Mackdogmolly

Well, Ivi, our hotel would probably not be for everyone. We tend to go for small and inexpensive. But we liked it and they were super friendly and we could walk to some historic places. It was the Hotel Esquina Cosmopolitan Lodge. Our better heeled friends stayed at the Hotel Sofetil

The river cruise and wine tasting in Porto was fun too! And very entertaining to hear the Lisbon guide trash talk Porto and the Porto guide trash talk Lisbon. And of course they both hate Spain!

Backing up a bit. We arrived in Lisbon a couple of days in advance of the cruise, staying in a small, unpretentious hotel on top of one of the many hills. After sitting in a jet lagged daze for awhile in the square across the street, we embarked on a two hour tuk tuk tour of the city, just to get some of the highlights, since we have never been here before. After, the driver dropped us near a seafood place called Bastardo Fish Bar, where we shared a most delicious lunch. The next day we got a hill workout finding our way to the meet up point to an afternoon food tour. On the way, we discovered the Museu de Teatro Romana, the ruins of a Roman theater, now a museum. The food tour , by Treasures of Lisboa, I would highly recommend. Only 70 euros pp, it was scheduled for 3.5 hours (ran for 4) in the Alfami district. Only 10 people. Went to a series of tiny restaurants, were we were seated and served a several tastings, from olive oil, to sardines, to octopus salad, to codfish cakes, Churico, wines, pastries, etc, etc. The guide was funny and charming and knowledgeable.

Definitely no problem getting a table at Discoveries last night.

Me too, Phil. Hope we get to meet on another!

Boarded Quest in Lisbon yesterday. Went very smoothly, had a PCR test stateside with results on my phone, so no trouble at the pier. The ship feels empty at only 310 passengers. Beautiful sail away, but then encountered some rough seas en route to Porto. Fortunately, neither I nor DH are prone to seasickness. Met up with some Aussie friends for dinner in an almost empty Discoveries. The food is as good as I remembered. In Porto now on our way to a river cruise with wine tasting. It’s 8:45 am!!! More later!

It is very unclear whether you can enter Portugal from the US with just a CDC proof of vaccination. An EU proof of vaccination is acceptable. Anyone come from the US recently with only vaccination card and no testing?

My loyalty tier gets me 35% off internet and 1 bag of free laundry every 7 days. Do I have to ask for these discount? And if so, who do I contact?