Portugal
Summer 2013, Greg and I wanted to meet for a week somewhere in Europe. Trouble is, Europe groans during July with crowds, costs, and cooking heat. My well-traveled brother suggested a little-visited corner of Europe: why not Portugal? So, Greg and I spent three days in Lisbon, three days in Porto, and three more days back in Lisbon. Portugal felt much like a southern Netherlands. The 10 million Portuguese speak a fair amount of English, live well, and run a efficient transportation network. Although we visited the royal palace, ventured into Europe’s largest aquarium, ate lots of salted cod (bacalhau), sampled port at two Porto distilleries, and had cocktails at a Brazilian bar, I can’t cite one must-see spot in charming Portugal. The two most memorable facets of the atmospheric trip were the 100F heat for four days (dropping to 95F by the evening) and the towering hills in both Lisbon and Porto up which venerable trams still climb.
