Trip to Portugal

[Chef455]

I'll be traveling to Portugal for the first time (poor me) in late January early February with 11 full days. I'll be spending 3 days in Lisbon, 2 in Sistra, and a few in Lagos and exploring the Algarve. That leaves a few days to see another town or two. I don't think we'll be traveling north although it isn't out of the realm of possibility. I simply do not want to spread myself too thin. Porto will be there when I go back.

I'd love recommendations from fellow travelers that have been or members who reside there. Things to see and do, restaurants, you know vacation stuff. I enjoy things that are a bit off the beaten path. I'm budget conscious, but not afraid to splurge when it's warranted.

Any and all suggestions would be appreciated, your absolute cannot misses and quirky local spots. We will likely be renting a car for a few days in the south, but will be relying on public transportation/Uber for the rest of the trip.

Fair warning- if you respond and particularly if you live in Portugal I may pester you with a few PMs...

Obrigado!

 

[PintoPlain]

When you head south, a day in Faro would be worthwhile. I used to go for a week or so in January to defrost and get away from the dreary overcast short days.

I tend to wander around and try a few different spots for food and drink. There are a few cultural things to do if you're so inclined.

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

I'll be traveling to Portugal for the first time (poor me) in late January early February with 11 full days. I'll be spending 3 days in Lisbon, 2 in Sistra, and a few in Lagos and exploring the Algarve. That leaves a few days to see another town or two. I don't think we'll be traveling north although it isn't out of the realm of possibility. I simply do not want to spread myself too thin. Porto will be there when I go back.

I'd love recommendations from fellow travelers that have been or members who reside there. Things to see and do, restaurants, you know vacation stuff. I enjoy things that are a bit off the beaten path. I'm budget conscious, but not afraid to splurge when it's warranted.

Any and all suggestions would be appreciated, your absolute cannot misses and quirky local spots. We will likely be renting a car for a few days in the south, but will be relying on public transportation/Uber for the rest of the trip.

Fair warning- if you respond and particularly if you live in Portugal I may pester you with a few PMs...

Obrigado!

Chef:
Olá...awesome you & your's are going to Portugal (I'm dying with envy)!

Maybe (if you have time), you can give us a 'running commentary' on the cuisine and spirits, liqueurs and wines of the country while you're there.

Also, if you like Port(o), wines...maybe you'll enjoy a Vintage bottle at a restaurant that uses port tongs (table-side).

"Portugal..: A garden planted by the sea shore". Travel Slogan

 

[Lightcs1776]

My son and daughter-in-law went there last Spring. They absolutely loved it. They said the food was incredible and there is more to see in Lisbon than possible in just one trip. Enjoy your time away.

 

[The Knize]

I keep meaning to respond in this thread. If I were not so lazy, I would look up where all we went.

My sense is that, as Lightcs1776 alluded to, there is plenty is Lisbon to take up a whole trip. A rather obscure thing I did was to get a haircut and shave in the oldest barber shop in Lisbon, which was fun. I do not not know how to tell you to get there, but I am sure it is easily findable on line, and it was part of a walking tour of the city we signed up for. Food is excellent in Portugal. I do not think I could come up with our favorite places, but I think you would do well to see what on-line says is hot, or tradtional, or whatever you are looking for, whether in Lisbon or elsewhere. Nothing seemed so expensive in Portugal.

<2 in Sistra>
Do you mean Sintra? As I recall, you could pretty much "do" Sintra in a day.

<a few in Lagos and exploring the Algarve>
That and saving Porto, which is great!, for another trip, makes sense to me.

<We will likely be renting a car for a few days in the south, but will be relying on public transportation/Uber for the rest of the trip.>
We had a car the whole trip, which we have never done anywhere else. Driving in Portugal was very easy, even in the cities. And the major highways were excellent. Nothing seemed all that far away. We used Portugal Trails to plan and set up the trip, and they did an amazing job. Just a perfect fit for what we wanted to do all around and so easy all along the way. Meet TOURTAILORS - TourTailors - https://tourtailors.com/meet-tourtailors/ I have to provide a caveat, though. We tried to use them for Spain a couple or three years later, and did not get the same level of service or skill in trip planning. We ended up abandoning using them before the trip and just figured out things on our own. They seemed to really know Portugal. I do not know what happened as to Spain, and now they have expanded to Italy, too.

As for other places to visit, and this my apply more to me and my interests, if the waves were "up" at Nazare, I would be tempted to find a way to get up there. I imagine there is some way to find out on-line when the surf is really up there, and you will be there in about the right season. Probably the largest surfable waves on earth there, and I bet it is something worth seeing. I have sure personally never seen a 100 ft wave, much less someone try to surf one! Seems like a unique thing to me!

 

[Chickencutlets]

I was just there last month. The pharmacy suggested here didn’t have a boat load of shaving options. Be ready to walk some hills.

 

[The Knize]

The pharmacy suggested here didn’t have a boat load of shaving options.

I must have missed the suggested pharmacy in this thread. Found it difficult to find all that much in the way of shaving supplies. I guess they are there, especially shaving brushes and various shaving creams, which I do not much bother with, but it takes some effort and they did not seem to me to always be in obvious places. I think I had the best luck at a place that really seemed to be a hardware store. I have had more consistent luck with mail order. The bath soaps are widely available in Portugal and truly excellent.

 

[Chickencutlets]

I must have missed the suggested pharmacy in this thread. Found it difficult to find all that much in the way of shaving supplies. I guess they are there, especially shaving brushes and various shaving creams, which I do not much bother with, but it takes some effort and they did not seem to me to always be in obvious places. I think I had the best luck at a place that really seemed to be a hardware store. I have had more consistent luck with mail order. The bath soaps are widely available in Portugal and truly excellent.

I most certainly brought back a lot of Banho soaps from Claus Porto. The soaps are the best from Portugal.

 

[The Knize]

I most certainly brought back a lot of Banho soaps from Claus Porto. The soaps are the best from Portugal.

I liked Castleberry (I think I have the name correct) but there are lots of brands or whatever, I brought back a bunch, and they have all been good.

I really did not see much in the way of sharing soap, which was disappointing. Maybe I missed it somehow.

Ach Brito Lavanda Eau de Cologne is nice and well-priced in Portugal.

 

[The Knize]

444 aftershave gel.

Couto toothpaste.

both wonderful

 

[CPTdeLos]

There is plenty to see in Lisbon. I was there for the month of August. If you have time check out São Roque near downtown, its a beautiful high baroque church. Lots of nice places to eat.
Avoid the TIME OUT mall thing downtown, it was awful. Drink good coffee, eat fresh bread, and enjoy the wine!

 

[Vespasian]

Check out the bakeries for their bite-sized baked egg custard tarts. Delicious. One can often find them on the rolling carts at dim sum restaurants over here: Portugal to Macau to Hong Kong to SoCal.

 

[TexLaw]

We spent a few days in Lisbon about a month and a half ago. It's a fantastic city!

The port tasting at the Lisbon Winery was magnificent beyond what we could ever have expected. It seemed a bit pricey when we signed up, but we had five terrific ports, three terrific olive oils, and phenomenal charcuterie & cheese plate platter made up lovely products from small, local pertussis producers. On top of that, our "guide" was incredible.

The archeological museum at the Carmo Convent might be the best 5€ I spent.

Grabbing a tuk-tuk for an hour is a great way to get off your feet and see a handful of sites that are worth popping in and out of (but be prepared to pay around 50€ for it).

 

[The Count of Merkur Cristo]

We spent a few days in Lisbon about a month and a half ago. It's a fantastic city!

The port tasting at the Lisbon Winery was magnificent beyond what we could ever have expected. It seemed a bit pricey when we signed up, but we had five terrific ports, three terrific olive oils, and phenomenal charcuterie & cheese plate platter made up lovely products from small, local pertussis producers. On top of that, our "guide" was incredible.

The archeological museum at the Carmo Convent might be the best 5€ I spent.

Grabbing a tuk-tuk for an hour is a great way to get off your feet and see a handful of sites that are worth popping in and out of (but be prepared to pay around 50€ for it).

Doak:
Q. For your Port (bottled poetry), tasting...did they use Port Tongs

"I'd rather be someone's [glass of Port] than everyone's cup of tea". Old Port Wine Proverb

 

[Chef455]

Just a quick bump for the thread.Travel day has arrived. We will be heading to DIA in a few hours, a short layover at O'Hare and wheels down in Lisbon several hours after that.

I'm worried the Spanish that is cemented in my brain is going to muck up the Portuguese I've tried to absorb, but if that's the worst thing that happens I'll be in good shape.

We will be bouncing around more than I'd thought wise. Mrs. Chef convinced me to pop into Porto as well. So it's Lisbon for five, train to Porto for three, fly to Faro and drive to Lagos for five and finally hop a train back to Lisbon for two. I know we won't be able to see everything we want to but that's what return trips are for, right? Not to mention that a couple weeks bopping around Portugal beats working.

Anyway, I'm still very happy to look into any suggestions members may have. I have no idea where to buy razor blades. Onde posso comprar lâminas de barbear de dois gumes?

I'll post and share here for those that are interested. Happy shaves!

 

[The Knize]

Thanks for sharing. You are going to love it.

I do not think I have much to add to what I said in this thread earlier. I do not remember how available blades were, but I had a heck of a time finding much in the way of other shaving stuff like brushes, shaving soaps, straights, etc. Like I said above,
444 aftershave gel, Couto toothpaste, both wonderful. Ach Brito Lavanda Eau de Cologne. Bath soaps.

I got a great hair cut and a straight razor shave at the oldest barber shop in Lisbon. I got a shave about every three days at one place or another. The food is great. If you liike tripe, and I really do, you should not miss that. The ham is good.

 

[Multum in parvo]

Perhaps a local @28Notch can point you to a store that sells DE blades @Chef455

 

[Chef455]

Perhaps a local @28Notch can point you to a store that sells DE blades @Chef455

Appreciated, but mission accomplished. A tuck of Wizemat Super Iridium blades and a tube of Lea = €4.85. From a barbershop and a mini market.

 

[The Knize]

Appreciated, but mission accomplished. A tuck of Wizemat Super Iridium blades and a tube of Lea = €4.85. From a barbershop and a mini market.

Oh, no! You went all the way to Portugal and that is all you are bringing back!

 

[Chef455]

Oh, no! You went all the way to Portugal and that is all yo are bringing back!

Since you mention it, I won't be bringing the blades back. They aren't allowed on the plane.