Welcome to my story style travel blog, featuring my adventure through Spain and Portugal in the summer of 2025.
You can read the blog in order, or about whichever destination intrigues you! Within my stories, I’ll offer some recommendations and some tips and tricks for a smooth journey. When I travel, I mostly do group tours and the reasons are:
* As a solo woman traveler, it is much safer especially if traveling long distances or to countries that can be dangerous in some areas
*The itineraries are amazing and usually include all of the things you’d want to see and do…and if not, there is free time to do as you wish
*You don’t have to worry about booking transport, finding hotels, etc. Sometimes that can contribute to the adventure, but it’s also nice to sit back and relax and let your Tour CEO be in charge
* And finally…the new people you meet on your tour become your family, and I’ve made lifelong friends in these journeys. For myself, this has equal importance with exploring new countries.
This time I used Expat Explore; the tour is called Spain and Portugal Explorer. It’s actually split into 2 parts….you could do either part, or do the whole thing so of course I did the whole thing! I’ll explain more about that along the way! This is my second time traveling with Expat, and their European itineraries really awesome and not super expensive. Also, transport is by coach bus which is nice because the buses offer air conditioning, comfy seats, WIFI and charging ports.
We leave Lisbon in the morning and make our way to the small medieval town of Obidos.
It is a town wrapped in ancient stone walls, with whitewashed houses and coloful bougainvillea that line the narrow cobblestone streets.
We have a couple of hours to explore but there’s one tiny problem…it’s raining. Gustavo coaxes everyone off the bus and we lift up our umbrellas and head into the town through the main gate adored with beautiful azulejos tiles.
One thing Obidos is known for…its production of ginja, a traditional Portuguese liquer that originated in Lisbon in the 19th century. It is made by infusing ginja berries(sour cherries) in brandy with sugar and cinnamon. Yes please!!
The group stops for a sample at a local chocolateria…..and this is because ginja is sipped from small chocolate cups!!
Now we must make our way up to the castle, and I am trying so hard to keep my balance on the slippery cobblestone(I chose the wrong shoes today).
It’s up on an incline, and this is just a recipe for disaster, especially coming down. A few people slip and fall. It’s not fun. So instead of having more free time, most everyone makes their way back to the bus. But before we leave, I stop at a bakery so I can have more pastel de nata.
And snap a few more pics of the town and views
Then we make a lunch stop at one of the truck stop highway joints. I have mentioned this in a previous blog….I can’t stand these places – this is one of the downfalls of coach bus tours of 30 people. We have to go to places that can accommodate large groups. The food is not always great, and it’s super expensive and not always an authentic local food experience. I’d much rather have time to eat in the cities we visit, but I guess the timings don’t quite work out. But at this stop today – they’re offering roast suckling pig sandwiches and let me say that they are amazing!! First time I’ve tried it on this trip!
This afternoon we arrive into Porto, the birthplace of port wine. Set along the Douro River, here you’ll find colorful tiled buildings stacked along the hillside and the iconic Dom Luis Bridge stretching across the river.
We meet our guide Maria and she takes us on a walking tour and we learn about the history and significance of Porto. First stop is the Clerigos Tower; it is possible to climb to the top but there’s no time for this today.
We stop to admire the tiles on this church – the azulejos style that you’ll see all around Portugal.
Across from the university is the Lion Fountain.
We walk past the Livraria Lello, one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, with its dramatic staircase and carved wood interior.
It requires a separate ticket purchase to go in, and it’s busy. Mostly because it is said to have inspired J.K. Rowling’s Flourish and Botts book shop from the Harry Potter series.
She actually lived in Porto for many years, and a lot of her work has come from inspiration from the city. University students wear traditional cape uniforms, which is similar to what Harry and his classmate’s wear!
Next stop is the impressive Sao Bento Station; the walls are covered in tiles that tell of Portugal’s history. It’s truly stunning!
We finally end up at the Dom Luis Bridge
A double deck metal arch bridge. Vehicles use the bottom part, and pedestrians and the metro use the top. You can’t get too excited to look out over both sides of the bridge though, because otherwise you’ll forget to watch for the train and die. Haha…anyways the views from up here are really gorgeous.
After crossing the bridge safely, we end up at Calem, one of the main wineries where we will do a port wine discovery and tasting.
This winery has been around since 1859, so they know what they’re doing!
We try a few different types of Port, my fave is the fine white which is aged in oak and stainless steel vats.
Port is generally very sweet, and since it is so rich, it’s commonly sipped in smaller glasses as an after dinner drink or with dessert and cheese.
We have some time to find a shop to buy some booze for our upcoming cruise on the Douro River. It’s a pretty basic boat; we can bring whatever we want on it, so I grab a Super Bock, THE beer of Portugal.
We cruise along for an hour and it’s so nice to view the city from the water, despite it being so windy.
Tonight’s dinner is at Chez Lapin, a super cool restaurant with neat décor and a fun vibe.
We start dinner with the famous flaming sausage – you spin that wiener around until it cooks all the way through.
Open flame at the table seems dangerous when drinking lots of port and beer….and if you didn’t catch on from the name of the restaurant, tonight we are eating rabbit. I have never tried it and in my head I’m hoping for breast meat, but do rabbits have breasts? Apparently they do not, so I have some other piece of anatomy and a leg.
Anddddddd…I don’t really like it. The flavor of the sauce is nice, but the meat is average. It’s also hard to find a lot of meat on the skinny leg and I’m very picky about the texture of meats. So this is an all around no for me. At least the meal is redeemed with this lovely dessert.
Since it’s our last night in Portugal, and one of the last of the tour, everyone is having fun and drinking tons of wine! As we should!!
We arrive back at the Park Hotel Porto Gaia, and drift off with visions of the Douro river dancing in our heads as we prep for the last day of the tour….
*the tour concludes in Spain, so check out my other blogs to catch up on those stories!
Everywhere On Earth With Erin 