Monday, 5/13. Bus tour included 45 minutes in a traffic jam. Could have walked to the destination in 30. So-so tour overall. After lunch we had a fun walk across the lower portion of an Eiffel inspired bridge, followed by a funicular ride on a contraption that adjusted the car’s horizontal to the angle of slope. It looked much like an accordion.

Walked around the shopping area, buying a few small items. Nice sign: “The husband is the best person to tell a secret. He’ll never tell because he wasn’t listening.” Then walked back across the same bridge on the upper level. (The lower and upper are about 150 feet apart.) Then a cable car back to sea level.

The evening included a long anticipated tour and tasting at Graham’s Port Lodge. Very educational. The tasting included ports that even Yoriko liked which was a breakthrough. Dinner was fantastic. Yoriko had some kind of octopus, while I had ox tail stew. Bought some port, including a bottle for a friend that way exceeded my price line. It was a fun experience.

At evening’s end we attended a good lecture on the Portuguese period of exploration. Overall, it was a good day.

Sunday, 5/12. Departed the hotel as the buses were preparing to go. Arrived Sintra without any wrong turns! An Event. Got there too early and had to wait for the Hop on/Hop Off buses to begin. Got to the entry of the Moorish Castle and waited in line over 30 minutes for tickets. The line wasn’t that long, but each person had an issue. Learned later that there was another ticket office with no line. Wasted time. The Castle offered incredible views and some entertaining architectural history. Worth the wait. The Pena Palace, which we viewed only from outside, should accuse Disney of trademark infringement. Weirdly similar to Fantasyland. Both locations required serious climbs. Soaked with sweat.

We had lunch at a hairpin turn on the one-way road leading through Sintra, enjoying the buses as they managed the corner without taking out the restaurant. Got out of town without a missed turn! We were on a roll. The highway to Porto was interesting, with several long bridges over valleys and short tunnels under mountains.

Arrived in Gaia, south of the Douro River, without error. Then the GPS “lady” failed us. Chose the wrong exit of a roundabout twice! To be fair, roads appeared out of nowhere at times, challenging any useful guidance. Drove through a hospital emergency admissions driveway. Searched without success for a hope-for inexpensive parking lot. Finally gave it up and just parked at the expensive one next to the ship. The desk clerk then walked me to a cheap alternative! Immediate exposure to the “Viking Touch”. Ship cruised the lower Douro during dinner. Got a glimpse of the Atlantic. Great start to the cruise.

Temperature reached 93 degrees. They warned that the week would be hot.

Saturday, 5/11. If the morning Viking tour is a precursor, we’re in for some veeeery slow walking. Tour guide spoke haltingly, constantly searching for the proper word. Recipe for sleeping on the bus. Bus appeared brand new! But we hit the high spots of Lisbon that were too far to walk to. Church and adjoining monastery was simple in design, rich in history. It was sailors’ last stop before setting sail to pray for a good voyage.

The Discoveries Monument points out to the water, so no photo of its front. We weren’t given enough time to get close to it anyway. The Tax Building had been built in the middle of the bay, but the 1755 earthquake and resultant tsunami created land on one side. Good for photos.

Lisbon has a thing for elephants and rhinos. First time the prime animal hasn’t been a lion.

After our siesta we went out for lunch. Yoriko ate massive sardines, I had excellent shrimp soaked in garlic sauce. The promenade outside the hotel had a long row of antique sellers. Old teaspoons were common, selling for 5 euro each. When we saw the long line to go up the Santa Justa Lift, we intelligently went up the Elevador do Lavra funicular and then down the Lift. Both forms of travel were fun, without waiting.

Stopped several times for drinks (once just for cokes). Ate ham and cheese sandwiches in the room with our bottle of Tio Pepe sherry.

Tomorrow the cruise passengers take buses to Porto. We’ll drive, making stops along the way.

Friday, 5/10. Weirdly, this is only the third time I’ve driven from one country into another (excluding repetitions). But first we had to get away from Seville. GPS says “In 3 kilometers, take the left exit”. So I move to the left. Then the 4 lane road splits in two, with the main road going right. We have had trouble getting out of nearly every city. (I am still having issues with first gear. Stalled in a roundabout! I want my Goldwing!)

Portugal has non-cash toll roads. At the country’s entrance we drive up to an unmanned booth, slip in a credit card, and it’s associated with the car’s license number. Easy. Every web site warned how tough it was to do and I had been worried. Where Spain seems to have speed trap cameras on the roads, Portugal does without I guess. Cruising along at 72 MPH, we were often passed by very rapid others. The left lane is not to dawdle in.

Crossed one of the longest suspension bridges in Europe (cash toll), which sits next to a huge Christ the King statue, built to resemble Rio’s Christ the Redeemer.

Navigating to the hotel was made more difficult by entering a long tunnel under the city with several exits. GPS shut down while in the tunnel, so I took a guess on which one to take. We made it eventually. Cobblestones are rougher here, roads seem narrower, if that’s possible. Our Viking River Cruise begins with two nights in a 5-star hotel. Uniformed doormen, etc. Too fancy for my blood. Yoriko is fine with it.

The cruise briefing confirmed that we’re below the median age. Young again! I found a tapas bar that’s open all day, so we ate early (7:00). Excellent food. Walked down to the famous elevator, then returned to our room. At 9:45 the maid knocked on our door to turn down the sheets. Apparently, we were supposed to be at dinner.

Thursday, 5/9. Quiet kind of day. Picked up laundry. Bought shoes. Wandered the city. Had a lunch of sausages and fried eggs covering french fries. Strawberry shortcake ice cream cone. Watched an endless stream of carriages going here and there.

In the evening we attended a cooking class that was supposed to teach us how to make various tapas. In reality we learn to make soup, appetizer and paella. Been there, done that. I was a little put out.

We leave Spain tomorrow for Lisbon. I have mixed emotions whether to drive straight through or do some sightseeing along the way.

Wednesday, 5/8. Tour of the cathedral and Palace (Alcazar). Meh. Impressive churches are getting repetitive. It was insanely crowded and our group was not good companions. Wore hats, used selfie sticks, asked inane questions. Most impressive thing about the cathedral is that it has at least some of the bones of Christopher Columbus. Other bones may be in the Dominican Republic. The Tower is impressive as a repurposed Muslim minaret.

Alcazar is similarly a repurposed Muslim palace. Even the parts reputedly built after Christian occupancy has extensive Arabic writings on its walls. Seems very strange. The rooms are bare and the guide struggled to impress. Showed us photos from her smartphone, which I thought was lame. Obama toured the palace just a few weeks ago.

Toured the barrio. Strangely quiet. Everyone seemed off somehow.

Seville is having their BIG PARTY this week, so I’m not sure the city is showing us its best face. We’d seen that a large fair had been set up while driving in, but didn’t understand the significance. We walked over to the area. It is huge. My photos are a dim representation. See this site. Words and photos cannot represent its size. Over a thousand different entities rent tents for their private parties. (Security is heavy to ensure they remain private, though all the tents are all open on one side.) Horses with perfectly dressed riders simply sit in front of their tents. Incredibly fancy carriages ride up and down the avenues. Makes the Rose Parade look like a pauper’s drunken stumble. In the evening the horses go away, they clean up the mess, and dance until 5 AM. It was jammed while we visited and more were arriving. As many as a million people a day, mostly dressed up. Any and every decorous event in the USA dims in comparison.

Tuesday, 5/7. Busy day. Lots of photos and a video. Drove to Gibraltar, which exceeded expectations. The cable car was closed for maintenance so we signed up for the “Taxi Tour”. Took us up and down the Rock with several stops and prepaid visits to a couple exhibits. St. Michael’s Cave was very interesting. It seconds as a music hall. A section of the cliff was dug into by engineers to build gun emplacements, which now looks down on the airport. Walking across an active airport was once-in-a-lifetime thrill. (Why do it twice?) The Rock is filled with history. I need to buy a book.

Plane taking off was exciting.

Visiting the Tio Pepe Winery in Jerez. “Sherry” is the bastardized word the English created from “Jerez”. A bit boring, but a nice stop. I couldn’t drink anything. Rather, I couldn’t swallow any of the wine.

In a first, we’re staying in a hotel with very little English spoken. Also, we need to drive into Seville tomorrow. We’ll manage.

Monday, 5/6. Boat to Tangier. Do customs on board. Met guide, who was nice but sadly lacking in guide skills. Spent too much time chatting up acquaintances along the way.

I’ve been twice before, so the point was to get Yoriko onto Africa. Then onto a camel. Short 50 yard ride, but the photo exists for eternity. Walking through the medina was a thrill. Lunch was so-so. Companions learned that beer is not normally available in Muslim restaurants. Yoriko and I visited one of the oldest hotel bars in the city and had wine.

Neither of us bought much. A scarf. Oddly, it was not the first day of Ramadan for Morocco, though it was for the rest of the Islamic world. Morocco has some literal interpretation of the Koran which requires that the moon must be seen. Computer predictions are ignored. It was clear that many in Tangier disregarded the state, as a lot more Moroccans than normal were wearing traditional Arab clothing.

On our return Yoriko celebrated with a plate full of mussels. Not many photos.

Sunday, 5/5 Got out of Granada with far less stress than we got in. I’ve realized that Google Maps and Maps.Me have a programed aversion to narrow streets. I’ve begun to ignore their advice and just charge down the shortest route, even when it’s barely wider than the car.

Ronda, found by Yoriko, is a charming little city that has an incredible bridge (Google “Ronda” Images, and you’ll see) and the reputation of being the founder of professional “gentlemanly” bullfighting. I suspect there are competing claims. But it was the second place to have a formal training school for horsemanship (Vienna beat them by two years). Excellent audio tour. Disgusting concept. BTW, bullfighter is not considered a sport. Look for it in newspapers and it’s in the Arts Section. Here’s a Youtube post of a horse with an itch.

The bridge is massive. ‘nough said. Yoriko had paella for the first time on the trip and was satisfied. Bought some local wine which is supposed to be gaining in reputation. We’ll see.

Getting to Tarifa via back roads was delightful. Part was on A-405. Though only two lanes with a speed limit of about 42 MPH, it still seemed faster and was certainly more enjoyable than US405. Got to Tarifa with no stress. Walked around. The city is the southernmost point of mainland Europe. Cool.

Dinner was fish and seared tuna. Pleasant. Inexpensive. Tomorrow we go to Tangiers. Yoriko’s first time in Africa.

Saturday, 5/4. (May the Fourth Be With You.) Tour was all in English. 25 people, which seems a lot, but it worked out. The guide (Bert) made it pretty clear early on that those who fall behind get left behind. He walked at a proper slow pace anyway, talking (educating) all the time. Place was crowded but not noisy. A clear majority were in a tour, so all were listening to their guides. As there are 8,000 people going through each day, there was no dawdling.

The place is overwelming in history, architecture and beauty. Though much of the site is a reconstruction (Napoleon’s retreating army did a lot of destruction), there is enough original structure to get a grasp of what it looked like in its prime. Ferdinand and Isabel deserve a lot of credit for getting past their anger and declaring the Alhambra a National Treasure. I think Spain has done a marvelous job being faithful in their reconstruction. It was a 3 hour tour that was worth the cost.

The rest of the day was spend eating slowly, watching people go by, and random window shopping. Saw people dressed up for at least 2 weddings (we think). No one was in a hurry to get anywhere. Had a fancy dinner with a five star view.