Carol is flabbergasted that no one has a dryer. And by “no one,” I mean 90% of the population. Heck, this is a country where only 20% of the households had a refrigerator until the Carnation Revolution of 1974. (Upon learning that fact, I quipped that it should be called the “Refrigerator Revolution of 1974!” It drew an appreciative laugh. And not JUST because I was paying them money!) One tour guide told us the mother has a dryer, but doesn’t use it because of the cost of electricity!
We saw tons of clothes hanging out of windows to dry. Other people enclose outdoor space to use for drying clothes. The weird part is, there were lots of clothes left out in the rain and drizzle of the four rainy days whilst we were there.
No doubt some of this is COVID-driven, but late October/early November is a great time to travel. The weather in Portugal is still relatively warm (I wore shorts every day but one), but the place felt uncrowded, even though tourism is picking up.
I have never prepared as much for a trip as I did for this one. Planning for a month in Barcelona was a dress rehearsel for the planning for this trip. (Editor: Oh, you spent a month in Barcelona? Do tell. Writer: Do shut up!).
And, you know what, the meticulous planning paid off. There is not a single city/town/tour of the itinerary that I regret. All of it was A+, with one exception, in Coimbra, and that’s kind of my fault. More on that later. If anyone wants my itinerary and prep work, let me know and I will be happy to email it to you.
My two main sources were Rick Steves and TripAdvisors’ “Things to Do.” But I also got input from friends who had been, or even those who planned on going but COVID cancelled the trip. I will say this, Portugal is definitely worth the trip. I know it’s somewhat controversial that we didn’t go to Porto, but we’ll save that for another trip to the Iberian Peninsula (remember, it’s the best Peninsula on earth!). I wanted to spend quality time in each place we went, and every city/town was magical.
Dinner reservations in Portugal are hard. You can’t just make them on the internet. You have to contact the restaurant, either on Facebook or via email. Then, you hope they reply. And sometimes that’s not even enough. I had booked a restaurant, Sabores do Mercado, for Tuesday night (November 2) at 8pm, which is prime dining time in Portugal. I got a confirmation email in reply. We walked nearly a mile to it from the hotel. It was closed. After trying another place that was full up, we ended up back at InComum. We didn’t get the five course tasting menu again, but we did get the Chestnut soup with the ice cream foie gras. It was as good as remembered!
The next night, our hotel in Obidos got us reservations at A Nova Casa de Ramiro, which was great too. We had the Duck Magret for two, which we never had before. The challenge was that I had contacted the restaurant in advance and never heard back. The hotel clerk, not knowing that’s where we wanted to eat, recommended it, and made reservations. Portugal needs to develop an “Open Table” style where you go to the restaurant’s website and book it on-line. No more of this, “send an email and hope for the best” reservation strategy.
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