Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom (Trip) Report
It was a fun and hectic three weeks in Portugal in the early fall. We started in Lisbon, then stayed in Sintra, Tomar, Coimbra, the Douro Valley and finally Porto. There were lots of stops along the way, too. We had to find moments to just kick back and relax where we could. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Mai Tai Tom trip without at least one visit to the Emergency Room. Please join us on our whirlwind trip through Portugal.
November 16, 2022
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter One: Finally Lisbon! Prologue: The Third Time Really Is The Charm After having to postpone Portugal twice due to Covid, we (Tracy and I, along with friends Kim and Mary) finally were able to travel to a country we had […]
November 23, 2022
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Two: Exploring Lisbon Day Two: Out Of Order, Early Birds, By Jorge, When You Gotta Go, Tombs Tiles And Tales, Portugal’s National Pantheon, Greenhouse Effect, Astounding Azulejos, Eavesdropping Helps, Selfie Goes Awry, The Wrong Duque and An Impressed Waiter I […]
November 29, 2022
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Three: Fall Comes Three Days Early In Lisbon Day Three: That’s The Ticket (Finally), Underground Transportation, What Goes Down Must Come Up, Good Samaritans, Siren Song, Farewell To The Queen, Just A Flesh Wound, Kim Chickens Out, Singer Sargent Strikes […]
December 6, 2022
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Four: Crisscrossing Lisbon Day Four: Justa Wrong Way To Go, Escalators To Heaven, Carmelite Treasure, Don’t Judge A Church By Its Cover, Tuk-ered Out, Timing Is Everything, Banana Appeal, A Date With El Bosco, The Temptations, The Old Ones At […]
December 12, 2022
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Five: Tell ‘Em We Love Belém! Day Five: Manuel Labor, Get Here Early!, Boy Are They Strict, Tower Of Power, Navigating The Padrão dos Descobrimentos, Put Me In Coach, A Royal Ride, First PopeMobile?, Cranking Up The Heat, Please Let […]
December 20, 2022
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Six: Final Day In Lisbon Day Six: We Won’t Be Taking Our Luggage, “Portuguese Versailles”, No Crowds, Tiles Channel, Time Out For Lunch, Decisions Decisions, This Isn’t A Buzzer?, The Oldest Functioning Bookstore In The World, Channeling My Inner Sinatra, […]
December 29, 2022
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Seven: Sintra … Colorful City of Palaces Day Seven: Beautiful Residence, The Three-Year Deposit, High Chair, Isabel Takes Over, The Oldest Palace In Portugal, Unique Tiles, Death At The Quinta, Plan B, Some Great Advice, Wine And Pringles, Where’s Perry? […]
January 4, 2023
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Eight: Quinta da Regaleira and Palácio da Pena Day Eight: Early Birds, All’s Well, Dante’s Inferno, More Manini, Crowd Control, Blown Away (Literally), The Best €20 We Have Ever Spent and A Neighborhood Gem Since I had booked and rebooked […]
January 14, 2023
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Nine: Magical, Mystical Monserrate Day Nine: The Early Birds, A Lovely Walk, Stunning Palace, Less Is Moor, The First Lawn Planted In Portugal, Here Is The News, Somebody Call An Ambulance, What Color Is Diesel?, Toll Unit and the “Real” […]
January 19, 2023
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Ten – Two UNESCO World Heritage Sites On The Way To Tomar Day Ten – Two Towers Are Better Than One, Where Did All The Royals Go?, Going Batty In The Biblioteca, We’re On The Road To Nowhere, Getting A […]
January 27, 2023
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Eleven: Traversing Templar Tomar Day Eleven: Hanging With The Templars, Barely Beating The Crowd, Window of Opportunity Shut, Traversing Tomar, Forest Tuckered, Weeping Water Wheel, The Match Game, Danger Of Death, Checking Out Tomar’s Heritage, My New Almost Girlfriend and […]
February 4, 2023
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Twelve: Tomar To Coimbra Day Twelve: Arch Supports, Skipping “Our Lady,” Massive Magnificent Monastery, In Search Of Henry, Sky Ceiling, Stadium Parking, Fit For A King, Trash Talking, Rental Car Peril, A Quirky Fun Hotel, Cape Town and Singing The […]
February 10, 2023
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Thirteen: Combing Coimbra Day Thirteen: Agile Breakfast Servers, That First Step Is A Doozy, Big John, What Tour?, Bookin’ It, More Bats, Checking In With Michael, A Curious Room, Lab Rats, Trash Talking, Not Manny Machado, Lunch At The Museum, […]
February 19, 2023
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Fourteen: Viseu, Lamego & On To The Douro Day Fourteen: A Stop In A Medieval City, Is That An Orange Julius?, Stairway To Heaven, Into The Forest I Go, Yet Another Karen Valentine Highway, “Best Drive In The World?”, Wrong […]
March 1, 2023
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Fifteen: Rolling On The Douro Day Sixteen: To Everything Turn Turn Turn, Any Port In A Heatwave, Glorious Gardens, Casa Tour, More Bats?!, Getting Supplies, This Is The Way To Live, An “Appetizing” Dinner and The Cat’s Meow A quick […]
March 13, 2023
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Sixteen: Enjoying Energizing Porto Day Eighteen: You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, It’s Almost Like I Know You, Garden Setting, The Surprise Around The Corner, Ildefonso, On Track For Tiles, You Can’t Fight City Hall, Heart Attack On A Plate and […]
March 21, 2023
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Seventeen: Historic Porto Sites and Beautiful Porto Sights Day Nineteen: Ooh It’s A Holiday, On Track For Even More Azulejos, Strolling On The Road Of Flowers, Big Cat, Taking Stock Of A Palace, Are We At The Alhambra?, No Photos […]
April 2, 2023
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Eighteen: Seeing Red & Taking In More Of Porto’s Sights Day Twenty: Hello Lello, The Broken Nose, Seeing Red, Two Churches Plus A Skinny House, Getting On BASE, Autumn Haze, Short Museum Stay, “That Ambulance Nearly Killed Me,” Where’s Buck […]
April 10, 2023
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Chapter Nineteen: O Sé Can You See & Farewell Portugal Day Twenty-One: Up On The Hill, Porto’s Cathedral, Nap Time, Strolling Through Porto, Exceptional Views, Like “Little Cat Feet,” Train Coming Through, Anthony’s Azulejos, Ginjinha Treats and Buon Appetito Our final […]
April 29, 2023
Falling For Portugal: A Mai Tai Tom “Trip” Report Epilogue: Final Thoughts About Portugal I began planning for an autumn 2020 trip to Portugal in 2019. Little did I know that it would be nearly four years until we could make the trip; but I must say it was worth […]