Author: tarakauffman
-
Lazy Day
In 2021 we went to Lamego and climbed 600 some steps and walked a steep road to the old castle. This year we slept late and wandered around Régua. Not a lot to see, but they were preparing for the Round 4 of the UIM Formula 2 Championship. They were unloading as we were walking…
-
Favaios
The judge dismissed the claim—but as the execution was taking place, the roasted rooster stood up and crowed.The judge realized the pilgrim had been wrongly accused and rushed to the gallows. He arrived in time to save him. Our lunch, grape harvesting and stomping was at the Quinta Avessada. It is a family owned vineyard,…
-
España
Today the long and winding road went to Salamanca, Spain. While we were close to the border, we were 2 hours away from the city. The market in the center of Salamanca has food you would not see in Amarillo. Not sure I need any further explanation. Salamanca began as a settlement long before the…
-
Stuff and Castelo Rodrigo
Thank you in Portuguese is obrigada (or o). If a female is saying thank you, she would say obrigada with the “a”. The man will say, obrigado, even when speaking to a woman. It is all about the person speaking that defines the gender of the word. There are 5 Viking ships that travel down…
-
Mateus Palace and Sandeman
Just outside Vila Real, tucked into the hills at the edge of the Douro wine country, sits the beautiful Mateus Palace (Casa de Mateus).The family who built Mateus Palace accumulated their wealth through a combination of wine, land, and strategically arranged marriages. The palace reflects that wealth, with elaborate woodwork and furnishings made primarily from…
-
Travel Day to the Ship
Coimbra has been a university city since 1290 and one of the oldest in all of Europe. It is located almost halfway between Lisbon and Porto and was a stop on our ride to our boat. Joanina Library on the campus houses around 60,000 books. The library has traditionally used bats to help control insects…
-
Viking Connection in Lisbon
Yesterday we ended this part of the “on our own” portion of the trip, that is until we return from Morocco. We changed hotels to the Corinthia, the hotel that Viking chose. It is basically a business hotel, with a convention center. We miss the Corpo Santo, it had character and much more individual attention.…
-
Monserrate and Sintra
An English merchant Gerard DeVisme leased the estate and built an elaborate Neo-Gothic mansion there in 1790. He eventually left Portugal, and the property later became associated with another famous English visitor, Lord Byron. In the 1850, Sir Francis Cook, an extraordinarily wealthy English textile merchant and art collector purchased and refurbished the home and…
-
Fatima, Nazaré, Óbidos
Jacinta, Francisco (siblings) and Lucia(a cousin) lived near the village of Fátima and spent their days tending sheep. On May 13, 1917 they saw a woman whom they identified as the Virgin Mary in a field. She appeared to them on the 13th day of the month, asking them to return on the 13th of…
-
Over 23,000 Steps Day
The Tagus River feeds into the Atlantic just off the coast of Portugal. There were two large cruise ships ported here this morning. In 1375 Ferdinand I, started building a medieval wall around Lisbon. It was approximately 5 km (3.1 miles) around the city. Part of this wall was unearthed in 2015, when they began…
-
Travel Day
It is a sleep deprived evening here in Lisbon. The O Português Chiado gave us a taste of some of Portugal’s finest foods; octopus, cod, polenta and beef cheeks. It is always a challenge to duck out right after eating in Europe, they so want you to stay for the entire evening. Taking the subway…
-
First African Visit
At the end of our Portugal tour we will jump from Lisbon to Morocco. A place sure to be an adventure, unlike any place else we have ever visited.
-
Soon to Leave
We are about a week from flying to Lisbon to start our trip. We are excited to repeat this trip. The beauty of the Douro and the friendly Portuguese people have us coming back.
-
Ending Thoughts
The highlights on this trip were Normandy and the Cotswolds. Normandy for its patriotic feelings, beauty and expressions of thanks from the French. The Cotswolds are full of much older history and the feel of the quaint countryside. Since we ended in Ireland, it is only appropriate to end with their blessing. May the road…
-
Last Day in Dublin
After an exhausting day yesterday, we slept late. We walked around the Temple Bar area to find a place for breakfast, “The Stage Door Cafe” had a sign that it was the best breakfast in Dublin. Good coffee, but not a great breakfast. This afternoon we scheduled a tour at Jameson. John Jameson and his…
-
Aran Island and Cliffs of Moher
I didn’t get a great picture of our hotel, because we were running for a bus. It was a very nice and old time tavern type place, where the restaurant took care of rooms and food. We were running for the bus to make the ferry to the Aran (pronounced Erin) islands. The weather has…
-
Galway
First stop this morning was the Heuston train station to catch our 9:25 train to Galway. It is about a 2 1/2 hour ride all the way, east to west across the country of Ireland. Just as we got off the train it started to rain, so we walked a short few blocks and caught…
-
Golfing Day, Deer Park, Howth, Ireland
When we came into Dublin on Thursday, we saw a couple going golfing. They suggested that we go to Deer Park to play. So we went online and got a tee time for 11:20 today. It takes about an hour from Tara Station to get to Howth and the course. We rented clubs and met…
-
Game Day
We decided to take the train south, past the stadium to see the sea. Then we went one stop back to the town of Dalkey. As we walked around the corner to their city center the annual Lobster Festival was just opening. We got in line for a Lobster roll. We couldn’t believe the luck.…
-
Dublin GameDay Eve
We started the morning in a very neat tidy bar/cafe, Brick Alley Cafe. It is located in the Temple Bar district. There are lots of fans from both sides. It should be interesting tomorrow to see how it looks in the stands. Dublin Castle was the seat for the English and then British governments from…
-
Moving Day
This morning we had an hour drive from Upper Slaughter to Birmingham to fly to Dublin. In our part of the world it would have taken 30 minutes to get there, but with the twisty-turny two lanes here it took double time. Once in Dublin we walked the terribly busy streets to Trinity College. It…
-
Blenheim Palace
Blenheim Palace was built because of the victory over the French at the Battle of Blenheim. This gave the Queen a reason to give the land and the money to John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough, who led the battle. There were several hiccups along the way. His wife Sarah didn’t like the architect and…
-
Southern Cotswolds
Bibury was where we started this morning. It is on the river Coln, which is a tributary of the Thames. Then we moved on to Malmesbury, which is where Æthelstan, the King of the Anglo Saxons and then the first King of England lived. Below is Lacock Abbey, which is in the town of Lacock.…
-
Northern Cotswold
A cot is a place where the shepherds tend to their sheep and a wold is a high place. So…Cotswolds. This church is the oldest church in this area and shows remnants of doomsday art for those in that time that did not understand Latin. Just down the narrow road a bit was this store/nursery/grocery…
-
Upper Slaughter, UK
About 2 hours outside of London is a train station called Morton-in-the-Marsh. It is from there that we were picked up to go to the tiny village of Upper Slaughter and our hotel called Lords of the Manor. We were too early to get into our room, so we walked to Lower Slaughter, which is…
-
London
Yesterday we left the ship and took the Eurostar to London. It is a 2 hour trip and only about 25 minutes of that is under the British Channel. We are staying in a VRBO in the Clapham area, which is a 30-40 minute commute to the center city. The last time we were in…
-
Le Pecq/ Paris
In 1799 Napoleon’s wife, Josephine purchased a country home in Le Pecq. The Château is currently being painted on the outside, so this is a picture of what it will look like when finished. Josephine loved flowers and both inside and outside the house were many flowers. Josephine was married before Napoleon and had two…
-
Les Petite Andelys
This morning I walked one mile on the deck, that’s just 16 little laps. It does go by fast watching swans, beautiful houses and a golf course along the way. The food has not disappointed on this trip, the chef has visited our table almost every evening to make sure we enjoyed the meal. Viking…
-
Normandy
Today was a long day, with our bus leaving for the Normandy beach at 7:30. We had an hour and a half ride to the Normandy museum where we saw the history that led to the second world war and ended at the landing at the beaches on June 6, 1944. Interestingly, the French never…
Kauffman Commentary 