Portugal

I went to Portugal in October 2024 thinking that it may be the off-season and there would be fewer travellers. There were fewer travellers, but not a lot fewer because if the airport was any indication, I'd be sharp elbowing my way through the country once I got outside. The lineup snaked in various directions to passport control and when I got to the machines, some of them weren't functioning properly and there was no one there to assist, just two young guys standing at a counter, shrugging. 

After one night I downloaded the FLIX bus app and paid for a bus to Evora. Loved the ancient cobbled streets in the old town and a central square with wonderful little cafes and bars. In Canada there are few bakeries of the quality here and I ate dozens of custard tarts before my stomach whined and protested. What's funny is that with all the bakeries and goodies to eat here, I saw few obese people and the few that I saw were probably from my corner of the planet.  

I got a room at the Moov Hotel for 65 euros a night and it was quiet except for the rain, which had the intensity of a firehose, but luckily I brought my umbrella to Portugal. 

At the Sto Humberto Cafe I had a delicious kidney/brown bean with pumpkin soup. I could have stayed in Evora for weeks it was so delightful. 

The wall that surrounds Evora old city. 

wall around Evora

 

The

My next stop was Castelo Branco where I stayed at the Girossal for 3 nights. The weather was dismal. One thing I notice about Portugal is the lack of music, I never heard music playing anywhere. Perhaps I'm in the wrong place.

church in Castelo Blanco

the streets of Castelo Blanco

Made it to Porto but trying to navigate the metro ticket booth was insane. Nothing in English and there are no ticket booths with real people selling tickets. One fellow was helping other tourists buy tickets and I tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he'd buy mine. No directions in the metro but 2 euros to get where I was going, which was the Porto Hostel, which turned out to be fabulous. I decided to stay in a hostel because I was getting a bit tired of having a conversation between me, myself and I every night. Same opinions, same gripes, so I thought I'd give it a go. 

very steep roads in Porto

incredible food 

The bus station at Porto. Freezing cold seats and nowhere to warm up. 

They had these very interesting cash machines that they'd invented during COVID. You put your bill in for whatever you've ordered and it gives you the correct change. Wish we had them here in Canada.      

I forgot to mention how many stairs there were at the bus stations. No elevators. No escalators.