You won’t find the spirit of Spumoni in Portugal. I just returned from a 2 month trip to Europe that included 4 weeks in Greece, 6 days in Granada and Seville Spain then 4 weeks in Portugal. The highlights were Crete and Santorini in Greece along with Nazare, Portugal.

While I enjoyed my time in Spain, I consider both of those cities one timers, not like Madrid or Paris which are places you can go back to many times to enjoy. Once again I got lucky with the weather. It rained 2 afternoons in Mykonos and 1 day in Sintra, Portugal. The rest of the time it was pleasant spring-like weather with temps in the 70s to low 80s, sunny and a few high clouds.

I covered a lot of ground on this trip, staying in 18 different places along with day trips to several others. Fortunately, I was not affected by strikes except for 1 day in Sintra when the workers at the palaces decided to go on strike. All over Europe there were protests and strikes, most notably in France. And Portugal had their fair share of train strikes, airport workers and government employees.

Along with the work stoppages, you won’t find Spumoni in Portugal because the people there are not nearly as nice as in America. If you’re in a store or restaurant spending money the people pretend to be nice. But in general, I encountered a lot of rude people with no manners and no respect for others. After hearing so many good things about Portugal it turned out to be a big disappointment.

However, I would like to return to Crete someday and explore more of the island. It’s a beautiful place with such varied topography and scenery. You’ll find wildflowers in the meadows, snow capped mountains and a lovely coastline. The people were friendly, the food was great and the sense of history is everywhere.

It would have been nice to have Spumoni in Portugal with me for the companionship. He was such a playful creature and so much fun to be with. So, while I travel many places solo, the spirit of Spumoni is always with me.

Sunset in Tavira Portugal

Lagos Portugal

Cape St. Vincent – The southernmost point in Europe

View from Sitio looking down on Nazare

Duoro River cruise near Porto

Palace in Sintra