travel – Spain & Portugal 2024

Day 12

Day 5/5 riding – Thursday, October 3 – Vila Vicosa, Portugal

Today offers two choices – the main ride of 40k and 400’ climb or riding 62k. We start with a long downhill run. It was supposed to be cloudy however the sun is shining. It’s great to be in Portugal – with friends, old and new – riding a really fine bicycle. Life is good.

Lots of photos were taken at today’s destination. We are at or near the end. A few, including yours truly, ride back in the van. I am hoping to get some of those photos I missed while riding however it is just too hard while the van is moving.

Only four out of our group of seven opt. for lunch and I stop at an ATM for cash. We decide to take the optional “Marble Tour” which was interesting but we would not recommend it in the future.

We begin our last evening in the hotel lobby with a video montage set to music of our five days together. We then bus to a nearby town for an evening extravaganza at an incredible residence/winery built in the mid 1700’s by the then King of Portugal for his 17 year old wife (there were previously many many mistresses). He died a few years later (maybe from exhaustion?) and the new King sold the property to the current family. The fate of the young bride is unknown.

We started in the chapel. It was small but exquisite. The hand painted tiles with intricate scenes form a tall wainscoting. The current Catholic family built the chapel. Next, in the old kitchen, was white wine with an appetizer spread while several in our group participated in cooking what will be this evening’s dessert. The guides ask for each of us to state our favorite memory of the trip. We remembered each other, the fabulous work that our three guides did throughout the week, the great bicycles, the hotel, the great food and wine and just the overall happiness of five days together in Portugal.

This was followed by a tour of the winery which Karen and I opted out of. I am sorry we didn’t go. Scott told us that they still crush all the grapes by feet – walking for up to two days on huge marble tanks filled with grapes. The harvest was late this year so they were still bring grapes in.

The dinner, in a large dining room was all by candlelight. The buffet style dinner, including salads, a delicious eggplant with a pomegranate dressing and duck in rice were all delicious. The desserts, including the one baked by our riding friends, topped off a wonderful evening. I stopped at one of two bathrooms that were as large as most bedrooms and again very beautiful.

It has been a long day. Karen and I have a car tomorrow at 7:00 AM to the Lisbon airport. We will fly on American to Philadelphia then on to Charleston to meet up with the LeBaron’s. We will arrive back in Lincoln on Monday. We love the travel but always look forward to getting home.

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read my blog. A special thanks to Tessa for matching the photos with the text. Together we are making memories.

Robert

Day 11

Day 4/5 Riding – Same village – October 2

WOW! What a great day! The best ride of the trip!

1) I changed bikes – from the regular road bike to a road bike with electric assistance. And it’s all automatic. I change gears the same as a regular road bike only now when I reach a certain cadence I can feel help kicking in. I really, really liked it. And I did the entire ride including a tough uphill at the end.

2) It was cooler and cloudy today – perfect riding conditions. We even had some mist but no rain.

3) The roads were even better with very little traffic.

4) We took two breaks and because I was keeping up that gave me time to enjoy the stop. We even had a coffee at one break.

We finished the ride about noon at a place where we could see the largest man-made lake in Europe. On the other side was Spain. We walked up a final steep stairs to the village on top of the hill. We found a great small shop selling soap, Gin, and olive oil. Great fun! I photographed two young girls, the first named Madeline, a two year old from Italy.

Karen arrived by taxi and was already seated at the restaurant. We enjoyed another delicious meal with multiple courses served family style, along with sangria to wash it down. We probably spent more than two hours relaxing and enjoying the meal and the conversation.

Dinner was arranged at the hotel. Our group met at the bar so I could teach the bartender how to make DuncanTini’s for the three guys. They tasted so very fine! We even managed to get Karen to tell some of her off color stories.

What a wonderful day!!!

Day 10

Day 3/5 Riding – Vila Vicosa – Tuesday, October 1

Here we go again. This promises to be the longest ride yet and the vertical is again almost 2000 feet. We will see. Once again the weather is perfect – just a few degrees cooler. I will start with a windbreaker. There will be two stops today at approximately 20k then again at 40k.

Again, I am bringing up the rear. Chris and Scott are great to hang back with me. A big disadvantage of being last is that our stops are much shorter than the others.

Today’s ride can best be described as “rolling hills”. The climbs are not steep but they are frequent. The reward are the downhills. I spot a beautiful solo tree perched by itself on a hill. I am trying a different technique today – frequent, short stops, to drink water and take a short break

Finally on the third leg at about 46.30k with only 11.40k to go, I run out of gas. I ask Chris and Scott to go ahead and send the van back to pick me up. Maybe I will try the lightweight bike with electric assist tomorrow.

By the way – the distances above are provided by our on-board Garmin computer which displays our route. Many times it has helped identify turns that otherwise would have been missed. This brings up another point – electricity. Each night on the electric bikes the guides have to charge the main battery, the Garmin, and the electric gear shifting. We also have small front and rear lights that need occasional charging. Bike riding today is electric charging reliant.

We all meet in an open parking area to end today’s journey. A small upright tent has been set up for those who need to change. The only place to relieve one’s self is behind a van. By the way, although I have consumed almost three bottles of water I have only had one brief bathroom stop. I should also mention that at each stop, the guides set up two portable bike racks.

This town is Évor, Capital on this region of Portugal. With 50,000 population and many historical highlights, this promises to be an interesting walking tour – but first lunch. Our “Ride with GPS” app that was pre-programmed by Trek Travel provides dining recommendations. We choose the “Bakery Lounge” for sandwiches and drinks on the upper shaded terrace – excellent.

We meet our guide by a large fountain. Again, the App guides us there. This is a very hilly town with nothing but cobblestone streets and walkways. It is a very good thing that the guides recommended that Karen NOT come today. Let me repeat the opening remarks about Évor from Trek Travel (Tessa see photo). There are over 50 churches and we start with the largest – amazing. The 2000+ year old Roman Temple remains stand tall and strong. I note the beautiful design of the columns. We end with a tour of the bones temple. My photographs speak for themselves.

We bus to the nearby town Estremoz for a group dinner at Casa do Gadanha. Our group filled the entire very contemporary space. The staff were excellent. Rose, white, red, and finally port washed down one of our best meals of this journey. Most agreed that the second course of eggplant was the highlight. A perfect ending to another wonderful day.

Day 9

Day 2/5 Riding – Vila Vicosa – Monday, September 30

I slept well, took a great shower, had a fine breakfast, finished yesterday’s blog and am ready to ride.

This promises to be a tough day – 50k (kilometers) with an almost 2000 foot climb. The weather is perfect. The roads are much more active with vehicle traffic – often passing or meeting us at what seems like an excessive speed. Once again I drop to the back of the pack. Only Chris and Scott stay back to check on me. And of course our guides are always making sure we are ok.

We pass by the marble quarries with their huge piles of scrap – “marble mountains”. We are scheduled for a marble tour later this week. Then we ride back into the country – wine yards, oak trees, the occasional small gathering of livestock (we have seen very few cattle, sheep or goats in Portugal). Off to our right I see several tall very colorful sculptures near the entrance to a wine estate. Are they giant styrofoam blocks? No! They are marble! I loved them and ask our guide if we could stop on our return – no we return a different way. I am certainly going to learn more about this unusual sighting.

We stop for a break, drink lots of water and visit a very clean bathroom. The guides tell us that one van will be waiting half way up the 4k climb ahead. So far so good. I feel strong and ready to tackle the “mountain”.

One k down – three to go. Almost half way and I have slowed until I dismount and walk. Around the next bend is the van. Discretion is the better part of valor – I decide to ride in the van to our picnic and the end of the riding day. Instead of 50k my ride was probably 44.

Our guides had arranged a taxi for Karen to meet us at the picnic. Lunch was a delicious and quite varied buffet with all kinds of drinks including both white and red wine. And of course, the sweets were plentiful.

We were met with four jeep-like vehicles that carried us way off road for a tour and lecture about cork trees. Portugal is the largest source of cork in the World and 80% of cork is used to make wine corks. It is a beautiful product – soft for floors, fireproof and on and on. This video will tell you much more.

How 40 Million Cork Wine Stoppers Are Harvested A Day

The numbers on the trees are the last number of the year of harvest, and, when the next is due. For example the tree with a “0” was last harvested in 2020 and will be due again in 2030.

We found a wonderful outdoor cafe for dinner with just our group. The Grey Goose and the meal were excellent. Another near perfect day!

Day 8

Lisbon to Vila Vicosa – Sunday, September 29

The day started off on a sour note. We had decided to meet in the lobby at 9:00 to take Ubers to the bakery where we would join the others for our bus ride to our home for the next week. Scott left first only to return. The streets in front of the hotel were closed. A protest? or a marathon? We heard both. The only solution was to walk a long block, with the luggage and the wheelchair, in a different direction then call an Uber. Thank goodness a young man from the hotel helped with the luggage. Leslie and Scott had already secured an Uber. I called one. Then Pat and Chris arrived and called a third. Theirs came quickly. Ours was lost in the closed streets. We loaded most of our bags in Finnoff’s Uber. Our hotel man called our Uber driver. He was hopelessly lost in the closed streets. We eventually walked back to the hotel, crossed the Main Street and finally connected with our Uber. The long and short of it all – we embarked on a 10 minute trip at 9:00 and barely made it to catch the bus at 10:00, the scheduled departure time .

One of our guides, Jessie greeted all 22 of us. Jessie is a former professional bike rider from the North of the UK. All guests are from the US except one couple from Australia. The two hour ride east to Vila Vicosa was uneventful. We saw several castles on top of hills, cattle in green fields, huge transmission towers, cork trees and many vineyards.

At the hotel we were greeted by our two other guides, Sara and Mikey, both from Ireland. If you added up the age of all three guides combined the number would be less than my age. The Women ride with us – one in front, one behind and Mickey drives the van. A quick lunch, the bike fittings, instructions for the use of the Garmin computers on our bikes and off we went.

Most of the ride was small smooth roads with probably 10% cobblestones. The hills were not bad til the end when I was getting tired. We had only one rest stop. It was a tougher day than I expected. I was actually jealous of the half that were on electric bikes.

We passed many marble pits, grape vines, cork trees and one very strange field with planted rows of cactus. What was the end product of that cactus?

Back at the hotel I took a really fine nap.

We walked a few blocks for group appetizers and dinner. Served family style – all was very good. The woman in charge was very helpful and very pleased that we all enjoyed her meal.

Photographs, while I am riding, are not possible. The guides are taking photos which will be available at the end of the week. A few were taken in the evening.

Tomorrow will be more challenging. I am including ride maps for each day.

Day 7

Porto to Lisbon – Saturday September 28

Today’s drive didn’t start until 11:00. We showered and packed. I headed out for a walk to the nearest Starbucks. It was a perfect fall morning. The streets were full of locals and batches of tourists. I spotted several young ladies who were modeling for their dress shop. They had set up in the back of a small van with a sheet providing privacy. Welcome to Porto on a Saturday morning.

Halfway to Starbucks, I spotted a beautiful coffee shop – I can always get SB at home so I popped in, sat up at the counter for a croissant and coffee. So enjoyable. They had a case full of vintage ports – too bad our suitcases are already full. Back at the hotel, we met the same driver from yesterday, and off we went for a three-hour drive to Lisbon.

We drove through the forest fire area again. Storks build their nests in the tall power towers. The four of us need much more frequent potty stops. Every 40 kilometers are service areas with a first class cafeteria. We filled a small sack with juice and goodies at the first stop. The suckling pig looked delicious. As we drove south we began to see more grape vines – the fall red color indicates grapes for a red wine while the green vines are producing grapes for white wine. We began to see fields of olive trees then cork trees. It takes 25 years for a cork tree to yield its first cork, then every 9 years they can be harvested again. The tree should live long enough for 40 harvests. I did the math 9×40 = 360 years + 25 to get started = 385 years. WOW! And cork is Portugal’s #1 export.

A road trip tip – Several times we wondered where we were or how far along we were. I called up my Apple Map and expanded it to give us a picture of our location. Really nice!

The second pitt stop yielded more juice and snacks + a roasted chicken lunch for Karen. The driver pointed out a bridge 14 kilometers long designed by the same person who did the Golden Gate Bridge. Back to yesterday’s bridges – some were designed by Effilel as in The Effilel Tower. We were told he was from Portugal then others said he was French. I guess I should look that one up.

Our dinner is just a short walk from our hotel. We met the rest of “our group” from Boulder in the lobby. Jane Holzman was on the ride I did across northern Spain almost 30 years ago. Leslie and Scott Westfall rounded out our group of seven. Scott has sold business jets for many years and Leslie is the one who did all the work arranging this adventure. We are all anxious to start the ride tomorrow.

Day 6

Porto – Friday September 27

Once again we slept in. I had told the Finnoff’s our transportation would be ready at 10:30 then I hurried Karen downstairs for a 10:00 departure. I guess it’s better to be early instead of late.

Again, we had a great driver – full of energy and information. Just like our Great Granddaughter, he talked all the time. He told us to get his job as a guide he had to take a test regarding the history of the city. Our first stop was an ancient monastery on top of a hill overlooking the river and the city. Most impressive – the river, its many beautiful bridges, and the colorful buildings of the city.

Off we went for a tour and tasting W. & J. Grahams. This was a classic and perhaps the World’s best Port Wine distillery. Everything was first class about this entire experience. Our guide spoke good English, the buildings and the wine celler were immaculate, and the story was rich in details. Port has two main names – Ruby (younger) and Tawney. Under Tawney there are several different grades. The lighter it becomes the older and better it is. An exception is the white port which is very high in alcohol content and very easy to drink. I really enjoyed the tasting and finished both mine and Karen’s. Then on to the shop with a reminder they ship to the US – we purchased six bottles.

Off to lunch in another beautiful hotel. Dona Maria was a huge restaurant with only a few tables occupied. It was all delicious and the service was great. I enjoyed a special martini with a clever name that I cannot remember.

Next stop was a yacht cruise up the river to see the city and several beautiful bridges. And yes, the river flows into the ocean several miles north of Porto. The ramp down to the yachts was very steep because of low tide. We managed to get Karen in the wheelchair down only to discover there was no safe way to get her on the yacht. She decided to sit in the sunshine and read while the three of us took a cruise shortened from two hours to one.

Two young brothers, in their 20’s, were our hosts. Charters were the business of one of the brothers and the other was helping for the day. They could not have been nicer. We loved every minute and I took more pictures than I have any other time on this trip. The beautiful bridges, colorful buildings, buildings that were worn out, a class teaching young students to sail, and other yachts. It was great fun. Then they brought us food and wine that would have served a dozen – all delicious. My favorite was a soft cheese with pineapple and nuts. They found the wrapper for me so I can try to purchase more.

Back to the hotel for a DuncanTini then a short walk to a restaurant the hotel recommended – Tasco. Although they could not find our reservation they made it work. This place was the complete opposite of the previous night. From formal and very structured to very loose and very fun. We were right next to the bar. They were fascinated with my printed DuncanTini cards. We became fast friends with the entire staff. The food was great, the drinks were fun. Take a moment and read their menu. We gathered three of the staff to our table where Karen presented her first “Honey” ($100 bill) to the staff. We would certainly recommend Tasco to any and all!

Day 5

Sevilla to Porto – Thursday September 26

We were up and going this morning. A quick breakfast at perhaps the most elaborate buffet we have ever experienced. I haven’t talked about our fabulous Hotel Alfonso XIII. One has to experience an environment like this to both feel and see the grand luxury of a bygone era.

And just across the street, bringing me back to today, I filled my thermos at Starbucks. Our transportation today is a Mercedes Benz minivan with two bench seats facing one another – so sensible for conversation. Our mature driver was born and raised in the UK of Spanish parents before moving back to the Continent. We have a seven hour journey ahead – then he has to return – a fourteen hour day for him.

Our first stop was by the side of the road because “he couldn’t wait any longer” to relieve himself. The Spanish countryside started with rolling hills of large, almost barren fields, punctuated with a few trees. Then came the groves of olive trees, followed by grape vines. The landscape began to green. The entrance into Portugal was just a sign along the road – much like we see at home when we pass from state to state – the European Common Market makes so much sense.

We picked a roadside restaurant because the lot was full of automobiles. The soup and a rice pudding washed down with a local wine hit the spot.

The hills turned into small mountains covered with green trees – quite beautiful. We had heard of a recent fire between Porto and Lisbon and sure enough we drove right through the path of the fires – burned trees on both sides of the highway. Terrible. The roads were excellent for the entire journey. Because our driver chose the shortest route we went from city streets to freeways to two lane highways to country roads then back to a beautiful toll road.

We all decided, despite enjoying each other and experiencing the changing landscape, a seven hour automobile ride was too much. In the future we will limit such rides to 3 or 4 hours, taking the airlines instead.

Although “Siri” says Porto is smaller than Lincoln the traffic says otherwise. We expect the “metropolitan area” is much larger. Follow-up – the population of the old city is less than 300,000 – the metro area is 1.9 million!

Our hotel Le Monument Palace is another “grand hotel”. In fact our room is the very best of the journey. And of course the staff is excellent. They made a fine DuncanTini at the American Bar followed by the most extraordinary dinner of this adventure.

We began our evening experience at the restaurant in the hotel my the same name with a “special” visit/ introduction to the chef in his kitchen. It was sparkling clean and obviously well organized. Our own appetizer- delicious. Into the sumptuous dining room we quickly discovered we were in for another pix fix dining extravaganza! Three of us took the “small” six course offering and Chris the ten course. Mostly seafood based everything was beautiful and mostly tasted great. I was the only one who ate the uncooked pigeon. This was certainly the finest meal of the journey. We finally finished just before midnight. We were all exhausted.

Day 1

Barcelona – Saturday, September 21

I remember often on our Italian trip this spring one of the great treats was sleeping in. At home I get up between 5 & 6 – my bowl of granola, coffee at Starbucks, a bike ride etc etc etc. We slept in until 8:00 and 9:00 this morning! While Karen getting ready I went out on the street again for Starbucks and to once again try the ATM’s. The usual great coffee at SB worked, but the ATM’s still did not. I reverted to changing money at the hotel.

I want to stop here and thank Tessa, our assistant, for all the arrangements she made – our calendar loaded. This morning we arranged to meet Maxi and Ivan at one of the many museums. The only problem was our taxi dropped us off at the wrong museum. After texting numerous times Ivan realized we were close but at different museums. They found us quickly.

Getting out of the taxi I retrieved my iPhone from its shoulder pouch, and unknown to me, dropped my wallet. A motorcyclist stopped and made me aware of my error. I was so flustered I almost forgot my backpack in the taxi, but again the taxi driver retrieved it for me. Two lessons here: 1) I am old and everyone needs to keep an eye on me. 2) and most importantly – as I have said for many many years – people all over the World are the same – kind, honest, and helpful. Once again this proves what I have long believed.

The exhibition featured the work of Agnés Varda, a renown French photographer and film maker. It was a huge show with lots of video and even more photographs and memorabilia. The only problem for us was generally a lack of English translation. It made us want to go back and watch some of her films. We enjoyed the time there very much.

We had a casual lunch on the street – eating and drinking while we watched (and listened in the case of Maxi and Ivan) the people seated nearby and those passing by.

The Guys dropped us off at the original museum only to find it closed for the day. Karen and I soaked in the sights, sounds, and shops on our 30+ minute walk back to the hotel. Many of the “streets” are narrow passages full of people walking. All of the larger stores are closed on Sunday by law, the tourist shops and eateries are open. I spotted the Apple Store and a couple more places I will visit tomorrow.

Dinner tonight was at L’olive, a short walk from our hotel. WOW – a really beautiful restaurant! So beautiful that I took several photos of the interior. And the food and service lived up to that first impression. Maxi and Ivan told us that many, if not most of the workers in restaurants are Latino or Latina and that our young waitress sounded like she had an Argentine accent. When she returned I told her just that and she responded she was from Uruguay. They further said the locals prefer to work for the Government – steady, well paying, secure jobs. Does this sound a bit like home?

To top off the day we all visited a fabulous ice cream shop that we had passed on our way to dinner. We were attracted by the really beautiful design of the shop. Once again I have a picture here. And the ice cream was every bit as good as the shop was beautiful. The liquid toppings for the ice cream, such as hot fudge, continuously flowed from three spigots. So very cool! We will return tomorrow after dinner.

Prolog

Day 0

Lincoln to Barcelona – Friday/Saturday September 20-21

Karen has talked about coming to Spain for several years. Our first trip to Madrid was almost fifty years ago (we purchased our first piece of art by a Spanish impressionist at a gallery across from the Prada and I carried it home on the airlines). I had visited Barcelona without Karen. This was our opportunity to visit Spain together after all those years.

The impetus for this journey was a call from our dear friends Pat and Chris Finnoff from Boulder, CO. – “would we like to do a bike trip to Portugal”? I didn’t even ask Karen – YES – and we would take that opportunity to do Spain first.

Only two airline flights – Lincoln Chicago Barcelona – American Airlines. Both were on time and uneventful. If fact they were easy, comfortable, and very friendly. Unlike Karen I sleep like a baby (after two Vodka’s and two Tylenol PM’s). And those seats in business class that recline to flat are close to a real bed. The only trouble was an almost 30 minute taxi time arriving in Chicago and anhour and a half in Barcelona after we landed to reach our ride – hurry up and wait.

Immediately we notice the beautiful architecture of Barcelona – old and in vastly different styles with square blocks each with a squared off corner. The streets are brimming with tourists – people from different backgrounds dressed in different styles. It’s a happy place. It reminds me of NYC in that respect.

The Mandarin Oriental is centered on one of the very best shopping streets. Of course it is beautiful in every way. In fact it appears new – new construction and/or new decorating. I ventured out on the streets to explore and perhaps find an ATM. I was soon to learn that neither card worked – old PIN numbers.

On our last trip to PV we hooked up with our long time friends, the artists Maxi and Ivan (they originated in Argentina and now live in Mexico City and on the coast of Spain. We arranged to meet them in Barcelona this evening.

Dinner at our hotel with the four of us was quiet, relaxing and as always, great fun. By 9:00 jet lag had taken taking over. A great start for another special adventure.

Robert