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Started By
Message
re: Portugal Trip Review
Posted on 8/23/17 at 11:46 am to Bear-O-Dactyl
Posted on 8/23/17 at 11:46 am to Bear-O-Dactyl
The Azores - Sao Miguel Island
Duration: 2 day, 2 night
Hotel: Azor Hotel
After 18 hours of traveling, we arrived in the Azores. Our guide from Amazing Tours picked us up at the Airport and drove us to our hotel to store our bags before we immediately jumped into our tour of the west side of the island. Adderall/Vyvanse recommended if you are going this route.
The main sights on the west side of Sao Miguel are the areas surrounding Sete Cidades and Lagoa do Fogo. The Azores in general are a very unspoiled area with beautiful views. Mountains, calderas, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, etc. It is also underdeveloped compared to Western Europe and the United States. My wife and I compared it to a cross between Panama and the Big Island of Hawaii (with fewer beaches).
After our tour, we cleaned up and headed into the city center for a 7:00 dinner at Boca de Cena. It's a one man show, where the owner acts as the chef, waiter, busboy, and hostess. We were lucky we got in right when things opened, because things started to get hectic around 8:00-8:30 when the normal dinner crowds started rolling in. The food was excellent, however, and I would highly recommend it.
Our second day was scheduled to show us the eastern side of the island and we set out bright and early. The major attractions today were centered around the town of Furnas. The locals there bury their food, using the heat from the underground volcanic activity to slow cook their meats and vegetables into a dish called Cozido. It's delicious. You are able to watch them dig up your lunch and then can follow them into town to their restaurant. After a large lunch, we visited the natural hot springs, which consisted of a large area with 5 or 6 public pools ranging in temperature from "kinda warm" to "pretty damn hot". Food in Portugal is cheap and the portion sizes rival America, so there were a lot of fatties at the pool. Our dinner that night was not memorable. I could find the name of the place, but it isn't worth the effort.
Budget Estimates:
2 days of private tours + aiport transfers - ~$275
Hotel - $175/nt
Misc.
The food and wine are very cheap and delicious. My wife thought she was ordering a nice glass of wine for $10 and received an entire bottle.
The Azor Hotel is advertised (and billed as, by Portuguese standards) as a 5 star hotel. It isn't. Service is pretty shitty and they are beach towel Nazis. Rooms were fine, though, and it was centrally located.
Duration: 2 day, 2 night
Hotel: Azor Hotel
After 18 hours of traveling, we arrived in the Azores. Our guide from Amazing Tours picked us up at the Airport and drove us to our hotel to store our bags before we immediately jumped into our tour of the west side of the island. Adderall/Vyvanse recommended if you are going this route.
The main sights on the west side of Sao Miguel are the areas surrounding Sete Cidades and Lagoa do Fogo. The Azores in general are a very unspoiled area with beautiful views. Mountains, calderas, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, etc. It is also underdeveloped compared to Western Europe and the United States. My wife and I compared it to a cross between Panama and the Big Island of Hawaii (with fewer beaches).
After our tour, we cleaned up and headed into the city center for a 7:00 dinner at Boca de Cena. It's a one man show, where the owner acts as the chef, waiter, busboy, and hostess. We were lucky we got in right when things opened, because things started to get hectic around 8:00-8:30 when the normal dinner crowds started rolling in. The food was excellent, however, and I would highly recommend it.
Our second day was scheduled to show us the eastern side of the island and we set out bright and early. The major attractions today were centered around the town of Furnas. The locals there bury their food, using the heat from the underground volcanic activity to slow cook their meats and vegetables into a dish called Cozido. It's delicious. You are able to watch them dig up your lunch and then can follow them into town to their restaurant. After a large lunch, we visited the natural hot springs, which consisted of a large area with 5 or 6 public pools ranging in temperature from "kinda warm" to "pretty damn hot". Food in Portugal is cheap and the portion sizes rival America, so there were a lot of fatties at the pool. Our dinner that night was not memorable. I could find the name of the place, but it isn't worth the effort.
Budget Estimates:
2 days of private tours + aiport transfers - ~$275
Hotel - $175/nt
Misc.
The food and wine are very cheap and delicious. My wife thought she was ordering a nice glass of wine for $10 and received an entire bottle.
The Azor Hotel is advertised (and billed as, by Portuguese standards) as a 5 star hotel. It isn't. Service is pretty shitty and they are beach towel Nazis. Rooms were fine, though, and it was centrally located.
This post was edited on 8/23/17 at 12:11 pm
1
Posted on 8/23/17 at 11:46 am to Bear-O-Dactyl
Porto
Duration: 2 day, 2 night
Hotel: Palacio das Cardosas
After a two hour flight from Ponta Delgada, we arrived in Porto. We decided to see the city ourselves, so we grabbed an Uber to the hotel so we could drop off our bags and head to the riverfront for a quick lunch.
We had lunch at a restaurant called Bacchus Vini, which is located directly under the Ponte de Dom Luis Bridge. It is more of a wine and tapas place. We grabbed a flight of 5 wines and a charcuterie board and enjoyed the perfect weather. Small thing to note, Jamon Iberico ham, which is $75+ per pound in Arkansas, is available here and it is not expensive.
After lunch, we checked out the Se Cathedral and Clerigos Tower. Se Cathedral is a cool old church, but it's pretty similar to most churches you'll see in Europe. Climbing the Clerigos Tower would have been very neat if it were not for the crowds. You are smushed in like sardines once you get to the top, but the views are nice. Stairway is very narrow. Reminded me a lot of my trip to Bruges and this scene for In Bruges:
Belfry of Bruges
After climbing the tower, we started working our way back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We planned to stop by Livraria Lello, which is a bookstore that supposedly inspired the Harry Potter series. Damned if I was going to pay $5 to go into a bookstore, though. Skipped it.
Dinner that night was at a place on the river called A Bolina. I'm not good at describing food, but long story short it started raining on the walk there, our umbrella broke, and I got us lost. Almost got divorced by the time we got wine. Marriage survived and dinner was pretty good, but the service was a bit slow, which is a pretty common theme from my past trips to Europe.
Day two began with a trip across the river to Graham's Port Lodge for an 11:00 AM tour and tasting. I paid a little extra for the premium tasting and got to try some 40+ year vintage port. Delicious. They got us sufficiently drunk during the tour and guided us into the gift shop, where I spent more money than I should have. Lunch was on premises at a restaurant called VINUM. I drank even more port and was quite lubricated by the time we left.
We had planned to see the Igreja de Sao Francisco and Palacio de Bolsa after lunch, but I was drunk and audibled to nap time. After sobering up, we headed back down to the river for a bit before going to dinner at Ode Porto Wine House. Probably the best lunch + dinner combo we had during the entire trip.
Budget Estimates:
Hotel - $250/nt
Misc.
Porto is pretty hilly. Be prepared for that.
Adding a wine pairing to your meal is a good way to ensure the drinks keep flowing if you are worried about slower service.
Palacio das Cardosas was an excellent hotel. The picture above of the statue in the large square was the view from our room.
Duration: 2 day, 2 night
Hotel: Palacio das Cardosas
After a two hour flight from Ponta Delgada, we arrived in Porto. We decided to see the city ourselves, so we grabbed an Uber to the hotel so we could drop off our bags and head to the riverfront for a quick lunch.
We had lunch at a restaurant called Bacchus Vini, which is located directly under the Ponte de Dom Luis Bridge. It is more of a wine and tapas place. We grabbed a flight of 5 wines and a charcuterie board and enjoyed the perfect weather. Small thing to note, Jamon Iberico ham, which is $75+ per pound in Arkansas, is available here and it is not expensive.
After lunch, we checked out the Se Cathedral and Clerigos Tower. Se Cathedral is a cool old church, but it's pretty similar to most churches you'll see in Europe. Climbing the Clerigos Tower would have been very neat if it were not for the crowds. You are smushed in like sardines once you get to the top, but the views are nice. Stairway is very narrow. Reminded me a lot of my trip to Bruges and this scene for In Bruges:
Belfry of Bruges
After climbing the tower, we started working our way back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We planned to stop by Livraria Lello, which is a bookstore that supposedly inspired the Harry Potter series. Damned if I was going to pay $5 to go into a bookstore, though. Skipped it.
Dinner that night was at a place on the river called A Bolina. I'm not good at describing food, but long story short it started raining on the walk there, our umbrella broke, and I got us lost. Almost got divorced by the time we got wine. Marriage survived and dinner was pretty good, but the service was a bit slow, which is a pretty common theme from my past trips to Europe.
Day two began with a trip across the river to Graham's Port Lodge for an 11:00 AM tour and tasting. I paid a little extra for the premium tasting and got to try some 40+ year vintage port. Delicious. They got us sufficiently drunk during the tour and guided us into the gift shop, where I spent more money than I should have. Lunch was on premises at a restaurant called VINUM. I drank even more port and was quite lubricated by the time we left.
We had planned to see the Igreja de Sao Francisco and Palacio de Bolsa after lunch, but I was drunk and audibled to nap time. After sobering up, we headed back down to the river for a bit before going to dinner at Ode Porto Wine House. Probably the best lunch + dinner combo we had during the entire trip.
Budget Estimates:
Hotel - $250/nt
Misc.
Porto is pretty hilly. Be prepared for that.
Adding a wine pairing to your meal is a good way to ensure the drinks keep flowing if you are worried about slower service.
Palacio das Cardosas was an excellent hotel. The picture above of the statue in the large square was the view from our room.
This post was edited on 8/23/17 at 12:36 pm
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