A long weekend in Portugal

One of the places that I've never been during our time in Europe was Lisbon, so when Mum and Dad said they were travelling through Portugal during their European sojourn, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to visit. I flew over bright and early on Saturday and met them at their hotel (booked for free with my credit card points - score!) before we all headed off via the metro to explore the town.

It's a lovely, grand city with beautiful streets and squares. We tried lots of delicious pastries and checked out the shops. Dad bought a really nice pair of leather dress shoes and Mum kept up her hunt for a new handbag (more on that later). I got treated to a new pair of sneakers which was very generous! We walked up to the castle overlooking the central city via the cathedral, then down lots of steps through the Alfama district where dozens of little eateries were being set up with music and brightly coloured streamers everywhere. We found a little bar that I'd read about and Mum and Dad had a shot of ginja each and I had a lemonade that was true lemonade - literally lemon water that was sour as anything but very refreshing in the heat. After a black seafood paella for Mum and I and pasta for Dad it was back to the hotel for a well-earned sleep.

The next morning we found a great café down the road for breakfast that really took Mum's fancy and which served yoghurt, fruit and all sorts of pastries, as well as fabulous fresh orange juice. Then it was off to Sintra. After some very windy and narrow roads we found a park and arrived at the Quinta da Regaleira, an elaborate palace and garden complex. There were caves and grottoes, towers and even a 27m well in the gardens, and the house was equally twirly and decorative. Definitely recommended.

In the grounds of the Quinta da Regaleira

We had lunch in the main village area on a terrace then drove to Agrada Beach which was absolutely gorgeous. Huge, pounding surf and a triangle of golden sand between the cliffs. I was the only one of the three of us who swam but I'm not sure you could really even call it that as the waves were so big it was all I could do to keep upright as they rolled in (and in fact didn't succeed - got completely bowled over at one point and got sand everywhere!). I had really wanted a swim so I'm so pleased we managed to get out that way. Drove back to Lisbon with the help of Martha (the name allocated to the car's gps), then finished the day with some tapas at a little place by the Campo Pequeno bull ring.

On Agrada beach

So happy to be at the beach!

Day three saw us driving to Porto after another breakfast at our favourite local café. We hit rain on the way but the roads were clear and it only took about three hours. It seemed to take more time to actually find the hotel's parking building in Porto once we arrived among the windy streets! But the sun had blazed its way through the clouds by the time we arrived and so it was up the Torre dos Clerigos for a great view over the city. Dad, being not so keen on heights, wasn't a massive fan but climbed the whole way up which was pretty impressive! We had a coffee at the Majestic Café to recover then hit the shops. Mum found a really lovely Spanish handbag to contemplate buying and Dad and I loved the shop with all sorts of brightly coloured socks for only €1 each - barganza.

After a false start at an average restaurant for dinner we found our way to one I'd read about called Traça which was absolutely delicious. We shared a six person table with a guy from Quebec (who very generously said that my French was "impeccable") and a couple from the Chilterns in England who were all really friendly and chatty. The food was excellent - I had a whole octopus tentacle which was as tender as butter and Mum had a rosé port cocktail with tonic and mint that was fabulous. I would definitely go back if ever I was in Porto again.

Our last day saw us walk over the top level of the Luiz I bridge (designed by Gustav Eiffel) to the Gaia side of the river which made Dad's legs go all wobbly but I got some great photos of Mum with the view behind. To recover we headed down to the port houses and choose to do a tour at Offley. The guide was very slick and we tried three different ports - a white, a ruby and a reserve tawny. Sadly I could only really sip them and appreciate the aroma but both Mum and Dad liked them (white and reserve tawny the most respectively). Then it was back out into the drizzle for lunch. Dad tried a francesinha and Mum enjoyed the local sardines. I also picked up a box of custard tarts as a present for Adrian (which sadly are a bit smushed in my bag on the plane as I write this but I'm sure they still taste delicious).

We then trekked over to the other side of town for the best gelato in Porto at Gelataria Sincelo (supposedly). I had port and ové mole (egg custard) and Dad had passion fruit and mandarin. They were pretty good I have to say! After that it was out into the rain and back to the shops where Mum bought her lovely bag and a pair of sandals, Dad got a leather belt to go with his new shoes, and I got a pair of earrings that I've decided are my graduation present from Adrian ;) Such extravagance! But you only live once right...

It was really nice to be able to share somewhere I'd been with Mum and Dad (Porto) but also to explore somewhere new together too. The four days went far too quickly - I don't want to go back to work tomorrow! Let's hope there are lots more European jaunts in my future.