Sno-King School Retirees
  • Sno-King School Retirees
  • SKSR BOARD
    • 2025 Minutes
    • Board Minutes Archive >
      • 2024 Board Minutes
      • 2023 Minutes
      • 2022 Board Minutes
      • 2021 Board Minutes
      • 2020 Board Minutes
      • 2019 Board Minutes
      • 2017 - 2018 Board Minutes
      • 2015 - 2016 Board Minutes
      • 2013 - 2014 Board Minutes
      • 2011 - 2012 Board Minutes
      • 2009-2010 Board Minutes
      • 2007-2008 Board Minutes
      • 2005-2006 Board Minutes
  • Join SKSR and WSSRA
  • Events
  • Bulletins
    • 2025 Bulletins
    • Bulletin Archive >
      • 2024 Bulletins
      • 2023 Bulletins
      • 2022 Bulletins
      • 2021 Bulletins
      • 2020 - 2018 Bulletins
      • 2015 - 2017 Bulletins
      • 2013-2014 Bulletins
      • 2010-2012 Bulletins
      • 2007-2009 Bulletins
      • 2004-2006 Bulletins
      • 2002 - 2003 Bulletins
      • 1999-2001 Bulletins
      • 1997-1998 Bulletins
      • 1989, 1990, 1994 Bulletins
      • 1986, 1987, 1988 Bulletins
      • 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 Bulletins
      • Historical Information
  • Legislation
  • Retirement Seminars
  • Scholarships
    • Scholarships Information
    • Current Scholarship Recipients
    • Previous Scholarship Recipients
  • Grants
    • 2024-25 Grant Information
    • 2024-2025 Grant Recipients
    • Previous Grant Recipients >
      • 2023-2024 Grant Recipients
      • 2022-2023 Grants
      • 2021-2022 Grant Recipients
      • 2020-2021 Grant Recipients
      • 2019-2020 Grant Recipients
      • 2018-19 Grant Recipients
      • 2017-2018 Grant Recipients & Photos
      • 2016-2017 Grant Recipients
      • 2015/2016 Grant Recipients
      • 2013/14 & 2014/15 Grant Recipient Pictures
  • By-Laws/Policies
  • Useful Links
  • Past Activities
    • 2024 Activities >
      • April Luncheon
      • Climate Pledge Arena
    • 2023 Activities >
      • Asian Art Museum
    • 2020 Activities >
      • Washington Kids in Transition Service Project
    • 2019 Activities >
      • Washington Kids in Transition
      • 2019 Field Trip to UW
      • Convention
    • 2018 Activities >
      • June WSSRA Convention
      • Field Trip to NOAA
      • Food Lifeline Service Project
    • 2017 & 2016 Activities >
      • 2017 Picnic
      • 2017 Food Lifeline
      • 2017 Museum of Flight Restoration Center
      • January 2016 Food Lifeline Service Project
    • 2015 Activities >
      • January 2015 Food Lifeline Service Project
      • Hibulb Cultural Center Field Trip
    • 2014 Activities >
      • January 2014 Food Lifeline Service
      • March 2014, MOHAI Field Trip
      • April 2014 Scholarship Luncheon
      • July 2014 Picnic
      • Alice Miller--Beauty & Duty Presentation
    • 2013 Activities >
      • Food Lifeline - Service Project
      • Theo's Chocolate - Field Trip
      • Jan Steves-May Speaker
      • July 2013 Picnic
      • November 2013 Scholarship Luncheon--Enrique Henao
      • December 2013 Cookie Fest & Sing-Along
  • Our Trips
    • 2023 Trips >
      • The Balkans
      • Amsterdam to Antwerp
      • Madrid and Portugal
      • New England Autumn Colors
    • 2022 Trips >
      • Budapest, Hungary to Amsterdam, Netherlands
      • Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar
    • 2021 Trips >
      • Camino De Santiago
    • 2019 Trips >
      • Spain
      • Africa Safari
      • Spain and Portugal
      • Australia
    • 2018 Trips >
      • Honor Flight
      • Baltic Cruise and Sweden
      • Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary Trip
    • 2017 Trips >
      • Trip to Greece
      • Cross Canada by Rail
      • Trip to Spain and France
      • Hanford Nuclear Site
      • Trip to Jordan, Israel, & Egypt
    • 2016 Trips >
      • Southeast Asia
      • River Cruises in Europe
      • Myanmar
    • 2015 Trips >
      • Trip to Egypt and Jordan
      • Trip to Cancun
      • Trip to Europe
      • Trip to British Isles, Mediterranean Cruise
      • Trip to National Parks
      • Trip to India
    • 2014 Trips >
      • Trip to Patagonia
    • 2013 Trips >
      • Trip to Paris, Cruise of British Isles
      • Trip across the Pacific--Hawaii, Marshall Islands, Japan, and China
      • Trip to Russia, Sweden and Scotland
  • Special News
  • SKSR in the News
  • Volunteer Opportunities
  • Contact Us
Madrid, Lisbon, and Douro River Cruise
Jim and Andrea Siscel
May 2023

 
Following our Amsterdam to Antwerp River Cruise we flew to Madrid spending three nights before continuing to Lisbon and the Douro Viking River Cruise.  The Madrid and Lisbon visits were provided by Viking.  We toured Madrid by motor coach and a walking tour.  There were three couples besides Andrea and Jim that were doing the pre-Portugal tour in Madrid.  We visited the famous Prado Museum and viewed masterpieces of Goya, Velazquez, and others. The next day we enjoyed a highlight of the trip when we toured and had a seven-course lunch at the oldest restaurant in the world, Restaurante Sobrino de Botin, which opened in 1735.
 
We then flew to Lisbon for two nights.  We visited the Jeronimos Monastery and the Belem Tower while viewing much of the city by motor coach.  In the afternoon we visited the National Tile Museum learning about the blue-and-white ceramic tiles known as azulejos.  We even painted our own tiles.
 
We then travelled by motor coach to Coimbra University where we visited the library lined with 300,000 books.  We had lunch accompanied by fado music.  We continued to Porto, Portugal where we boarded the Viking Torgil, holding 95 passengers.  A smaller ship was needed to travel up the very narrow in places Douro River.  The ships cannot travel at night on the Douro River.  There are five locks on the river, the deepest one in Europe at 142 feet.
 
Next stop was Regua where we visited the Mateus Palace of Mateus Rose wine fame and Gardens.  Continuing we stopped overnight in Pinhao.  The next day we continued to Baca d’Alva.  We stayed on board as the offered trip was to Salamance, Spain was eight hours long and we didn’t feel taking it.  At Baca d’Alva we had a huge buffet of Portugese food.  Now it was time to turn around and head back to Porto.  We stopped in Pocinho for the night. The next morning we took the trip to Favaios Bakery enjoying fresh-from-the-oven bread.  We visited the local museum of wine and bread and the local cooperative port winery where we sampled some Port.  We had an excellent lunch before stopping at Sandeman for another Port tasting.  We met the ship in Folgosa and headed on to Regula for the night.
 
Our trip this day took us to the Cistericans Monestery and another wine tasting.  An early king of Portugal upset that the Catholic Church was impoverishing the people while enriching the church.  He gave the church members two weeks to leave Portugal.  The local people then destroyed all but one wall the monastery using the building material for their own buildings.
 
Returning to Porto, the last day of the river trip, we took the leisure tour on foot and bus of Porto.  We saw the Cathedral, train station with beautiful blue tiles and then a bus tour of the city.  In the afternoon we had our last Port tasting at Ferreira Winery, just three blocks away from the ship.
 
Off to the airport the following day, first to Madrid, then to Amsterdam.  Stayed at the hotel at the airport before a 10.5-hour flight the next day back to Seattle.