Olá! Bem -vindo aos meus planos de viagem.

So here we are in March and the itinerary is pretty much set. We’ve spent many hours reading, watching videos and taking notes and we’re ready. And as you can probably tell by the greeting, we’ve started our Portuguese lessons.

We’ll be flying non-stop from Toronto to Lisbon on Air Canada. It was the best deal all around, with direct flights, business class seats, decent prices and good travel times. The flight is an overnight one and takes just about 6 hours. I’m very happy to have that taken care of. I don’t know why, but I always stress out over picking the flights.

We decided to visit six specific locations and then take day trips to a few other locations. The planning map looks as follows:

So our flight will land in Lisbon, Portugal and we will immediately be transported to the city of Porto. We’ll have eight days in Porto to explore the city and some of the surrounding towns. Since public transportation is easy to use, we’ll be able to visit the Duoro wine region, the towns of Aviero, Braga, Guimaraes and Pinhāo, besides exploring Porto. Porto is a large city, but we’ll mainly be in the old town area.

In Porto, we’ll be staying at the Torel 1884 Suites & Apartments. We’ve rented a studio apartment, which should make coming and going easier for us.

After Porto, we’ll make our way south to the town of Coimbra. It’s mostly known as a college town, with one of the highlights being the University library. The university was founded in 1290, making it one of Europe’s oldest. Coimbra was formerly the capital of Portugal from the mid 1100’s to the mid 1200’s. There is plenty of history to learn about, plus a beautiful river that flows through the center of the city.

In Coimbra, we’ve booked a room at the Hotel Mondego. It’s located between the rail station and the university making it convenient for our sightseeing plans.

From Coimbra, we move south again to our first Templar enclave – the town of Tomar. Once a Templar stronghold, it is now a haven for travelers looking to learn about their incredible works. The two ‘must- see’ locations are the Convento do Cristo and the Castelo do Tomar. Just a short distance from town is the beautiful Almourol Castle and you’ll hear about them and see pictures when we are there.

In Tomar, we’re staying at the Hotel Republica. It’s near restaurants and shops, plus an easy location to get transportation to the castle and cathedral.

That dose of history requires some mind clearing and we’ll do that by heading west to the beach town of Nazare. For all our surfer friends (you know who you are), Nazare is known for its big waves. By big waves, I’m talking about 60 to 80 foot waves breaking off the shoreline. Luckily, since we’ll be close to the ocean at the Hotel Mar Bravo, those waves don’t arrive until November. Have no fear…I’ll be barely getting my feet wet; we’re there for the views. Speaking of views – as Nazare is on the western coast of Portugal – a highlight will be watching the sunset across the Atlantic Ocean.

With our senses cleared by the ocean air, we next travel south to the town of Sintra. We’ll be taking up occupancy at the Sintra Marmoris Camelia. It’s near the train station and near to restaurants, so it looks like a good choice.

Sintra is another location with strong ties to the Templar Knights and we’re looking forward to seeing them. Sintra has opulent palaces, beautiful castles, a monastery and the gardens of the Quinta da Regaleira. It’s a place where if someone tells you to take a hike, it’s a suggestion not an insult.

After Sintra, we head back to Lisbon. It’s the capital of Portugal and has so much to offer. We’ll be located in the Alfama section of the city, staying at the Memmo Alfamo Hotel.

History, architecture, art, shopping and food are all on the list for our time there. If we run out of things to do, we have a few potential day trips in our hip pocket.

By the time we finish up in Lisbon, we’ll be ready to head on home. We catch our flight back to Toronto and then drive home with lots of photos and an appreciation for another historical venue.

I’ve tried to blend in some of the best of Portugal. There will be cities, towns, castles, wineries, museums, convents, monasteries, beaches, boats, trains, cars, seafood and wine. Hopefully, a little bit of everything to get an appreciation for Portugal and the Portuguese people.

We’ll share a few more details as we get closer to departure time.

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I’ve been asked a couple of questions, so I thought I’d just add them here at the end:

Why not fly out of Buffalo and save the hassle of getting to Toronto?

Compared to flying from Buffalo, there is quite a bit of money to be saved on the flights. Yes, yes, we’re spoiled, but since we like to fly business class for the long-haul flights it’s a savings of more than $1000 each roundtrip. Additionally, the flight is direct from Toronto to Lisbon meaning less worries about luggage being delayed or lost. And with the lay-flat seats, we get to sleep a bit, so we are a bit more rested on the first day there.

The ride from our home in Buffalo to Toronto Pearson Airport is a bit over two and a half hours in normal traffic. There are a few long term parking lots around the airport to park the car. That said, we can take a shuttle up to the airport. I’ll check the price as we get closer to leaving. If reasonable, it may be an alternative to driving.

With all the time you spend researching and booking your trips, wouldn’t it be easier to just book a tour?

Easier? Maybe. Better? No. First of all, I’d still spend lots of time researching tour companies to find one that would include the things that we want to see and do. That means also researching the locations to decide where we want to visit and what we want to see.

From my perspective, the entire trip is inclusive. From watching videos on You Tube, reading through travel blogs and websites, selecting hotels, restaurants, booking them and then actually traveling – that’s the whole trip.

We like to work on our own schedule too. If we see something we find interesting, I don’t want to have to “move along” to the next stop. We can re-arrange the schedule as we see fit. Also, on those days when the old body doesn’t feel like moving so much, we don’t.