Our adventure began at SFO's International Terminal as we checked in for our first flight for this voyage.
Joy and I are excited to be traveling overseas again after COVID. We really missed our global adventures!
Since we were in Premium Plus, we had access to the Premier Access counters as well as priority baggage handling.
We took this Dreamliner 787 operated by United Airlines to Amsterdam from San Francisco for the first leg of our journey.
Here are our seats in the premium plus cabin!
We are settling in as others are still boarding since we had priority boarding for our cabin.
We got an amenity kit also with the premium plus purple color scheme that had some useless items like a toothbrush.
United also provides noise canceling headsets in the premium cabin.
The Dreamliner has the cool windows that can go from dark to light with a touch of the button in lieu of shades.
Our large seatback display had the three services listed.
We got a soft Saks Fifth Avenue blanket as well as a nice pillow too in our cabin.
After takeoff, we had our beverage service. I got Buffalo Trace which is the bourbon of choice for United.
The lunch service was decent. I got wine as well as another Buffalo Trace. Meals in the premium plus cabin are served on china.
I got a third Buffalo Trace during the mid flight snack.
The breakfast with the chicken sausage was pretty good.
We deplaned using stairs in Amsterdam, and they had buses for us to go to the terminal.s
We had access to the Aspire Lounge in Amsterdam after we went through immigration into the European Union.
The lounge had Heineken on tap as we were in Holland after all. LOL.
AMS has these signature portal windows in the boarding gates. This was a cool view as we boarded our TAP connection to Lisbon.
After getting our luggage in Lisbon, we found our car service very easily since they list the passenger names on a piece of paper which I just held up to get the attention of my driver.
We could see Portugal was a very cool city as we made our way to the hotel as we passed by cool statues and historic buildings.
This was a neat fountain as we got close to our hotel. The Portuguese sidewalk tile is beautiful. More to come of that!
We stayed at the Doubletree Lisbon Fontana Park hotel. The exterior is a nice balance of classic and modern.
The hotel had a cool water wall in the back courtyard.
The lobby was very modern!
We were upgraded to a penthouse room with a private terrace. Look at how cool that tub is! The tubs have cool lighting effects too.
We had a great espresso maker too in the room. The bottled waters are complimentary too for us Diamond guests.
The motorized shades revealed our beautiful terrace.
We had some great views from our private terrace.
We headed out to the Misericordia District, or downtown, of Lisbon. This vibrant place is bustling with lots of people.
Here is another example of the beautiful tiled sidewalks in Lisbon.
What are we looking at jack?
We continued walking up the small hill to see an amazing viewpoint!
Wow! Look at that view! St. George Castle is on the hill in the distance.
This is a funicular. There are many in Lisbon, and they take people up an down the hills of the city.
Here is another cool statue. The Portuguese respect their history and do not tear down statues like some liberals do in the US.
This fountain was really neat too. Once again, look at the tile!
The small alleyways in the downtown area were so cool! Look at that tile! That is a theme if one has not figured it out yet. LOL.
We experienced a "fado" dinner at Adega Machado. A fado dinner is where they entertain guests with a live musical show.
We are sitting down to dinner here inside the classy restaurant.
We were treated to three different sets of music. There are usually three people on instrument and one singer.
I got the sea bass for my dinner.
We enjoyed the desserts a lot. This is the chocolate mousse.
Joy and I both LOVED the rice pudding. That is cinnamon on top!
The alleyways in downtown are very bustling at night since there are lots of bars there.
The breakfast buffet at the Doubletree included the famous Pasteis de Nata, which is an egg custard tart that Lisbon is famous for! Our breakfast was free since I am a Diamond guest.
We booked a private tour guide to take us to Cascais and Sintra on Day 2 of our trip. This is the beautiful seaside town of Cascais.
Cascais is a very popular seaside destination with beaches and historic buildings. The Portuguese Royal Family loved it here.
This is a statue of the last King of Portugal, Carlos II.
I loved this bridge that has flags from all over the world including many former Portuguese colonies including Brazil and Angola.
Speaking of colonies, the Portuguese brought back the best of their colonies to their homeland including Acai. I enjoyed an Acai bowl and Brazilian soda in Cascais.
This lighthouse in Cascais was really neat. It looked more like something one would find in North Africa. Portugal has lots of Moorish influences.
The tile work in Cascais was very beautiful too.
This is the coastline near Cascais where many Portuguese swim in the summer. The water is still pretty chilly since it is the North Atlantic.
This old Moorish style fort was converted into a five star hotel.
This cool lighthouse was near the westernmost point of continental Europe.
Staring out into the vast ocean from the westernmost point of Europe, I can see why people thought the earth was flat.
This is the monument to mark the westernmost point of continental Europe.
This is the back of the monument at the westernmost point.
Our private tour guide took us to a lunch spot with a great view of the ocean in Sintra.
We were welcomed by the family owned and run restaurant with some moscatel which is a sweet wine from Southern Portugal.
We ordered the authentic seafood rice dish which came pipping hot in that pot. There were lobster, shrimp, clams, and mussels inside.
They brought us some of their homemade cherry liquor, ginja, which is also popular in Portugal.
After lunch, we headed out to the mountains of Sintra.
Sintra has many palaces and summer homes of the former nobility of Portugal since they wanted to be near the King and Queen.
That is a cool castle built on top of the mountain in Sintra.
The town of Sintra was so cool!
The National Palace in Sintra is a popular destination.
The Quinta da Regaleria was a cool palace built by a wealthy Brazilian guy in Sintra.
At Quinta da Regaleria, there was a manmade "well" which was used as an initiation ritual to make people go down.
This was what the "well" looked like from below.
This is another view of the amazing palace from the mountainside.
I loved the artwork here since it looks like there are lights behind the paintings, but it is all paint to make it look bright.
Once we got back to Lisbon, we walked around the area by our hotel and saw a Metro station entrance. We did not try the Metro however.
The next day, we departed for Porto. We are enjoying a snack at the ANA Lounge at Lisbon Airport here. The ginja over ice was a nice refreshing morning drink.
In Lisbon, TAP Air Portugal used stairs to board passengers for domestic flights. They had hourly service to Oporto (Porto).
The car service got us at Porto Airport and took us to our boutique Hilton Tapestry hotel, the Se Catedral Hotel. The building was historic.
The rooms were modern however.
I did like how the exterior features like the tiled balcony was still very classic looking.
Yes, we had an espresso maker in the room too. The Portuguese love their espresso!
We explored the Se Catedral of Porto first which is the Cathedral Of Porto.
The inside of the cathedral was just as amazing as the outside.
The artwork is done on tile!
I saw the most beautiful stainglass ever inside this cathedral!
Here is another nice stainglass window inside the catedral.
For lunch, we went to Jose Avillez's Canthino Do Avillez. This famous chef has three Michelin Stars, and he owns many restaurants.
We started out with some octopus tartare. It was delicious!
Joy wanted the lightly fried cod fritters. They were delicious too!
My duck confit with a Thai curry sauce was DELICIOUS!
Cheers to Chef Jose Avillez! His menu is amazing!
The dessert was also deliciious!
We toured the Bishop's House after lunch. The current Bishop of Porto still lives here.
The house was quite opulent!
Porto was known as the "Bishop's City" where the Bishop had all the power instead of the King and Queen.
The view of the river with the old style rabelo boats can be seen from the Bishop's House.
We walked over to our meeting spot for the private Tuk Tuk tour afterwards. That church has tiles on the outside.
The buildings in Porto were not as colorful as Lisbon.
The Clerigos Tower is the tallest building in Porto. Our tuk tuk tour departed from there.
This is a tram in Porto.
The Portuguese are not ashamed of their colonial past. I like how they embrace their history unlike the liberals in our country!
We got a great view of the historic buildings in Porto on our private Tuk Tuk tour.
Our driver took us to this amazing viewpoint where we could see Se Catedral Porto, the Bishop's House, and other cool buildings.
The Tuk Tuk was pretty comfortable.
Here is another example of the cool sidewalks in Portugal.
This old monastery is now an army citadel. It is round since they built it after it was discovered the Earth was round.
We got a great view of Porto from the city of Gaia which is across the river.
Here is a cool picture of the old city walls of Porto.
This bridge that connects Porto and Gaia was designed by the guy who designed the Eiffel Tower.
After we got back to the hotel, we saw that they put some natas in our room for us!
In the morning, we enjoyed walking through the modern hallways of the boutique hotel to our complimentary breakfast buffet.
The breakfast buffet was delicious, and they displayed the food so elegantly!
The lobby of the hotel was so neat!
The lobby had these cool lighted signs too. Our tour guide for the Duoro River Valley picked us at the hotel.
Our first stop on the Duoro River Valley tour was the town of Amarante, known for this monastery of Sao Goncalo.
This is the tomb of Sao Goncalo, who is the patron saint of marriage.
The monastery and church was amazing!
Amarante was a cool little village.
Amarante is known for these egg yolk pastries. One of the pastries is shaped like a penius to help women find a husband. LOL.
As we left Amarante, we went inside the longest tunnel in the Iberian Peninsula to go into the Duoro River Valley.
This was our first stop in the Duoro River Valley which the tour guide said was the "Instagram Spot" for pictures.
This is our "Instagram" photo. LOL.
Here are some vineyards by the restaurant we stopped at for lunch.
Joy and I are about to be treated to a traditional Portuguese lunch on the tour.
As one can see, there was plenty of wine on the table. Portugal makes so much wine that it is often cheaper than water!
The main dish was a pasta dish with lots of meat!
As we left the restaurant, I captured some great pictures of the terraced vineyards in the valley.
The Duoro River Valley vineyards which made port were really scenic!
We were taken to Quinta da Roeda which is owned by the Croft Vineyard to do our port tasting. Lots of olive trees are found in Portugal also.
Croft makes lots of different ports!
The vineyard was beautiful! This is a view of their vineyard and others across the river.
Port is not only red. They have white port also.
After we had our winery tour and port tasting, we went on a cruise on the Duoro River in a traditional style Portuguese boat called a Rabelo.
That bridge in the distance was also designed by the guy who made the Eiffel Tour.
The vineyards on the mountainside were so cool to watch as we slowly made our way on the Duoro River.
The cruise was really cool!
The cruise was very relaxing too!
We got some amazing and scary views as we headed out of the Duoro River Valley!
When we got back to Porto, we tried some sushi in town. Portugal has lots of sushi places since they have a lot of fresh seafood!
We had a nice view from our table at Kanpai Sushi. The sushi was AMAZING!
We stopped at a dessert shop called Cremosi after dinner to get ice cream and a delicious pastry also!
We flew back to Lisbon the next day. There was a lounge for us to use at Oporto Airport (OPO).
They had some great Portuguese beverages in the lounge for me to try including a Pineapple Soda and a beer.
There was a large daily market across from the Doubletree in Lisbon called Mercado Janeiro. Joy wanted to check it out.
The market had bacalhaul which is the salted cod that the Portuguese love!
There was lots of fresh seafood too at the market.
We found a great pizza place for lunch after the market. This was cooked in a wood fire oven. The Portuguese take siestas usually from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM so many restaurants close during that time.
We went shopping at Cortes Ingles, which is a large department store in Spain and Portugal.
I wanted to get some European sneakers so I got these Martinelli's at Cortes Ingles. They are a Spanish brand.
Spoiler Alert: These are the shoes we bought on the trip including my Emporio Armani sneakers that I got at the airport when we left and Joy's Helly Hensen. I took this photo in Sacramento.
Since I am not used to walking a lot, I had to get a foot massage at a Thai Massage place.
After getting back to the hotel, I made an espresso in the room and enjoyed it on the private terrace. We were upgraded to the same room as before at the Doubletree.
We took a BMW 5 series wagon Uber to dinner from the Doubletree. The BMWs are not as nice in Europe.
This is the alley way to that leads to Jose Avillez's Barrio do Avillez, which has four different dining concepts.
This is the entrance to Bairro do Avillez!
Taberna is the first concept in the "bairro."
We ate at Pateo which was in the back.
Pateo was really cool! I loved the indoor courtyard!
I am enjoying the Caipirinha here whch is a Brazilian version of a mojito.
We started out with some amazing mussells.
I got a gazpacho. This was very good!
I got the octopus for my entree.
For dessert, we got cotton candy, and I got gelato too. Everything was made in the restaurant.
We decided to ride a funicular after dinner.
The short ride down the hill was fun!
The Funicular took us down the steep hill to the lower part of "downtown."
We checked out the Hard Rock Cafe Lisboa next.
I got a Bulleit and Coke Zero at the Hard Rock.
We took a hop on, hop off bus tour from Lisbon to Belem the next day.
We got a lot of cool pictures of Lisbon from the double decker bus. That tile work on the sidewalks in Portugal is so neat!
This is another large statue in Lisbon.
Lisbon has so many historical structures.
This is a cool cathedral in Lisbon.
After we got to Belem, we went to the Maritime Museum which is part of the San Jeronimos Monastery.
The Maritime Museum was really cool! We got a great review from grade school and high school history of Portuguese exploration.
We got to see very accurate models of old ships that were used for exploring the globe.
The Maritime Museum also had models of old warships too.
We saw the old royal bardges too.
This bardge was powered by human rowers. Wow!
They had some old airplanes too at the Maritime Museum.
We walked over to the Tour of Belem after the Maritime Museum.
To enter the old fortress that guarded the entrance to the Tagus River from the Atlantic, one takes the drawbridge.
This contraption raises or lowers the drawbridge.
The tower was really fancy!
We were able to explore the different levels of the tower.
This is a view of the lower levels from the top balcony.
There were lots of cannons in the base of the tower.
We are trying to imagine how they defended the city back then in the canon room. LOL.
In Belem, there is the Discoveries Monument also which honors all the exploration the Portuguese did.
The Ponte de 25 Abril is also called the "San Francisco Bridge." In the distance, is the large Cristo Rei statue.
This is the Cristo Rei status which is modeled after the larger Christ the Redeemer in Rio.
This is the San Jeronimos Monastery.
The Monastery is a very popular attraction in Belem.
That night, we started out at Mini Bar by Jose Avillez at Bairro do Avillez for drinks and appetizers. We entered the speakeasy through those bookshelve doors.
This mural inside the Mini Bar was super cool!
The bartender was really good at his craft!
We loved the foie gras balls in the clam shell as well as the ceviche. My drink was great too!
We enjoyed dinner in one of the alleyways in the downtown area of Lisbon. The food was delicious! I had the peri peri chicken!
We went to Lumi for a drink after dinner.
The views from Lumi were amazing!
I got the cocktail of the month at Lumi which was Coco Loco Crush. This drink had Vanilla infused gin, strawbery, and coconut!
We checked out a street party nearby after leaving Lumi. During June, Lisbon comes alive with the feast of their patron saint, St. Anthony.
They have these street parties all over Lisbon during the month!
We had to get up early the next morning since our car service came at 6:00 AM to take us to the airport. The lighting in the tub was cool as we got ready.
We had to go over the TAP Air Portugal Premium Check In Counter to have them tag our luggage with Star Alliance priority tags since the automated machines can not do that.
After going to the ANA Lounge in Lisbon, I checked out the Emporio Armani store and bought this shirt.
I saw the sneakers as I was about to pay for the shirt so I had to get them too for 290 Euros!
We had to buy our snacks on TAP Air Portugal once again. I got a waffle.
Once we go to Amsterdam, we boarded our United Dreamliner for SFO.
We were served a delicious lunch after we took off from Amsterdam.
The crew came around with bottles of German bottled water for us to keep us hydrated in the premium cabin.
I asked the flight attendant for some wings for myself and my nephew.
Our midflight snack service was decent. I had Buffalo Trace of course.
We were served a warm sandwich and fruit before landing.
Joy and I were bummed
during COVID since we could
not travel globally. So, we were so excited when we booked
our European holiday to Portugal in 2023! Joy and I waited until
all the crazy COVID restrictions and protocols were lifted until we
ventured out of the country since we did not want to test to return
home! Our adventure began in San Francisco after we checked out
of the Hilton Hotel SFO where we spent the night before our flight and
did the park and go option.
Once we arrived at the international terminal for San Francisco International Airport, we checked in for our United flight via the Priority Access since we were flying in the Premium Plus cabin. Our seats were not cheap at $6,000 round trip for both of us, but we enjoyed a level of comfort that is needed for the long transcontinental flight! Since there were no Priority Pass lounges in our terminal, we were treated to a nice complimentary lunch at Mustard's Grill with my Priority Pass membership. Aftewards, we were ready to be among the first to board the beautiful Boeing 787 Dreamliner for Amsterdam.
Our seats were like domestic first class seats so they had plenty of room, but they did not lie flat. We had Sak's Fifth Avenue bedding on our seat as well as an amenity kit. In the seatback pocket, we had noise cancelling headphones also. The Dreamliner has the cool windows that turn from dark to light at the touch of a button too! Once we were airborne, the service started. I had three Buffalo Trace bourbons on the approximately ten hour flight to Amsterdam. After the first beverage service, we were served lunch on china. I got the chicken option. The Milka dessert bar was great. Mid-flight, they came around with snacks. Before landing, we had a nice breakfast served.
We had a short layover in Amsterdam so we were able to use the Aspire Lounge to get some refreshments before heading to our TAP Airlines flight to Lisbon. I could tell the European refrigeration system did not get better since the last time I was there. LOL. Ice was small and available in a bucket instead of at a large ice machine. Also, when I bought some bottled water, I noticed how pricey they were still in Europe for a small bottle, and it said there was a deposit tax to get people to return the bottles. I was like fuck that, and I threw my bottle away in the trash to help increase the landfills in Europe. The liberal green climate change lobby has to be stopped!
European airlines do not have a truly premium product on their flights within Europe or domestic flights usually since their "executive class" is just a coach seat with the middle seat blocked off. So, we just had United book us in their regular seat for the short flight to Lisboa (Lisbon). The Europeans need to get over the bull shit climate change hoax and have atleast the first class section we have in the US. TAP also sold items for their service including drinks so I tried a bag of Portuguese chips.
Upon arrival into Lisbon, we did not have to go through immigration again since our first port of entry into the EU was in Amsterdam. There were no customs really too for our luggage. We left the baggage claim, and we found the piece of paper with my name on it from the car service company. Once I picked it up, our driver immediately came up to me and introduced himself. We were off to the hotel within a few minutes.
Once we arrived at the Doubletree Lisbon Fontana Park, the staff upgraded us to their penthouse room with a terrace. Originally, I got a notice through Hilton that we were upgraded to another premium room due to my status, but at the hotel, they gave us the better penthouse room. We had amazing views of the city from the terrace. Also, we had an espresso maker in the room too! The hotel was a nice mix of vintage and modern.
That evening, the hotel staff made dinner reservations for us at a "fado" dinner which is where musicians entertain the guests while enjoying a traditional multicourse Portuguese meal. Overall, we were shocked at how cheap Portugal was compared to other parts of Europe. The dinner was only 45 Euros each. Our hotel called a taxi for us, and we were off to the "downtown" area of Lisbon.
Lisbon is so amazing! The downtown area had lots of cool alleyways with restaurants and bars. Also, the tiled roads and sidewalks were so amazing! We walked around and took in amazing views of the city from a viewpoint a top the hill by a cool water fountain. Afterwards, we enjoyed our great fado dinner and was treated to three musical performances. I got the sea bass for my main entree after a caldo or soup. Portuguese meals are famous for starting out with a soup. Joy and I both loved the rice pudding dessert too!
The next day, we had a private tour of Cascais and Sintra. Our driver and tour guide arrived promptly at our hotel to collect us. We departed in a comfortable van for the Atlantic city of Cascais for our first destination. Cascais is a beautiful seaside retreat with a cool fort and lots of nice sculptures. We even tried some Brazilian Acai which has been introduced to Portugal from their former colony, Brazil. Joy and I also went shopping at the Helly Hensen store there, and I was surprised to see they had more than just jackets. Over there, they have polos and shoes. I had to get a polo, and Joy got great shoes. After leaving Cascais, we stopped at the westernmost point of continental Europe. From the monument, I could see why Europeans thought the world was flat since the ocean seemed like it was the "end of the world."
Our guide took us to a nice seaside restaurant for a traditional Portuguese meal before heading to the mountains of Sintra to see all the beautiful palaces and the mountaintop castle. We had enough time to explore one of the palaces which had an amazing manmade well which was rumored to be used as an iniation ritual for Free Masons. Recruits were blindfolded and forced to go down the stairs to the bottom of the well and find their way out in the dark. The grounds were just amazing, and this palace was built by a wealthy Brazilian businessman to fit in with the Portuguese nobility who built nice homes in Sintra to be close to the King and Queen.
The next day, we flew to Porto. Our flight on TAP was only like 40 minutes. I booked the boutique Hilton Tapestry Se Catedral Hotel in Porto. This hotel was in a historic building, but the interior was very modern. Joy and I explored the Se Catedral, which is the Cathedral of Porto that was right next to our hotel after dropping our luggage off at the hotel. The Cathedral had some of the most beautiful stainglass that I had ever seen! Afterwards, we had lunch at Jose Avillez's Cantinho do Avillez. He has several Michelin stars, and the food was SO AMAZING! We toured the Bishop's House after lunch before walking to the Clerigo's Tower to meet our private Tuk Tuk tour.
We went on a tour of the Duoro River Valley the next day. Our tour guide picked us up at the hotel after we enjoyed a delicious breakfast buffet. The tour bus took us to the town of Amarante first to check out an old monastery that has the tomb of Sao Goncalo, who is the patron saint of love and marriage. They even have pastries shaped like a penius to help women find a husband. LOL. In the Duoro River Valley, we got a winery tour at Croft's Quinta da Roeda. They also did a nice port tasting for us. I ended up buying a bottle of their 2009 vintage which will continue to age in the bottle unlike other ports. We decided to just put it in our wine fridge when we got back. After the tour and tasting, we went on a relaxing boat cruise on the Duoro River in a traditional style Portuguese boat. Joy and I loved the breathtaking scenery. Also, a lot of the features in this section were taken with my new Lumix camera with a 30x optical Leica lens!
The next morning, we departed for Lisbon again. Porto Airport (OPO) had a lounge that we could use before our short flight back on TAP Air Portugal. The car service brought us back to the Doubletree Lisbon Fontana Park, and we were upgraded to the same penthouse room with a private terrace this time too. Across from the hotel, we saw they had one of the famous large daily markets. The Mercado de Janiero had a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables as well as seafood. After buying some stuff at the market, we walked to a pizzeria for lunch. This place had amazing wood fired pizza. Joy and I were shocked at cheap Portugal was compared to other parts of Europe. However, it was even cheaper than California too! LOL. Most restaurants close down for a few hours in the afternoon for a siesta so we just made it in time to get lunch. After lunch, we walked to Cortes Ingles, which is a department store chain in Spain and Portugal to do a little tax free shopping. Foreigners in Portugal get a 13% VAT Refund at the airport when we show our passport to buy eligible items. I wanted to get a pair of Ferragamo shoes, but I could not find any there so I got some Martinelli sneakers. Martinelli is a Spanish luxury brand. After shopping, my feet were hurting from all the walking so I got a foot massage at a Thai Massage place.
For dinner, we had reservations at Pateo by Jose Avillez! So, we took a BMW 5 series Uber over there from the hotel. I noticed that most of the typical luxury European cars are not as luxurious over there. None of them had a moonroof. Also, the wagon versions of the 3 and 5 series BMW were available there too. Pateo is located in Bairro do Avillez which has four different restaurant concepts by the Michelin star chef. There was Taberna, Pateo, a pizzeria, and even a speakeasy called Mini Bar! Our food at Pateo was amazing just like Cantinho do Avillez in Porto! After dinner, Joy and I took the funicular down to the lower part of their downtown area to get a drink at the Hard Rock.
The next day, we took a Hop On, Hop Off Bus tour from Lisbon to Belem. Once we got off in Belem, we went to the Maritime Musuem, and we got to relive the history we studied in grade school and high school. We learned about Portuguese exploration that led them to colonize Brazil, many parts of Africa, Goa in India, and Macau. It was really interesting. Afterwards, we went to the Tour of Belem, which was a large fortress to guard the entrance to the Tagus River. There was one of the other side of the river too, but that one was destroyed. We walked around Belem and took in the other sites before heading back to Lisbon. That night, we went to Mini Bar by Jose Avillez for some appetizers and drinks before having a traditional Portuguese dinner. Then, we went to a cool rooftop bar before going to a street party. Lisbon is a major party city!
On Saturday, the car service came bright and early to take us to the airport. TAP Air Portugal was our first carrier so they had to tag our bags with the priority luggage tags since we flew Premium Plus on United from Amsterdam to SFO. We got breakfast in the ANA Lounge at Lisbon Airport before shopping a little. From Amsterdam, we enjoyed our premium cabin service to SFO. Portugal was an amazing trip! I highly recommend putting it on the bucket list!