Diary Of Portugal Scouting Trip November/December 2021

As some of you may know, Bri and I are looking at Portugal to possibly retire. We wanted to visit the country to find possible towns that we like that could be possible retirement spots. We planned this trip for a few months. We rented a car for the whole trip and stayed at two different places in Portugal (though it ended up being three hotels).

Portugal is a great country full of friendly people, culture, and fun things to do. Cervejas (beer) is sold everywhere and at all hours of the day it is not uncommon to drink. Cervejas are in coffee shops, souvenir shops,  lingerie shops (just kidding about that one).

Most people speak English but we did run into some who did not but we were able to easily get by. We learned some Portuguese before going of course such as “olbrigata” (which is thank you for women).

It was an awesome week. We did a lot. Visited a lot of places. It seemed like a very long trip even though it was only a week and a few days.

Pictures:
http://yearscollage.com/user/niles38?set_id=47

Here’s what we did:

Friday, November 26, 2021

• Got up around 7:30 am
• Went to CVS for covid test
• Ate leftovers
• Lounged around all day
• Bri’s parents picked us up
• Drove to Dulles
• Got there really early
• Ate and drank at bar
• Talked to lady for a while at gate
• Boarded plane
• Started to watch Titanic
• Couldn’t sleep on plane

Saturday, November 27, 2021

• Got to Lisbon
• Very long line at customs but they didn’t ask us anything or checked anything; just stamped passport
• Got luggage
• Tried to find rental car place with no luck
• Finally figured out they didn’t have a stand there; had to wait to get picked up
• Got rental car
• Tried to get to hotel but phones were not working
• Had panic attack because our phones weren’t working
• Bri found wifi and downloaded Lisbon map
• Got to hotel but we were too early for check-in
• Walked around & Got Portuguese dish and beer to eat
• Back to hotel & checked in
• Took a shower and nap
• Walked around Lisbon
• Got a cafe (very small coffee)
• Walked and found beer place outside & Got a glass of wine and 0% alcohol beer (oops)
• Walked around; checked out outdoor markets
• Ate at place outside; bri Got sausage on fire
• Walked around Lisbon & found beer museum
• Had many beers
• Went back to hotel and slept
• Woke up 11PM our time (4AM Lisbon time)

Sunday, November 28, 2021

• Time change fucking with us; got up around 2 am Lisbon time; had sex; played on phones; back to sleep
• Got up around 8:30 Lisbon time
• Headed to breafast; had breakfast
• Took a nap & got up around 11:30 Lisbon time
• Hit the road; got gas
• Évora; walked around and finally found food inside the castle walls
• Suviner shopping
• Went to grocery store on the way to Mourāo to see if we can eat here cheaply; about a wash
• Went to Castelo de Mourāo; waited for sun to set
• Tried to go to telescope place but it was closed; waited for sun to set
• Saw stars; thousands of then
• 2.5 hours back to Lisbon
• Got dinner at sushi place

Monday, November 29, 2021

• Breakfast
• Nap
• Went to Fonte de Telha
• Had lunch at cool Beach restaurant
• Walked around town
• Tried to go to Corva but it was just a neighborhood
• Back to hotel
• Walked around & Got dinner at hybrid restaurant
• Drinks at hotel’s rooftop bar

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

• Breakfast
• Chilled in hotel room (no nap)
• Walked around and hit up a cafe; expresso
• Went to an old church, sé de Lisboa
• Walked to Tagus; had expresso and cerveja by the water
• Went by pink Street
• Walked to Praça de São Paulo; cerveja
• Walked around hitting various cafés; Benard
• Went to Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara
• Walked back to hotel
• Walked to Lizzo’s and got pizza

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

• Breakfast
• Got going to Quarteira and checked into hotel
• Went to Fonte de Telha but restaurants were closed
• Went to beach restaurant in Lagos
• Walked around Lagos and went to grocery store
• Back to hotel & drank & watched Netflix

Thursday, December 2, 2021

• Back hurt in the morning and too much light in room
• Bad hotel & bad hotel food
• Decided to check out and find a hotel in Faro
• Traveled to Faro
• Checked into hotel
• Walked around and got food at Italian place
• Had to get Euros from ATM
• Walked around and went to marina bar & drank most afternoon
• Went back to hotel & relaxed
• Went to Portuguese restaurant

Friday, December 3, 2021

• Breakfast (better than the others)
• Started early and went to Tavira
• Cafe and walked around; visited shops
• Went to Cavanas (clear winner)
• Drinks on the boardwalk
• Went to Santa Luzia & had lunch
• Went to Olhão; drinks by the water
• Went back to Faro
• Dinner at nice Mexican restaurant; learned some português
• Talked to Stacy on messanger video chat
• Drank in room

Saturday, December 4, 2021

• Woke up to wrong number
• Breakfast
• Went to pharmacy to schedule covid test
• Headed off to Sagres
• Walked around Praia da Mareta beach
• Lunch at beach bar
• Went to Lagos; walked around & Got drinks at a tap bar
• Went to Portimão; walked around & ate dinner at a pizza place
• Back to hotel

Sunday, December 5, 2021

• Breakfast
• Spa
• Walked to tap pub
• Drank cerveja and had conversations with people from Ireland and England
• Too drunk so Went to hotel to sleep
• Went to covid test
• Bri Got dinner
• I got dinner later
• Talked to Stacy and watched the Ravens game
• Couldn’t sleep

Monday, December 6, 2021

• Got up around 7 AM
• Breakfast
• Checked out of Faro hotel
• Traveled to Lisbon
• Got to airport way early; I fucked up the time and thought we flew out at 2 PM instead of 5 PM
• Cervejas and coffee
• Got food
• Walked to immigration
• Waited some more
• Segregated our gate & made us fill out form to return to US
• Loooong plane ride
• The plane could not land so we had to circle around again since the wind was bad
• Bri’s parents picked us up and dropped us off home with the dogs