July 11, 2015Ruth: Not all kilometres are equalTwo days riding with completely different effort spent. Day 2 Vila Franca de Xira to Santarem 61kmThis was an easy ride along pretty farmer's lanes following the yellow arrows the whole way with only one climb up to Santarem at the end.Day 3 Santarem to Alcobaça 59km We are taking a slight detour off the Camino to visit the Monasteries ...
July 9, 2015Although we loved Lisbon it is delightful to be in a small town. We are staying at the DP Hostel, which makes Gordon very happy because we are only paying 25€ for a tiny double room with ensuite. While we are talking about costs, our multi course lunch, including beer and dessert (the incomparable pastel de nata) was 17€ for both of us. The ...
July 8, 2015Ruth: Gordon found his voice today! He has been speaking Portuguese almost as a local, well at least to my ears. I am pleased that I have enough vocabulary to understand simple exchanges, and to complement people on their excellent pastries.Gord: Yesterday we took a tram out to Belem. This is a suburb at the mouth of the Tejo, and the historic departure ...
July 6, 2015The best way to get over jet lag is to have a wonderful place to explore. Yesterday we arrived at our hotel at around noon and then hit the streets of Lisbon to get our bearings. What a fabulous place. After a great meal in the market we walked all over town stopping for a nap and then up and out for a ...
It's 3 PM on Friday and we are only one sleep away from our departure. Is it possible to be excited, anxious, and calm all at the same time? Excited, because I am looking forward to a wonderful trip with my best mate in a new land to explore with our bikes. Anxious, because anxiety is excitement's fraternal twin, who is always hanging around waiting to ...
We fly to Portugal on July 4th and arrive in Lisbon on our 25 anniversary! Gord has informed me that the 25th anniversary is the pvc plastic anniversary, so I am expecting some rather nice plastic bling!Today is the last day of school and now I have a week to obsess about what to pack and what to leave behind. Even though we have done ...