Portugal 2026

Getting around: Public transport is generally good, especially in large cities like Lisbon and Porto, although we learned that some transport systems operate independently of one another so don't expect to find one card fits all. There is a Porto Card but I believe that also includes a number of (discounted) entrances to museums, etc so you will pay a premium for that.

We found that one of the best ways to get around both cities is either an Uber or Taxi; they are both inexpensive, reliable and prolific (especially Uber).

Bus services outside the cities are reputed to be reliable and inexpensive but we simply don't have any personal experience in that. We used the Rede Expressos bus from Lisbon to Porto and back and it didn't didn't take much longer than the high-speed Alfa Pendular - and it was much less expensive.

It should be pointed out that since the funicular accident in  Lisbon a few months back, all the other funiculars and elevators in the city are shut down. We were informed that since they all use the same (old) cable system they will not reopen until the problem that caused the accident is discovered and the other systems repaired if necessary.

Communication: Smartphones are absolutely necessary but here the key word is "absolutely." We have been using our phones almost exclusively for transport and other tickets for several years now, but in Portugal -- so far - they still rely on lots of paper.  The Porto Card seems popular for travelers but again we have no experience with that and don't know if it is available electronically.

Oh, and please learn how to say hello, goodbye, thank you, and please. Most Portuguese we encountered spoke pretty good English but hey it's their country. We should give their language a try. It goes a long way.

Accommodation: We used air BnB in Lisbon and Hilton hotels in Porto and Lisbon. Our accommodations were very nice and both centrally located, especially the apartment in Lisbon. The Cenica hotel in Porto was wonderful - we give it a big thumbs up - with an indoor pool, jacuzzi and breakfast available for an extra fee of course, unless you are a member of the Hilton Honors program. And the staff were in a word incredible. Our Hilton hotel in Lisbon, the Doubletree Fontana Park property, we give a thumbs down for reasons which I enumerated in my final travel journal entry.

Eating: We ate quite a bit of Portuguese food, which can be a bit heavy. Lots of potatoes and fish of course so you have plenty of options. Generally VERY reasonably priced too!

Sights: In winter some sights close down for refurbishment or remodeling during low season. You might want to check with the local Tourist Information office in either city before venturing off on your own. 

Speaking of Tourist Offices - make sure you find yourselves inside the OFFICIAL tourist office. In Porto especially there are offices that list themselves as Tourist Services with a large "i" out front -- these offices are usually in red. These are for-profit.

People: Wonderful, friendly and always willing to help. Often the four of us would be standing on the street looking at a map or a phone and a local would come up and ask if she or he could help. I'm sure they have their share of jerks, but most everyone we met were pleasant and kind to us.

Go or not? Absolutely.  If you go on your own I would recommend staying for at least a week in each city. Get to know it, the feel of it, get to know your way around it. 

Day 12 in Portugal

Thursday-Friday 5-6 February 

We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast in the hotel with Richard and Pauline. While the staff of the hotel were incredibly friendly and yet very professional, we had gotten to know rather well a young woman on the breakfast staff. She was always there early every morning, always smiling, friendly, willing to help and was professional in the bargain. She even sang Happy Birthday in Portuguese to Richard! Catarina is her name so if you have breakfast at the hotel ask for her.  

Afterwards our friends went out to explore parts of Porto unseen by us, while Susie and I prepared to leave for Lisbon. We were pretty much all put together last night and had to tweak a few of the packing cubes this morning. We had a midafternoon bus so we hung around the hotel and caught up with Richard and Pauline one more time before we had one more round of hugs and said our goodbyes. 

The Uber to the bus station was quick and smooth and it was our first time with a female Uber driver. Anyway, we had to wait for just a short while before our bus left for Lisbon. The trip back south was uneventful except for passing through a couple of torrential rain storms, which had apparently caused one car to flip over. We saw lots of flooding in the lowlands and of course much damage to whole swaths of trees caused by the recent wind storm. 

Once we got to Lisbon Oriente train station -- where we had previously picked up our bus for Porto - we grabbed a taxi to our hotel. It was rush hour and  15 minute trip took 45 with occasional drizzle (outside the car not inside). 

Walking into the hotel we made our way across a black barrenness; the floor was glossy black stone and reflected the lights from the ceiling which made it appear that you were looking through glass through the floor. The lobby had no sitting furniture and it was dimly lit. 

Anyway, we took the elevator to our floor and were straightaway struck by how much the hallway looked like a prison. 

The room itself was goofy.  The bathroom was walled off by black glass although some of the panels were clear so you could see right through from the larger portion of the room right into the bathroom! Weird.  

But we enjoyed a glass of wine in the bar, and ate a light meal before turning in, having an early call Friday.

The next morning we took a taxi to the airport -- a 15-minute ride -- and began the very long process of returning to the United States.

Lisbon airport is, in a word, a mess. They are poorly organized, poorly signed and a maze of general confusion. We checked in and made our way through security -- one of seemingly a half dozen times we would go through security on this trip.

But our flight to Newark was uneventful and as usual the food nearly inedible. There was a nice and quite friendly young man sitting at the window seat in our row, next to Susan, with whom we had a long and very warm conversation. That went a long way to helping the time pass!

Arriving in Newark we had to pass through passport control, pick our bags up and then recheck them -- something that makes no sense to us although it went smoothly. But it was finding how to get to our connecting flight that was a puzzle. We finally asked a policeman and then a airport staff member for directions and then made our way through security once again for our connecting flight to Grand Rapids. 

Truth be told we were in no rush. We had (hold for it) an 8-hour layover and so we cooled our heels. We did have a light, exorbitantly priced lunch - whipped feta with cucumber and pita for Susie and roasted Brussel sprouts for me, along with a small glass of beer for each of us. 

After hanging around the bar, which was comfortable I must say, we made our way to the gate. Here's where the fun began. Our boarding passes from Lisbon listed gate 72 but my United app said 111. So off to gate 111. After a while our gate changed to 81, then 80, then 86, and finally I got a text from United saying our gate was 135. Fortunately all of these were in the same terminal, and frankly we didn't mind the exercise so much. But the airline's confusion remains puzzling.

We boarded on time although the plane had to be deiced before we could depart. We usually travel in warmer months so we had never seen this before. Anyway, we both agreed it was quite fascinating to watch how they bring up two large trucks one on either side of the plane and spray the plane down. Whatever they did worked and we made it right on schedule to Grand Rapids.

Our friend and neighbor Don Trap was there to meet us, braving the late night cold and we were home by a little after midnight and in bed by 0100. We had been up for nearly 24 hours and had eaten little. On top of it somewhere along the travel line I picked up a cold or some sort of European bug, which seems to single me out. . .  

Our last day in Paris

Wednesday October 1, 2025. Our last day in Paris.

As usual we were leisurely for the first half of the morning. While Susie sipped coffee I popped over to the corner boulangerie and picked up a couple of croissants and a pain au chocolate, relieving us of all our loose Euro change in the bargain.

While both pastries were tasty and the laminations just right we thought the pain au chocolate was a bit skimpy on the chocolate.

Since I'm not allowed anywhere near the luggage during packing, Susie packed our things. She is a whiz using the packing cubes and before long our bags were sealed up and ready for traveling. 

I had reserved an Uber for pickup at 12 noon and our driver was a bit early. We had just left the building and had to wait outside in the warm sun for only a few minutes before our car arrived. It was a pretty quick ride to the airport; although, as usual getting out of the city was stop-and-start, we were impressed at how fluide the traffic was on the peripherique (ring road). It slowed only briefly until we got past a traffic accident and were soon speeding right to Charles de Gaulle and our hotel located next to Terminal 3. (In fact this was an identical replay of our past spring trip.)

When we went to check in we learned our room wasn't quite ready so they gave us access to the "executive" lounge where we settled in for an hour or so. After a cup of coffee and cooling our heels in the lounge we decided it was time for lunch so that's where we headed next.

We both had the French onion soup and it was even better than the one we had on the Mouff so long ago (or so it seems now). The bowls (Staub knock offs) were full of caramelized onions, the broth sweet and rich and instead of sliced bread they used lovely little bread rounds topped with Cantal cheese. The same cheese we had at our wine tasting lunch! We each had a glass of Alsatian pinot gris to cool the heat of the soup. Delicious!

We spent the afternoon relaxing in preparation for tomorrow which will be a very long day of not relaxing. That evening we returned to the lobby and enjoyed a glass of wine during Happy Hour in the executive lounge (people with lots of folks who, like us, didn't look like executives).

Around 7 pm we moved to the hotel dining room, in the open atrium lobby, which is very light and airy and quite nice. We split a pizza and a each had a glass of Brouilly.

tap your own beer for Happy Hour

lots of folks partying in the bar-lobby

After dinner it was back to our room and a bit of reading/puzzling before bedtime. Tomorrow will be here soon!

Maine to Vermont

  [Thursday 10 July]

We were in no particular hurry today since all we're doing is driving to Vermont. We enjoyed a leisurely morning sipping coffee and packing for the next leg of our trip: taking the scenic route 2 across northern New England.

We were on the road a little before 10:00 am. To make a long story short we pulled into our hotel in Killington, VT about 4:30 pm - not a bad drive at all.

Our plan was to eschew the interstate and drive Route 2 across Maine and New Hampshire and so we did. The drive was really pretty stress-free. I set the adaptive cruise control at 56 mph and off we went. We encountered very little traffic for much of the first several hours, and occasionally no traffic at all. The road surface was quite new and the New England scenery bucolic as we cruised along through Skowhegan, Farmington and Rumford, Maine. We stopped at at the Rumford Falls information center to enjoy the view of the falls as well as take advantage of the facilities. 

Rumford Falls Info Center

memorial to Ed Muskie born in Rumford

back in the days when public service meant something

dedicated to the founders of the Order of the Sons of Italy in America, founded in Rumford in 1915

lovely view of the falls

two guys trying their hand at fishing

who knew that Paul Bunyan and his blue ox settled in Rumford?

We zipped right along, crossing into New Hampshire a little after noon and took the opportunity to stop and grab a bite of lunch in Gorham. Although the weather for much of the trip had been simply overcast by the time we hit the mountains in the Granite State it was rainy and the temps had dropped to the low 60s. We pulled into the parking lot at the White Mountain Cafe and Bookstore where we ordered a couple of toasted paninis for lunch. The air conditioner was going full blast but the sandwiches were scrumptious.

Back on the road we enjoyed the drive passing through occasional rain showers. Soon we crossed into Vermont where, just short of St. Johnsbury, we got off of Route 2 onto I-93 which took us to I-91 south. After about 60 miles we switched over to I-89 and got off at Route 4 heading to Woodstock, a road well-traveled by us during our Vermont years. 

Traffic moved slowly through Woodstock, an experience that hasn't changed in 20 years. It wasn't long before we came to our exit for Killington Mountain and soon found our hotel for the night, the Killington Mountain Lodge.

After checking in and settling in we had a glass of wine and played a game of 8-ball on the bar pool table. Not being on our game, so to speak, it seemed we might be playing for hours. Eventually I won.

We finished our wine and headed out to get some dinner. Right down the road was a place called Yama Ramen where we sat outdoors and enjoyed the quiet evening in the mountains. We split an order of chicken rolls and a bowl of Tonkatsu ramen - washed down with a glass of Sapporro beer. Delicious!

Back to the hotel we tucked in for the night.

Tomorrow it's off to say hi to Lena and then drive to Douglas, MA and Dick and Dorothy's home.

Stay tuned!

Off to Paris and Home

 [22-23 April]

We were packed and ready to go by 9:00am. After last-minute tidying up we left the apartment keys on the table, hauled our bags down the two flights of stairs and walked the 10 minutes or so to the train station. Our train was on time and we got right on board without jostling with crowds. 

The train ride back to Lyon was smooth and quick and we enjoyed the scenery just as much as on our way to Annecy. We made a point of looking out for the Gorges du Fier on our way out of town. That was pretty cool.

Our train arrived in Lyon on time and since we had a couple of hours before our connection to Paris we grabbed a bite of lunch.

Our TGV high-speed train to Paris arrived on schedule at platform G and boy was it packed!. Our luck held out though and our assigned coach stopped right in front of where we were standing! We walked on, stowed our bags and headed up to the top deck and our seats.

The ride was fast, really fast, and we pulled into the Gare de Lyon in Paris on time (5:00pm). After making our way out of the station we called for an Uber and off through Paris rush-hour traffic to Charles de Gaulle Airport and our hotel for the night.

Our driver dropped us off at Terminal 3, and we walked the few hundred meters to our hotel where we spent the night. It gave us an opportunity to recharge our batteries (i.e., have a glass of wine and a tasty last meal in France) before the next day of flying west and home. 

fish and chips for me

chicken Caesar salad for Susie

Up early and out of the hotel we walked to the nearby CDGVAL inter-terminal train and got off at Terminal 2E. After checking in we made our way through the never-ending security/passport control stations before finding our gate in the new concourse M.

Our flight to Detroit took just a shade over 8 hours and we arrived a bit early. Oh, and we did skip the onboard food service, thank you very much. It looked terrible. 

We were now in hoofing stage since our transfer time was short, only about 1 hour 40 minutes. Since we were coming into the USA from elsewhere we had to claim our bags and go through security again. We first zipped through passport control (thank you Global Pass!), grabbed our bags, handed them off to the re-check luggage people and then through that last security check. It was then darting from concourse A to B, but we made it with plenty of time to spare for our flight to Grand Rapids and home.

Our kind neighbor Don Trap was waiting for us as soon as we landed. 

After leaving Paris that morning we were back in our home in Michigan that same day. Complaining about queueing and waiting and the stress of flying, all perfectly understandable, really pales next to that simple fact. 

It's good to be home.

Skansen open-air museum and a ferry tour around the Stockholm Archipelago

13 May 2022.

Another gorgeous morning in Stockholm and another leisurely breakfast at the hotel. The four of us headed out for the nearby Slussen ferry that would take us back to Djurgården Island. This time our goal was the Skansen open-air museum. An interesting combination of historical buildings outlining Swedish history -- rather like Colonial Williamsburg in the United States -- there is also a children's zoo, lots of green spaces, cafes, a restaurant, a reproduction of a Sami camp, as well as a collection of Nordic animals.

walking up from the ferry to the bus stop

Once back on the island we went in search of the bus stop and the no. 7 which took us to the next stop and the Skansen museum-park.

park entrance

lots to see and do

lots of parents pushing strollers

The park thoughtfully provided an escalator to take you to the top, allowing you to walk down.

Once at the top we were greeted with some rather spectacular views of Stockholm.

But we weren't there to gawk but stroll and enjoy the experience.

One of the unique things about Skansen is many buildings were removed from other parts of Sweden and reconstructed here to demonstrate the (recent) history of the country. Lots of old log buildings and even several entire farms were moved here.

But there were also gardens as well as replicated later 19th century town buildings to visit as well.

an herb garden

one of the original buildings that were built on this site in the late 19th century.

past the rose garden -- several holding just tulips for the moment

the rose garden abutted against more lovely views of Stockholm off in the near-distance

looking back toward the Vasa museum

using stakes holding wool to deter deer

We found one of the small cafes near the old town quarter and settled in for a little sweet and coffee.

it was a very nice place to take a break from the cobblestones

Leaving the cafe we retraced our steps in the direction of the rose garden but then took a descending path to the funicular station, which would take us back to the top again. Why? Because we wanted to ride it, that's pretty much it.

 

Back at the top of the park we threaded our way past more views of the city and yet more farmsteads in search of the Nordic animals.

great grey owl

some animals were not to be seen

others were really quite obvious

a number of authentic 17th century milestones were on display through the park as well

Built in 1730 Hallestead belfry is Sweden's largest belfry

Leaving the park we made our way to the tram which took us the short way back to where we would catch the ferry.

We had a short wait for the no. 80 ferry (direction Ropsten) that would take us on a short tour around several of the nearby islands. Once we boarded we enjoyed new scenery as we road the waves of the Baltic Sea for the next hour or so.

v

Once we reached Ropsten, our final destination, it was off underneath the overpass past a Shell filling station to the metro stop. We got on the no. 13 line that would coincidentally take us right to the Slussen stop near our hotel.

But before going to the hotel we stopped at the Casa di Cava for an aperitif. Since it was happy hour we had a round of cava and shared a delicious platter of tasty treats.

That evening the four us gathered for dinner in the hotel restaurant: Eken. Susie had roasted cauliflower with potatoes while three of us had burgers with fries. Delicious all 'round!

Tomorrow we head off to explore a different part of central Stockholm!