Portugal (City-Life)

April 2024

Our first impression of Portugal was the beautiful northern city of Porto. We combatted our jet lag by wandering the cobblestone streets, admiring blue tiled churches, and strolling along the Douro river. Porto lies in the heart of Portugal’s wine country and we enjoyed learning about Port; which can only be produced in this region! While I wouldn’t say we fell in love with the taste of Port… it was fun listening to the stories of how Port wine is an integral part of Portuguese culture. For example, parents buy a ‘vintage’ bottle the year their kids are born… at the age of 18 the bottle is gifted to the child and stored until finally uncorked later in life during a graduation, wedding, or other big life event. 

Besides taking in the views of Porto, we spoiled our taste buds. We swatted away sea-gulls while having prosciutto with melon for lunch along the river. We sipped sangria while playing cribbage in a lush park during sunset. And our favorite… sipping wine and eating cheese in an old church (in use from 1487-1903) turned tasting room. More of a sweets person? Then you can’t go wrong with a pastel de nada. These egg custard tarts are a Portuguese staple and go amazing with an afternoon espresso (or any time of day, let's be honest!)

Two days in Porto went FAST and was not enough time to explore this picturesque city. 

We hopped a train to Lisbon and met up with Kent and Kari (Corbin’s parents). That’s right folks, Kent and Kari making another appearance on the Boots Abroad Blog! Our first full day in the area we dedicated to exploring Sintra. If you haven’t heard of Sintra the best way to describe it is a quaint mountain village straight out of a Disney movie! We strolled the stone walls of the Moorish Castle before heading to the slightly overhyped (we think) but beautiful Pena Palace. Though we had to dodge crowds, the yellow and red castle made for some pretty epic photos.

After a fun lunch (including crisp beers for the guys and wine for the gals) we headed out to explore Quinta da Regaleira, which quickly became the groups favorite stop of the day. Quinta da Regaleira, is a large compound that has incredible architecture and beautiful gardens but the most impressive and mysterious is the Initiation Well that The Knights Templar supposedly used to initiate brothers. At night, they would take the damp steps 6 stories down where the initiate would then have to find their way out through a series of tunnels. If they found their way out they would become one of The Knights Templar, and if they didn’t…well, we’ll let your imagination take it from here; mostly because we don’t know the answer! The next few hours we walked through gardens, scampered up watch towers and laughed our way through tunnels that wound underneath the compound. 

We enjoyed exploring the hilly city of Lisbon over the next few days. Highlights included a hilltop viewpoint overlooking the city, a walking food tour, views from our Airbnb patio, and cribbage games (always a highlight). One of the more memorable moments was having a picnic in a public park which we quickly found out had quite the eccentric crowd… it made for great people watching hehe. 

To bring our time in Lisbon to a close we decided to challenge ourselves… I mean REALLY challenge ourselves. Tatum decided to drink the 'Shriner Kool-Aid' and signed Corbin and herself up for a half marathon (K&K crushed the 10k!). Let’s just say that mid race she was thinking that she had married into the wrong family! 

The 13.1 mile route wound through the lush forest of Parque Florestal de Monsanto (which we later learned is nicknamed the ‘Lung of Lisbon’). Did we mention that Lisbon is hilly? The hills were more than we bargained for… but we pushed on and had huge grins on our faces when we finally crossed the finish line hand in hand. Morale at the finish line was unmatched and we felt proud of the feet (get it?) we had just accomplished. 

Our week exploring Portugal’s two largest cities flew by, but the Portuguese adventure didn’t stop there. After checking out of our airbnb and hugging K&K goodbye, we headed to pick up our camper van for a 10-day road trip! Tune in next time for the shit show. :) 

With Love,

   Boots Abroad

Corbin’s

    Highs: The pasta and beer after finishing the half marathon, prosciutto on prosciutto, quality wine for cheap, and Quinta da Regaleira

    Lows: Trying to get to the park for the picnic, 8 mile run in Toronto during a layover

Tatum’s

    Highs: Comradery with another runner who encouraged me through the last mile of the race, strolling through Porto, magical feel of Sintra, Porto food market

    Lows: Train station delay in Lisbon after 20+ hrs of travel en route to Porto, half marathon hills

Bloopers...