November; it’s always a good time to go to Portugal
On November 14, 2022, I went to Portugal for the first time. Since then, I have always wanted to go back. This may be due to the start of the cold period, the beauty of the country and/or the kindness of the inhabitants. I came back in 2023 and I’m doing it again this year with a journey practically identical to that of 2022. Good start, my flight left five minutes early and went without incident (that’s what we want.. .) Going through security and customs upon arrival was very quick, maybe a little too fast. After walking what seemed like more than two kilometers, I had to wait fifteen minutes to retrieve the bag I had checked into the hold. The metro ride from the airport to my hotel, the Varandas de Lisboa, also went well and by the time I spoke with my host, a room was ready around 10:00 a.m.! At 11:00 a.m., I got on my rental bike from Biclas.com (180 Euros for 13 days…). I climbed up to Parke Edouardo VII and stopped at a small café for an ‘arroz de cordonlina’ with a glass of red wine followed by a double espresso. After a little nap I went to get lost in the hills of Lisbon and took too many photos because everything is so beautiful that I want to capture every moment.
Here are the photos of the day in ‘Slide Show’ mode. To see all my photos in original format from my Smugmug account, click the link here.
I ended the evening at the Rendezvous, More than wine restaurant with a view of the super moon with the church of Saint Vincent de Fora in the background. The restaurant staff went out for a drink on the sidewalk to enjoy the moment.
After a restless night with sleep interrupted several times by itching (eczema or hives exacerbated by lack of sleep) and the doorbell to open the front door of Varandas de Lisboa which has no reception at night! I woke up at 8:05 with a start and after getting my bike from the baggage room, I had a breakfast croissant with orange juice and coffee at the Copenhagen Coffee Lab located right next to the hotel. Then by bike to Santa Apolonia station to take a local train to Oriente station and transfer to the intercity train which takes me to Faro. If I had planned better I would have taken the train at Entrecampos station which would have avoided a stressful transfer. Indeed, it was only when consulting another cyclist on the train that I realized I had to change trains and that there was only 10 minutes to do so.
