PORTUGAL

Portugal (May 19 - June 10)

We began our trip in Faro (Algarve Region). The peaceful setting was magnificent and we enjoyed experiencing an authentic Portugese community. Our hotel was centrally located in the historic (older) section of the city. We were pleasantly surprised to be woken by the sound of church bells. Moreover, we chuckled at one of the neighbourhood dogs who howled along ‘in time’ to the bells! Storks nests were prominent in Faro. Every tower or church steeple housed one of the huge nests --- and storks diligently stood guard of their eggs.

We moved on to Albufeira where we rented a lovely condo ( http://www.vrbo.com/45775) for three weeks. This was an ideal situation. We did many day trips (Portimao, Fatima, Seville) and weekend excursions to the North (Porto, Coimbra) and Lisbon / Sintra. In between, we enjoyed long walks on the Algarve beaches and dunes / cliffs, reading novels and enjoying a relaxing ‘home life’. We sampled local Portugese wines, oranges, olives, etc. Each day, we heard CNN / BBC news about the increasing costs of fuel and food worldwide. Certainly, high prices were evident both inside and outside the tourist district. In Canadian dollars, we noted the following costs: white bread ($6.58), brown bread ($11.55), gas ($2.39 / litre), sangria ($2.88), wine ($4.95 / litre), fruit ($1.65 per piece) and beer ($2.45). Other highlights included: sampling franceszhima (traditional meal), viewing olive and orange groves (Seville has 40 000 orange trees within the city limits), rice fields, eucalyptus trees and oleander bushes, and attending a live Fado (traditional Portugese music / story telling) performance. We also enjoyed a visit to a Porto winery where we sampled Port! Did you know that Portugal recently won a court case giving them the exclusive rights (after 2012) to use the term PORT --- they are the only country that has authentic claim to that product?

Our final destination was Lisbon! Highlights: cloudless skies, warm weather, wonderful architecture etc. Oh, did we mention garbage / recycling collection at 0200am --- which resulted in very little sleep?! We returned home on June 10 and look forward to the next phase of our trip (July 23).

FLORENCE AND ROME

So, from Tuscany we moved on to Florence. We enjoyed the company of Patricia and Richard during the whirlwind trip. Highlights included: shopping at the Ponte de Vecchio and various other markets, touring Academia (Michael Angelo’s 'David'), visiting the Uffizi gallery and Duomo. Needless to say, our Gelato research continued with vigour and we tried new and wonderful flavours unique to Florence. Italian food and wines were also abundant and absolutely delicious! Pat suggested a venue (“13 Hunchbacks) featured in her Florence guide book and we enjoyed two incredible evenings of gourmet food and great company in a popular, fun restaurant.

Rome was an experience we shall long remember! We toured the Vatican Gardens and Museum (Sistine Chapel), the Coliseum, St Peter’s square and Basilica, Tivoli fountain, Spanish Steps and etc. Ann and I experienced sensory overloaded in Rome. The noise and chaos of the city is indescribable. As they say, “when in Rome, do as the Romans”. Yes indeed. Consider the pedestrian challenge, for instance. In crossing the streets, we began as polite, hesitant Canadians and soon realized that we needed to become assertive and run for our lives to beat the traffic (mostly motorcycles!). We marvelled at the locals who seemed to enjoy the look of horror on our faces as we tried to dodge vehicles traveling at lightening speed through the downtown core! All is well that ends well and we breathed a sigh of relief when we boarded the plane for Portugal (May 19).