Lisbon...Paris...Strasbourg, and the Christmas Markets

Everybody enjoys a little get away...even full time travelers like us.  Almost a year ago, we had planned a short trip to Paris and Strasbourg to see the Christmas markets, and to get a little taste of winter.  Our plan was to spend two days in Paris...take the train to Strasbourg, where we would spend another two days...return to Paris for one night...then fly to Porto.  Little did we know when we planned our trip that there would be so many problems in France.  First, Saturday protests by the Yellow Vest Movement, a political group formed to protest against rising fuel prices and the high cost of living among other things, was creating havoc in the city.  Then, an attack by a gunman in Strasbourg that resulted in the death of three people and injuries to several others occurred days before we were set to leave.  Despite these concerns...we were determined to go.

We left Lagos on December 14th...took the train to Lisbon, where we spent the night.  This was our first visit to Lisbon, so went took the metro to the city center to see what it looked like.

Lisbon Christmas Markets

The King's Cake is a popular Portuguese dessert served in many households during the Christmas holiday.

Then, we flew to Paris the following day.  We arrived on Friday to cold rainy weather...but had booked a room in a little boutique hotel in a beautiful part of Paris on the corner of Rue Cler.  The room was lovely, but very small...and the bed took up almost all the space.    

Rue Cler was filled with lovely little shops and restaurants...and for the first time in a long while it truly felt like Christmas to us.  We had one evening and a full day and night to explore Paris before departing for Strasbourg.

Oysters are very popular at this time of year.  

All kinds of fresh produce beautifully displayed on the streets.

Buying real Christmas trees seemed to be the popular thing to do.    

On Saturday the Yellow Vest protests resulted in some of the Metros being closed (including the one near our hotel)...and several of the museums, stores and shops.  But...Paris is a big city...and you could find plenty of things to do that were not near the area of the protests.  We felt very safe during our stay and never saw any of the trouble that was making the news.                       

Galeries Lafayette in Paris...absolutely stunning

If you look closely, the theme of the tree is space aliens.  It compliments the stores window displays that you can see outside. 

Christmas Markets in Paris

On our second night in Paris, we signed up to attend a dinner with the organization "eatwith."   This organization offers you the chance to have a home cooked meal with a local person or family at their house or apartment.  We've participated in this activity in the past and thought it might be fun to do it again.  The woman we booked with lived in the Montmartre neighborhood of Paris.  We arrived by cab at 8:00 P.M. where we met our host, Claudine, and two other guests, Gaby and Anat from Israel.  Claudine cooked us a fabulous dinner which included wine, appetizers, a salad, a main dish (salmon,) and dessert.  We enjoyed a great conversation...were convinced by the girls to go and visit Israel...and stayed until a little past 11:00 P.M.  It was a great way to spend an evening in Paris.       

The following morning we boarded the train for Strasbourg.  It's a beautiful historic town east of Paris...and close to the border of Germany.  The Christmas markets in Strasbourg are some of the oldest in Europe.  They have been held there since 1570.          

Place de la Cathedrale

Altogether, there were eleven Christmas markets spread throughout the city center.  

Above is a picture of the hotel we stayed in during our visit.

Every year Strasbourg invites another country to be part of their celebration.  This year that country was Finland.  Above, they are cooking salmon the way it is done in their country on an open fire.  

This was one of several tributes we saw for the victims of the recent terrorist attack that took place here.

The souvenir I bought at the Christmas Market.  It is called a Smoker because you can place incense inside and when you light it the smoke will come out of his pipe.  I will be mailing it home after the holiday.

Security was very high in Strasbourg during our stay.  We saw lots of police and soldiers with guns roaming the street.  All people were checked when they entered the city center.  If you were carrying something, it was also searched.  

Even though we are far away from our family and friends...seeing how Christmas is celebrated in these places gave us a feeling of Christmas joy.  It will never replace the feeling of being with the ones you love...but it's a close second.  

Merry Christmas Everyone!  

The Algarve...Lagos, Portugal

Welcome to the Algarve, which is a region located on the southern tip of Portugal.  It is an area known for its rugged sandstone cliffs and wide sandy beaches that hug the Atlantic Ocean.  Lagos is one of several towns that can be found in this area...and it also happens to be where we have been living for the past three weeks.  

When we first arrived here the weather was cool and cloudy with some rain.  Thankfully, that has all changed.  Lately we have enjoyed nothing but sunshine and increasingly warmer temperatures...mostly mid to high 60's, but some days reaching into the 70's.  That has allowed Lance and I to do some hiking and we were delighted with what we discovered.    

Lagos is an old maritime town that is very quiet during this time of year.  Many of the apartments and quite a few businesses close down for the winter season.  That will all change when summer comes around.  If you visit, you will find many expats from the UK, Germany, and Scandinavia.  Some live here year round, while others come to escape a harsh winter.     

Part of the old wall that surrounded the city.

The fresh vegetable and fish market.

Above and below are two of Lance's favorite coffee cafe's.

A view from our balcony at twilight.

Christmas decorations in the old town.

Near the end of our second week here, Lance and I hopped a bus to attend the Sweet Potato Festival which was held in the town of Aljezur's.  It was an interesting event featuring baked goods made with sweet potatoes, crafts, music, and food.  It was well attended, and a fun way to spend our Saturday.     

A stroller filled with bags of sweet potatoes.

This has been a relaxing stay for us.  We have mostly settled into an easy going lifestyle of  grocery shopping, cooking, a bit of hiking, and...yoga!  Lance and I have been attending class three times a week and are really enjoying our teacher, Isabel.  She is both helpful and encouraging...especially to Lance.  And...I do believe he actually likes going.  We plan to keep up the classes when we move on to Porto...and have already lined  up a teacher.  

Next week we will depart for Paris and then the Strasbourg Christmas Markets.  It will be a short trip, but we are looking forward to it...despite the current unrest taking place in Paris.  Then, it's on to Porto for a month.  In case I don't have a chance to post again before the holidays, I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Wonderful New Year!