Friday, April 18, 2014

The World Travelers Are Back!

We are back, arriving last night after a 9.5 hr flight from Amsterdam to Vancouver then a short 1/2 hour flight from Vancouver to Comox.  The only part of our trip that was not great was the three hour layover at Vancouver then our small hopper flight being delayed by an hour for undetermined reasons at the very end - but - we are safely home with tons of photos to share and stories to tell.  I am still tired today although we did get a pretty decent sleep last night in our own beds and will be visiting your blogs today.  

Portugal was fabulous and exceeded our expectations.  I will share Amsterdam, Holland in a later post as we were only really there for two days/three nights.  For now, I am just sharing some pictures of Portugal.  Happy Easter Weekend everyone!

Santa Justa Elevator, Lisbon, Portugal

Tower of Belem, Lisbon, Portugal

A View from  Sao Jorge Castle, Lisbon, Portugal

Deli Counter at El Corte Ingles Supermarket, Lisbon, Portugal

Capo Da Roca, Portugal

Quinta Da Regaleira, Sintra, Portugal

Archeological Remains of Carmo Convent, Lisbon, Portugal

Sao Jorge Castle, Lisbon, Portugal

32 comments:

  1. Welcome home! Its been over 25 years since i went to Portugal, these photos are making me want to go back! xxx

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    1. Vix, we loved it. I am not sure what it was like 25 years ago but it was such a great place. Not cheap like Goa but you could certainly do it inexpensively enough if willing to do hostels (hubby isn't) and eat locally. Cheers!

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  2. Welcome home. Enjoyed your photos. Spring arrived.
    Joy

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    1. Oh Joy, we landed and two of the bushes in my yard (rhodos and some other unidentified bush) are blooming. Hubby got out there and mowed on Friday, it was necessary or we would have had to take a hacksaw to it given a few more days.

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  3. Gorgeous! Portugal is one place I'd consider spending the winter months when it comes time to retire. Show us more!

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    1. Portugal was so nice, it is honestly one of those places I could see living. Warm and friendly people, transportation was easy to access, everything was clean (except the taggers graffiti just like any other city in the world - they really need to step up the punishment for that, like cleaning public washrooms for six months for every offense), and the food was good. They even drive on the same side of the road as North America!

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  4. I have always wanted to go to Portugal, especially Fatima. Lovely photos.

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    1. We never got to Fatima but heard that it was fabulous. If you ever go, I highly recommend using Cooltour LX for your day trip unless you rent a car and do it on your own. We loved our two tours with them.

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  5. Happy Easter to you too! And welcome home. Looking forward to hearing about your trip

    xx

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  6. Welcome back! I can't wait to read about your adventures. Photos are just beautiful!

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  7. Fantastic photos! Portugal looks bee-oo-ti-ful. My husband and I have traveled Europe quite a bit (never Portugal). Amsterdam was our very favorite place we ever visited. We even went there twice! Planning a trip to Copenhagen, when our kids are older. Copenhagen has many similarities to Amsterdam, so I think we will really enjoy our trip there...one day...Love the pics, keep them coming!

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    1. I think I would like to see Amsterdam in a slightly quieter timeframe and get more out away from the tourist traps, as we seemed to gravitate towards regular neighborhoods and liked those the most. Fortunately our hotel was outside the canals so we were a little away from all the hectic craziness.

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  8. Portugal looks great! Your photos have made me even more excited for our trip. Did you have Pastel De Nata's in Belem (or Lisbon)?

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    1. We did have Pastel De Nata's in Lisbon but as the day we went to Belem was 27 degrees Celcius we were not willing to stand in the large line for them at Belem. They were delicious as were the many other pastries consumed on our holiday. They made Portugal with lots of stairs and hills to burn off all of those bakery items :)

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    2. Very true!! :)

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  9. Welcome back. Glad to hear all went well. Portugal looks beautiful!

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    1. It was a great holiday, and Portugal was extremely beautiful. All the flowers, oranges in the trees and ancient monuments. We loved it!

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  10. What a fun time you must have had - you'll have a lazy weekend!

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    1. Maybe next weekend but this one was full of cleaning, and editing some of the 800 photos I took lol :)

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  11. Welcome home, Portugal looks beautiful!

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    1. Thanks Aggie - it was, we were just blown away by it.

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  12. I've always wanted to go to Portugal. Your architecture pics are beautiful.

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    1. Thanks, there are about 300 more I have to go through. I know nothing about architecture but love it!

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  13. How wonderful!!!! The pictures are spectacular. I hope and pray that we get to travel someday. Thank you for sharing with me!

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  14. Europe has so much history. I've never been, and probably won't get the chance. Thanks for sharing. - Margy

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    1. You should consider it Margy, even just once. It was so interesting, I cannot wait to explore more.

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  15. Great photos! I loved Portugal. Was only there once. Did you go up the Santa Justa Elevator? I wanted to, but didn't have a chance.

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    1. Yes, we went up the Santa Justa Elevator - what great views! Plus it gave us access to the Carmo Convent ruins which was one of my very favorite things we did in Lisbon. You need to go back!

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    2. Thanks for that recommendation. I actually didn't even know about that convent. Now I really want to go back!

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