Portugal By Any Other Name Would Be "Maravilhoso"

“I've got two places I like to be. Portugal is one.” -- Cliff Richard

  

Castello Alfama as seen from the Topo Restaurant

It is quite simple really, no matter what locations you may have on your travel "bucket list", Portugal should be moved up. After our trip there this month (July 2017), we would argue that Portugal should be in your top 4. Why an oddly unexpected yet even number 4? Combined together, Brooke and I have visited over 100 countries and our undisputed top 4 include 1) Italy, 2) Czech Republic, 3) England and, 4) Portugal.

Portugal is truly "Maravilhoso" (Portuguese for Wonderful). It possesses ALL of the required components to assure an amazing and satisfying vacation, sabbatical, last minute getaway, or even, future retirement destination.

• Affordability in accommodations, transportation, food, and visitor activities

Panorama of our $60 per night flat in Lisbon

•  Great food including worldwide cuisines (seafood is the biggest star) 

 

• Fabulous weather

• A full spectrum of experiences (all in a small package) including, beaches, mountains, lakes, forests, camping, biking, hiking and touring

• Medieval history everywhere - monuments, castles, palaces, churches, museums, parks, plazas, ports     

 

As a nice bonus, my daughter Tahni (who currently lives in Brussels, Belgium) joined us in the beautiful city of Porto. She loves Porto and was an amazing tour guide for our 4 days there.

 A few random pictures from our trip:

Sadly, we witnessed the circle of life while in Porto. A few days before our arrival these two baby seagulls were born in their nest, which was directly outside the hallway window in our flat. Both eventually fell to their deaths 3 stories below before we departed. The mother seagull was very sad and actually "cried" over her loss for several days. Not the best ending to a wonderful trip, but a unavoidable fact of life.

Obrigado (Thanks) Portugal! In the paraphrased words of both Gen. MacArthur and Arnold Schwarzenegger, "We'll be BACK!"

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