A New Happy Place

I spent Saturday much as I spent Friday – walking and napping – and was thankful I hadn’t scheduled a bunch of commitments. Lisbon has much to recommend it. I enjoyed its plentiful trees, public gardens & parks, botanical gardens, and relative cleanliness. Maybe things will get crazy as the tourist season continues, but the city seemed to manage the already-substantial influx pretty well.  Here are few more scenery photos and after that, an update on day 1 (Sunday) of the bicycle tour. 

I saw these guys dressed as bananas (banana boys?) several times. After I snapped this photo (one of the BB’s saw me and kind of scolded), I passed them seated at an outdoor bar having beers. Later, I spotted them on rented scooters riding the pathways of the very beautiful Parque Eduardo VII. A bachelor weekend perhaps?

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After a largely sleepless night (still jet lagged), I met up with the Trek tour this morning at a nearby coffee shop. There are only 7 of us guests (nice!) managed by our two guides, Jorge and Luis. They whisked us away in a van for the 2 hour ride to our hotel in Vila Viçosa, which is in the Alentejo region. Among other things, the region is known for its marble quarries and our hotel is suitably bedecked.

an artistic marble tree growing out of a marble slab set upon the marble floor

the marble sink in my bathroom

This bike tour is unusual in that we'll stay in this hotel for the duration instead of riding to different towns. That's kind of nice, especially since it's an upscale hotel with lots of amenities including spa services. Each day's bike route takes us in a different direction.

 

We started off with a welcome and delicious lunch of salmon, roasted veggies, rice, some kind of yellow (squash?) soup, fruit, cheeses, and bread. Then, time for the first ride! We got fitted to bikes and took off in 70 degree sunshine for a modest spin on rural roads through vineyards, a cork tree forest, and marble quarries. Later this evening, a get-to-know-you dinner at a nearby restaurant. A great start!

 

my ride for the week

 

post ride beers

today's introductory ride