathedrals around it were built. It is getting a refurbishment and the streets are torn up so it was rather dusty. No magic choir music as we had last night. In fact, we heard music as we walked around but this time it was much more modern. The city must have a speaker system around the walls that give it that magic feeling at night. The churches were beautiful and it was quite a peaceful morning. We walked to the “new town” (built in the past 200 years) and the grocery story which was packed. In fact, this entire town was packed. This morning as we were hanging our clothes out to drive on our deck we say huge busloads of people coming into town and standing outside the shops. Apparently the Spanish travel to this border town to buy cheap bed linens and home furnishings. The buses arrive about 8:00 AM stacked full of people. The luggage underbelly of the buses, each one identical, was full of ice chests. Apparently they take a break from their day of shopping by having a picnic. Virtually all of the people on the buses shopped, although a few of the men and children walked up the hill to the old town. We wandered around the grocery store and picked up our lunch ingredients, more staples- a loaf of white bread and fruit with water and diet coke. Although our walk back from the grocery store to our hotel could politely be called “taking the long way”, we have come to consider being lost as a chance to see new territory. In a town this small it is really hard to be lost for long.
We tried to get to the internet café to check in with all of you, but apparently 7:00 PM is quitting time on Saturday night, so it will be until at least tomorrow before you get to read this. We will spend the rest of the evening reading (I just finishes Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections which I had never had enough patience to read, although this time I enjoyed it, and Mike is almost done with Steve Berry’s The Third Secret which takes place here in Portugal, making it quite interesting).
Our train tomorrow leaves at 10:15 for a two hour ride into Spain and the town of Vigo. We may travel beyond that, but as yet we are not committed as to tomorrow’s stopping point. We have reservations at Santiago de Campostela for Thursday and Friday nights which we may keep, synching back up for at least a few days with the agenda posted in the blog.
Wait-late breaking news. Yesterday I worked on my computer for a few hours trying to learn how to set the TCP/IP address. It turned out to be a quick fix if only I knew where to look. I got a hint that was the problem from those German kids we met at the port wine tour, and after fooling around for awhile I tought I got it fixed ans showed Mike what I had done so that we could both be fixed or messed up, whichever was the case. The problem was that we had no network in this hotel to enable us to test it. Then, low and behold, while I was writing today's blog entry in expectation of posting it tomorrow, all of a sudden I noticed that my e-mail file was growing. Someone has a network up now without security and we are using it! The fix worked! I can't tell you how good it feels to be able to use the computer again.
Happy in Valenca, Deanne
We tried to get to the internet café to check in with all of you, but apparently 7:00 PM is quitting time on Saturday night, so it will be until at least tomorrow before you get to read this. We will spend the rest of the evening reading (I just finishes Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections which I had never had enough patience to read, although this time I enjoyed it, and Mike is almost done with Steve Berry’s The Third Secret which takes place here in Portugal, making it quite interesting).
Our train tomorrow leaves at 10:15 for a two hour ride into Spain and the town of Vigo. We may travel beyond that, but as yet we are not committed as to tomorrow’s stopping point. We have reservations at Santiago de Campostela for Thursday and Friday nights which we may keep, synching back up for at least a few days with the agenda posted in the blog.
Wait-late breaking news. Yesterday I worked on my computer for a few hours trying to learn how to set the TCP/IP address. It turned out to be a quick fix if only I knew where to look. I got a hint that was the problem from those German kids we met at the port wine tour, and after fooling around for awhile I tought I got it fixed ans showed Mike what I had done so that we could both be fixed or messed up, whichever was the case. The problem was that we had no network in this hotel to enable us to test it. Then, low and behold, while I was writing today's blog entry in expectation of posting it tomorrow, all of a sudden I noticed that my e-mail file was growing. Someone has a network up now without security and we are using it! The fix worked! I can't tell you how good it feels to be able to use the computer again.
Happy in Valenca, Deanne
Friday, August 3 Approaching Spain, only 1 km to go
August 3, 2007
It is 7:00 PM now and we are sitting in our hotel room in Valenca. As we pulled into the hotel we saw a sign saying we were 1 km from Spain. It is warm here, so we went in search of lunch, where a surly waiter refused us help or an English menu so we ate the old stand-by, the only thing we can order in Portuguese- a melted ham and cheese sandwich. We hiked around for a bit in search of a grocery store in which to buy some water and soft drinks for our mini-fridge but the Portuguese hide their grocery stores as if they were precious gems. In the big cities the grocery stores are sometimes underground and sometimes in the center of a multi-floor building, in both cases with a slightly marked doorway/stairway leading to the goods. It is very interesting. If you don’t know the actual name to the store you are unlikely to find it from the small little sign that is indistinguishable from all other signs. I located the grocery in other cities by walking the opposite direction of people carrying grocery bags, figuring they wherever they were coming from was closer than where I was. It worked each time. Unfortunately in the heat of the afternoon I could not find anyone carrying a grocery bag. In any event, we did not find any store so we came back to our room unsupplied.
The train ride to Valenca was through beautiful countryside. The train itself was old and uncomfortable, and although the conductor guarded the exclusivity of first class by removing several interlopers, it was difficult to tell what exactly our first class train passes bought us that was not available in the exactly the same looking car called second class. But, the countryside was beautiful and the train was air conditioned. We saw miles of beaches, some small forests and lots of hilly farm land. We spied goats munching the grass on the hillside and grapes and corn growing everywhere. The corn fields are neat rows of vibrant green, while the grapes seem to be the lacy, green and red border around the corn, like a ruffle around the end of a pillow. We saw grapes in long curving strips, in circles around corn fields, in decorative shading around homes, but rarely in rows like a crop. Occasionally we would see a vegetable garden although those vegetables don’t seem to make it to the restaurants.
Our hotel is outside the walled city, and given the heat of the day we did not explore the walled city yet, but tomorrow we should have a report. We may make it over there tonight, but we definitely will in the morning. We have heard from Caitie by e-mail and hope to reach her by phone in the next few days. We are so excited about meeting up with her soon.
Adios, Deanne
Back from dinner. The walled town is charming, although the entrance is a narrow little one lane hole through the wall with a red and green light system around the blind corners to direct the traffic through the hole without head-on collisions. It was a little harrowing to figure out how pedestrians enter into the mix of one way traffic, but we survived to tell the story. It seems that the town closes up around dinner time when the day tourists have left but we found a charming restaurant and had a great dinner of pork filets (Mike) and shellfish rice (me). We also had a wonderful salad; vegetables that we both enjoyed. As we were walking back through the quiet little walled city we heard the most heavenly women’s choir. We never tracked down the source of the music, but it was wonderful and combined with the medieval setting, was a great ending to the day.
It is 7:00 PM now and we are sitting in our hotel room in Valenca. As we pulled into the hotel we saw a sign saying we were 1 km from Spain. It is warm here, so we went in search of lunch, where a surly waiter refused us help or an English menu so we ate the old stand-by, the only thing we can order in Portuguese- a melted ham and cheese sandwich. We hiked around for a bit in search of a grocery store in which to buy some water and soft drinks for our mini-fridge but the Portuguese hide their grocery stores as if they were precious gems. In the big cities the grocery stores are sometimes underground and sometimes in the center of a multi-floor building, in both cases with a slightly marked doorway/stairway leading to the goods. It is very interesting. If you don’t know the actual name to the store you are unlikely to find it from the small little sign that is indistinguishable from all other signs. I located the grocery in other cities by walking the opposite direction of people carrying grocery bags, figuring they wherever they were coming from was closer than where I was. It worked each time. Unfortunately in the heat of the afternoon I could not find anyone carrying a grocery bag. In any event, we did not find any store so we came back to our room unsupplied.
The train ride to Valenca was through beautiful countryside. The train itself was old and uncomfortable, and although the conductor guarded the exclusivity of first class by removing several interlopers, it was difficult to tell what exactly our first class train passes bought us that was not available in the exactly the same looking car called second class. But, the countryside was beautiful and the train was air conditioned. We saw miles of beaches, some small forests and lots of hilly farm land. We spied goats munching the grass on the hillside and grapes and corn growing everywhere. The corn fields are neat rows of vibrant green, while the grapes seem to be the lacy, green and red border around the corn, like a ruffle around the end of a pillow. We saw grapes in long curving strips, in circles around corn fields, in decorative shading around homes, but rarely in rows like a crop. Occasionally we would see a vegetable garden although those vegetables don’t seem to make it to the restaurants.
Our hotel is outside the walled city, and given the heat of the day we did not explore the walled city yet, but tomorrow we should have a report. We may make it over there tonight, but we definitely will in the morning. We have heard from Caitie by e-mail and hope to reach her by phone in the next few days. We are so excited about meeting up with her soon.
Adios, Deanne
Back from dinner. The walled town is charming, although the entrance is a narrow little one lane hole through the wall with a red and green light system around the blind corners to direct the traffic through the hole without head-on collisions. It was a little harrowing to figure out how pedestrians enter into the mix of one way traffic, but we survived to tell the story. It seems that the town closes up around dinner time when the day tourists have left but we found a charming restaurant and had a great dinner of pork filets (Mike) and shellfish rice (me). We also had a wonderful salad; vegetables that we both enjoyed. As we were walking back through the quiet little walled city we heard the most heavenly women’s choir. We never tracked down the source of the music, but it was wonderful and combined with the medieval setting, was a great ending to the day.
Leaving Portugal
It is hard to believe we have been here for almost three weeks. Some days it seems like we have been traveling for a year, others it seems like we just got off the plane. to give an over view of Portugal in such a short period of time would not do the country justice, however I found the people hospitable although shy and introverted in many ways. People do not speak English as well as in other European countries however with a little patience we figure out what we need to do at any point in time. The transportation systems are great, buses, trains and metro and taxi's inclusive. On another visit I would definitely get a car for all of Portugal. The trains were fine however limiting. The hotels we stayed in were infamous for hard mattresses and in some cases no air conditioning however by and large they were extremely clean and well managed with good breakfasts in most. Ham and bread is a staple here and is served ll the time. If your not a fish eater you will have difficulty having a meal other than pork or steak. The steaks I had were mediocre at best.The veal was great in Evora but i burned out on meat pretty quickly. As I am sure Deanne has written you get to see far to many carcuses and you are reminded of the John Robbins book and have an understanding why people become vegetarians:) Things I wish I had brought, 1) less clothes believe it or not, 2) my computer...internet cafes are cheap and reliable. We have had so many problems with our computers it is not worth the aggravation, 3) I would leave my sneaks at home next time, they take up a lot of room and rarely wear them. Things I am glad I brought, 1) swiss army knife which has come in handy every day for one thing or another, 2) reading light, which also acts a flashlight, 3) books ( they are really expensive here when you can find an English translation, 4)
UV clothing, light and easy to clean, 5) rope. Things I would bring next time 1) compass, 2) a few bungy cords 3) PEETS COFFEE. The espressos are great here however a coffee press in the room would be great. REI has a cup we should have purchased...next time!
The Osprey backpacks are great! We have decided to leave the rolling porti0n with Caitie in Florence while we roam around Rome ( ouch) and other parts of Italy. Caitie will probably join us in a few days and we will decide were we will go after that. We decided that being locked into a schedule is great if you have worries about getting a room...which has not been the case. We feel like we have more freedom to move easily now. We have had a great Chinese dinner, a McDonalds quarter pounder, and a great dinner last night in Valenca which is a great place!! We are really enjoying the old walled cities and the funky feel of the castle and winding streets dotted with restaurant after restaurant all serving pretty much the same stuff :)
On a shorter trip and on a bigger budget i am sure we would have found the restaurants more inviting. The one thing we learned was you just need to order one meal at dinner...they are huge! The food is relative cheap and if you like pork and fish your way ahead of the game. If you love pasta, forget it!...you will have to wait until Italy.
We now look forward to Spain and seeing Caitie and all the funny and charming experiences and not so funny and not so charming, which have been few and far between. I loved Portugal and would return in a heartbeat, favorite place...toss up between Obidos and Evora, close second all others except Setubal which we would bypass next time. Each had one very favorable thing...may have been the room, the people, the food, the location but Obidos and Evora had it all.
In these towns each little street you walk around you expect to see, Oliver Twist and Fagin coming out a tiny doorway or early in the morning when we are out walking the shopkeepers getting prepared for the day and washing the front of stores and sidewalks and placing their wares on the street...it is all like diving back into history and seeing the same streets 500 years ago with similar spectacles. Amazing really... adios amigas and amigos!!!
Mike
UV clothing, light and easy to clean, 5) rope. Things I would bring next time 1) compass, 2) a few bungy cords 3) PEETS COFFEE. The espressos are great here however a coffee press in the room would be great. REI has a cup we should have purchased...next time!
The Osprey backpacks are great! We have decided to leave the rolling porti0n with Caitie in Florence while we roam around Rome ( ouch) and other parts of Italy. Caitie will probably join us in a few days and we will decide were we will go after that. We decided that being locked into a schedule is great if you have worries about getting a room...which has not been the case. We feel like we have more freedom to move easily now. We have had a great Chinese dinner, a McDonalds quarter pounder, and a great dinner last night in Valenca which is a great place!! We are really enjoying the old walled cities and the funky feel of the castle and winding streets dotted with restaurant after restaurant all serving pretty much the same stuff :)
On a shorter trip and on a bigger budget i am sure we would have found the restaurants more inviting. The one thing we learned was you just need to order one meal at dinner...they are huge! The food is relative cheap and if you like pork and fish your way ahead of the game. If you love pasta, forget it!...you will have to wait until Italy.
We now look forward to Spain and seeing Caitie and all the funny and charming experiences and not so funny and not so charming, which have been few and far between. I loved Portugal and would return in a heartbeat, favorite place...toss up between Obidos and Evora, close second all others except Setubal which we would bypass next time. Each had one very favorable thing...may have been the room, the people, the food, the location but Obidos and Evora had it all.
In these towns each little street you walk around you expect to see, Oliver Twist and Fagin coming out a tiny doorway or early in the morning when we are out walking the shopkeepers getting prepared for the day and washing the front of stores and sidewalks and placing their wares on the street...it is all like diving back into history and seeing the same streets 500 years ago with similar spectacles. Amazing really... adios amigas and amigos!!!
Mike
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