Portugal

Critiques of our photos are a major part of these trips, so today we had our first review this morning.  At home, friends regale you of how perfect your photography skills are.  Not here!  Some photos pass muster while others are sent to the trash bin.  It's what we all needed but not always easy to hear. After class we departed for Sintra, a delightful little town in the mountains not far outside of Lisbon.  Our hour long bus ride gave us an opportunity to view Portugal outside of the city bustle. The highway system seems well maintained which would make it easy to rent a car and drive the country if one desires. We stopped on the edge of the 'little town' and were allowed a couple of hours to explore and also grab lunch.  All roads lead upwards into the narrow streets lined with souvenir shops and small restaurants.  Passing by the initial food offerings, we found a little place in the heart of the district with a waiter that had a sense of humo...

A good night's sleep was all it took to recharge our batteries for our day of exploring Lisbon.  After breakfast, we headed out to Praca do Comercio, a large square on the riverfront.  Many streets spoke into this square and we had the opportunity to wonder around and explore the area.  Shops, many of them for tourist, lined the streets as well as little bistros serving up coffee for their early morning guests. Another constant in Lisbon are the electric streetcars that carry locals and tourists alike to all parts of the city.  After having a little espresso in a cafe, I spent some time on a street corner waiting for a good shot of a street car.  I also got to watch all sorts of humanity parade by me.  Time Out , the magazine you have had countless times in your hotel rooms, started a market in Lisbon (now repeated in other major cities) that houses a food court and a market.  The food court brings together some of the best restaurants and ch...

We arrived in Portugal around 9:30 a.m. from a relatively uneventful flight (not counting the flight attendant threatening to remove a passenger for not sitting down and buckling up).  While I understand that others encountered longer lines at passport control, we breezed right through. We also quickly found a cab although Ubers are abundant and maybe a little cheaper. Lisbon definitely has her own personality.  Seven hills serve as the crust of a city that rolls into the Tagus River.  The ocean lies just beyond Lisbon (or Lisboa as the citizens call it), which may explain why it feels more like a large lake.  Water is in Lisbon's blood. Red tile roofs and white buildings dominate the landscape.  There appears to be only room for differences in wall color as the red tiles dominate the view of the landscape.  Most buildings appear to be less than 10 stories perhaps as a nod to The Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755 that destroyed much of the city as fires ...

Now that tax season is over, it's now travel season.  This time we're going with  Joe McNally  to Portugal.  As always, the amazing Lizi Politi and Ari Espy of  Fancy Girl Street Boy  are curating the trip. I've heard so many wonderful things about Portugal - beautiful landscapes, delicious cuisine, luscious wines- that we had to go check it out for ourselves.  This is definitely a bucket list trip for us. So I hope you'll follow along as we journey once again in pursuit of beautiful photos with a little food and wine thrown in for fun. Tammie