Author: Ella

Our big meal of the day was a hit. Especially after the cacophony of the immersive Kahlo experience. Grubb says he will describe the Frida experience. I am going to trust him on that.  I started with a glass of sangria. Some of the best I’ve ever had. In fact, if i seem a bit…

“It’s Easter Sunday. I thought we’d go to Jardim de Cristo Palacio”, Grubb said. “OK. But will the palace be open?”, I asked. “It’s not a palace.” Grubb states. “It’s a Palacio you said?”, I asked, confused. “Yes” “But not a palace” “Yes” “Yes, it’s not a palace?” “Yes. And plus, there is a delta…

Who can spot the buckets of Nutella? https://photos.app.goo.gl/zTsnUxeq1EbxVQeX9 Bom Jesus de Monte https://photos.app.goo.gl/v4k7uKCxSu77xhQV9 Catedral de Santa Maria de Braga https://photos.app.goo.gl/mnWEqjWsQySBmdXG6

A town (really, a small city that used to be a quaint town) that lies 60 km northeast of Porto. By car, it’s 45-50 minutes. We chose the regional train. You can’t beat 3 euro round trip per person. Unless you factor in the 25 stops. Still, just under 1 hour 20 minutes. 9:00 on…

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Gelato. In this shop, you purchase a cup or cone in your desired size and then you are entitled to as many flavors as can be crammed in. I chose Chocolate, Café, Bourbon (cream heavily flavored with bourbon) and Pistachio. Grubb’s choices were Indian mango, fig, blueberry amoretto and strawberry cheesecake. That kept us going…

But after the beautiful bookstore and before the church, we stopped for a Delta cappuccino. The Igreja do Carmo or Church of the Venerable Third Order of Nossa Senhora do Carmo was built on land adjacent to the Church of the Carmelites. At the time, two churches were not allowed to share a wall, so the Casa Escondida do…

The Livraria Lello bookstore, opened in 1906 and is billed as one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world. J.K Rowling lived in Porto for a couple of years (prior to her rise to stardom) and is said to have frequented the bookstore. Harry Potter fans may notice a striking resemblance to the Flourish…

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The other side of the Douro River was today’s destination. Requiring crossing the Luis I bridge…on foot. The warning – if you have vertigo, don’t try this at home. We don’t, so we did. Reminded us of getting married on the catwalk 5 stories above the soundstage at the Albuquerque Studios (now owned by Netflix)….

Best artist of the day…Mark Bradford. An L.A. based contemporary artist seen at the Museu de Arte Contemporânea de Serralves in Porto. My personal favorite: Fire Fire painted in 2021. And an untitled one painted at the beginning of 2020 that should have been called Covid, Covid. Best garden trowel of the week. Best Tree…

The fast train to Porto was smooth and comfortable. Being eligible for those senior fares, for a couple extra Euros, we bumped ourselves into the first class car. A mere 3 hours and voila, here we are. And then there was the taxi. Grubb will fill you in on that.  For those of you who…

Here is what the inside of our Lisbon AirBnB looks like. I am guessing it is a typical layout for an apartment in Lisbon. It is old but spotlessly clean and well kept. You can see in the kitchen, the range is about half the height of a regular range. The microwave and washing machine…

The weather channel promised a rainy morning and why yes, we did have a 2 minute shower as we moseyed down to the bus stop. That’s it. Then followed yet another weather perfect day. We boarded the crowded 727 bus to the Belem district to visit two museums we missed when we visited the Tower…