An ode to Portugal

Bom dia from a bus somewhere in the Portuguese desert!

Well, it's official. The rest of our accommodations and hosts will suck in comparison to InPatio Guesthouse of Porto. Had a good flight from Rome to Porto on TAP Airlines, kind of the most amazing airline ever. Delicious lunch served on the plane (cod filet + chicken) and free, unlimited wine. Bravo, TAP.

Porto airport was brand new and the transit system is clean, cheap and efficient. Got down to the waterfront in about 30 minutes and found InPatio. Things seemed to good to be true from the minute Graham received his gluten free meal on the plane so we (mostly Jess) were hesitant to see our accommodation. But man did Fernando and Olga deliver. The room was spectacular and it took 3 minutes to walk to the best part of Porto. We say "best part" because there are about 40 patios, restaurants and pubs lining the waterfront, which in turn is lined with old port-carriers (boats). See pics for details. 

We happened upon Porto's once a year food festival which had a large concert by a very greasy Portuguese man (Ricky Martin we thought?). Then found beer for a euro and people watched. Lots of tourists around but very laid back place. Then had a a jug on sangria right on the water, as it seemed appropriate for the moment!

That evening we of course, could not eat with all the tourists so Graham found a hole in the wall restaurant where they were serving meat on a stick. This is also where we learned some Portuguese tourist tricks. They give you bread, butter, olives, and pate when you sit down and we take it as hospitality. In reality, they take it as another 10 euros added to the bill. Lesson learned! 

Stickmeat was amazing and hosts were very friendly - not a word of English but we survived and even got what was ordered. Then off to the harbour for a nightcap of port and off to bed at our retreat. 

Next morning awoke to a wonderful 5 course breakfast with buns made for Graham's digestive requirements. Too kind of you, Olga. Add meat, cheese, yogurt, jams caffeine and fruits and we were set for the day. Rented some bikes and toured the Atlantic seawall for about three hours and earned some sore asses as a result. Big leather bike seats + 25'C x ( time/cobbled streets) = the purchase of 2 donuts for comfort. Took a ferry (read: man's personal boat) across the rio for a buck in order to get a taste of old world Porto. Small fishing village with authentic fish fry for lunch. We had shrimp the size of sausages and salmon steaks the size of... steaks. Very cool experience!

Dropped the bikes off and headed to Graham's birthplace (we think). W+J Graham's Port is located up a large hill and we opted to work up a thirst that only a pint of port could satisfy. Took a tour, saw bottles from the 1800s and they will soon be releasing a few bottles for 5500 euros each. Please wire money if you would like some. Jess sampled her first port glasses too. Very diverse woman! Dinner was right on the water and again delish.

Next morning was time for a train ride to Lisbon. Showed up midday, hostel was good, Lisbon is the oldest city in Europe, etc. Blew through there and don't have much to write about it. There are lots of hills and tourists. 

Next day, off to the Algarve coastal resorty unofficial British tourist destination town of Faro, Portugal. Never ending train ride of 4 hours on the milk run train that stops at almost every hamlet on the way south from Lisbon. Bloody milk run! Train was full of characters - teens drinking white wine on the way down, woman "secretly" smoking in the washroom and Spanish-Portuguese arguments about wrong seats. Swear the train ran through New Mexico for about 3 hours with nothing to see. I feared that Graham was going to run out of things to say but fortunately the gerbils kept running in his head.

Arrived in Faro mid afternoon and had the same feeling you get upon arriving in the Caribbean. Not a cloud in the sky, 30'C and very coastal feel. Hotel Eva is located right on the towns central marina and thanks to B+P for putting us up here in swank luxury of a 4 star hotel. Rooftop pool got swam hard, poolside bar got familiar with a certain ginger and sunscreen did it's job. Given that we're getting a reputation in the region as avid festival attendees, Faro decided to put on their biggest party while we were in town - the once a year Festival Rio Formosa! 

Dozens of restaurants dishing out paella, shrimp, sangria and dirty white wine to a few thousand of our closest friends. Add in a huge show with dancing/singing/guy with skullet playing keyboard, and you've described Graham's dream come true? Nope, just the Festival. Jess got into a danceoff with a woman in a Canadian tuxedo, both dancing casual-aggressive to unknown Portuguese pop music. 

The next morning came early (WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING?) and we feasted on a gourmet buffet breakfast. Examined some nasty British sunburns, did some laundry and then repeated the previous days festivities. To a tee. See previous 2 paragraphs if you're unclear. A totally relaxing and charming town for these two bronzed Canadians to hang out, that's for sure.

Now we're sitting on a bus listening to what I can assume is the world's biggest douchbag as he is whistling and singing some merry tunes for all to hear. 

Hopefully neither one of us gets too fed up and proceed to act on the thoughts running through our head. 

Obrigado!