Perfect Portugal

We spent two weeks in Portugal for a special 60th birthday celebration. It wasn't our typical trip in that we stayed at all 5 star hotels and did not do any diving or beach activities.

We started out flying United Polaris class and having drinks and tartines in their airport lounge. Once we boarded we were each in our 'pod' across the aisle and couldn't see each other without leaning forward at the same time. There were all the amenities including multiple pillows, a blanket and plenty of storage for the stuff you want to be able to access easily.  Maybe the best part was we each had our own overhead bin!!!

We landed in Lisbon and had no challenge getting through immigration. We traveled only with carry on so no waiting for bags. I had prearranged car service to our hotel and the driver met us and was parked in the first spot in the first row and we were off!

We drove to the Bairro Alto section of the city which requires a code to enter with a vehicle. Down a small back street and we pulled up to The Lumiares Hotel & Spa. This entire property smelled like a spa. It was phenomenal! We were quickly checked in and then taken to our one bedroom suite on the 4th Floor with a street view that looked far over this side of the city.  Lunch was reserved at their Lumi Rooftop Bar & Restaurant and bar and the view is nothing short of amazing. All of the city, the Tagus River the castle across the way, churches, houses - everything. Service was perfect and the food tasty. We absolutely loved this place and would have breakfast and drinks daily. Dinner one night was lovely as the sun set and the moon rose. 

If you like to walk be prepared for hills and stairs in Portugal. It took a couple of days for our legs to acclimate to the hilly streets with smooth white and black stone sidewalks. There are lovely plazas covered with different geometric patterns made of the same stones. But if you don't want to climb every hill, there are lots of transportation options including cable cars!

 

Hit List for Lisbon

• Lisbon Cathedral
• Castelo de São Jorge
• Teatro Romano De Olisipo (Roman theater & ruins)
•  Convento Do carmo Lisboa
•  Monasterio de los Jerónimos de Belém
• Belem Tower
• Sintra National Palace
• Moorish Castle Sintra
• And a church on every other block - each with beautiful interiors 

Belem Tower

Lisbon Cathedral

Cloister at Monasterio de los Jerónimos de Belém

View from the Moorish Castel - Sintra

Fabulous Eats in Lisbon:

• Restaurante Lisboa à Noite - 5 stars!
• Cervejaria Ribadouro - fabulous fresh fish (where we dined next to Jim Belushi)
• Lumi Rooftop - our home base
• Definitely stop and have a drink at one of the many kisoks around the city

Then it was the train to Porto. Side note, buy your train tickets in advance because they fill up! 

Hit up the town market for anything and everything fresh. We had amazing pastries and were tempted by so much more.

We stayed at  Hotel Infante de Sagres which was nice, if not a bit stuffy. Hotel was well located to get around but we probably wouldn't return as it was just not welcoming. That and a few other things we saw that made you think does this really deserve 4 or 5 stars?

Porto is the city of Port so of course we made a visit to Sandeman to view their facility and taste their ports. We did a lot of walking around Porto without any real agenda and came across lots of interesting sites including peacocks, the high bridge to the other side of the river and the Carmo Church & Monestary which had a hidden house. Truly! It has been hidden behind the facade of the church for 280 years. The church also has a crypt with 338 bodies, mostly of monks and priests that served the church and of course the prominent families of the parish. 

 

After 3 days, back on the train to Coimbra. This was a special place and we wish we would've spent more time here and less in Porto.  Home to Portugal's oldest university dating to 1290s. We couldn't get into the library so we opted for the  Museu Nacional de Machado de Castro which did not disappoint! Roman ruins underneath that could take days to explore. The exhibits where well laid out and showcased so much of Coimbra's history. Totally worth an extra day. We also found the 11th C Romanesque Cathedral which was left standing when it came time to remodel. Instead they built a new Cathedral. 

First Coimbra Cathedral

Roman Ruins in Coimbra

We stayed at the Hotel Oslo Coimbra situated in the center of town and made walking to everything easy. Staff at this small hotel was wonderful. They asked if we were interested in a dinner with Fado and since we hadn't experience it yet this was the perfect opportunity. We walked as a group to a tiny restaurant hidden away. There were other locals there and we sat between two other couples from the hotel, one French and the other Sardinian. It was a total laugh fest with three languages, soup that ended up being shared and the disappointed look on the Sardinian's face when he was initially served a plate of beans as his entrée.  The Fado started and it was a male singer who was good. Then locals started to drop in and sing. We had a really good laugh over the guy in the yellow Timberland t-shirt who bellowed out a few songs.  We had a good night's sleep, a lovely breakfast in the hotel and then on to the train back to Lisbon.

In Lisbon we were picked up by the hotel car and delivered to a beautiful resort hotel in Cascias. Our room wasn't ready so we wandered into the town area and found a place for lunch overlooking the water. The room was fabulous with a beautiful view over the pool and beach. We made our way to the pool and flopped for the remainder of the day. Dinner was at the hotel buffet which was ok.

The next day we lounged by the pool all day. For dinner we found a spectacular seafood restaurant called Restaurante O Pescador and enjoyed out last night immensely. 

This was a wonderful birthday celebration trip!

St Croix, Gem of an Island

St Croix is the largest of the US Virgin Islands and one of the least traveled. Every cruise ship in the Caribbean stops across the way at the over touristy St Thomas. So if you like shopping and crowds etc. then that's your place to go. But if you want a more island feel, try St Croix.

While technically you don't need a passport to get to/from the island it is certainly recommended in case of the errant thunderstorm forces you to land on another island. But don't think this is a US location, it's not. It is much more island than you might think.

Renaissance Carambola Resort

There are a number of hotel options but the Marriott Renaissance Carambola Resort is probably the best choice.

1) rooms all have at least a mini kitchen so you can prepare food and not spend $100+ for dinner every night.

Sleeping porch

2) rooms all have wonderful sleeping porches that come with cushions and are screened in. You can move a table out there(some units have round patio tables) and dine out there to the sound of waves.

3) it has an awesome dive shop on location - Sweet Bottom Dive Center.

4) all the other amenities you expect at a resort, pool, bar, gift shop with wine, beer and snacks, spa beautiful grounds and one of the nicest beaches available year round.
5) Friday night free entertainment with the Fire Gypsys and Moko Jumbies (who apparently make the rounds of the hotels on the island)

Ok since I mentioned the dive shop let's talk about that first. Sweet Bottom is the #1 ranked shop on the island. They have awesome instructors who work with the absolute novice and get them open water certified in a week. (Child got her scuba cert here) they can also run you through advanced specialties and take you on night dives. The reef is 100yards off shore, no boat, no long trip to get to a dive site, just gear up and go!

Child off to get her scuba cert!

It's a big island. It has a dry eastern side, a rainforest in the hills and spectacular views all over. You can drive around It in a day if you don't stop at every opportunity.  And if you're staying more than a few days I would totally recommend a car.

Old sugar mill

There are lots of old sugar mills you can stop and visit in fields >>
You can also visit Point Udall the eastern most point in the US. The views are spectacular! Buck Island Reef National Monument is also a fun half day visit by boat.

One of the absolute don't miss places is Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge. It is a 15-20 minute drive on a *small* sandy road, through mangroves and other fauna that scrapes the side of the car to get to the beach.   But once you get there it is stunning! If you've ever seen the Shawshank Redemption you will immediately recognize this as the beach scene at the end of the film. The water is clear, fish are visible and the beach is long, white and pristine.  The Refuge is only open limited months during the year due to turtle nesting, and only on weekends from 10-4. Be sure to take your own food/drinks and gear because there are no concessions and also very little shade.

Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge beach aka Zihuatanejo

St Croix also has two small cities Christiansted and Frederikstad that have historical forts that you can visit.  St Croix belonged to Denmark until the early 1900's - who knew? But it's passed through many countries ownership over time, including France, England, Spain eventually becoming a US territory.

Christiansted Fort

Frederikstad Fort

Just be warned, if you fly United and change planes in Puerto Rico, this is the ride to St Croix!
(You can also get there on JetBlue, American and Delta :)

Travel Must Takes

You know, those things you have to take when you travel. I'm talking about beyond the basics of toothpaste, band aids and dental floss. Every traveler has stuff that gets packed regardless of where or for how long they are going. Here's my list of eight don't forgets:

Plastic bags

Not even zip locks. I'm talking about the kind you get at the grocery store when you checkout. Countless times these have come in handy for wet clothes, opened shampoo bottles or the shells we found on the beach.  Usually I wrap shoes in them on the outbound trip so they keep the rest of the clothes clean and don't take up extra space.

 Coffee, sugar and my mini French press. 

I admit it, I'm a bit if a coffee snob. I'm not one of those people that has to get my double espresso, macchiato with skim milk and a shot of hazelnut coffee shop snob, but I also never had a cup of coffee from one of those in-room machines that tasted any better than tar. I use the in-room machine to heat the water and then enjoy a nice cup of coffee. Since I don't drink crap coffee at home why drink it on vacation?

String bag

Another little thing that comes more in handy than you
might think. Who wants to lug around a big backpack or even purse when you are out sightseeing or on a hike? Conference totes work ok too. Zipper pockets hold the phone or camera. It's easy to pack flat and makes bringing back stuff simple. Or you can toss it if it was a freebie.

Big scarf or pashmina

They say that the blankets on a plane get dry cleaned after use but I'd rather use a big scarf or pashmina as my blanket, thank you.  And you never know when you'll be stuck next to one of those travelers. They also come in handy if you're visiting a country where you may need a head scarf.

 

Sanitary wipes

Who knows who was in that seat before you? I've seen people change diapers on the tray table! Or when a bathroom is out of paper towels? Or worse yet, TP! Or when the kid gets a little messy. There are a thousand uses for these wonderful little things.

Snacks

Granola bars, peanut butter crackers, chocolate bar. Staving off the growling stomach while in the air or after the crew comes back from a dive and they are ravenous, I've always found its worth it to schlepp some snacks along on every trip.

Cough drops

Good for the plane, good when someone gets a sore throat, good for the annoying coughing passenger next to you.

Triple antibiotic

Solves so many problems it's hard to list them all. Just take it.


What's on your list of must takes?

Oh yeah, THAT traveler

You know, those in-flight travelers that are inconsiderate and/or just annoying.

Expedia's annual survey of the most annoying types of flight behavior include these top three and I have to say I agree, although their #11 is probably my #4:
1. Rear Seat Kicker (cited by 67% of study respondents)
2. Inattentive Parents (64%)
3. The Aromatic Passenger (56%)
11. Overhead Bin Inconsiderate (stows bag in first available spot, rather than nearest their seat; 32%)

And there are the people who dress, well, inappropriately.  

• Spiked heels? no
• Tight clothes, so when you sit down the seams split? no
• Perfume/Cologne? God No!
• Sweat suits? ok, maybe if it's a long transcontinental flight and you want to be comfy but please, no droopy drawers!
• Adidas type slippers with socks? I'm sorry but nothing screams novice traveler more than these!

Remember when...

You got dressed up to fly? Flight attendants handed out sandwiches from a platter? People were courteous? Yeah me too, but those days are long gone and everyone and anyone can get on a plane now. [If you can first get through security - see this post for more on that!]

It always amazes me what people think is OK to do on a flight.
Once on a flight to Denver some woman sat next to me giving herself a manicure until the flight attendant told her that acetone was not allowed to be used in flight. Um. Yeah. Thanks. [I was secretly hoping the oxygen mask would deploy due to the fumes.]

Some other things I've witnessed:

He was in pink sweats on my flight

• Kids with leaking dirty diapers running up and down the aisle. Barefoot.
• Seat kicker from Cairo to JFK - the guy across the aisle confronted the offender who ignored him. Then apologized to us "on behalf of the Egyptian people"
• Child (old enough to talk in full sentences) ripping up his mother's shirt for a "drink"
• Texting from KC to DC.  (Hope he drained his battery tower hopping!)
• Richard Simmons giving workout advice from DCA to LAX. 

The folks at Passenger Shaming have some doozies but I think their in-flight bingo card sums them up nicely.

Please don't do any of these!

Please, if you do nothing else on a plane, be a descent fellow traveler. The person sharing your arm rest will silently thank you.