[Formerly YB-2]

You are welcome. Trip over to Lisboa thru olive groves and cork oak groves. Short stops in Merida & Badajos. First full day we shopped for shoes in the El Corte Ingles, which is the Spainish Gallerie Lafayette. Light breakfast & lunch before heading off on our wine & food walking tour from Rossio Square. Half-a-dozen local, mostly non-tourist, stops. Learned of vinhos verde (green wine - ours was excellent), ginja (the stuff my wife had the night before was cough syrup -the original Espinheira is delightful). Portugues cheeses are good, but mostly as accompaniment to their hams and their truly excellent chorizo, all washed down with 10yr Niepoort tawny port, which, like the chorizo, was top shelf. We've enjoyed 3-4 reds from the Duoro region, as we have the local tapas (pupol, sardines, peppers, olives, etc.). Roast suckling pig for dinner this evening. The crackling skin was excellent while the meat was merely 'very good'. As in Spain, the olive oil has been uniformly so much better than the 'stuff' we get at home. Wish we had room to haul home a gallon. Last day tomorrow will be riding the E28 tram to various stops in the 'old city'. Very touristy in August. Next trip will be May or Oct. Ciao (the local good-bye in Lisboa).