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!

Paris in the Time of Covid

 We've been to the City of Lights dozens of times. My spouse grew up there. Never in all that time have I ever seen the city so empty. We visited at the end of August into the first week of September and it was devoid of people. 

Let's start with a some lesser traversed spots in Paris. We strolled through the Marais to the Place des Vosges on a Tuesday morning. Usually this place is teeming with people, kids playing at any time of the day. On this day I counted only 6 people. 

Place des Vosges - mid morning

Hotel de Sully - mid morning

Another day after lunch we wandered down Rue Rivoli and through the side entrance to the Louvre. This is always tourist central, jammed with people waiting to get in, people coming out, sitting by the fountains, taking selfies with the pyramids.  Here's what we saw:

After the end of summer holidays in France, typically August 31, people return to the city but even then there are always tourists from other countries. It was rare that we heard anything besides French spoken and maybe the occasional English.  On September 2 we strolled from our apartment near Gare de Lyon across the canal St Martin and then to the Isle St. Louis to Notre Dame. 

This was about noon and it was barren. A few people wandering down the side street next to Notre Dame looking at the progress of the restoration and viewing the outdoor exhibits but never have I seen the square in front of the cathedral completely empty. 

At the time we left you had to be vaccinated to even get on the plane but we are so we went. The French government had also recently required a "Pass Sanitaire" for you to do just about anything except grocery shop and go to church. We applied before we left but never got our passes. We were able to get 3 day temporary passes after a negative Covid test at just about any pharmacy and those allowed us to eat out and visit the Hotel de la Marine. As we were heading home they announced France was considering a restriction to only essential travel again. 

Ultimately we are glad we went to see my spouse's 94 year old mother, who is just fine and had no problem keeping up with our 10-12,000 steps every day!

Place de la Concorde

Jardin Luxembourg

Palais Royale

NOLA expect the unexpected

Spring lead us to New Orleans this year, oddly, a place we had never been.

Let's just say it was the city of the unexpected. We traveled with the tween child and almost 88 year old mother (in-law) and we all tend to like the same types of things: history, food, museums, food, historic houses, food, good wine (ok, adults only on this one) and we are all happy walking or taking public transit.

I rented a house on airbnb that was on the edge of the French quarter and Marginy and what appeared to be an easy walk to Bourbon street and Frenchman's *the* streets to visit. OK so great, it's all about location, right? (more on that later) As expected, the house was perfect for our five night stay.

We ventured out into the Big Easy our first afternoon in search of FOOD! Mona Lisa's was the choice for a late lunch and it was basic Italian that filled us up. We wandered down Royal St into the heart of NOLA, got a feel for things and then headed home.

The next day we found our way to the Louisiana State Museum. There are two (unexpected) that flank the St James Cathedral, in the center of the FQ. Not realizing they were different, we chose Cabildo first which had an exhibit on the history of Mardi Gras, expected, and one on Katrina, also somewhat expected. The Katrina story was told in the first person by those who stayed in the city through the storm. It was moving and horrifying and makes you hope that you NEVER experience what these people went through before, during and after the storm. (Some of the politics of the Katrina situation still exist today.)

Presbytere on the left, St James Cathedral, Cabildo on the right

Another day we hit the Presbytere' which provides the history of NOLA and surrounding areas from the beginning of well, record keeping.  This is the museum for history junkies and we suggest you start your visit here if you are a museum/history hound. We also visited the 1850 House, one of the few original historic houses in NOLA you can actually visit. Most you just view from outside - unexpected! :(

Day two we started later with brunch at the Court of Two Sisters. This place is a little deceiving from the outside. It's been around for a long time and has a huge interior court yard with tables. Brunch was nice and had all the usual items and a few NOLA specialties. And of course there is live jazz being played all the time :)

Then we got on the St Charles Streetcar at the edge of the business district, rode it through the garden district, which is almost the polar opposite of the FQ. Big houses, lush gardens, all beautifully up kept. It takes you past Tulane and Loyola which are right next to each other (unexpected). You can get off at Magazine Street for shopping etc.
The street car is a great way to see the other parts of the city and (unexpected) it's only $1.25!! Or $3.00 for an all day pass. 

Tip: Streetcar also has a riverfront line which is a nice run too.

Pretty much always a line

We followed up the street car excursion with cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe du Monde, a must in NOLA. It is chaotic and busy and open 24/7 and you seat yourself.  Somewhat unexpected, they only serve coffee, hot chocolate, water and beignets. The wait staff work 8 hour shifts and they have to pay for what you order before you get it, then you pay them. It is an assembly line process in the kitchen trays, plates, beignets, sugar, coffee and then check out with a cashier. The kitchen is eerily quiet!  We asked about how much powdered sugar they go through in a day and the waitress said they put two 50 lb bags into the hopper each hour, on average.  Do the math:
2 x 50 x 24 = 2400 lbs/day!

Tip: if you don't care about visiting the original location, find them in the Outlet Connection mall on the Riverwalk which is smaller, but cleaner and didn't have a wait!

Since we traveled with the tween we also visited the Audubon Insectarium and Aquarium. Both are a little pricey but if you have kids, it's a good place to take them so they feel like it wasn't all about the adults. There is also a steamboat ride that leaves from the waterfront, just behind Cafe du Monde.

If you want a really outstanding meal make a reservation at The Pelican Club. It will not disappoint you. They only serve dinner and are located at 312 Exchange Pl, which is a small pedestrian street located off of Bienville St. The menu is what they call "Funky Creole" but it was so much more than that. Fish, rabbit, lamb, duck, and of course beef, chicken and pork entrees. We ate for two hours and enjoyed every morsel. I savored the Louisiana Cioppino in it's own pot!


OK, so I haven't mentioned the biggest unexpected. I thought we had a a house in the best "location," close to all that we wanted to see and do. You hear about what fun this city  is, how Bourbon Street is THE place to visit, the music is great, there's all the history and culture.  But the big unexpected is Bourbon Street is 13 blocks of seedy bars, over 21 clubs and strip joints. Maybe it's great at night if you are into that scene but during the day it is depressing. Bars open 24/7 means drunks 24/7 on every corner and staggering down the streets. The child, who has been on 4 continents and seen more than the average kid, was very uncomfortable the first day when we trekked down the street for a block, until we grasped its reality.

In stark contrast to the Bourbon Street and all it represents, another unexpected was the visit to the first convent and girls educational institution in America! The Old Ursuline Convent, part of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, is the oldest building in the Mississippi River Valley and has a very long and interesting history.

Given this city has a large volume of tourists/conventions, lots of higher education institutions and NFL team and good weather year-round, it was unexpected that a large majority of people here are poor. It is apparent in the homeless you see on the streets and in the parks. Houses in the FQ which you expected to be "just so" where in disrepair. Crime is such an issue that everyone has bars on the windows and many display signs that say "We love NOLA PD, we just don't have enough. Walk in groups!"  ?!!?

The good unexpected was finding a block or two that would be shut down to traffic to allow for street performers. We heard some really talented people and groups on Royal St outside Rouses Market and in front of St. James Cathedral. People stand or cop a seat on the curb and listen. Tips are always accepted and some sell CDs.



So for as much recovery as this city has made since Katrina, it has a long way to go. We enjoyed our visit and there was certainly enough to keep us busy and interested for six days but we also felt like there is a misconception of the city and what it offers visitors. It has amazing potential.  The people are warm, friendly and proud of their traditions.

And yes, the food is, as expected, awesome! (Make sure you seek it out. There's just as much bad as there is good.)

Paris Off the Beaten Path

We're regulars in Paris. Strike that, we're locals.

I guess I should start by saying we have a place there and the spouse spent a good part of his childhood there, so we go often. With that in mind I offer you some things to do and see when you've done all the touristy stuff. [Louvre, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, etc.]

Roman Colosseum

Roman statue (reproduction)

Les Arenes De Luteces - Did you know there was a Roman Colosseum in the middle of the 5th Arr? Well there is and it's kinda cool. And it's free! Good place to take lunch and just hang out.

Jardin des Plantes - This park has tons to do and see and it's also home to the oldest zoo in Europe [if you don't count any royal menageries] Beautiful gardens, the zoological museum and Natural History Museum on the same grounds. Gardens are free. There are fees for the zoo and museums. But save your ticket and you can get a reduced entrance fee for the other attractions the next day. 5th Arr - close to Gare d'Austerlitz.

Eglise Saint-Eustache - This Gothic style church was started in 1532 and completed 100 years later, at the entrance of Les Halles ancient market. The adjacent area is undergoing a 'face lift' currently. Go for the free organ concerts on Sunday night @ 5:00pm. It supposedly has the biggest organ in France. 1st Arr. Easy walk from the Louvre.

[HINT: Yeah, it's free but be nice and drop a Euro in the collection box!]

[HINT 2: Traveling with kids 7-12? Let them visit the awesome adjacent playground that doesn't allow parents! Just beware it has limited and random hours.]

Funerary Art - Saint-Sulpice

Eglise Saint-Sulpice - The original prime meridian line goes right through the middle of this church, which is Gothic but was built over an existing 13th century Romanesque church. [It was made slightly famous by The DaVinci Code] But visit for the art! 6th Arr.


Musee Picasso - Probably better known that some of the sites on this list, it was recently renovated and just reopened! It has 5,000 works of his art on display and thousands more in the archives. [The new website leaves a lot to be desired though!] Closed Mondays. 3rd Arr.

Promenade Plantee - An old railway line in the 12th Arr that has be turned into a 4.5km elevated walkway. I'm partial to this because it's really close to our flat and it's a pretty walk any time of day.

Promenade Plantee - Ave Daumesnil

Musee Carnavalet courtyard

And probably one of my favorite spots is Museum Carnavalet - Essentially the history museum of Paris which is in a Renaissance-era hotel in the Marais quarter - 3rd Arr. Cool building, beautiful grounds and great art in all mediums that spans the history of the city. The permanent exhibits are free and special exhibits have a nominal fee. Not every exhibit is open every day. Best to check before you go.

Last place to check out is our local daily market: Marche' Aligre in the 12th Arr.

Fromage!

Our favorite cheese shop - they have over 1,000 types of cheese and will educate you. Pick a wine first and they can help you pair it with a couple of (or dozen) cheeses.  Don't forget bread which is around the corner!

Inside covered market

The market has a covered part that has been in operation for hundreds of years and has all kinds of merchants: dairy, meat, veges, fruits, olives, fish, flours, bread, and multiples of each.

Outdoor market

 





 
The exterior market is HUGE. Depending on the day or time of day you might have to fight your way through but the visual and sensory overload is worth it. Colors are vibrant and it's all fresh!

Hopefully all of this will keep you busy for a few days...

J'aime Paris! Can you tell? :)