“Stunning Portugal – an amazing Lema Adventure”. What is the Lema adventure you may ask? And what makes this special? Well, we are the “Lema’s” – my husband & I, his sisters & their husbands. This would be the second “Lema-tour” we did together. The first one went to Peru. What makes it so special is that together with a great travel agent, we create a completely private tour based on our preferences. There will be very good hotels, lots of fun & laughter as well as memories of a lifetime.

Portugal was on our bucket list a couple of years ago. In the spring of 2019, we finally got to go on this special adventure, and what an amazing country it is. Before our trip, I did not know a lot about Portugal and now I cannot wait to go back and see more. We spent 2 weeks traveling from Porto in the North down to Lisbon in the South. This is not what you would call a budget trip, as we stayed in very good hotels and truly enjoyed ourselves. I will share some of our Amazing Moments in this post.

Stunning Portugal – an amazing Lema Adventure-The Northern parts

Porto

Our private journey of traveling throughout amazing Portugal started up north in Porto which is a very nice city with lots of things to see. It’s famous for its cablecars, the staircase at Livraria Lello (bookstore) that was featured in the Harry Potter movies, and of course the Port Wine.

Food in Porto

Porto has amazing restaurants & food. Marisqueira Da Baixa is a seafood restaurant I can highly recommend, where we enjoyed an amazing seafood platter & sangria. We also did a walking food & wine tour and I can highly recommend one of these if you go. What is a better way than to walk with a local and learn & experience their food & drinks? The gelato at Amorino is something you should not miss. They make it look like flower petals, and the flavors are so good.

Our amazing hotel -Pestana Palácio do Freixo Hotel – was located outside the city itself and this is one thing I would do differently if I was to go back. I would choose to stay in the city center to be able to walk everywhere.

Braga & Guimaraes

One day we went to 2 villages close to Porto. In Braga, we took the old funicular up to the top of Bom Jesus Sanctuary. First, we admired the church & the amazing view, and then we walked down all the stairs and saw the different foundations for the 5 senses. Our next stop was Guimaraes, where we saw 2 palaces and visited the little town.

Stunning Portugal – an amazing Lema Adventure in Northeastern Portugal

After 3 days in Porto, we were supposed to take a one-day cruise to Pinhao in Duoro Valley. It was a very cold morning and we waited & waited for the boat. We were the only passengers waiting which we found a bit strange. The boats did not operate until later in the season, even though we had a confirmed booking. Gasp – what now??

A cab took us to the train station where we managed to find a train connection to our destination. We got there earlier than we would have with the boat. But of course, it would have been nicer to take a day cruise. The train took about 2.5 hours, and we had stunning views of the river.

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Pinhao is a very small town with only 1 street. A few shops are worth a visit. We stayed at the Vintage house hotel which was very nice and located by the river

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In the afternoon we had tapas & Sangria at an amazing restaurant overlooking the river. We had made a reservation for dinner at a different place on a recommendation from the hotel concierge. I wish we would have stayed at the tapas place instead as the other place was probably the worst restaurant we have been to. Ever. The food was inedible. Being able to enjoy amazing food is a very important component of an amazing journey.

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Stunning Portugal – an amazing Lema Adventure in the Central Region

The next morning, we were picked up by our private driver and his SUV, and he was the one who would drive us around Portugal for the remaining days. We did a quick stop in Coimbra on our way to Luso. Coimbra had so much to see including the university and its library. A small tapas restaurant – Tapas nas Costas– caught our eyes, and we enjoyed a delicious lunch accompanied by sangria. We also found this amazing jewelry store – Gois Goldsmith with stunning silver & gold items. If you are looking for one of a kind piece, this would be the place to go to

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  A table full of amazing tapas

This night we stayed at Bussaco Palace Hotel in Luso which was an amazing place with beautiful grounds. We felt like royalty. They had a restaurant and the food was delicious.

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We continued our journey in Portugal to Fatima which is a religious headquarters where many people come every year for pilgrimage. During our drive from the north, we saw many of the pilgrims walking on their way to Fatima and as they approached this area they started walking on their knees. This place must be experienced. It is a personal & religious experience.

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The amazing cork

Portugal is known for everything made out of cork. Not only corks for wine bottles, but bags, shoes, accessories, and even clothing can be found made out of cork. Not all the cork is the same, some of it is very high quality, and some is not. There was this one amazing store in the small town of Batalha – Casa Trovao. They had very nice handbags as well as an evening gown made out of cork!!! Their inventory of Azulejos – Painted tiles – was impressive. The store will package them very well should you wish to bring some home.

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Stunning Portugal – an amazing Lema Adventure in the South

We continued our journey throughout Portugal to Evora, where we stayed at an old convent – Convento do Espinheiro. What an amazing place!!! The convent was surrounded by orange & olive trees and they even made their olive oil. In the lobby, they had a shop and you could get your bottle to bring home. There was also a church adjacent to the hotel. The restaurant was amazing, with the atmosphere, design as well as food. In Evora, we visited the Chapel of bones. I have never seen anything like this in my entire life. It was one of a kind experience.

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Stunning Portugal – an amazing Lema Adventure in Lisbon & Surrounding areas 

Lisbon was now awaiting us where we stayed for 5 days. What an amazing & vibrant city – I loved every moment. We stayed at Hotel Brittania, and its central location allowed us to walk almost everywhere. Lisbon is divided up into several areas. We had the opportunity to see all of them. One of our favorites was Belem where we did a walking tour.

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Some of the amazing eats – Portugal is known for sardines and codfish and it can be found on the menu because of this. The pastry of Belem is so good when served still warm. There is always a long line outside the bakery, but it moves very quickly. Let’s not forget about the ice cream and gelato.

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We also had a chance to see some of the coastlines. The Atlantic is very rough on this side but the views are gorgeous. We visited Cabo da Roca, Sesimbra, Sintra, Cascais and Azhenas do mar. The weather was not on our side this day.

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Toward the end of our trip, we visited the picturesque village of Obidos which is known for one thing. Let’s see if you can guess…

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Yes, The Ginjinha or Ginja is the famous cherry shot and in Obidos, they even serve it in chocolate cups. I was in heaven!!! We also toured wineries in the south as well as attended a Fado show.

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The Amazing Lema Adventure In Stunning Portugal is very easy & so worth it. I can highly recommend going on your trip to Portugal and exploring as much as your heart desires. As always, when you are having a great time, our trip came to a quick end and we are already looking forward to our next time traveling throughout this beautiful country.

If you enjoy reading about our travels, click here.