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Pastry Quest in Belem
While we ostensibly wanted to go to Belem to “explore”, our primary goal was to eat Pasteis de Belem (Belem pastries). Belem is a short train ride from central Lisbon and there are interesting monuments to see and explore. But really, the trip was to eat. The history of these pastries is interesting, which I took…
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Sintra…a must see if in Lisbon
We took a day trip to Sintra via a 45-minute train from Lisbon, which costs about 5 Euros round trip. (about $5.50 US). Sintra is a World Heritage site and it’s easy to see why. It has an amazing location, extravagant castles and palaces and little tiny medieval streets that charm. There’s enough here for…
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Tiles everywhere
We visited the Lisbon Tile Museum, and saw some amazing things but the entirety of Lisbon has extravagant displays of tile and intricate stonework everywhere.
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The peacocks of the Castelo de St. Jorge
On a cloudy day, we took a saunter up to the Castelo de St Jorge, an 11th-century, hilltop Moorish castle & royal residence sitting on the top of one of the seven hills of Lisbon. The views of Lisbon and the estuary from the top were stunning, but the real stars for the day were…
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Cable Cars!
Last time I was in Lisbon, I came home telling Chris that it reminded me so much of San Francisco…hilly, overlooking water, interesting old architecture, cool bars and restaurants, lots of chill energy….and cable cars! Lisbon has really good public transportation, using buses, subway, trains and cable cars. The Number 28 cable car climbs steep…
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Day Trip to Cascais
Cascais is a town just west of Lisbon, and we took a train there – about 30 minutes from Lisbon from one of the close train stations. It’s a coastal resort seaside town, known for beaches, the marina, medieval architecture and palaces. It’s also has a geologic feature call the Boca do Inferno (the mouth…
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Arrival in Lisbon
For the first time in a long time (due to the pandemic), we flew to Europe for a vacation. The trip was smooth, as we flew from Denver through London Heathrow and connected to Lisbon. We rented a VRBO in Bica, right in the central part of the old town. It’s got some great views,…
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The first month…To Arizona and Back
On our way down to Tucson, we stopped in a town called Truth or Consequences (formally known as Hot Springs), New Mexico. We spent a couple days relaxing on our way down. We had rented a place in our favorite facility in Oro Valley, just north of Tucson. While we are looking for a place…
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From the ashes…
On December 30, 2021, a disastrous fire started just a few miles from our house in Boulder Colorado, eventually consuming almost 1,000 houses in a fast moving fire through a suburban area. Our friend Carolyn was one of the many people who lost their house, which burned to the ground. Luckily, she and her boyfriend…