Thursday, 8 November, 2012

Thursday, 8 November, 2012

We were up at 0200h (0100 Eastern Time) for our two hour drive to the Moncton Airport. And, as Snoopy, sitting atop his dog house famously wrote "It was a dark and stormy night!" For those that may not be aware, Snoopy is a famous comic beagle dog character. It was raining fairly lightly as we set out. By the time we hit the bridge, the rain was coming down harder and the winds were blowing. As we crossed into New Brunswick, the winds and the rains increased, making driving harder. We were happy to see the divided highway as visibility was decreasing. Time was passing – our flight left at 0600h and we needed to be at the airport at 0500h. In the dark and the pounding rain being swept over our windshield at probably 100km winds – we had heard on the radio that they were thinking of closing the bridge – we missed the airport. By the time we could get turned around in was 0510h and there was still 20 minutes to the airport! I was sure we had missed our flight.

Somehow, we got to the airport at 0530h – where we sprung into action – Gail getting a cart – I getting the luggage out of the car and then racing to the long term parking, leaving the car and sprinting to the terminal in the pouring rain! Luckily enough, we made it! And although the adrenaline was pumping through our veins, we were relieved and thanked the lucky stars that we were flying WestJet whose airport staff and crews are always in a good mood and helpful!

We arrived in Toronto, reclaimed our luggage and pre-cleared US Customs with no hassle. The next phase of the trip went smoothly. When we approached New York, we could see the 30 cm of snow on the ground. As it was day light, we could not distinguish areas that had power or not as a result of Hurricane Sandy the previous week. We were lucky enough to circle the area a few times and could see the Freedom Tower, the Empire State Building, The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and so on.

On boarding the next flight, we were in the very last row. By the shining pates and wisps of white hair over the seat tops, you knew you were headed for God's Waiting Room – also known as Florida. Once we got to our hotel around 1700h, we cleaned up and headed to an Italian restaurant for salad and a pizza. Florida is very European in it's liquor laws, in that you can take the rest of your wine home with you. We were both physically and emotionally exhausted after our long day and although we thought that we should stay up until 2200h, we fell asleep just after 2000h and slept for 12 hours.

Wednesday, 7 November, 2012

The fates are against us. Checking the various sites, we found that our flight from Moncton to Newark was cancelled because of the weather. Our travel agent "BenAtSears" got us rebooked from Moncton to LaGuardia to Fort Lauderdale.

Wednesday, 24 February - Lisboa

Breakfast, a walk around town, packing and on the road at noon.  We dropped off the car, had our lunch and caught the plane home.  We were a bit late getting into Toronto and then had an Air Canada agent who we figured was promoted from baggage handler and could not tell kilo's from pounds.  We ended up having to repack the bags, even though they were fine in Portugal.  The plane from Toronto to Montreal was a bit late and we ended up running what seemed like a couple kilometres in Montreal.  They actually had the people sit in their seats until the connecting passengers deplaned.  When we finally got to the gate, we found out that the plane and been delayed.  It was delayed again and again with a blizzard raging outside.  We finally got home at 0230h Thursday morning instead of midnight Wednesday - 25 hours of travel!

Tuesday, 23 February - Sintra

We got up bright and early and even though Gail was insistent that she could drive up the mountain, I won out and we got a bus pass.  We took the bus up a steep and winding road to the ruins of the 9th century Moorish Castle at an elevation of 421 metres where we climbed the ramparts for spectacular views of the surrounding hills and valleys where you could see to Lisboa and the Atlantic.  On the way up we were impressed with the number of villas and manors.  Several times we caught ourselves saying could you image driving up here in the winter, and then we would remember that this was winter!  Although we were on the first bus, and did not actually see any ourselves, I am led to believe that public works picks up dead mountain goats each morning(:-)  Leaving the castle we walked 250 metres uphill where we boarded a tram for a steep climb to Pina Palace.  The palace was occupied until 1910 and then again after 1945 and remains furnished as it was in 1910 when last occupied by the Queen.   It is surrounded by hectares of National Park with what I am sure  are many wonderful monuments and places to visit, all requiring climbing.  Thankfully by this time it was chilly, so Gail was not inclined to do so.  It was hard to imagine, but the view from the palace was even more spectacular as it sits 450 metres above sea level and some 29 metres above the Moorish castle which can been seen from the ramparts.

That evening we had our WW/WL (white wine/white linen) dinner at Lawrence's.  Excellent duck with an imaginative couvert selection (appetizers) and a stimulating conversation with Carlos our server and Francesco the Maitre de Table.

Monday, 22 February - Sintra

We arrived in Sintra (just north of Lisboa) at Lawrence's Hotel around noon.  Sintra is in the mountains and has been a summer retreat pretty much for ever.  Lawrence's Hotel dates back to 1760 and is famous for the many authors and celebrities that have stayed there, including Lord Byron.  We had a quick lunch and went to visit the Regaleira, an estate built on the mountainside with pathways, ponds, fountains, tennis courts, etc.  That evening we went out to dinner at the Alcobaca restaurant and met an interesting couple from Utah.  She's an artist and he is a retired school teacher.  After dinner we went back to Lawrence's, got our books, a bottle of wine and retired to one of the many lounges to read - just like the rich.

Sunday, 21 February - Coimbra

This morning it was off to Coimbra, also an ancient capital of Portugal and the foremost University town of Portugal. The University was founded in 1270, the oldest in Portugal and one the oldest in the EU. When the capital was moved in the 1500s, the university inherited the Royal Palace. Of course, being the Royal Palace and fortress it was located on the top of the mountain. We climbed to the top (see previous entries and to why Europeans are thin) and visited the various museums and faculties including the original library which is quite spectacular and holds 300,000 books prior to the 18^th century. The walls are 2.1 metres thick, with oak bookcases that discourage insects and teak doors and wall panels to keep the humidity at 60%. They also have bats right in the library which come out at night and eat any other insects. To preserve the tables from bat droppings, they cover them with leather towels at night. Of course, the towels and floors have to be cleaned every morning before opening. Fascinating Facts!

Tonight we had a wonderful meal at an Italian Restaurant near our hotel.

Sent from Coimbra, 06, Portugal

Saturday, 20 February - Guiamares & Braga

Beautiful sunny day and at the crack of dawn, after breakfast, 10 am, we took off for Guiamares the old capital of Portugal. We strolled around the medieval town centre, saw the duke's palace, the cathedral as well as other historic buildings. After a scenic lunch on the old town square we took the cable car up the mountain to yet another chapel and spectacular scenic views over the city and valley.

We then proceeded to Braga where we visited the shrine of Bom Jesus. This is a mountain top shrine that is reached by 2 km of steps that zig-zag up the mountain with the 14 stations of the cross on the way up. Normally you would make your way up the mountain on your knees. However, we cheated and took the funicular to the top where there were spectacular views over the countryside and a beautiful church. We then walked down, passing the statues of Faith, Hope and Charity, then the five fountains representing the five senses – each on its own staircase. As you went down there was a fountain at each level of the staircase. It was very beautiful and moving.

Then it was back to the Formula 1 track and back to Porto! After dining in situ, we went out for cappuccino and croissants at the Via Santa Catarina.